Shadow Cat (5) It was one thirty in the morning when Terri and I returned from the party. We had stayed away a little longer than we had planned. The affair was fun. The food and drinks were plentiful. We almost stayed longer but we did not for Derby’s sake. The light was still on in the family room where we had left Derby. The television was still on too. We looked in and saw Derby, unmoving with his eyes closed, in the deep soft chair in front of the television set. On the table next to him stood the crystal glass, empty. The liqueur bottle had almost reached empty too. Derby was in the kind of sleep that comes with being under the influence. We decided to leave Derby undisturbed in the comfortable chair. Terri picked up an afghan blanket to throw over him. I moved to position myself at the ready to turn the television and the lights off. Just as she was about to place the covering over him, Terri eagerly drew my attention to Derby’s lap. “Unbelievable”, I exclaimed. I stared in disbelief at Shadow asleep on Derby’s lap. Shadow dazedly lifted his head in acknowledgement. Then he turned his head downward into Derby’s thighs to resume his sleep. The sight of Shadow on the lap of someone, a man, a stranger, whom he had just met, was puzzling. “How did Derby do it? He is a stranger to that cat!” “You’re not Irish, so how could you see what I perceive?” Terri said with a laugh. She had perhaps one too many at the party. Unsteadily she made a visual and instinctive reading of every corner of the room. “Derby used the gift of Irish. He used guile”, she whispered, “to overcome the communication gap with Shadow. You will of course agree that we Irish are compelling. I’m Irish. You are not.” “Carry on Sherlock, I’m all ears. But spare me the ethnic tweaks of the case before us.” “Right Watson” Terri said and carried on. “If you will look closely, I will unfold, from the visible evidence, how my Irish uncle accomplished the trick. Notice for one thing that there is not one can of opened cat food to be seen.” From our position, we could see the cans as they rested untouched on the counter in the dimly lighted kitchen. “Derby used the dish you see on the floor to draw Shadow near. Derby has used it to lure Shadow. That’s how he did it, my dear Doctor Watson….. My uncle bribed Shadow!” The television and the lights went off. Terri and I went to bed. We left Shadow with Derby to sleep undisturbed. SUNDAY: Early Sunday morning we waved goodbye to Derby as he drove off our driveway. He waved back shouting, “Say goodbye to my wee friend Shadow. God bless!” Derby turned the corner and he was gone. We went into the house heading to the kitchen. I helped Terri with the early breakfast dishes. As we straightened things I talked, as I did most of the day before, about how Derby had conquered Shadow. I had complimented Derby on his accomplishment so much on Saturday, and again this morning, that Terri asked me to turn it off a couple of times. “I can’t get over it. Shadow hasn’t changed as far as I can see. But, there’s no question that Shadow’s behavior with your uncle was totally unexpected. I mean, what Derby achieved in just a few hours is almost miraculous.” “Your stretching the point, aren’t you” Terri said. “Heck no, I am certainly not stretching the point. In the years that we have Shadow have you ever seen any stranger draw him out as Derby has?” “Sit down’, Terri motioned. “I’m about to burst your bubble.” “Burst my bubble?” “Yes. I think it’s the only fair thing for me to do.” “Bubble?…Fair?…. What are you talking about?” “Well, do you remember the dish that was on the floor at my uncle’s feet when we got home early Saturday morning? Did you notice that there was the remainder of cream in the dish?” “Sure. You mean the one in front of the soft chair.” “Precisely. Well, when I got out of bed late Saturday morning, I went downstairs to clean up a little. The dish was still on the floor. When I picked it up I thought it smelled funny. At first I thought it had gone sour. Well, it probably had soured some. But I took a couple of whiffs of it. That’s when I discovered Derby’s secret; his special talent with our Shadow was Irish Cream. He had fed our cat his liqueur.” “Shadow, DRUNK!?” I shouted uncontained. Our village harbor is less than two miles from our home. The span is dense with woods. The village overlooks the bay on our county’s north shore. The view from the harbor is serenely picturesque capturing all the salty charm of the region’s history. Sailors use the deepwater harbor to moor their sailboats. My thirty-foot sloop rig, SEA BREEZE, had a mooring in the center of the harbor. On a sunny morning Terri and I drove down Main Street to the dock. Shadow was in the car with us. We would on occasion take Shadow along on local trips. We did this to exchange dependence with our cat. We never ceased in our continuing efforts to show Shadow attention and care. Most certainly, from Terri’s point of view, Shadow was a member of