Lula Bell is in my lap right now. She's asleep, because it's still early. This cat loves a sunrise, it's the strangest thing you ever saw. She looks straight at it.
When we first got Lula, she had a broken leg and didn't trust humans. If you made any sudden moves, she'd be halfway to Chattanooga in a few seconds.
Before us, she lived in a dumpster behind Winn Dixie. And I have it on good authority her best friend was a long-bearded, soft-spoken man who kept her well fed—which must be true. She's got the plumpest belly in the county.
Store employees said Lula wouldn't let anyone touch
her but this man.
"He had a way with her," one employee said. "He'd just hold her and whisper."
The same employee recalls once seeing the man waiting outside the back door during store hours. He asked if the bakery would be getting rid of any pastries that day.
The employee said he didn't know, then asked why.
"It's my anniversary," said the man. "My wife died a long time ago, but I still celebrate however I can."
“I didn't know if it was true or not," the employee went on.…