Oriana

As much as my boyfriend likes to act like a tough guy, he isn't. Don't get me wrong, he has no problem standing up for himself and watch out if you say something about me that he doesn't like, you will get an ear full. Ryan will have no problem taking you down.

However, he has a sweet side to him that he hides from the world. Ryan has this tendency to take care of things that can't take care of themselves, especially stray animals that are too young to be out in the world. Which is how I get to my next story.

While sitting outside waiting for the pizza delivery guy, Ryan and I were blessed with a visitor. A little kitten came walking down the sidewalk. She is a tiny thing that hasn't been fed properly and we decided helping her out wouldn't hurt us. So we made sure she had some fresh food and water. We decided if she was still there in the morning then we would take her to a shelter. After all, if she was someone's beloved pet then we assumed she would find her way back home.

Well the next morning it was gloomy and wet, I didn't have any hopes for our new four-legged friend being out there, but she was!!! Ryan's face lit up like a Christmas tree and I just smiled.

"We can't keep her," he said. "We have to take her to the shelter."

So we placed her in the cat carrier and away we went to the shelter. Fortunately the Terre Haute Humane Society is no longer taking cats or kittens, which we discovered from the sign on the door.

"So can we keep her," I asked.

"We already have enough pets," he said. "We don't need anymore."

"But she's just a baby and has no one else," I said.

I refused to give up, and knew that if I could just get him to hold her he would be a goner! I was right.

My big strong motorcycle-driving boyfriend, who rarely lets on to the world that he has a heart, was letting this little kitten, which we have named Oriana, sit on his lap and nap while he played a video game.

She loves eating and enjoys terrorizing Blue Star, 15 and K.T., 5, to the point where both cats hide from her. She has her own little toys, which she spends hours playing with. But her favorite thing to do is to sit in our laps and sleep.

This little kitten, which Ryan said we couldn't keep, now has a special place in our hearts.