Suli hated it when Mommy had a new boyfriend around. It meant there was less attention for her, and Mommy would close the door at night and Suli couldn’t get in bed with her. Suli was super-attached to Mommy and wanted all her love, she became extremely resentful when a man was in her life to lessen what Suli received.

Fortunately, with Mommy’s demanding job and everything else going on, she was not dating very much. And so far Suli had been successful in scaring off the few she had brought back. The men would pretend to like her, even trying to be nice by talking to her in a fake baby voice, but Suli had perfected her scare tactics. Through a combination of silent intense stares, little bites, drooling, well-timed, piercing screams, and most of all whining and demanding constant attention from Mommy, had managed to dissuade even the most ardent suitors. Suli heard one of them mutter in his cellphone, when Mommy was out of earshot, that he couldn’t stand that creepy creature and he was tempted to kick her away more than once. Suli thought about flopping and falling and pretending he had kicked her, but he stopped coming round anyway, so that problem was solved.

Then Fred happened.

Fred was determined. Fred loved Mommy and exclaimed that he loved Suli in a loud, genuine voice. He picked her up and cuddled her and played with her- so much that Mommy became restless from the attention he was giving Suli.

“C’mon Fred, let’s go to bed!”

Fred laughed, a big booming laugh. “What about this one eh? She doesn’t look sleepy!”

“Let her be Fred!” snapped Mommy, irately. She stood up, reached out a hand to Fred and dragged him off the couch, almost stepping on Suli who immediately began whining and fussing.

It was no use. Mommy and Fred went upstairs into her bedroom, the door firmly closed behind them, leaving Suli alone in the dark. She called Mommy over and over who only once responded “be a good girl and shut up Suli” She had never talked like that to Suli before.

Suli lay in wait at the top of the stairs, and when Fred came out in the morning, she was as alert as a tiger on the hunt. As he drowsily began going down, she elongated her furry muscly body and began weaving dextrously in and out through his legs, stepping her paws on his feet and flicking her tail, a purposeful live animal trap.

Fred didn’t have a chance. He stumbled and with an extra heave of her body against his knees, he fell, his yelp of shock cut short by bashing his head against the heavy banister.

Mommy rushed out, stared at her lover’s body on the landing. She scooped up Suli and buried her face in her beautiful soft fur. “Oh baby are ok?” she murmured in the gentle voice Suli loved so much.