Ghost Cat - Thelma's Dilemma

by Carol Colbert

  Thelma heard footsteps and peeked out of the box hole. She saw one big brown eye looking at her and then heard a low growl. Oh great, a dog. Then she heard a little girl’s voice calling “Cooper, where did you go?” The big brown eye trotted off and Thelma was left alone again.

  Thelma started bumping the side of the big box, trying to knock it over onto its side, or at least to jar the top of it lose, but no such luck. When she heard the little girl’s voice again, Thelma decided she had no choice but to make her presence known. “Meow” she said, loud as she could. The big brown eye was back and then it was replaced in her view by a big black nose which was sniffing the contents of the box.

  The little girl ran to the box. “What was that, Cooper? Did you hear what I heard?” Then Thelma heard another voice, an older female one. “Suzanne, dinner is ready, wash your hands and sit down at the table.”

  “Mommy, there is someone in the trunk.” Thelma heard louder footsteps so she howled “Meow!” again. This time she was rewarded with the top of the container she was in being opened. Thelma found herself being lifted up into a woman’s arms. “Well look at this, what are you doing in that trunk?”

  “Gertie left us a cat! Can we keep it, mom?” Suzanne begged. Sarah looked at the cat in her arms. “This cat is filthy, she must have somehow been on that expressway when the trunk was. Poor thing.”

  Sarah and Suzanne took Thelma into the kitchen and Sarah put some tuna fish into a little dish along with a bowl of water and then put the dirty white cat down. Not up to my usual standards, but this will have to do. Thelma thought to herself, eating and drinking all that was before her.

  Riley came into the kitchen and saw the new addition and yelled “Dad, mom and Suzanne have a cat in here!” Jim walked into the kitchen and looked at the dirty white cat. “Where did that thing come from?”

  That thing? How rude!

  “It was in the trunk. It is amazing that it survived the trip, she must have crawled in after it fell off the roof. “Sarah said.

  “How is that even possible?” Riley asked. “Maybe Gertie had it in the trunk for us.”

  “Gertie’s son would have mentioned if there were a cat, and he would have never just put it in the trunk. Besides, remember he told us that he did not know what was in the trunk. No, this little critter found its way into the trunk all by itself.” Sarah said.

  “Can we keep her, mom?” Suzanne asked again.

  “If she can get along with Cooper, I guess we will keep her. It does not seem fair to take her to an animal shelter after all she has gone through in that trunk.”

  “I know, we can name her Gertie!” Suzanne yelled out happily.

  Thelma looked around and noticed a fire place in the living room with a nice fire in it. She went over and laid down in front of it and left the humans to their discussion. Her belly was full and the warmth from the fire was very inviting after the shivering cold of the trunk. I’ll figure this out later. Thelma thought, right before she fell asleep.

  Thelma dreamed she was back home at her house in Enchanted. She was on a massage table and all of her sore muscles were being kneaded and soothed out of her eighty five year old body. She awoke with a start when water was splashed on her head. The little girl was giving her a bath in the sink. Thelma started to jump down, but decided that the warm water and being stroked felt good. Thelma purred and was rewarded with more massaging. She was then put in a fluffy towel and carried to the couch where the little girl sat down and hugged her.

  “Mommy said we could keep you as long as you don’t fight with Cooper. We don’t know what your name is, so I am naming you Gertie on account of you being in the trunk that Gertie gave us when she got dead.” Suzanne explained to her new pet. “I hope you like your new name and new family. I will take good care of you, I promise!”

  Thelma purred at the name the little girl had just given her, it brought her comfort somehow. Thelma looked over and saw that Cooper was watching her very closely. She had not yet tried to communicate with the puppy one on one because thus far the humans were always around. She didn’t know how far the van had driven her from the point where she had crawled into the trunk because she had been sleeping. She also had no clue to how she was going to get back home.

