by Terri Cabral
Chapter 11: Back Home
In the spring, Ana and I moved into Belinda’s house. Grandpa said she could take care of it for a while. I was happy to be in my old home. Standing in the doorway, Ana looked around the living room. I was at her feet.
“Well, Thisbe, I guess you’re home again. It feels very strange not seeing Aunt Belinda here. I still feel her presence.”
I looked toward the fireplace and saw Arturo and Belinda standing there and smiling. They looked so happy and young. I ran over to them.
“Meow…you’re here. Ana can feel you. I knew you would be here. Are you going to stay?”
Ana watched me walk around the fireplace area talking to them. I didn’t care. I knew Ana could feel them there.
“What are you doing, Thisbe? Are you talking to them? Are they here? I feel something. Bon dia, Tio Arturo and Tia Belinda!”
Belinda smiled. “Thisbe, Ana senses us. We’re so glad you two moved in here. We just came by to wish you well. We are going away for a while but will come by now and then just to check up on you two. Goodbye querida. Have fun in your old home!”
Arturo added, “Goodbye, little gato, and welcome home.”
They vanished. I turned to Ana and said, “Meow…Ana…Arturo and Belinda wish us well.”
Ana smiled, “You look happy, Thisbe. Come on, sweetie, let’s go get settled in. The moving men will be here with a few pieces of my furniture from storage. I want my desk and bed but I’ll use the rest of Aunt Belinda’s furniture. I’m going to unpack.”
I know Ana felt at home in the little house and I was glad to be back in my old home. I explored around and found all of my favorite spots. They were right where I left them. I want to go out and find some of my old friends but I’m not sure Ana will let me out of the house.
Ana was unpacking in the bedroom when she noticed me sitting by the back door.
“I suppose you want to go out and see all your friends. It’s been a few years since you’ve been out there. Are you sure you are ready to face it? Some of them may not be here anymore.”
I’m sure! I want to see my old yard and meet all the new birds in the neighborhood. I wonder if Butch is still next door. I waited patiently for Ana to open the door.
Relenting, Ana said, “Okay, Thisbe, you’re wearing your collar. Don’t go too far away. Go out and visit your old friends.”
She opened the back door. I bounded down the two small stairs into the yard. I want to see if there are any birds in the area that I know. I looked up but could not see any birds. Perhaps they are all down at the stream. I started to go to the back yard but noticed the garden was over grown. Oh-oh…There is a fence at the end of the garden. Behind the fence the land had been torn up and a house was being built. Oh no! My old neighborhood has changed. I started to walk toward the yard where Butch lived when I heard barking. It sounds like Butch. I cautiously crept to the yard and saw Butch standing by the tree. He appeared to be barking at something in his backyard. I was overjoyed to find my old friend. I ran over to him.
“Hi Butch, it’s Thisbe. How are you?”
A surprised Butch exclaimed, “HELLO Thisbe! How are you? It’s been a very long time! Where have you been?”
I noticed many white hairs around his once all-black nose.
“Well, I’ve had quite a few adventures since I last saw you. Do you want to hear some?”
Butch laughed and said, “Sure, come on over and sit by me. Tell me your stories. I was trying to scare off some rabbit back there but your stories are more entertaining!”
We settled down near Butch’s tree. I began to tell my stories of my life in Michigan, my experience on the stage and my friends, Bronson, Polly and all the others. Butch was most impressed with the story of the eagle.
“You amaze me, girl! For a tiny cat, you sure have a lot of spunk. You are truly extraordinary!”
I laughed. We continued to play catch up with our lives until the sun began to set. I said, “Looks like it is getting dark, I’d better get back to the house. Ana might be worried. Good to see you again, Butch. I’ll come by and visit again. Good-night!”
“Good-night, Thisbe. Good to see you again. Come by anytime!”
I stood up, stretched then trotted happily towards my house. Ana was sitting out on the patio. She saw me coming towards her, “There you are. You look very pleased. Did you meet up with some friends? Come here and keep me company. Are you hungry? Perhaps we should go in and get something to eat, yes?” I was hungry so I ran to the front door.
Ana laughed “I guess that means yes.”
Spring continued to bloom in the yard. Ana noticed that much of the yard had been neglected for the past few years so when she was home would work in the gardens like Belinda used to do. I helped Ana weed like I once helped Belinda.
One evening Peter arrived with Duchess. Ana lit a fire in the fireplace. Peter and Ana sat in the chairs by the fire and chatted for hours. Duchess and I curled up on the furry black rug in front of the fire. It felt nice and warm. The evenings were still chilly in the New England spring and a blazing fire made the room very cozy.
Duchess whispered so as not to disturb Peter and Ana, “How has it been coming back to your old house?”
I replied, “I love it. I haven’t been to the old pond yet. It looks like people are building a house behind our garden. I’ve gone next door and spoken with my friend Butch. My friend, Duke, another dog, lived across the big road but Butch told me his family moved away.”
