Holding hands with my cat

Coco entered my room each night, jumped on my bed and purred while I rubbed his head. Licking my hands, he moved his head from turn to turn using my knuckles to wash his face before stretching across my wrist pining it down to a resting place beneath his torso. Content we both drifted to sleep. Work schedule changed and routines were broken when Van switched to days and Cooper entered our lives. For some time Coco stayed away or was shooed away as unwelcome guest at night. Months later he established a new protocol. As Van leaves the room in the morning, his collar bell hardly tinkles as he nearly stealthily slips under our bed. My alarm sounds and he responds, his meow greets me with a little saliva on his already damp chin. Kitty kisses on my fingers. Pets, purrs, ear and chin rubs follow. He stretches elongated and covers my hand with his paws, one below, one atop, and we hold hands for a few quiet moments before the day officially begins.