  Thelma was fascinated with her surroundings. There were things here that she had never seen in Enchanted. She laid in Suzanne’s lap and watched the big screen thing they called a television. She was mesmerized by the images she saw on the screen and found everything on it very interesting. When she saw a woman climbing into a vehicle who had on a blue dress and a very large backside Thelma jumped and meowed. She had thought it was her sister, Luna.

  “What is it, girl? Are you O.K.?” Riley reached over and petted the cat. “I don’t like that girl either, her singing sucks sometimes.”

  Thelma missed Luna and even missed Hugo, Luna’s husband. Every year around this time the three of them would leave Enchanted for the winter. They worked hard all year ensuring the human inhabitants of Enchanted were all secure and happy. Luna and Thelma had been riding on Hugo’s back, he was in big buck deer form then. I bet Luna turned in her sleep and knocked me off with that big butt of hers.

  Thelma remembered walking through the forest looking for her sister and Hugo and then coming across the expressway to the exit that brought their guests. It was a very special exit, one that was not always visible.

  “I have to remember to call Dr. Rogers tomorrow and get Gertie into the office for a checkup. I want to make sure she is healthy and is up to date on her shots.” Sarah said, talking to her husband.

  Shots? Oh no- no- no. Thelma thought. She looked at Sarah and wanted to hiss at her and let her displeasure be known, but she thought better of that action. They might get rid of her if she scratched one of them.

  The next morning all of the humans left. The father left first and then an hour later Suzanne and Riley petted her and the mother gave her food and water and told her that she would be back in a couple of hours. Thelma sat on the windowsill watching the van that had brought her to this house slowly back out into the street.

  Finally! Cooper watched the new cat as she jumped down from the window. Thelma stretched and ran in circles for a moment, blue mist forming around her. Cooper blinked his eyes when he saw that the cat was now as tall as his people. Cooper growled at Thelma.

  “BOO!” Thelma yelled and then laughed when she saw Cooper run from the room as if his tail was on fire. She had watched carefully what the humans did to make the television work and she turned it on. She then walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator.

  Thelma made herself a breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast, coffee and bacon. She noticed Cooper peeking into the kitchen after a while. “Come here, Cooper, I won’t hurt you. Are you hungry?”

  Cooper was still afraid, but the smell of bacon was too good to pass up so he trotted into the kitchen and sat at Thelma’s feet. Thelma petted him and gave him a piece.

  “Can you talk, Cooper? Can you understand me when I talk?” She asked. Cooper growled, ‘grrrrrrr, momma!” “Oh my. Well, no, I am not your momma, Cooper. Do you know any other words?”

  Cooper tilted his head and studied Thelma. He looked as if he very much wanted to communicate with her, but no more words came out of his mouth. He then ran out of the kitchen and came back with a toy in his mouth and laid it at Thelma’s feet as a peace offering.

  Thelma picked up the puppy and walked to the living room and sat on the couch. “I wish you could talk, little friend. I need to know where I am and how I can get back home where I belong.” She said.

  The man on the television said they were going to give local weather conditions after the commercial break. Thelma poured herself another cup of coffee and waited. She watched closely as the television showed a map of what looked like a big mitten. She was able to gage where she was and was disheartened to see how far from home she had traveled.

  The telephone rang and it startled Thelma. The onl
y place that had telephones in Enchanted was the hotel, and that only connected the rooms there and the front desk. The village had a system of bells set up where they rang at certain intervals, like the one which signaled that school was over for the day. Telephones were not forbidden in Enchanted, they just didn’t see a big need for them.

  Thelma listened as the telephone machine talked. “This is Rosanna from Dr. Roger’s office calling in regards to an appointment for your cat, Gertie that you called about.”

  Thelma picked up the phone “Yes, about that cat, we are going out of town and have found a new home for the little darling, so we won’t be needing your services after all, but thank you for calling.” Thelma told the woman on the phone.

  “Thank you for letting us know, Mrs. Gaunter, Cooper looks like he is up to date on all of his shots too. Call us if you have a change of plans for your new cat. Have a good day.” The lady from Dr. Roger’s office said.

