To anyone who has ever been on a work call with me, you knew Hux. He was chatty and affectionate. Sometimes new folks who didn't know better thought he was a baby crying in the other room. I started telling new folks not to be alarmed; I wasn't leaving a child in the other room crying while I worked.
Hux was special, and everyone knew it. He had an old soul. When he wanted me to do something or be near me, he told me so and was persistent until he got what he wanted. I appreciated that about him.
When I first got Huxley, he was a brother to Zappa, who left us a decade ago. He played the beta role as Zappa was always the alpha cat. I was nervous that he would be lonely or sad now that he was an only cat, but I couldn't have been more wrong. It seems Hux was waiting to be a one-man show from the beginning to have me all to himself.
Shortly after Zappa passed, Hux started sleeping in bed next to me and believing he was mine and he was. He had the best purr. I'm so glad that I was smart enough to record them. Check out this video:
Hux was the most constant companion I had for the last twenty years. That's right; this beauty was 20 years old. He was with me through the highs and lows and empathetically supported me through a divorce and countless other heartbreaks. He was there to celebrate the high points and to protect me when I needed it, sometimes even from myself.
It was my honor and pleasure to be this cat's human. I'm heartbroken. Utterly gutted. I feel so lucky to have had him by my side, and the void he left can't be filled. Rest in peace, Hux. You are so missed.