13 years ago when my wife and I were getting ready to move in together, my mother’s barn cat had kittens and she tried to tame one for us. She only managed to keep one and wasn’t sure if we’d want her because “she isn’t very friendly” and “she’s such an ugly kitten”. As I try to remember the last time I read a book without this beautiful cat on my lap, it occurs that my mother may have never been more wrong in her entire life.