  “You too, dear.” Thelma said and then hung up. “One problem down. Thelma studied the phone and noticed the telephone number on it. She dialed and when the answering device recording came on immediately she said “This is Dr. Roger’s office calling for Mrs. Gaunter. We will be closed for the next two weeks, please give us a call after that time. Thank you.” She then hung up. “That should work.” Thelma said to Cooper.

  Chapter 3

  Thelma watched the television until she saw the van pulling into the drive way. She turned off the television and then spun around several times, the blue mist appearing and once again Thelma was in kitty cat form.

  Sarah came into the house carrying groceries. She smiled when she saw that Thelma and Cooper were there to meet her at the door. “Hello you two, looks like you haven’t been fighting, that is a good start.” Sarah then opened one of the bags she was carrying and tossed a treat to each of them. When Sarah turned her head Thelma kicked the treat she was given over to Cooper. Cooper apparently didn’t care that the treat was for cats, he gobbled it up in one bite.

  Sarah put away the groceries and then walked over to the computer. Thelma jumped up to sit next to her on the desk. Sarah put her back onto the floor, but Thelma just jumped up again. “Gertie, you want to help me search?” Sarah said. Sarah clicked on several websites and Thelma sat there watching. She was very interested in the computer.

  The phone rang and Sarah got up to answer it. She was talking to her husband when Thelma heard her say “I was just on the computer and there was an accident right there where we lost the trunk that night. Yes, right on the Kentucky/Tennessee border. Looked like a bad accident too. They should do something about that stretch of road, the way the rocks jut out like they do. What time will you be home for dinner? O.K. hon, see you later.”

  That conversation caught Thelma’s attention. She studied the computer screen and right there in plain sight was the area where Thelma had entered the expressway. Thelma stared at the image and then moved closer to the screen for a closer look. She always knew that was the area which brought people to Enchanted who needed her and Luna’s intervention, but now Thelma was remembering something else.

  Two very young girls walking with their mother over big boulders and being told to watch out for falling rocks. Thelma could not remember why they were there, just that they walked a very long way. They had not been afraid, they walked with a purpose, their mother knowing where they were headed even though the two little girls did not.

  “Grrrr, momma!” Thelma looked over at the puppy, wondering why he would talk in front of his humans. “Good, Cooper, I have to teach you some more words. How about Daddy? Daddy, Daddy, Daddy.” Sarah said to the little dog who just tilted his head and looked at her and said nothing.

  Sarah sat back down at the computer and Thelma swiped her paw over the screen. “You like that picture, Gertie? It is very pretty, but sad about those cars being wrecked.”

  “Meow” Thelma answered. Sarah smiled at Thelma and petted her head, “It is almost as if you can understand me, sweetheart.” “Meow” Thelma answered.

  Sarah clicked on other webpages that had mostly recipes so Thelma jumped down and went back to the fireplace to lay down and think. She had been watching Sarah very carefully how to work the computer and she was anxious to try it out for herself, but would have to wait until she was alone in the house again. She wished Cooper could talk to her, he could be a lot of help if he could. Unfortunately, not all animals could communicate that way with others.

  Sarah left for a few minutes to pick up her daughters from school. Thelma knew that she would be back soon, so she stayed in cat form and sat in the window. Suzanne and Riley ran through the door. Riley went right to the refrigerator and Suzanne came for Thelma.

  “Hi Gertie!” Suzanne said, squeezing Thelma too tightly. “I missed you, did you miss me?”

  Sarah set out a glass of milk and a plate of cookies for the girls to enjoy. “How much homework do you have tonight?” She asked them. Both girls mumbled something that Sarah could not understand.

  “Let’s put it this way, if we can get done with all of your homework in time, maybe we will have more time before daddy gets home to go through the rest of the stuff in the trunk.”

  That had the girls scrambling for their book bags. Thelma watched from the couch in the living room. She didn’t have much interest in the trunk, it had served its purpose in keeping her warm, but she had nothing else to do, so she figured she would follow them out to the garage and check it out as well.

