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     Jesse had just gotten off work when his cell phone rang.

     "Apricot Parmesan," the voice said.  Jesse stopped in his tracks in the middle of the parking lot and stood like a zombie.

     "Keep walking and get into your truck," the voice instructed.  He blindly followed the directions, ignoring a friendly wave from a co-worker.

     "Wave and smile at Dave," came the voice.  Jesse did as instructed just before climbing into his vehicle.

     "Drive to Shady Oaks Nursing home.  After parking, get out of your truck and head to the garden out back.  Turn into a white long-haired Persian cat with a pink collar and a tag that says 'Mr. Snuggles.'  Then find a nice old lady name Mrs. Connover.  She should be in a wheelchair under a big oak tree near the duck pond.  You'll be her cat for the night."

     The line went dead and Jesse snapped the phone shut, immediately starting the truck and heading off on his mission.  The hypnotism ran so deep that he wouldn't remember any of these actions, but he could think on his own enough to drive through traffic and even look up Shady Oaks Nursing home on his GPS.  After a 20 minute drive he arrived at the location and parked in the visitor lot.

     The nursing home was a little older but recently renovated and redecorated.  The lawn and garden were very well cared for and featured many benches and stretches of grass for the inhabitants to relax.

     Jesse got out of the truck and immediately headed around the side of the building toward the back yard.  Halfway there, he began to shrink and within a few steps he had become a beautiful white Persian cat with the instructed collar.  It jangled from his neck as he strode across the grass.

     The yard was full of senior citizens.  Many were sitting quietly and enjoying the warm afternoon sun, while others were painting, playing croquet or feeding the ducks.  Jesse drew the attention of many of the inhabitants since they weren't allowed pets in this particular home.  He ignored their calls and continued to search for Mrs. Connover.

     Coming to the duck pond, he saw a lone wheelchair parked under a tree.  A blue-haired woman in a yellow dress sat there sleeping peacefully.  Somehow Jesse just knew this was her, and he happily jumped into her lap.  This jarred her awake, startling her slightly as she looked down into his whiskered face.

     "Hey!  Darn cat!" a bull-looking female attendant said, stepping up to the wheelchair.  "I'm sorry, Mrs. Connover.  I just spotted him.  Let me get him out of your way."

     As the woman reached over to pick up the cat, Mrs. Connover's eyes fell on the nametag on the collar.

     "Wait, Marissa," she whispered, setting a hand on the attendant's arm before she could lift the cat away.  "It's Mr. Snuggles."

     "Ma'am.  You told me yourself that your cat died twenty years ago.  How could this ..." Marissa started to protest, but then she saw the tag as well.  "It can't be."

     Jesse purred as Mrs. Connover petted him, and then rubbed his head into her chest.  Marissa stepped back as the cat curled into a furry ball and began to doze on the old lady's lap.

     "I was just thinking about him.  He used to keep me warm on cold nights, and he loved laying in the sun," she said as a tear came to her eye.  The attendant slipped away, leaving Mrs. Connover with the cat.

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     Mrs. Connover kept Jesse with her the rest of the day.  He happily stayed in her lap as they watched others play Wii Tennis and during dinner.  She held him to her chest while Marissa spun them around the dance floor to Perry Como.  Afterwards he got some extra petting from the other ladies in the nursing home before they came to put Mrs. Connover to bed.  Once she was under the covers and comfortable, Jesse moved over and laid on her chest.

     "Thank you, my friend," she whispered to him as she started to doze off.  Jesse laid there purring until she was asleep.

     "Apricot Parmesan," a voice whispered, snapping Jesse into hypnotic alertness.  "Head out back and then change back into yourself.  Get in your truck and head home.  You had a blind date with a lovely woman, but it just didn't work out."

     Jesse jumped off the bed and dutifully strided out the door.  He was hardly cognizant of the person walking behind him as he headed for the entrance.  Just before he reached the glass double doors, the footsteps increased to get around him and the security guard unlocked the door for him.

     Once back outside and under cover of darkness, Jesse changed back into himself and got into his truck.  As he was driving home, his phone rang and he answered it.

     "Jesse!  Where've you been?  It's like you fell off the face of the Earth after work," his friend Jack said.  He shook his head a little bit as if remembering a dream.

     "I was out on a date," Jesse said.

     "Oh, really?  Was she hot?"

     "Oh, sure she was hot.  She had beautiful blue hair.  She was a little clingy.  Wouldn't let go of me all night."

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     "Hey, check this out," Grady said.  He was night security guard at Shady Oaks Nursing Home.  His friend came over and looked at the computer screen.

     "I was reviewing today's tapes and thought I saw an unauthorized visitor this afternoon, but watch this," he said, pressing play.  The scene showed the side lawn of the complex.  A man in a suit entered the shot and suddenly seemed to shrink and morph into a white cat as he crossed the grass.  He paused the tape again and turned in his chair.

     "I should have had him change before getting in range of the cameras," the other man said.

     "Yeah.  You gotta be more careful with that little experiment of yours.  If you're not careful, he's going to transform at the wrong place and the wrong time and then what do you do?  I wish you wouldn't let him wander free like that," Grady commented.

     "He deserves to continue living his life.  I can only find so many uses for his talent in the first place.  It wouldn't be fair to lock him up," the man said, his voice full of conviction.

     "Whatever, man.  Just be careful," Grady said as he hit Ctrl-C to erase the video clip.