by Alma Jones
I scurried into the house not believing my good luck in not getting a lick from Momma. I bet I have never before nor since, eaten my dinner and gotten my homework so quickly.
Hearing heavy feet coming down the hall, I knew that Daddy was home and that I was in major trouble. Daddy’s temper seemed to be shorter on the days that he had to walk the picket line.
“Your momma told me that you came home through the ‘Never Enter Woods’ this evening. Strange things happen in those woods and I don’t ever want you going in there again! Not ever! Do you hear me, Son?”
“Yes, Sir, Dad, I hear.”
Meoow. Dad looked down and the cat from the woods had dropped a dead mouse at his feet. Dad lost the scowl from his face.
“Well, well! Caught yourself a mouse, did you? You look like you need it more than I do, so you keep it, Momma Cat,” said Dad.
Dad looked at me again with the scowl back on his face and said, “Find something to feed her, Beanie. Then get yourself to bed. You got school in the morning.”
I could not believe my luck in not getting into trouble. I had broken three of Momma’s rules and what did Dad do about it? He calls me his pet name for me that I have not heard since I turned twelve. I guess the guardian angel for twelve-year-olds was working overtime for me today. Boy, was I thankful!
I bent to pick the mouse up off the floor and received a quick, but light, clawing for my trouble. Momma Cat then proceeded to eat the dead mouse right there on the spot. When she finished, she looked at me and rubbed around my ankle purring. I picked up the mouse tail and walked down the hall toward the kitchen muttering, “You didn’t have to scratch me, cat. All you had to do was growl or something. What’s wrong with me, talking to a cat. It’s not like she can understand me!”
“How do you know I can’t? Understand you, that is.”
I whirled around and all I saw in the hall was Momma Cat. I stopped in the den to see if Momma and Daddy had said anything to me but they were out in the front yard discussing something with the Drundell’s from across the street. Whatever they were discussing looked pretty serious because Daddy was in his thinking man’s pose and Momma was waving her hands about. Then all heads turned as one, as Momma pointed toward the “Never Enter Woods.” Well no need to guess anymore what they were discussing.
All heads turned toward our house and they fell in step heading my way. I scurried into the kitchen, scooping Momma Cat up at the same time.
“Now don’t scratch me, but we gotta make this look good.” I gave Momma Cat a saucer of milk and placed the kittens on my old blanket that I had had for the times Squiggley had gotten to come into the house. Momma Cat busily attacked her milk and the kittens, bless their little hearts, stayed curled up with each other.
When the adults came into the kitchen, Momma Cat looked up and let out a pitiful yowl. Then she sprang into action. She leaped past Mrs. Drundell’s foot and crashed headlong into the wall. The grown-ups, with their mouths agape, and me as well, turned our heads to see Momma Cat come proudly back with another mouse in her mouth. This one was alive and squeaking. Momma jumped up in the nearest kitchen chair and Mrs. Drundell ran down the hall. Dad and Mr. Drundell stood spellbound. One was scratching his chin and laughing and the other was scratching his head.
“Looks like you got yourself a mouser, Bob.”
“Yes sirree, a might good one at that! Never known these apartments to be plagued by mice before, nope never before. But if they had to show up, no better time than when a good mouser is around. Yes sirree, no better time.”
Dad scratched his head and gave Momma his, “Aw, baby, it’s not so bad” look. Momma climbed down out of the chair, gave Mr. Drundell a bad glare, and huffed off down the hall.
Momma Cat let go of the mouse and started to play with it by batting it and wouldn’t you know it? Yep! That mouse took off down the hall after my Momma. Such a caterwauling you never heard! I don’t know who was screeching the loudest, but down the hall went the cat, down the hall went my dad, down the hall went Mr. Drundell and down the hall I went.