Duchess sighed, “It’s been very quiet around the house since you left. Peter takes me out for walks but I have no one to talk to anymore! I miss you.”
I said, “Maybe you could try to let Peter leave you here for a few days to visit. We could explore the area together.”
Duchess perked up, “Maybe I could! He might be leaving soon, I heard him talking on the phone. He could leave me here. I don’t want to go to a kennel again.”
Peter got up and called his dog, “Come on Duchess, time to go home. I think you’ll be spending time with Aunty Ana and Thisbe. I have to go away for a little while. Ana has graciously offered to let you stay here. Ana, I’ll drop her off in a few days.”
Duchess smiled at me and I returned the smile. Soon I would have my old friend back to share some new adventures.
A few days later, Peter returned to our house with Duchess. I was very happy to see her. I greeted my houseguest with a friendly nose kiss then we ran down the front stairs and out into the yard.
I ran ahead. I wanted to show Duchess a shortcut to the old stream. We found a hole in the fence behind the garden and were able to squeeze through. We made our way through the overgrown weeds. We had to pass some more houses but the stream was still there. It was smaller than it was years ago. I noticed more trash floating in the water. I wasn’t at the pond yet but I had to wait for Duchess to catch up. Panting, Duchess caught up to me and asked, “Where are we going? You are running so fast!”
I said, “Sorry, Duchess, I was so excited to come down here I forgot you don’t know the way. We’re going to the pond to see if any of my old friends are still living there. I haven’t gone down there yet. I wanted to bring you with me.”
I made my way along the stream careful not to get too close to the edge. Suddenly a squirrel leaped in front of me. “Why is it Joe or Jim? You two are hard to tell apart!”
The little squirrel giggled, “Hello Thisbe! Long time no see! Where ya been? I’m the one you called Joe, Jim’s up in the tree. You got a new friend? Hi! Whachya name?” Joe prattled on so fast Duchess could hardly understand him.
Duchess took a deep breath and said, “Wow! You sure talk fast!”
Joe chortled, “Ah, it’s not as fast as my brother. Yo brother, come here! It’s Thisbe!” The squirrel I named Jim scrambled down the tree and stopped in front of me.
“Tibs, kiddo, been dunked in any water lately?” That sent the two squirrels into fits of laughter. I just shook my head and looked at the puzzled
Duchess.
“They are laughing at something that happened so many years ago. I accidentally fell into the stream and came out soaking wet. These two nearly busted a gut laughing. Apparently they still remember it. Not much happens in their dull lives, I guess. Well boys, I’m so glad I made your day. Is Timmy the Turtle still down by the pond?”
Through a couple of snorts the two squirrels replied in unison,” He sure is. Has a whole family down there. He’ll be happy to see you. Be careful near the stream!” The two scampered away as quickly as they arrived.
Duchess trotted behind me, “Those two squirrels are crazy! The squirrels in Mrs. Radisson’s yard were normal.”
I laughed and continued my way toward the pond. As I approached the edge of the pond I saw a familiar face. It was Timmy the Turtle and he had a smaller female by his side. He saw me coming toward them and called out, “Why is that you, Thisbe? My goodness! Hello! Good to see you! It’s been a long time! Where have you been? You have to meet my family.”
Timmy introduced me to his mate and children and I introduced Duchess to everyone. We all had a grand visit catching up on life. I had all my adventures to tell.
Timmy told all the news about the pond. “Oh Thisbe those monster machines are back eating up our new pond. Remember how they destroyed the old pond? Now they are wrecking this one.”
Timmy said sadly, “I watched all my favorite areas of the pond disappear. It was very sad for all the animals living around here. Some were killed by those big monsters and some just moved away. I’m going to leave soon. I’m afraid for my family.”
I was concerned for all my friends. “What happened to Maynard and Millie?”
“Oh, they were the first ones to leave. After Millie lost another baby to a human, they flew away. I don’t know where they are now. My family is the only one left. The pond is getting dirty and living areas are becoming scarce.”
We talked for a long time. I noted the peace and quiet of the old pond had been replaced by the noise of those big machines. It’s very sad. My old neighborhood is not the same. After a while we all said good-bye, knowing it was probably the last time we would see each other.
It was a slower walk home. I was very quiet, remembering my old stream, my old friend Chipper and how sad it was for Timmy and his family. I turned to Duchess, who was following close behind, “Duchess, I don’t think we’ll come down to the pond again. It’s too sad here. I think we’ll stay in our own back yard. I don’t want to remember my favorite areas like this. I’d rather remember them as they used to be.” Duchess nodded and followed me home.
