Ghost Cat - Thelma's Dilemma
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Suzanne finally let Thelma go when she got up to let Cooper outside. Thelma was tempted to run out behind him. Although the weather had been horrible when she had first got there, it hadn’t snowed again since that night. It was still very cold and windy, but the sun was shining and the fresh air felt good when the door opened.
What Thelma really wanted was some of that coffee. Back in Enchanted, Thelma’s Chocolate Shop sold chocolate coffee and Thelma was very much missing that sweet, hot goodness now. She wanted to figure out this mystery and get back home and not have to be in cat form again.
It was bad enough that she stayed in cat form in her own house when Catherine and Cody were there, but that was for a purpose. They had called her Twinkle then and by the time Luna, Hugo and Thelma would return to the village in the spring, she was certain that Catherine and Cody will have found their own place to live on the other side of the hill and Thelma could ‘return from Europe’ where Luna had told people her sister was.
With Catherine working at the Chocolate Shop and her little boy Cody in school, Thelma’s time spent in cat form was minimal during the day. Sebastian, the man who had come to Enchanted with his sister Isabel, was kept so busy that he never had reason to come into Thelma’s house, he and his sister had their own lodging behind the big house. Of course, that too was temporary. Everything in Enchanted was being carried out for very specific reasons.
And I always knew what they were. Thelma thought. She wondered if her sister Luna knew of this mission, or if she were still looking for her.
Thelma felt cranky. She was used to being in control and she did not like having to walk on all fours, although she was grateful that she could move much quicker that way. She walked into the kitchen and jumped first on the table and then on the counter. She stood before the coffee pot and threw a hissy fit. “MEOW, YOWL!!!”
Sarah walked into the kitchen. “My goodness, Gertie, what is the matter with you? That is a coffee pot, it won’t hurt you.” Sarah then opened a packet of kitty treats and gave one to Thelma. Thelma quickly batted it onto the floor where Cooper sat watching the exchange. Cooper ate it and Thelma tried again, meowing at the coffee pot.
All she got for her trouble was a trip back to the living room. “NO!” Thelma said. Sarah turned Thelma around so that they were face to face. “Gertie, did you just tell me ‘No’?”
Thelma did her best to look sad and she said very quietly “meow”. The phone rang and Sarah went to answer it, first putting Thelma down onto the couch. I have to be more careful.
When Jim came home from work he lit a fire. Thelma decided to take a nap before the fireplace. The warmth of the flames felt very good to her. She hated to be cold. It was the very reason why she, Luna and Hugo never stuck around in Enchanted during the worse of the winter months. They had always had their plans in full swing so that they could leave before the winter came.
Thelma had placed a real white cat into her house before taking off with her sister and brother in law. Cody would never know the difference. Of course, in Enchanted Thelma had plenty of help, here she would have to think of another way for Gertie the white cat to disappear when Thelma did. She did not want the little girl, Suzanne, to cry thinking she ran away or got hit by a car.
Thelma woke up when Sarah announced that dinner was ready. It was the best time for her to gain information. Thelma joined Cooper under the family table. Her ears were straight up and she was ready to listen for anything that might give her a clue. She did not have to wait long. “I called Don today.” Sarah told her family.
“Oh? He doing O.K.?” This from Jim.
“Says he is. I had several questions for him and I was able to get a lot of information out of him, although I didn’t want to bombard him with too much, I tried to keep it simple.” Sarah explained.
“So what did you learn from him that we didn’t already know?” Jim asked, as he filled his plate with roast beef and broccoli.
“Don said that Gertie and his father were close, but never married. They were in love and when his father, his name was John, when John went off to fight in the war, he left Don with Gertie.”
“Well, that explains the ‘Guardian’ part of Gertie’s death notice, although it seems silly to mention that now, at Don’s age.” Jim said.
“Didn’t John’s father come to pick him back up after he got out of the war?” Riley asked as she reached for more mashed potatoes.
“Don said he never saw his father again. Apparently, he was lost somewhere overseas and never made it back to Gertie and Don. Gertie just continued to raise Don and, according to Don, Gertie never gave up hope that John would return to them. Even long after Don did.”
“That is a sad story, mommy.” Suzanne said.
“Yes, it is sad, but it is also a good story, because Don had Gertie to love him and take care of him. Someone else might not have continued to keep a little boy. I don’t know how old Don had been then, but he couldn’t have been all that old.”
“Did you ask him about the ring?” Riley asked her mother.
“I did, and he said he did not know anything about the ring or anything else that was in the trunk. I asked him when Gertie had told him to make sure he gave us the trunk and he said it was only about a year ago.” Sarah said.
“I wonder if that was after she found out that we were moving back here? I guess we still do not know. Not that I can see that making any difference anyway.” Jim said. “Did he say anything else interesting?”
Sarah looked very uncomfortable and seemed to be chewing her roast beef for an excessive amount of times.
“Sarah?” Jim asked, narrowing his eyes at his wife. “What are you not telling me?”