The cat stopped at my room’s door where all of the caterwauling was coming from. Daddy opened the door. Then he bent over double guffawing loudly. Momma and Mrs. Drundell, both were standing in the middle of my bed with their shoes on still screaming their heads off. Both of them were pointing to the bed. You guessed it—the mouse was under the bed. Never mind the fact that another one of Momma’s rules was being violated. Nobody, but nobody, got into her beds with their shoes on! And standing up in the middle of the bed was unheard of! Momma Cat made a flying leap upon the bed, paused to look at Momma then scrambled off the side of it. Thump! Bump! Claw, Claw! Hissss! Rounnn!
All got quiet and Momma Cat came from under the bed with the mouse in her mouth. Momma said, “Bob, we gotta keep this ugly cat, but the kittens, three weeks!” I could swear that the cat understood Momma because she growled through her mouthful of mouse.
Momma Cat took her prize back to the kitchen and proceeded to eat it right there. All but the tail, that is. That, I had to pick up.
For the next three weeks, not a mouse was seen. Momma Cat settled in with her kittens and life was okay. She let all of us pet and hold her babies except my mom. She swiped at my mom’s foot every time Mom went to sweep close to the clothes basket where her kittens were. Life might have gone on like this for a while, but fate took a hand.
One of the kittens, who had gotten quite playful, ran up to the top of Momma’s sheer curtains—the ones left to her from her mom, my Grandma Bess. Mom swatted at the kitten and it leaped down and broke Momma’s prized lamp. That did it! Mom told Dad that she was going shopping and that when she came back, the only cat that had better be in her house was Momma Cat.
“Aw, Shelby!” said Dad. “You don’t mean that!”
“Don’t you ‘Aw, Shelby,’ me, Bob Higgenbotum. And better yet, take Momma Cat too and drop her off at the vet and have her fixed!”
“Shelby! Not in front of Beanie!”
That pet name again. Momma grabbed her purse, huffed out of the house, and drove off.
Dad caught the kittens and Momma Cat and put Momma Cat in one carrier and the kittens in the other.
Dad let me go with him and we managed to find good homes for the two male kittens quickly. The female kitten took us three hours and twenty-five miles before we did.
I talked to Momma Cat the whole way, even to the trip to the vet’s office. I explained to Momma Cat that when my mom made up her mind about something, not even my dad could get her to change easily.
Momma Cat looked at me so sadly and yowled one long, long bloodcurdling yowl! Then Dad took her into the vet’s office. I could not go in. I just couldn’t! It was like Squiggley all over again.
Six weeks later we went to pick up Momma Cat. She was very docile and looked, to me, to be almost listless. For the next few days, she would not eat. Then one day, Momma put me out of the kitchen and tried to make Momma Cat eat. Let me say that Momma still wears that scar to this day.
We never had another mouse in the house and Momma Cat hated my mom until the day that a garbage truck took the last of her nine lives. I had to scoop her up from the road. She was panting and blood and spittle came out of her mouth.
As she breathed her last, she looked up at me and said, “Take my babies, I’ll teach her!”
Dad said I fainted. I don’t really know. All I know is that sometimes Momma wakes up screaming, “Momma Cat! Momma Cat! It was all I could do!”
Do you think that Momma Cat is haunting Momma?
Animals can’t do things like that.
Or can they?
You decide, but I would be careful in taking a cat’s kittens away from her, especially a cat from the Never Enter Woods! For you never know . you never really know, now do you?
Old Man
McCreavey’s Ghost
Part 1
Stom
p! Stomp! Stomp! Stomp!
Creeeak!
slam!
What was that? thought Mariel. “Hello? Anybody there? Hello?”
“Now what in the world was that?” Mariel muttered to herself.
Can’t be Wally. He left already, didn’t he? she thought. “Wally?” she called as she went to see if his car were still in the drive.
No, car is gone. I’ll call his cell phone, she thought. “Wally, how long ago did you leave? Oh. Well . can you turn around and come back to the house?” she tremblingly asked.
Wally said that he was already in Wal-Mart with several items already in the cart.
“Why? What’s the matter?”
“I heard something.”
“Something like what?”
“Wally, I think I heard footsteps and a door slam.”
