Friday, 12 December, 2008

How Simon Came to Stay

by Fannie Feazell

Present Day

Chapter Eight

I looked over at Simon. "Do you remember any of that?"

Simon thought hard. "I'm not sure. It's like something I dreamed, but..." He shook his head. "That would explain why BOTH of my ears are ragged, and why you have those little scars on your forehead and nose." He hastily said, "But you can scarcely see the top one--your hair has almost grown over it. And the one on your nose makes you look distinguished. It's like... like a dueling scar."

Being German, that tickled my fancy. "So how do you feel about this?"

"Good. I'm one lucky cat to have landed here. The family is great." He grinned at me. "And I have a nice domestic companion."

I snorted. "Domestic companion. Are you saying that we're married, or that I'm your pet?"

"You're a pet, alright." He licked me quickly on the nose, then scampered out of reach before I could retaliate.

I sighed. With a new family member, things were going to be very... dynamic.

Epilogue

Over the next few months there was a log of discussion about the adoption. It turned out that Mom and Dad weren't going to get a little baby. They said that there were a lot of other kids who needed homes, and it would be better to let a young couple without other children have the babies. Gradually we learned that the child was a little girl, about four years old, named Tamika. She'd never had a daddy, and her mother had died about a year ago. Simon and I both commiserated over that. After all, neither of us had ever known our fathers, and while I had my mother with me till she passed away, Simon had lost his. He had little doubt that she was no longer alive. "It's a rough old world out there, Miss Inga, and Mom was already five years old. That's approaching elderly for a street cat."

Finally the day came for Tamika to join us. The whole family went to get her, leaving Simon and I to pace at home. When we heard the sound of them returning we both rushed to the front door. Simon was so excited that he stood on his hind legs and pawed as high as he could. Silly cat. I'd never been able to reach it and I knew he wouldn't either, no matter how much he seemed to be able to stretch.

"Back up!" I ordered. "If you don't, you'll end up with a nose like that Pekingnese down the block." Simon backed up to sit by me, but his tail was lashing with excitement. "Okay, remember--what do we do if there is ear or tail pulling?"

"Call Mom, Dad, or Jacob."

"Biting?"

"Bite back." I looked shocked, and Simon said, "Psych! I yowl and get loose as fast as possible. No teeth, no claws, no time. Inga, I can handle this. Don't I let Jessie stuff me in her Cabbage Patch doll outfits?"

The door opened, and the family entered. All of them were chattering and cooing at the tiny girl that Dad was holding. Mom shut the door and said, "There's the welcoming commitee. I'd almost swear they knew we were bringing her home." Simon and I rolled our eyes at each other. "Go on and set her down, hon. You're going to have to let her walk eventually, and this will be a good time to introduce her to them."

Dad set the little girl on her feet. "I'm not so much worried about Inga and Simon--they're both pretty laid back. But Tamika hasn't been around any animals since she was tiny. I just hope she likes them and isn't afraid of them." Tamika looked at us, the looked at Dad. "It's alright, sweetheart. You can go see them."

She walked toward us hesitantly, a doubtful look on her face, and stopped a couple of feet away. She was a very pretty little girl, but not at all like I'd expected. I'd thought they'd get one with a little family resemblance. Tamika had dark ivory skin and almond shaped dark eyes. Her hair was as slick and shiny black as my own.

She just kept staring at us. Simon whispered, "We better do something to let her know that we have good intentions." Simon purred and waved one paw at her, claws carefully sheathed. I thought a moment, then sat up, waving both my front paws.

Tamika suddenly smiled, her solemn expression disolving. She pointed at Simon and said, "Kitty!" She pointed at me and said, "Doggie!" She pointed at us both and said, "Mine?"

"Ours, sweetie," said Mom.

Tamika threw up both hands and crowed, "Yay!"

I looked at Simon as I sat back down. "I think this is going to work out."

The End