He arrived small and cold on that evening that changed it all. Disrupting my shower, Olivia pounded on the door and with a look of fear and regret sheepishly asked if we could keep him just for one night while she figured out what to do. We were shocked to say the least. We had cared for little ones before, after all, my son Carter was not even a year old yet. 'They will be friends, this will work out,'� we told ourselves. We snuggled the helpless creature in our arms and relaxed on the bed wondering what to call him. Olivia reassured us that she would return in the morning and have a plan, we already knew better. She kissed the creature on the head and with a severe look of regret and confusion slowly left the room. The unmistakable sound of the front door closing was heard throughout the house and we took notice of the sound of her Jeep exiting the parking lot. She really left him. Now what? Still unsure of what to call him, we nestled deep into the covers and retired for the night.

The morning arrived with the sound of my son wailing in the next room. Rising from our slumber, we gathered our new addition and prepared to introduce the babies to each other. As the door opened to Carter's room, he caught a glimpse of this new thing Mommy was holding and jealousy and hesitation covered his face. Carter climbed to the floor and the new one was sat next to him. They seemed to bond instantly. The jealousy and hesitation had morphed into adoration and curiosity.

As that first day matured, we begin growing attached to this new member of our family and decided it was going to be hard to let him go. Olivia had not called by the end of the day and we knew he was going to be ours for good.

Weeks passed and there was still no indication Olivia was going to return for him. He was growing before our eyes and Carter was becoming more and more attached and fond of him. His hyperactivity increased each day and we wondered why we agreed to take this responsibility. We already had a baby; we couldn't care for him too. Our nerves and patience began to run thin and we questioned our decision daily. Just when we began investigating other options for this tiny creature that never asked to exist or be left with us, we became fully aware of just how close he and Carter had become. They are like brothers, they truly love each other. We rationalized and decided he would calm as he aged and we could deal with it.

Each day is a struggle and there are the days when we wish his future had not been left in our hands. When he scratches my face or poops on the floor or climbs up the curtains I want to rid myself of him forever, but the look on Carter's face when they are together makes it all worth it. This cat drives us insane but what would we do without him?

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