the family. SEA BREEZE: Terri and I enjoyed the sea air and the view of the harbor water activity. Noticing the prevailing breeze whipping the pennants on board the vessels in the harbor, I suggested that we take the launch to our craft for a brief sail. Shadow of course would join us, as we couldn’t be certain of the duration of a brief sail. Together we boarded the launch on our way to SEA BREEZE. I jumped from the launch onto SEA BREEZE. Turning, I reached out for Shadow and placed him on board. I extended my hand to assist Terri’s boarding when she announced that she would stay with the launch; returning to the dock. “I have other things to do during the afternoon”, she insisted. “You go on with Shadow. “I’ll take public transportation to get home. The car will be at the dock parking facility for your return.” I was not altogether enthused with the prospect of being alone with Shadow on board SEA BREEZE. “Are you sure you won’t change your mind?” “Yes, I’m sure”, Terri replied. “You two go on. This will give you both a chance to become more familiar with each other. Believe me, one day, when you look back on this, you’ll be glad you had the chance to sail with Shadow. “But you know I’m still a little skittish with that cat.” “Don’t worry.”, she said. “Shadow has changed. He is as sweet and as lovable as any domestic cat. You’ve seen the change in him too. Have fun, I’ll see you both later.” SAILING: After sniffing a thorough inspection of the below and upper deck confines of SEA BREEZE, Shadow spread himself comfortably on the main deck. As he lounged on the deck, I sailed on a heading through the harbor’s gateway to open water. My course was always less than one half mile from the shoreline. The wind was perfect. I enjoyed being at the helm tuning the sails. It took an hour to reach the point where the bay and the Sound met. By that time the wind had picked up. The sky had become overcast. Weather on the waters can change abruptly. Meteorological conditions can overtake you with impatience. I decided to turn the vessel about on a heading toward the protection of harbor waters. I didn’t want to gamble with the weather, especially with Shadow aboard. The winds were increasing in intensity. Shadow was clearly uneasy. In fear he scooted down below into the main cabin. In no time he was topside and down to the cabin again. Repeatedly, as he heeded nature’s threat, he dashed about to find a safe place to hide. The wind agitated pennants slapped angrily on the overhead riggings. Sea swells rising and dropping against the hull pitched the boat into unsettling yaws and rolls. I was busy trying to control the situation. I pulled on my starboard jib sheet to turn boat into an appropriate tack. The wind whipped the loose port sheet up in the air catching it on the mast halyard winch. My fore sail could not fully extend. In a flash I leaped from the cockpit to the mast deck, abandoning the wheel, to unravel the line from the winch. Having done so I instantly I jumped back to the cockpit to control the helm. Simultaneously the boat’s position relative to the wind had changed. The main’s boom swung back to my direction catching me hard on the side of my head just as I reached the cockpit. I was dazed from the blow. My eyes moistened. I couldn’t think clearly for a time. When I regained my focus, SEA BREEZE was turned up wind. Her sails luffed aimlessly. I took control of SEA BREEZE and made way toward the harbor. The wind was calm as we approached the mooring. The sun, showing itself again, felt healing. I called below to Shadow. “Shadow boy, where are you?”, I called toward the gangway as I maintained control at the helm. “Come on big guy, everything is under control. You can come up now.” There was no response from Shadow. He did not come above deck. The weather topside was fine now. I called again. Still, there was no response from Shadow. On reaching my mooring I tied up. When completed, I went down below to retrieve Shadow. He was nowhere. I could not find him. He was gone. Unbelieving, I searched the cabin and topside again and again. Shadow was not on the boat! When the launch picked me up I asked if anyone had reported seeing a cat on the waters. HAVE YOU SEEN SHADOW: I was ballistic when I reached my car. The feelings of sorrow and guilt were inescapable. I drove along the shoreline area stopping at every property having proximity to our sailing locations. I made inquiries for a lost cat; a wet cat. No one had seen such a cat on the water's edge. I searched to near exhaustion. I thought of Terri. God, what was I going to tell her. This beautiful day had become a day of tragedy. Our family pet had drowned. Before I started for home I took another drive along the shorefront roads making a visual search of land and water from the car. Finally beaten I decided to drive home. I drove slowly. I did not want to complete this ride. As I turned into my driveway it was almost five o’clock in the afternoon. The garage doors