by Abby Byne
“We’re not doing too badly, now are we?” she asked him. Max purred loudly, but he did not look up. He was too busy inhaling every last morsel of his Svelte Kitty Cat Food.
“If you’re going to have a snack,” Bitsie said to Max, “I’m going to have one, too.”
She opened a container sitting on the counter and withdrew a cupcake.
“Chocolate cherry,” she said to Max. “Just a new flavor I’m trying out.”
Bitsie took a bite and chewed it thoughtfully.
“Needs just a touch more vanilla, I think.”
Max looked solemnly up at her and then back at his empty dish and let out a plaintive meow. Clearly, he considered the size of his midnight snack insufficient.
“No,” said Bitsie, licking chocolate frosting off her fingers and looking longingly at the remaining cupcakes in the container.
“No,” she shook her head resolutely. “The second one never tastes quite as good as the first.”
Max looked up at her and—if he had been human—would have let out a deep sigh. He stalked away from his bowl.
“No,” said Bitsie. “All things in moderation.”
She smiled to herself and returned her gaze to the kitchen window. In the darkened back yard, she could just make out blobs of white on the bushes. The roses had started to bloom.
The End