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Description
Out the corner of her eye, Toddles noticed an unusual cat stepping onto the stage. The gray cat; decked out in an orange and green striped suit; said not a word as he carried a slim leather case in his hands. He put it down handed a tip to the venue's host before he turned his back to the audience. Before him was the venue's big band, done that was decked out with 10 cat horn section. He nodded to the rows of horn players before him and then again to the rhythm section near by. Then he bent over to open the case.

The lights dimmed before she could see exactly what he pulled out. The cat's wide framed silhouette faced the audience again when the band members rose their instruments and played.

It was a slow and mellow song, one she heard them play many times before. While she liked it enough, she wondered why this cat was bothering with this one, it had no words. And this cat didn't seem like the chattering type from what she seen so far.

But what made her do a double take was the amplified sound of a guitar, an electric one at that, playing over the song's main melody. A spotlight shone down on the cat, his wide brimmed sombrero shielding his eyes. An occasional glimpse of his face could seen from the reflection of the guitar's shiny hollow body. As he played, he stepped up to the microphone near him. And then he sang...

"Diamonds and pearls, black silk stockings
In her own world when she's rockin'
She don't hang out with anyone else in the crowd

Stiletto heels on the dance floor
Does what she feels as the crowd roars
She doesn't care what anyone else thinks of her

His voice was low and smooth. He could have easily given crooners like a Dean Martin a run for their money.

My baby only cares for me
We're a ship in the night all alone on the sea
My baby only cares for me

The whole time Toddles sat in her seat, completely awestruck. She was captivated by this unknown tabby. Who was he? A friend of the host? An upcoming musician about to make his big break? She had to know.

Toddles question was put on hold when the gray cat stepped down from the stage and into the audience. The spotlight followed him the whole way as he silently performed a solo. His fingers plucked smooth but strong licks from the six stringed instrument. His guitar tone while jazzy and mellow, was spiked with some hints of rock n roll. He weaved in and out of the seated tables that clamored with excited shrieks and shouts from girls. These were followed by occasional envious glares from their boyfriends. Then he made a beeline towards her.

She gasped. Not wanting to look like silly fangirl she kept her composure and sipped her martini with a coy smile. When he reached her he knelt down, his sombrero concealing most of his face from her vision. But then he tipped his head up and she saw more clearly. Those sharp four whiskers, the light haired accent between his closed eyes, that white muzzle, this cat looked oddly familiar. But that unfamiliar voice singing threw her off.

"Black caviar, champagne cocktails
Come as you are if all else fails
Hey, here's the thing, she's got the world on a string..."

The cat suddenly skirted away from her and back to the stage. All while he still continued to sing.

"My baby only cares for me
We're a ship in the night all alone on the sea
My baby only cares for me"

He finished the song with a few final notes from his guitar that resonated throughout the venue. Around her, the audience went wild with applause. The cat quickly packed up his guitar and bowed to the audience, then without another word, he trotted off the stage the same as he came. He was gone.

The host returned to the stage. " Ladies and Gentlemen, the Hep Cat!"

Out the corner of her eye Toddles noticed "The Hep Cat" heading to a back door near the bar. The cat opened the door and stopped for a moment. He seemed to have noticed her presence as he suddenly stopped and turned to her with warm smile he winked. Then he headed out the door. At that moment, it hit her. Even under that larger than life suit, and those extraordinary musical chops, she recognized those yellow eyes. And she only knew one cat with eyes like that. One she hadn't seen in years. Toddles smiled to herself, even after all these years he still found ways to surprise her.

She whispered "Thomas..."

I think I'm starting to notice that I get carried away whenever I do short stories as companion pieces.

Okay, so... some of you who have have been watching me for years may recognize this piece, back when it was WIP I posted way back around 2019.
www.deviantart.com/reggiejwork…

This was back when a good fraction of my fanart was Tom and Jerry based. I realized this probably the first time I posted a fanart piece for Tom and Jerry in a long time!

Since I had a feeling this art piece was going to take a long time to finish, I always kept putting this off to finish it later. Several other art pieces later, I recently came across this again and told myself, "Why have I not finished this?"

So, with a pack of Prismacolor and Creatacolor pencils, I spent the last several days finishing and refining this retro themed piece. Part of what gave me the inspiration was not only two of my personal favorite Tom and Jerry shorts; "Solid Serenade" and "The Zoot Cat" but also this song performed by The Brian Setzer Orchestra, My Baby Only Cares For Me" www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqpHb5…

It took almost 3 years to finally get around to finish this! And I am glad I did!

