Seven of Hearts

It happened by chance. Byron had stopped by a pet store to pick up food for our two cats. Across the aisle, behind a plexiglas window, he noticed several cats from the Cat Adoption Team shelter waiting for new homes. One especially playful cat, named Erica, beguiled him with her antics. But the shelter didn't want to separate Erica from her littermate, and neither did we. We weren't sure our home could handle four cats. In a few weeks, Erica was gone, presumably adopted.

A couple of months later we stopped by the shelter. Byron had not forgotten the cat that had so charmed him and asked if she was in-house. The staff didn't recognize her name or description, but kindly allowed Byron to tour their facility. Byron must have looked at several hundred cats without finding the special one who had stolen his heart.

Meanwhile Byron's wife Dana, waiting downstairs, wandered into a room marked "Kittens". Inside she noticed a young cat making odd clicking and cackling sounds. When Byron returned from his search empty-handed, Dana pulled him into the kitten room to see the funny cat making the strange noises. To Byron's amazement, it was Erica! She'd been adopted out, but returned after another cat in her new home bullied her.

After this happy reunion there was never any question that she belonged with our family. So we adopted her and renamed her our lucky "Seven", and she has completely captured out hearts. We hope our story - and our wine - will capture yours.