The Day Heidi and Lily Finally Shared the Sofa

I have been waiting for this moment for a long time. Heidi arrived first — she has seniority and she knows it. Lily came along eight months later, full of energy and absolutely no respect for personal space. The first few weeks were tense.

There was a period of cold stares across the hallway. Then a brief détente involving a shared interest in the bird feeder outside the kitchen window. Then, gradually, a tolerance that edged toward something warmer.

Last Tuesday, I walked into the living room and found them both on the sofa. Not touching — Heidi would never allow that — but close. Six inches apart, both facing the window, both pretending the other did not exist. It was, by their standards, an embrace.

I took approximately forty photographs. I am not sorry.