The wheel of fortune had spun many times since Annette last felt like gold.

In a crowded shelter, an old cat learns she is not the new convertible with a big red bow. People do not jump up and down at the sight of her face.

She is the faithful hatchback with high mileage and a scuffed “Be Kind” bumper sticker. She gets taken for granted, if anyone takes her at all.

Tell her she’s the bonus, and she will look over her shoulder. “Who, me? You must be talking to somebody else.”

But this old cat was about to hit the lottery that matters most: the one where you find out that you are still a prize.

Tabby’s Place agreed to take two cats from the city shelter. Merv and Tommy were zesty youths with past injuries and futures bright as diamonds, as long as someone plucked them from the rough. This is what we do, of course. We rescue cats from “hopeless situations.” We award them years just when life was about to say “Game Over.” No desperate contestant leaves empty handed.

But even we can get surprised by the prize that fills an empty carrier.

By some hasty magic and merciful mystery, two cats became three. Well, that’s when everyone got excited and confused.

Merv started singing “Two Become One.” Tommy said if you’re gonna do Spice Girls karaoke it’s gotta be “Wannabe.” But before he could get to his second “zig-a-zig-ah,” a voice as crackly as oatcakes cawed, “would somebody play some real music, like Louis Armstrong or Doris Day?”

It was the extra cat.

It was an elderly cat.

It was Annette, and she was coming to Tabby’s Place like the free tiramisu the waiter gives you because he likes you.

“Cats acquired, plus a bonus cat who is a chatty old lady.”

The text from our traveling staff got everyone at Tabby’s Place excited. You must understand how we feel about “a chatty old lady.” A chatty old lady is the prize we are hoping for in our Happy Meals and at the bottom of every cereal box. A chatty old lady is the plushie we will spend all our quarters to win at the arcade. A chatty old lady is an all-expenses-paid vacation to Maui, a lifetime supply of Dubai chocolate, and a pink Lamborghini with the license plate ALL I DO = WIN.

She is the blessing.

She is the bonus.

She was completely boggled to hear this.

It had been so long since anyone wanted Annette, much less whooped and wept like a Price is Right finalist over her, that our purring prize wanted to be sure this was real. When love is long in coming, you read the fine print. Too many feet had fluttered past her cage in search of safer prospects. People find it too risky to invest their love in a cat whose years are so full spent.

But that word kept ringing like a victory bell. “Bonus.” These people were peculiar, that was beyond question, but they seemed sincere. They could not contain their excitement.

It was as though they had waited all their lives just to get to share Annette’s air. The perplexed old cat got the impression that, if Frank Sinatra walked into the room with a million dollar bill and a canister of spray cheese, everyone at Tabby’s Place would choose Annette instead.

(“Who’s Frank Sinatra?” Merv asked. Annette groaned. “You won’t find him on TikTok, kid.” “He sounds nice,” Tommy offered. “When is he bringing the cheese?”)

Annette, wise even beyond her many years, was right.

We would choose her, and choose her, and choose her again.

And from the jackpot spot of our Community Room, she chooses to accept the prize of being prized. The girl who had everything to gain now has everything to give, starting with affection and opinions. We did say she was chatty. She informs us of many important matters. Back in her day, dinner was served promptly: four o’clock, not four-oh-one. You could get corned beef hash for a nickel, and nobody thought leggings were pants. And don’t get her started on the slap-doodle manners of feline millennials these days.

But Annette’s most valued opinion is the observation that she is valued.

At fourteen, she is worth more than rubies, sapphires, and anchovies.

Etched with age and needs, she is the hopeful diamond who makes us all feel like a billion bucks.

In the winner’s circle of love, the little black cat with the heart of gold takes all.

And, the day before yesterday, Annette took the greatest prize imaginable … a forever home.

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