(7)
She heard a thump and then a crash behind her. Turning quickly to see what had caused the ruckus, she noticed the tin bucket of soapy water she had been using to wash the wall’s down had been turned over. There, just beyond a soapy sponge sat what appeared to be a cat. Pointy ears and a long tail could almost confirm that identity but the rest of its matted, wet body left a bit of doubt. It gave her a long green-eyed scowl as if to say this was all her fault then proceeded to wash the bubbles off the top of its head, quick licks to its paw with a bright pink tongue after each pass. She laughed out loud, she couldn’t help herself. Another scowl…she had clearly offended the furry mess. “Well, hello kitty….” Stepping a little closer and kneeling down. The cat, clearly unimpressed by her attempt to communicate, turned its back to her and went about its bath. “Ahh…poor baby…” she continued as she eased herself a bit closer. It gave her a glance over its shoulder and leaned towards her just slightly and gave her a sniff or two, stood up and moved further across the path. She smiled, “Ok kitty….let me know when you’re ready to visit…”
Turning back to the task at hand, she busied herself with reading the concrete building for the first of many amenities she intended to offer the guests here at the campground. This one would probably benefit her the most. After the barbeque yesterday, she had stopped by a second hand store and purchased a washer and dryer. Oh, the luxury of doing laundry at home rather than packing it up and driving into town. While she appreciated the charm that the Wash-o-matic offered, there was something to be said about not airing your dirties in public. The gentleman at the store had offered to run them out for her and help her set them when she was ready so today was purge, fluff and renew. Most of what had been left behind had been newspapers, magazines….trash. But, while rummaging around, she had managed to unearth a few old wooden advertising signs. She could tell where they had once hung, the paint faded around their spots leaving a shadow of their shapes. It would be fun to get them scrubbed up and restored to their rightful places. Wishing she had thought to pack a few from her previous collection, but space had been limited and she had had to let some things go including her favorite. The giant sheep had hung on the front of the old garage for as long as she could remember it. Its nickname had been Baaa. Maybe someday she would go back for it but for now she might need to make a trip into antique store in town for a few more.
Dragging the last of the boxes to the old truck, she glanced around for her little guest. It had weeded out a little spot under the old pine tree. Seeing her watching, it stood up, flipped its front paws back and forth to fluff the needles, turned around and settled back down. Stretching its front paws, one tucked over the other, towards her, it buried its little nose between them, just far enough tucked that it could still watch her with one eye. She dusted her hands off on the pockets of her jeans and moved towards the edge of the driveway. She sat down leaning her back against the sun warmed concrete wall. Fur baby had the right idea. A break was in order. As she watched kitty’s back rise and fall, she wandered back in time. Growing up there had been a pine tree, much like this one, growing to the side of their house. Given the size of it, she imaged that it had been there long before the little subdivision had been settled. It was her special place. A place to go when it grew too noisy in the house. A place to get lost in her stories. A place to hide from her big brother. He always knew where she was but by mutual agreement, this was her spot and she should be left alone. One of her favorite memories was the afternoon, close to time for her parents to return home, he had wanted to run across the backyard to the neighbor’s house. Not wanting to drag her with him, partially because she had chosen to hide for the afternoon but mostly because it wasn’t cool to have your much younger sister tagging (or tattling) along with the boys. He made her promise that she would stay in her little pine cave until he came back for her. Because he was notorious for promising and forgetting (top of the refrigerator, basement, closet, you get the idea) she made him pinky promise that he really, really, really would return for her. Winking, he promised and started off, not noticing that his prized G.I. Joe Caravan with accessories had joined her homemade, shoebox, Barbie house. That had been pilfered payment for all of the other orneriness. She’d heard her dad wandering the front yard, calling for her in for dinner, pretending he didn’t know where she was hiding later on. Her brother, well, he was somewhere in the neighborhood. She couldn’t remember what she had exacted for payment that time but she seemed to remember a few 45’s that turned up in her little red record player. Think Hotel California playing over and over and over again. It was funny how things triggered those long ago memories.
Using the wall to help her, she pushed herself back into standing position. She thought about how much she had accomplished, on her own, in the short time she had been here at the little campground, just a little over two weeks. She was incredibly proud of herself. Once upon a time she would have waited for others to help or tell her what she should do. It had been almost impossible to go anywhere on her own and she was consistently treated like a youth. While venturing into town alone still gave her a bit of anxiety, she was determined to overcome her past. Some would say that age makes you wiser and less caring about what others think or say. Maybe there was some truth to that. Yesterday she had gone in to town for barbeque at Evvie Lou’s. Just a few folks had attended and all had made her feel very welcome. They had been very curious about how she had landed in their little town. She had answered the questions politely but held back, not ready to put herself out there for public display yet. All in all it had been a good afternoon. Evvie-Lou had “put on the dog” as she put it. Pulled pork, slow cooked all night in a brown sugar spice rub, stone ground wheat rolls fresh out of the oven, coleslaw with a bit of red onion and minced sweet pickle, and all the fixings. It. Was. Amazing. Evvie-Lou really had a talent for not just baking but cooking in general. After a lot of prodding from Evvie-Lou, she had brought her Skillet Apple Pie, a favorite back home and homemade vanilla bean ice cream. Several folks had commented that the two of them should go into business together. She and Evvie-Lou had given each other a wink and giggled. Something to think about, maybe. They had visited together a little bit after every one left. Nothing but silly bantering back and forth but they did make plans to meet at the little country church up the road next Sunday, something she was looking very much forward too.
Enjoy!
jen
i like the addition of the kitty!
Posted by: Kelly Massman | March 23, 2015 at 05:09 PM
Thanks!! Every story needs a kitty!!
Posted by: Jen Boyd | March 24, 2015 at 04:53 AM