The next few weeks were quiet for us. We slept either in the house on rainy days or out in the yard on sunny days. The birds still frequented the trees in the yard and I enjoyed their songs. I still miss my old friend Chipper. It seems so long ago. Occasionally, we went over to Butch’s house to visit. He seemed to like Duchess and she got along well with him.
Peter eventually returned to pick up Duchess. He quickly gathered up her belongings and thanked Ana. Duchess followed him down the steps. She turned and looked at me.
“Good bye Thisbe. I’ll be back again.”
I was sad to see my friend leave. “I’ll miss you Duchess. Come back soon.”
I celebrated my birthday at the end of the summer. Duchess and Peter came to the party. I received a new food dish and a catnip toy. Ana made an egg, cheese and linguica dinner for Duchess and me. We all enjoyed a bit of vanilla ice cream for dessert.
Autumn was just around the corner. I sat in the window observing the yard. This is the time for gathering the garden vegetables and cleaning up the weeds from the gardens.
On the days Ana didn’t go to work, I helped her in the garden. I remembered how to pull up the weeds and make them into a pile. I was looking forward to the falling leaves. I remembered when Belinda would play in the piles of leaves with me. I hoped Ana would rake up piles of leaves like Belinda used to do. I loved playing in them.
The yard was brilliant with autumn color. Ana did rake leaves. There were hundreds all over the lawn. I ran in and out of the leaf piles scattering leaves in all directions. Ana, like Belinda, laughed and threw leaves at me as I ran past. We both had a marvelous time.
The holidays were just around the corner and it was always a festive time around the house. I loved the Halloween decorations, especially the pictures of the black cats Ana put up on the windows. They reminded me of Thomas.
After Thanksgiving, Ana decided to throw a Holiday Party in honor of Belinda and Arturo and invite their old friends. Everyone came to the party bringing their favorite dishes. Ana decorated with all of Belinda’s old Christmas decorations. She also decorated Arturo’s favorite chair so that no one sat in it.
Ana told Belinda’s friend Gary, “I set it as a shrine to them both. I loved them and I know they are both here in spirit enjoying the party.”
I sat by the chair because both Arturo and Belinda were there. Arturo stood behind his chair and Belinda sat in it. Belinda said, “Ana does us such an honor. I am so glad she had this party. Look Arturo, all of our friends are here. We had so many good friends. Happy Holidays, Thisbe!”
Meow…happy holidays to you too! I’m glad you are here.”
The winter was very snowy. Ana said it was the year of too many snow storms. I sat in the window and watched the white flakes blow around outside. At least it’s warm in here. I wish Duchess was here. With Ana away all day at work, it gets a little lonely.
In the next few days, I got my wish. On the only sunny day of February, Peter brought Duchess for a visit and we spent time catching up in front of a blazing fire. Duchess had lots of news to report.
She couldn’t contain herself, “Oh Thisbe, New York was so exciting. We lived in a hotel and all the people in the hotel brought me treats and presents all the time. Peter took me to the theatre every day and I watched rehearsals. It was so much fun! They even let me be in part of the show. They needed a dog to walk on and look lost. Guess what? I was chosen. It reminded me of your story about your show. We had so much fun. How was your time here?”
I laughed, “It sounds like you had a lot of fun. Ana and I played in the leaves and took care of the gardens but I found it rather quiet. We had a holiday party. Arturo and Belinda came to the party.”
Duchess was wide-eyed, “You saw them? Did they say anything? Was it like seeing Emma and her husband?”
“They are very happy. They told me all my friends on the other side are watching me and that they all say ‘hello’. It’s good to hear from my friends there.”
Duchess was in awe, “So where is ‘there’ and where do we go when we die? I hear Peter talk about people dying and how sad he is about it but I wonder where we go?”
I thought about it for a while and said, “Well, I think we must go some place where we don’t suffer anymore. It seems a happy place. Belinda was sick before she died but when I saw her with Arturo she looked like her old self, maybe even younger! Arturo told me that my Mama is well. Also, my friend, Muffin, isn’t sick anymore. I guess when we die we get better. Thomas, my dearest friend, isn’t deaf anymore. So everyone gets better when they die. I’m fifteen years old. I’ve thought about how long I am going to live. Do you think Ana will miss me?”
Duchess was getting older too. She cried, “I will miss you! I wonder how long I will be here.”
I heard Peter tell Ana he and Duchess had to leave.
Peter and Duchess said good night and headed out the door into the snowy night.
Ana called out, “Drive carefully! Call me when you get home! I want to make sure you arrived safely!”
Ana closed the door. It was a blustery, winter night but we were warm and snuggly inside our little cottage.
Peter brought Duchess to our house a few days later. He went away somewhere so Duchess and I spent the rest of the winter together talking or napping in front of the fireplace. Once the snow melted, we were able to go out during the day and visit with Butch next
door. Peter was gone for a long time so Duchess was around for the annual spring planting. Summer arrived and Duchess was still a house guest. We spent most of the summer days out in the yard. Ana made sure we had food and water out on the shaded back porch because she was always working late hours.