“Only that, well, we already knew that Gertie had been cremated. But apparently she wanted her ashes to be taken to a specific area. She was very adamant about that, according to Don.”
“Yeah, and…?”
“And, well, Don said that Gertie wanted us to be the ones to spread her ashes there where she wants to be.”
“What? Why didn’t Don mention this before we left the memorial? More to the point, why us? Don’t you find that to be just a tad bit of a big imposition, Sarah? “
“I guess it did sound strange to me as well, but what could I say? He kinda blind sighted me with that bit of news.”
“Where is it that Gertie wants her ashes to be taken to?” Jim said, more loudly than he intended to.
“He said it was closer to here than to Gertie’s house. I don’t know why he didn’t tell us before. He is getting up there in age.”
“What did you tell him, Sarah?”
Sarah again attacked her dinner with gusto.
“Let me guess, you told him that we would be perfectly happy to do his bidding and take the ashes and dispose of them for him. Come to think of it, why hadn’t he called us to ask himself, why wait for your call? It is not like he knew that you were going to call him.”
“I did ask him that and he said that at the time we were in a big hurry to get back home and that he wanted to get the trunk to give us and since the weather was getting worse by the minute, he didn’t think of it.” Sarah said.
“He wasn’t thinking of the bad weather or the time frame, Sarah. You tell me, how much time and effort did getting that big old heavy trunk down from the attic and securing it to the top of our van take? Now how much time would it have taken him to hand us the urn with Gertie’s ashes in it?”
“I know Jim, I know. I did tell him that I didn’t know when we could come back down there to pick her ashes up.”
“Can’t he just mail them to us, mom?” Riley asked.
“I honestly do not even know if that would be legal, Riley. We would still have to spread them and that would mean driving at least part way back to Tennessee. I know what you are thinking Jim, and a part of me is very sorry that I bothered to call him today myself. But another part of me wants to respect Gertie’s wishes. She was always so good to us and the girls.”
“I really do not want this hanging over our heads during the holidays, Sarah, and they are rapidly approaching.” Jim stated.
“That last time was a freak snow storm, so soon before winter. I was thinking that we could go before the holidays, before the bad weather comes and sticks around. It could be another quick trip like before. It would be the last time we have to go there and I really feel like it is the right thing to do. Don, as you said, is not getting any younger either.” Sarah said, clearing the table.
“Just let it be known to whomever, that we will not be put in this position when Don dies. Let me think about this some, Sarah. But not tonight, I had a rough day at work and don’t need to have anything else to contemplate tonight.”
Chapter 7
Thelma was able to eat breakfast and drink her coffee in peace the next morning when she overheard Sarah telling Jim that she was going to stay at the school when she took the girls. Something about helping out with a project and then they were having a luncheon. Whatever the reason, Thelma was happy again.
She drank an entire pot of coffee and even found a chocolate bar that she melted into the pot. It was nowhere near as good as the chocolate coffee at Thelma’s Chocolate Shop, but it tasted wonderful to Thelma anyway. She had made herself and Cooper pancakes and sausage. She had also had time to explore deeper into her aunt Gertie’s journal. Sarah had been smart of take the journal when she did, because she could not find the rest of the papers that were in the trunk. Apparently, Sarah locked them in a drawer or somewhere.
Thelma had what she needed. Her biggest problem, as she saw it, had been solved for her. They were going back to Gertie’s house and this time Thelma planned to be along for the ride. It had been many decades since Thelma had seen her aunt Gertie, but she was counting on Gertie wanting her ashes to be distributed in Enchanted. Not that the others could get there, but they could get close and that is exactly where Thelma wanted to be. It was her only chance to get back home.
Now that the major part of her departure had been planned for her, Thelma decided to relax and try to enjoy her time here. As long as Suzanne was in school, she couldn’t squeeze or carry her around. As long as the family had a busy schedule, Thelma could eat and play on the computer and watch television, a pastime she had become accustomed to.
Still, just knowing where she was and how she was going to get back home, did not explain why she was there. This was Thelma’s dilemma. She had to figure out how to help this family, or Gertie’s family, or do whatever was expected of her. Maybe there was something in the journal that would give her a clue.
Thelma wondered how long this had all been planned out for her and by whom. She was used to being in on the planning as well as the direct action. She had done a lot of thinking and decided that perhaps she should take the ring back with her. The ring must play a big part in why Gertie had the Gaunter’s take the trunk.
Thelma knew that everything happens for a reason and there was a reason she found herself on that expressway in that snow storm. A reason why she was right there when the trunk fell off the van and why she crawled into it.
Thelma walked into the garage and took a long look at the trunk that had brought her there. She tried to remember if she had ever seen that trunk before at her aunt Gertie’s house when she and Luna were there, but she could not.
Thelma took the journal out again and sat at the kitchen table.
The journal touched upon the subject of the summer that Luna and Thelma had spent with Gertie. It had read “Ophelia allowed T and L to stay with me several years back for the summer. It was so good to see the girls. If only they could come now, I could really use their help with – everything. I have recently met someone who is very special to me. His name is John and I have fallen in love. John is a widower and has a small son. John and his son are of a different nature than I. I am afraid he would not understand about Ophelia, or anything to do with my existence.”