“Ha-ha-ha! Don’t tell me Old Man McCreavey’s ghost has come a callin’ early? Ha-ha-ha. Naw, Sis. Just kidding. It was probably some kids that have been using the old place for fun and games. Remember, I told you that Rob mentioned that to me?”
“Yeah. I remember.”
“Well can you come back quickly? I can always finish the shopping tomorrow.”
“Sis, you really are spooked, aren’t you? Okay, I’ll check out as soon as I grab milk, bread, and your Ben and Jerry’s Butter Pecan Ice Cream. I’m on my way, Sis.”
“Okay . yeah, it probably was kids.”
Mariel had been looking for a place that was a fixer-upper for about a year, actually ever since her agent had suggested that she find a place away from the hustle and bustle of the city, to facilitate her writing. She had bought this place because it seemed to exude calmness and welcome. She felt like she was actually coming home, which was ridiculous since she had never set foot in this place before in her life. Anyway! It was great to have a place to call home. And no monthly note, to boot!
She did wonder why the place was so cheap though. She didn’t really buy the real estate agent’s sob story about the family needing to rid themselves of it due to financial hardship. The word around town anyway was that this family owned a good portion of Manhattan. Well, stranger things had happened and she was the recipient of the good fortune generated by the sale.
Whenever she had nothing to do or when she was bored or extremely content, Mariel thought about the chance happenings or strange episodes that had occurred in her life. As she reflected, Mariel thought about that first strange incident. The incident had happened when she was a little bitty girl of no more than three years old. Her china doll had gotten broken. Mariel often thought about how her momma had told her that there was no one there to tell her not to let the toddler hold her doll. Mariel knew what they all said, but she knew better because she used to talk to her “benevolent friend” all the time. As a matter of fact, sometimes in her life, especially when things were going rough, she would wonder where her “benevolent friend” was and why she never got to talk to him anymore. There were some days when she wished she had the benefit of his “fore knowledge” counsel.
Mariel remembered it like it was yesterday .
Episode 1
“Don’t do it! ”, her benevolent friend said. “If you let her hold your doll, she will break it! Don’t do it!”
“Waaaaaa!” screamed the two-year-old while reaching for Mariel’s doll.
“Mariel, let her see it for a minute . just let her hold it,” cajoled Momma.
“No!” said Mariel emphatically and stubbornly.
“You give her that doll and you do it right now! You hear me!”, said Mariel’s mother.
“But I don’t wanna let her hold my dolly! Waaaa!” said Mariel now crying.
Mariel, while crying, handed the doll to the toddler who held it for a few seconds, then accidently dropped it.
“I’m so sorry,” the toddler’s mother said as she picked up the doll and turned it over to hand it back to Mariel, who was crying in earnest by then.
Everyone gasped! The doll, who had had a beautiful china face, now wore a visage that was irreparably marked. The fall had cracked the china doll’s face. Mariel started jumping up and down, stomping, crying, hollering, and screaming, “He told me not to let her hold my doll! He told me! He told me and now she is broken!”
Mariel was inconsolable, even with Momma holding her and rocking her. The lady hurriedly took her toddler and left. Mariel’s sobs finally quietened to a few tears and some hiccups. The china doll lay on the bed with its frozen and cracked smile.
“Will I ever get another one?” Mariel pitifully asked.
“No, you won’t!”
“But why?” Mariel asked still crying softly.
“I told you not to let her see that doll!”
“But if I didn’t, Momma was gonna whip me!” said Mariel with tears coursing down her cheeks.
Her “benevolent friend” hugged her and rocked her as she sobbed. Mariel wiggled in his embrace and tilted her head back to look at him. She said, “You could give me another one if you wanted to.”
“No, I can’t.”
“Don’t you love me anymore?”
“Yes, I do, more than you can ever know! But I cannot give you another doll, it is not allowed.”
Episode 2
Mariel was sitting in church listening to the choir sing “Precious Lord Take My Hand.” She loved that song and always had as far back as she could remember. When the song ended, the preacher got up to deliver his sermon. Mariel always scanned the audience at this time to see people come to rapt attention. Even the kids who liked to giggle and the ladies who sometimes passed notes came to attention. Everybody came to attention when their preacher stood up to preach! Mariel had finished doing her usual quick scan of the audience and was turning her head to give the preacher her full attention as well when…
“Gasp! Momma, Momma, look! She likes the preacher!”
