The cat scratches my extended hand when I bend down to check for a tag on the
collar. The claws are razor sharp and don’t draw blood, but I feel the sting. No tag.
Hmmm. I don’t recognize the cat who has been hanging around our five-acre property for
about two weeks, but cats come and go in this area because of living off a busy highway,
if you know what I mean. She is all black with long white whiskers, the longest I have
ever seen on a cat. I can hear her rumbling purr from where I stand over her. It is
intoxicating! I miss having a cat around since our big orange tabby Barney disappeared
while we were remodeling the house last year. Great cat! This one immediately tries to
get in the door and gives me a stink-eye look when she hears the screen door lock snap
shut. I have things to do.
I turn away from the door and make my way to the back of the house to the
kitchen which overlooks the back yard. The yard slopes down towards the pond and I can
see about a dozen mallards paddling around; a couple are up-ended looking for food. Ah,
the peacefulness of the place is what convinced us to buy it two years ago. Our own
pond! It so reminds me of that Chevy Chase movie, Funny Farm. But we don’t have the
crazy liquored-up postman like the movie!
Time to get dinner ready. My husband Stephan will be home in another hour.
During the summer, the sun doesn’t set until almost 10.30pm here in Giliad Maine. Hmmm. I think I will barbecue the chicken, corn on the cob wrapped in bacon and then
wrapped in foil, red potatoes split in half and drizzled in olive oil wrapped in foil too.
Strawberry shortcake for dessert. Put a bottle of white wine in the frig. Set the patio
table for two. Citronella candles or we will eaten up by the bugs!
Meee-OW! That black cat is sitting on the short retaining wall that surrounds the
patio. What a set of pipes she has on her! Meee-OOOOW! She is trying to be friendly,
getting on my good side. She wants to share dinner. I get out one of Barney’s old toys, a
feather on a stick, and play with her for awhile. She seems to enjoy that. She is
someone’s fur child for sure!
The time passes more quickly than I think as my ears catch the sound of Stephan’s
truck turn off the main road. I greet him at the door with a hug and kiss, and the black cat
is does figure 8’s around my legs as I try to keep from falling over her. She greets
Stephan with a resounding Meee-OOW. Stephan looking surprised but pleased, sets his
brief case and a newspaper on the side table in the entry. “And where did you come
hanging around here and if we advertise for a found cat, but no one claims her, how about
if we keep her. I never got over Barney and I really miss having a cat.”
Stephan looks at me with that You-Planned-This look. “Well, what shall we call
her?”
“You sort of named her already. How about Penny, as in Penny’s from Heaven.”
“Penny it is.”
Stephan starts the barbecue then goes in the house to change into comfortable
clothes. Penny follows him in and the two of them disappear up the staircase to the second floor. Wow, she has already made herself at home, quickly becoming best
buddies with my husband. Yeah!
I pick up the paper Stephan brought home, the Portland Mirror. The LA Dodgers
are my favorite team but I don’t dare let anyone know that here. It is hard to get excited
over any pro team because Maine doesn’t have any of its own. Hmmm. Dodgers are
three and a half games ahead. I could never understand that “half” thing.
I hear Stephan coming down the stairs; he is dressed in pajama pants and his
Harvard La Crosse tee shirt, definitely dressed for comfort. Penny is close behind him,
like a shadow. “She was scratching at the wall in the bedroom where we closed off the
door when we remodeled.”
“Well, I know she likes to scratch,” and I show him my sliced up hand.
Stephan looking thoughtful, “No, it’s like she wanted to dig through the wall. It
was weird. I wonder what she was digging for.”
“Probably trying to make her mark on the house already. I hope no one claims
her. No house is complete without a fur child.” Stephan hugs me then picks up Penny,
lays her back in his arm like a baby. She LOVES it. Total trust.
Stephan barbecues dinner and we eat, sharing bits of chicken with Penny. Yes,
like the song--Penny’s from heaven.
Penny insists on sleep in our room, on the bed, firmly wedged between Stephan’s
knees, forcing him to lie on his back. He grins and jokes, “Not tonight, honey.” Then
wiggles his eye brows at me. I kiss him good night and laugh. I reach down to pet Penny
good night and she smacks my hand with her claws extended.
“Whatever did I do to you? I saved your ass, got you in good with the man here, and you smacked me? You need to know who’s boss, kitty cat!” Her eyes glare at me in
the dark.
In my sleep I hear scratching noises. Oh, yeah, Penny. “Stephan, check the cat
and see what she’s doing.” He is dead to the world. I turn on my lamp and see Penny at
the wall, vigorously scratching at one spot. The paint is worn off in a two inch by two
inch patch. “Damn cat!” I get up, grab her and try to sound ferocious with a “BAD
KITTY” as I carry her downstairs with the intention of putting her outside. “No,
Caroline! There has to be a reason she is doing this.” I hear Stephan say from upstairs.
Penny hisses and I drop her. She runs back up the stairs and I follow her up there.
She goes right to the spot on the wall and starts vigorously digging at the same spot. Her
intensity is scaring me but Stephan is entranced with her determination to dig a hole in
this wall.
“What is behind that wall! Want to open it up? Just a hole to satisfy her
curiosity?
I am shocked! “What are you, nuts???”
Stephan says, “There is something in there and we need to find out what it is
because she won’t let us sleep.”
Penny starts cat howling a high pitched MMMMEEEEE OOOOOWWWW! And
is really digging with her claws now. The hole is really getting rough and deeper. Bits of
dry wall dust is on the carpet, in her fur, floating around her. Stephan gets up and goes
downstairs. I hear him banging around in the junk drawer in the kitchen and he is talking
He sits cross legged in front of the digging site and croons to Penny it is going to be alright, daddy is gonna fix it. He starts to chop a hole in the dry wall right where Penny
has been digging.
Stephan takes his hand and pulls little chunks of drywall away, making the hole
bigger. Penny gets her face in the hole and makes little snuffling sounds. I can’t see
anything because they are in the way. “Get me a flashlight,” Stephan says. “There is one
in the spare bedroom closet on the shelf to the left.” I got the flashlight and handed it to
him. He gets on his hands and knees and peers into the hole. “Gotta make it bigger.”
And he chops away more dry wall. Penny puts her head in the hole again and lets loose
with a spine-chilling MMMEEEEOOOOWW! Stephan shines the light in and looks in.
“Oh-my-God-Oh-my-God-Oh-my-God!” He reaches in, makes a grab at something and
pulls out a hand-full of orange fur. “Oh..MY..GOD! IT IS BARNEY!
