It was mid morning by the time Stella rose from the bench after having alternated between finger exercises and memorized snippets of concertos and songs. The apartment was curiously silent after the last note hung in the air and vanished leaving only a memory. She stretched and so did her cat.<br/><br/>“What do you say Tesla” she asked “breakfast for us both and some coffee?” The grey-brown cat looked at her and with a flicking tail responded with a rumbling And drawn out mrrrreowwwww. He loved food.<br/><br/>Stella walked on stockinged feet to the small kitchen and put on the water kettle for the French press before opening a can of premium cat food for Tesla who had taken to making circle eights around her ankles while meowing pitifully.<br/><br/>“Cat! If you make me break my ankle there won’t be any breakfast” admonished Stella. But Tesla like any cat didn’t let up until the plate hit the floor. Satisfied the large Maine Coon sat hunched like a brown comma on the floor and enjoyed his breakfast while she cut into a large cinnamon roll and took half with her and the coffee to the window seat overlooking the small park adjacent to the apartment building. It was Saturday morning and already joggers were out, a group of folks practicing t’ai chi, and the mommy brigade with strollers and matching yoga pants. It promised to be a glorious day!<br/><br/>Tesla rejoined her, jumping on the window bench and proceeded to a satisfied grooming session after he secured himself a nibble of the cinnamon bun.<br/><br/>“You’re lucky I don’t ask you for a share of your breakfast” she groused.<br/><br/>The young woman looked thoughtfully at her content cat. “I think you and I will go for a walk this morning” she declared. “You need to learn the lay of the land here so you don’t get lost.” Tesla liked to roam. He was chipped and wore a tagged collar of course but she had taught him to walk on a harness after he had gotten lost a few times in her previous neighborhood. After walking the neighborhood with her a few times the cat no longer got lost. “Just don’t bring home any more gifts” she’d scolded after he brought her a few small birds initially.<br/><br/>Stella looked thoughtfully out of the window. She had the oddest sense that this year would be different but had absolutely no idea why, and so the idea wasn’t even formulated into thought but remained an unexplored feeling which sat there like a oddly sized book on a shelf, sticking out just enough to be noticed now and then.