opened automatically. I rolled the car into its berth. The garage doors closed as I exited onto the driveway. Spiritless I walked around to the front of the house to ascend the steps to our front door. As I placed my foot on the first step my gaze elevated upward to the top of the path. There was Shadow. I could not believe what I was seeing. His coat was very wet. He had traveled at least two miles from the harbor waters to his home; our home. Shadow switched his tail from side to side and in excited chatter descended the steps toward me. He spoke to me in his distinctive gargle like prattle that always sounded like someone talking through water. Shadow rubbed his body against my shins as he wove himself affectionately between my legs. Struggling with my emotions I swept him up into my arms. I felt a surge of relief and gratitude. I cradled Shadow as we made the rest of the way up to our front door. In tones apologetic I spewed utterances only a pet would understand. That was the point at which I realized that Shadow’s conversion had made substantial gains. My conversion had made yardage too. I had a dream about Shadow. The core of the dream is that we had a conversation. It sounds crazy, doesn’t it? Shadow and I had a two party discussion. Shadow said something and I replied. I said something and he replied! It was as real as any dream can be. The setting for our encounter was Sunken Meadows shorefront. It is a tranquil place near to our coastline home. I visit there often. In the fantasy, we met as two strangers on a park bench. “Hi” I heard. The sound was the product of the noisy surf, I was certain. I did not acknowledge the greeting. I was unaware of the presence of anyone until a cat quietly jumped onto the far end of my bench. It was hard not to notice the black and white tuxedo cat that had joined me. It was Shadow. I regarded him squarely but with detachment, showing no sign of familiarity. Neither party gave any indication that he knew the other. We were strangers sitting together sharing the beautiful view of the ocean in-let. Once or twice Shadow and I turned to look at each other; possibly to find something to say. But what can a person say to a cat except “kitty, kitty.” On the other hand, a cat can’t say anything so what could I expect. After a while I reached over to pet Shadow. At my touch I heard, “Oh, I thought perhaps you did not hear me.” I turned to look in every direction viewing the full length of the boardwalk. There was no one even close. I did a three hundred and sixty-degree inspection again. Still I saw no one. Turning my focus onto Shadow I felt embarassed because of the impossible thought that occurred to me. Knowing that no human was close enough to hear my utterance, I sheepishly inquired, “was that you?” “Yes! Did I startle you? I’m sorry if I did.” “Well sort of”, I replied. Just then a jogger came toward the bench. He was a young man in excellent condition on his exercise. Before he caught up to our position I hailed, “This is the strangest thing, but this cat talks!” The jogger broke into a run and accelerated, passing the bench as fast as he could. “Oh, he can’t hear me” Shadow said. “How come I can?” “Because you are who you are,” he purrrrr’d. “If that jogger had stopped he would only hear sounds that all humans expect to hear from cats. He would understand you. But, he would not hear the things that you hear.” “Why are you talking to me? Do I know you? Tell me who you are.” “I’d like that” Shadow said. “I need to talk to someone who can understand.” Then he paused for a reflective moment and said, “stop me if I tire you. I’ll begin with my happy days.” “I’m all ears”, I said. “Well” Shadow sighed, “I was born in the woods. My prospects were for a feral life. I was discovered hiding under shrubbery near the entrance of a residential home. It wasn’t very far from where we sit. My rescuers, a caring husband and wife, spotted me. Their names are ‘Terri’ and ‘John Dear’. Quite against my will they snared me as I attempted to steal a taste of a delightful morsel propped to get my attention. I was an irresistable kitten!” “I was caught” he went on. “For a long time, Miss Terri and John Dear and I lived as a family. I bonded well and tightly with Miss Terri. Perhaps because she was female and I am male. It must be said that I bonded tightly with John Dear too. Perhaps because we were both male.” This was a dream and in it I was a stranger conversing with a talking cat. Even though I was familiar with the characters in the scenario, I had no connection with them. “Oh to be sure.” Shadow sighed. “They named me Shadow. I was a totally feral kitten when they first found me. I came from the woods. The name ‘Shadow’, they felt, was appropriate because my whereabouts were always uncertain. I was there one moment and gone in the next. Sometimes I would not show up for days. But I could sense in the very beginning a connection to Miss Terri and John Dear.”
Copyright © 2003 John Caruso |