Mariel’s momma popped her in the mouth and gave her the look that all kids understand. The look that said, “If you say another word, you are going to get it when you get home!”
Mariel did not say another word but kept looking at the lady for about ten minutes. Then she gave herself up to listening to the preacher.
“Wake up. Wake up, Mariel, it’s time to go!”
Mariel had fallen asleep with her head on her mother’s shoulder. She awoke and sleepily followed Momma outside to the warm sunny day.
Once outside, Mariel had to scamper to keep up with Momma. Momma always wore a pair of her spiked heels on Sunday and would walk fast on their short walk home from church. Mariel always marveled at the way her momma could strut in those tall spiked heels. It made her proud that she was her momma.
When they got home, Momma sat Mariel down and fussed at her. “Don’t you ever do what you did today again! You hear me?”
“What? You mean about Sis. Bessie liking the preacher?”
“Yes, that’s exactly what I mean! I don’t care if she does like him, don’t you ever do that again, okay?”
“Okay, Momma”
“How do you know she likes him, I mean what made you say a thing like that?”
“Well, Momma, I read the different colored A B C’s that were hanging in the air over her head.”
“You did what?” said Momma.
“I read the writing that was hanging in the air over her head.”
Mariel could see that Momma was shocked by what she had just told her so she said, “Why, Momma? Can’t you read the writing hanging in the air over people’s heads too?”
“Naw, I can’t and nobody else that I know can either!”
“Can’t some of the other people at the church do it too, Momma?” asked Mariel rather solemnly.
“No, they can’t! And don’t you ever embarrass me like that again!”
“Then, Momma, can I still read what’s over their heads if I don’t tell anybody?” Mariel asked shamefacedly.
Mariel’s momma didn’t answer. She just gave her a perplexed loo
k that said, “You are my child and I love you but you are strange.”
Mariel was to remember that look later.
Episode 3
Mariel! Mariel Wiseman!” Momma’s voice broke through Mariel’s reverie. “I declare, child, you and your daydreaming . I want you to go to the store for me. I feel like something extra to eat.”
Mariel looked at her mother askance and said, “And I bet I know what you want to eat.”
“No, you don’t. Okay, my little smarty, what do I want to eat? What am I thinking about right now?”
“Well . you are thinking about a big shiny red apple.”
Gasp! came from Momma.
“And you know what else, Momma?”
“Naw . what?”
“The apple has a stem on it and a leaf attached to the stem!” Mariel said smilingly.
“Don’t you look at me! Don’t you look at me!”, said Momma angrily. “And go sweep the front porch off and the steps! When you finish that, clean out the shrubbery bushes!”
“Momma! You said that was boys work. You said I had to take care of the inside. You said . ouch! What’d you pop me for? I didn’t do nothing.”
Looking perplexed and hurt with tears welling up in her eyes, Mariel went to do as she was told. “I don’t know what she hit me for. I didn’t do nothing,” said Mariel to herself. Mariel wished for the umpteenth time that Wally were home, but he was gone to visit with Uncle Ben and Aunt “B” for the summer. Momma seemed to be harder on her when Wally was not around.
“And don’t you be sassing back to me or I’ll give you more where that came from! You hear me?”
“Yes, Ma’am!”
Episode 4
Since she had finished her work, Mariel stared absently out of the window while she waited for the rest of her classmates to finish. Mariel was just daydreaming about nothing in particular when a movement came into her view. It was a lady walking along the street carrying a bag of groceries. “The bag looks heavy. It surely would be bad if she fell with that bag she is . gasp! ” The lady had fallen! Mariel felt guilty because she had just been thinking that the lady would fall. Mariel decided within herself that she never again would look at a person and think, “What if?” Just in case she had had something to do with the lady falling. She knew she hadn’t, but just in case.