"Lucky-So-Far"

Thirteen or fourteen years ago, we were given a sweet little kitty. We had no intention of having a kitty in our house. A special aunt thought our children needed a pet. Lucky-So-Far was the only survivor of the cat family on the farm - too many dogs and coyotes. Consequently the name. After a couple of incidents we thought maybe we should call her "Luck Ran Out." Even though I shut her between the storm door and the screen door for a couple of hours and smashed her under the garage door, she still managed to survive.
Lucky was a sweet little kitten until she had her visit to the vet for surgery. She came back a different cat. She never wanted her stomach touched. You could pet her but you had to learn just where she would allow you to pet her and watch for signs that she was finished being petted. Most relatives recognized that Lucky ran our household. If she was at the top of the stairs you had to step carefully around her, watching her constantly or she might just take a swipe at you. If she was curled up in the chair you wanted to sit in, you sat in another chair. If you were too close to her when she was in one of her moods, she'd hiss. Most of us didn't want to disturb Lucky!
Lucky and Bill had a special relationship. If she was acting naughty, he would hold her head and talk to her like she was a person. If all five of us were sitting in the living room, she'd choose Bill's lap to sit on. If we needed Lucky moved off the stairs so we could use them, Bill would handle the situation. He was always very tender with her, as if he understood her.
Lucky often acted like she was Queen of the Universe. When we'd drive into the driveway and click the garage door opener, she would come running. She'd get in front of the car and then lead us into the garage with her tail raised high or wagging. This was her greeting many, many times. She loved it when we came home.
Yesterday morning I was sitting in the living room and Lucky jumped on my chair and rubbed her nose into my arm. I knew that meant she wanted me to rub her head. I felt honored since Bill was available too. For some reason she chose me. I rubbed her head until she'd had enough.
When I drove in the garage last night, Lucky did her usual thing. Only her timing was off. She got entangled in my front tire. Our son had heard me coming in the garage and was anxious to tell me something so he had the door to the house open. He witnessed the whole thing. Lucky died about 20 grueling minutes later.
We really miss Lucky-So-Far. The house doesn't seem the same without her.