Thelma put away the journal and for a moment thought about her mother, Ophelia and how she missed her. She then sat down at the computer. She had become quite efficient at finding different things on the computer that she wanted to know about. She even brought up a local map of the area where she was now. Feeling confident, Thelma took Cooper’s leash and put it on him. “Let’s go for a walk, Cooper, it us supposed to be a beautiful day, we can use some fresh air.”
One walk around the block reminded Thelma that her old bones were not made for cold weather. I wish I had borrowed one of Sarah’s coats before I came outside. Still, the walk did her good and Cooper as well. They both had been cooped up in the house all week.
When Thelma and Cooper turned the corner to the Gaunter’s house, Thelma froze. Sarah’s van was in the driveway. Thelma was caught out in the open in her regular form and was only four houses from the Gaunter’s.
Thelma went in between two houses and spun herself around and created the blue mist and was once again in cat form. She could only hope that none of the neighbors were home and witnessed her transformation. She picked up Cooper’s leash in her cat teeth and started to walk them both towards the house.
Sarah came out of the front door holding a large box. She locked the front door and then quickly got into the van and took off again. Thelma and Cooper looked at each other. Now what? They went to the front and then around to the back door. How are we going to get back into the house now? It was a nice day, but it was still cold. They had walked out of the front door, but now it was locked. There were no windows opened, it was too cold.
An hour had gone by and although Cooper was still having fun running around the yard, Thelma was just plain cold and angry with herself for getting them into this situation. Enough is enough! Thelma thought and she started to turn around to start her transformation back to human form.
“Oh you poor babies, did you get locked out of the house?” This from a woman Thelma had not seen approaching them, a lady she had never seen before. She immediately stopped in her tracks.
“Meow.”
“Come here, Cooper, I’ll take you two back to my house until Sarah gets back home, it is too cold to be out here this long.” The lady said, picking Thelma up and then walking over to pick up Cooper’s leash.
The lady took them back to her house, which was right next door to the Gaunter’s house. Thelma felt the warmth immediately and in spite of herself she purred. The lady picked up the phone and made a call.
“Hello, this is Mrs. Johnson from next door. I found Cooper and a white cat outside of your back door. They were very cold and appeared to have been outside a long time. Just wanted you to know that they are here at my house and safe. I will be home all night so no rush in coming to get them. Snowball will have someone to play with. Bye.”
Mrs. Johnson gave Thelma and Cooper bowls of warm milk. Cooper stayed at Mrs. Johnson’s feet and Thelma went to lay on Mrs. Johnson’s couch. Just as Thelma closed her eyes to take a nap, she sensed a presence close to her and she opened her eyes.
Sitting on a chair across from the couch was another cat. This cat was staring at Thelma as if trying to decide who or what she was and why she was in her master’s home. Thelma did not want to deal with the cat right now so she started to close her eyes again to sleep.
The other cat, who was also white, apparently was too curious to let it go. She walked up to Thelma and nudged her with her nose. Thelma was in no mood so she took a quick look to make sure Mrs. Johnson wasn’t close by, and then she hissed at the other cat.
“Who the hell are you?”
Thelma’s head jerked up and she starred into the eyes of the other cat. Did that cat just talk to me? Thelma pretended to ignore the other cat. The other cat jumped back up on the chair she had been sitting on and continued to watch Thelma very carefully.
She is looking at me as if she is trying to read my mind.
“There you are, Snowball!” Said Mrs. Johnson. “We have company for this afternoon. This is Cooper and his friend from next door.”
Mrs. Johnson was singing to herself as she took a load of clothes downstairs to wash. Cooper wandered into the living room to see what Thelma was up to. When he walked into the room, Snowball jumped down from the chair and batted Cooper in his head with her paw.
Before Cooper could react, Thelma was in-between Cooper and Snowball and this time she didn’t care who was around. She hissed loudly at the other cat and arched her back to show she meant business. Cooper whined and walked back into the kitchen and went down the stairs to find Mrs. Johnson.
“I’m going to get you and your little dog too!” Snowball said, quoting the witch from The Wizard of Oz. As she turned to jump back up onto the chair.
In her normal life, Thelma would not have understood the pop culture reference, but she had been watching a lot of television at the Gaunter’s house and had just watched that movie with Suzanne not more than a week ago.
“If you don’t mind a house dropped on your ass!” Thelma spit out. Snowball froze and turned around slowly and took a good long look at this neighbor intruder.
“You have no clue who you are messing with.” Snowball hissed back at Thelma. “Nor do you.” Thelma answered back. The two cats started to circle each other just as Cooper and Mrs. Johnson appeared in the doorway.
“Oh my, can’t have this.” Mrs. Johnson picked Snowball up and took her to the bedroom and shut here in there. Snowball was sure she noticed a smirk on the new cat’s face. “You stay in there, Snowball, just until Sarah or someone picks up Cooper and the white cat. Be a good girl, now.”