Description
Out the corner of her eye, Toddles noticed an unusual cat stepping onto the stage. The gray cat; decked out in an orange and green striped suit; said not a word as he carried a slim leather case in his hands. He put it down handed a tip to the venue's host before he turned his back to the audience. Before him was the venue's big band, done that was decked out with 10 cat horn section. He nodded to the rows of horn players before him and then again to the rhythm section near by. Then he bent over to open the case.

The lights dimmed before she could see exactly what he pulled out. The cat's wide framed silhouette faced the audience again when the band members rose their instruments and played.

It was a slow and mellow song, one she heard them play many times before. While she liked it enough, she wondered why this cat was bothering with this one, it had no words. And this cat didn't seem like the chattering type from what she seen so far.

But what made her do a double take was the amplified sound of a guitar, an electric one at that, playing over the song's main melody. A spotlight shone down on the cat, his wide brimmed sombrero shielding his eyes. An occasional glimpse of his face could seen from the reflection of the guitar's shiny hollow body. As he played, he stepped up to the microphone near him. And then he sang...

"Diamonds and pearls, black silk stockings
In her own world when she's rockin'
She don't hang out with anyone else in the crowd

Stiletto heels on the dance floor
Does what she feels as the crowd roars
She doesn't care what anyone else thinks of her

His voice was low and smooth. He could have easily given crooners like a Dean Martin a run for their money.

My baby only cares for me
We're a ship in the night all alone on the sea
My baby only cares for me

The whole time Toddles sat in her seat, completely awestruck. She was captivated by this unknown tabby. Who was he? A friend of the host? An upcoming musician about to make his big break? She had to know.

Toddles question was put on hold when the gray cat stepped down from the stage and into the audience. The spotlight followed him the whole way as he silently performed a solo. His fingers plucked smooth but strong licks from the six stringed instrument. His guitar tone while jazzy and mellow, was spiked with some hints of rock n roll. He weaved in and out of the seated tables that clamored with excited shrieks and shouts from girls. These were followed by occasional envious glares from their boyfriends. Then he made a beeline towards her.

She gasped. Not wanting to look like silly fangirl she kept her composure and sipped her martini with a coy smile. When he reached her he knelt down, his sombrero concealing most of his face from her vision. But then he tipped his head up and she saw more clearly. Those sharp four whiskers, the light haired accent between his closed eyes, that white muzzle, this cat looked oddly familiar. But that unfamiliar voice singing threw her off.

"Black caviar, champagne cocktails
Come as you are if all else fails
Hey, here's the thing, she's got the world on a string..."

The cat suddenly skirted away from her and back to the stage. All while he still continued to sing.

"My baby only cares for me
We're a ship in the night all alone on the sea
My baby only cares for me"

He finished the song with a few final notes from his guitar that resonated throughout the venue. Around her, the audience went wild with applause. The cat quickly packed up his guitar and bowed to the audience, then without another word, he trotted off the stage the same as he came. He was gone.

The host returned to the stage. " Ladies and Gentlemen, the Hep Cat!"

Out the corner of her eye Toddles noticed "The Hep Cat" heading to a back door near the bar. The cat opened the door and stopped for a moment. He seemed to have noticed her presence as he suddenly stopped and turned to her with warm smile he winked. Then he headed out the door. At that moment, it hit her. Even under that larger than life suit, and those extraordinary musical chops, she recognized those yellow eyes. And she only knew one cat with eyes like that. One she hadn't seen in years. Toddles smiled to herself, even after all these years he still found ways to surprise her.

She whispered "Thomas..."

I think I'm starting to notice that I get carried away whenever I do short stories as companion pieces.

Okay, so... some of you who have have been watching me for years may recognize this piece, back when it was WIP I posted way back around 2019.
www.deviantart.com/reggiejwork…

This was back when a good fraction of my fanart was Tom and Jerry based. I realized this probably the first time I posted a fanart piece for Tom and Jerry in a long time!

Since I had a feeling this art piece was going to take a long time to finish, I always kept putting this off to finish it later. Several other art pieces later, I recently came across this again and told myself, "Why have I not finished this?"

So, with a pack of Prismacolor and Creatacolor pencils, I spent the last several days finishing and refining this retro themed piece. Part of what gave me the inspiration was not only two of my personal favorite Tom and Jerry shorts; "Solid Serenade" and "The Zoot Cat" but also this song performed by The Brian Setzer Orchestra, My Baby Only Cares For Me" www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqpHb5…

It took almost 3 years to finally get around to finish this! And I am glad I did!