  After the homework was done and checked, Suzanne said “Can we look in the trunk now?” “Finish putting away your homework and then we can look.” Their mother said. “What if there is another cat in there?” Suzanne asked. “If there is, can we keep that one too?”

  “If there is another cat in there, it would be dead by now, dummy.” Riley told her sister. Suzanne went and picked up Thelma. “I am so glad we found you and you were not dead.” Suzanne said, carrying Thelma out to the garage.

  They waited patiently while their mother took items out one by one. “This trunk is bigger than I thought it was.” Sarah said. She pulled out a journal, but did not open it. She saw something shinny and picked it up. It was a ruby ring. “This is beautiful.” Sarah said, holding it up for the girls to see.

  “Can I have it?” Riley asked immediately, before Suzanne could call dibs. “I think I will keep this one for myself. We don’t know how old it is, but I am guessing it has to be pretty old to be in the trunk.” Sarah pulled out a large envelope full of papers and documents. She put them aside to go through at a later date. In a separate envelope was a picture of Gertie with two little girls who both looked to be under six years old. “I wonder who those little girls are.” Sarah thought out loud. “Far as I ever knew, Don was her only child.

  Tucked in the corner of the trunk were pieces of cloth and a few aprons, and a few more pictures. “I still don’t understand why Gertie wanted us to have this trunk.” Sarah said. It is going to take time to go through all of those papers. I hope there isn’t anything in here that Don will need.”

  Riley said. “Could be, but then again, why us? Why not leave everything to Don?”

  “Did Don ever have a wife or kids, mom?” Suzanne asked. “Good question, Suzanne. As far as I know, he never married. But we only knew them about six years, I really could not say with any certainty anything about Don, or really about Gertie either, except that she was a loving woman and a real fun character.”

  Sarah and Riley scooted the trunk to the corner of the garage and Sarah carried the envelopes and pictures into the house. “Dad will be home soon, I should get started on dinner.” Sarah said, placing the paperwork into the desk in the den.

  Riley went to her bedroom and Suzanne turned on the television. Sarah was in the kitchen starting dinner. Thelma jumped on the desk and tried to see what sort of documents there were there. Not that she cared all that much but she was bored since Suzanne had cartoons on the television. Thelma swatted an envelope out of the way
. She wanted to look at the pictures, but when she pushed another envelope out of her way, everything fell on the floor. Thelma was just about to go through them when little arms picked her up and carried her to the couch.

  “Gertie, you knocked everything on the floor, silly kitty.” Suzanne said.

  Jim came home from work and the family sat down to a dinner consisting of salad, lasagna and garlic bread. Thelma’s mouth was watering. She hadn’t had lasagna in a long time.

  “Daddy, we went through the rest of the stuff in the trunk today.” Riley told her father. “Yeah, but there wasn’t any more cats in there.” Suzanne added.

  “Find anything interesting?” Jim asked.

  “Well, Gertie was over one hundred years old, so everything in the trunk is interesting to me. We did find a beautiful ruby ring, some pictures and more papers.” Sarah told Jim.

  Thelma’s ears perked up when she heard how old Gertie had been. “The girls and I were wondering about Gertie’s son, Don. I don’t think I ever heard that he ever married or had kids, did you know if he did?” Sarah asked. “I didn’t hear anything at the memorial service about that, not that I was paying all that much attention. Wouldn’t Gertie’s death notice mention if he had?”

  “Good point. Gertie was cremated, but there should be a notice that was posted in their local newspaper. I think I will check that out. Odd how we lived next to Gertie for six years and how little we actually knew about her.”

  After dinner Sarah went on line to see if she could locate a death notice for Gertie in her local newspaper. She found a big write up about how much Gertie meant to her community and how much she would be missed. Gertie was something of a local hero. Sarah had known that Gertie baked cookies and made chocolate candies for local schools, but she had not known that Gertie had also donated to quite a few charities. Gertie Enchanter was quite a woman. “Jim, look at this.”