By mid-summer, there was a new cat in the neighborhood. Known throughout the neighborhood as Mooch, he was a large all-white cat with a black streak on his head and he lived up to his name.
One morning, he trotted over to my yard on the pretense of making new friends. “Hello! I thought I’d come over and say hi! How are ya? You two live here?” I knew his game as I spied him a few times nibbling from my food bowl.
“Hi Mooch! Yes, we live here. Sorry! No food today so maybe you can mooch off of Butch or someone else.”
Mooch pretended to take offense, “What? ME? Mooch, I resent the name. Ah...my name is…Mitch.”
I laughed. “HA! I’ve heard the people next door call you Mooch.”
Duchess laughed and chased him away. He ran as fast as he could up the tree hissing at the cocker spaniel. “Leave me alone you loud mouth dog, I’ll get you. I’ll…I’ll scratch your eyes out!”
Duchess laughed then said to me, “Let’s go finish our lunch before Mooch gets to it.” We wandered around to the back porch but as we approached we saw a strange new animal finishing off the last of Duchess’ food. He looked up startled and immediately stood up on his back legs, ready for a fight. He was a brownish color with black stripes and it looked like he had on black glasses. I’ve seen Ana wear her sunglasses and this animal looked like he had on glasses.
Duchess was as startled. I had met many strange new animals and immediately extended a welcome to the new animal, “Hello! My name is Thisbe and this is Duchess. We live here. That was our lunch but I guess you were pretty hungry. What kind of animal are you? Do you have a name?”
The poor animal didn’t know what to say or do. He was surprised at my kindness. He wasn’t sure about Duchess, “A….a…hi...sorry, really sorry about the lunch. I was very hungry. Slim pickin’s these days in the garbage. Uh...animal? Humans call me a raccoon…and….my name? Ah…I don’t know. What’s a name?”
I said, “Something someone calls you. People and animals know me as Thisbe. What can I call you?”
“I used to steal my brother’s food. My mother called me a little bandit.”
I asked the raccoon, “Do you mind if we call you Bandit?”
He looked at me and said, “No call me what you want. Hey dog, you’re not going to bite me are ya?”
Duchess took a moment to absorb the situation and suddenly realized the raccoon was speaking to her. She shook her head and said, “No, I won’t bite you but I wish you hadn’t eaten my food. I’m hungry.”
“I’m really sorry that I ate your food. Can I go get you something else? I could rummage though the neighborhood and see if there is some good food available…a bone maybe?”
Duchess shook it off, “Don’t worry, I won’t die. Ana should be home soon. I’ll be fine.”
Bandit sighed and said, “Ya sure? Wow, you’re such great dog! Usually dogs try to bite me.” He smiled and said, “Well, uh…guess you two know the area pretty well, eh? How about the dog next door? He’s a beast, huh? Nearly chewed my tail off one day!”
I laughed and said, “No, he’s really a nice guy as long as you are not a rabbit, mole, and gopher or …a raccoon, I guess. Well, Bandit, I’ll put in a good word for you next door but I recommend that you don’t steal or eat his food! I’ll make sure he doesn’t try to chew your tail off again. If you hang around, I bet Ana will leave some food out for you. She loves all animals.”
“What’s Ana?” replied the curious Bandit.
“She’s my human mom who lives here. She’ll be home in a little while.”
“Human? Those things always chase me away.”
I had to laugh, “Not this human, stick around and we’ll show you.”
We sat on the back porch talking until I heard Ana’s car pull up, “There’s Ana now. If you stay here she will see you and give you some food.”
Ana walked around to the back porch and saw the little raccoon, “Oh you are cute. Good thing these guys have had their rabies shots. Are you hungry? Duchess looks hungry! Down girl, I’ll get you guys some food and then I’ll join you out here, It’s a lovely night. I have a friend coming over tonight to join me for dinner. I think you’ll like him. He loves cats and dogs.”
Ana went inside and brought out Duchess’ food, my food and some fruit for the raccoon. “Here you go, kids. I’ll be out in a few.”
We dove into our respective food bowls as we were all pretty hungry.
Ana came out in a little while and set two places on the patio table, then brought out her food. Just then a car pulled up and a man got out. He came up to Ana and gave her a hug and said, “Hey, girl, I’m starved. I brought something for ‘chilling’.”
They spent the rest of the evening out on the patio talking, laughing, eating and drinking. I thought he is a nice man. He left later that night after helping Ana clean up. Ana shut the patio lights off and said, “Come on kids, time to go to bed.” Bandit left a while ago. Duchess and I followed Ana into the house, “Did you like Robbie? We’ve been involved in theatre together for years. He’s working part-time at the vet’s office. You’ll get to see him when we go there. Come on to bed kids.”