Show Time For Cat

One day Thomas stood at the window overlooking a neighbor’s house. “Come quickly,” he called. I ran over and stood next to him, looking out. He pointed to a small black-and-white kitten we’d never seen before frolicking in the garden. The energetic darling was making such a fuss, jumping high to catch a squirrel scampering up a tree trunk, darting between flower bushes and having a…well…raucous time in the garden. Thomas was mesmerized, laughing at the entertainment. The next few mornings it was show time for the cat, and Thomas was the audience. Afterward, Thomas would return to his piano and play with renewed concentration.

One morning Thomas got dressed and said, “Let’s go outside and find the kitten.”

“I don’t think so,” I replied. “You know stray city cats aren’t very friendly.”

But Thomas was already out the door, and I was trailing behind him. When he reached the neighbor’s yard, the kitten – from nowhere – came bounding into his arms. Thomas just laughed as the kitten nibbled up against his face. It was as if these strangers were old friends.

Day after day, Thomas would go out to greet the kitten. One day he learned that our building superintendent had adopted the kitten and let her wander in the basement. That became the new rendezvous for Thomas and the kitten, now named Moi by our super’s children. “We don’t know where she came from,” the kids said while feeding her milk.

The leaves started falling off the trees, then came Christmas and blustering snows. Thomas was walking more slowly now, but having his friend in the basement somehow made things easier. Moi was becoming a very special presence to both of us, and we talked about keeping her ourselves. But life was too erratic now; we first had to get Thomas’s health and strength back.