Mother's Cat

 Mother's Cat

Tanya was a typical American woman. She worked two different jobs so that she could pay the rent and take care of her two daughters, Amber and Sam, and her mother, Jacquie. After work she would cook dinner for her family then help her daughter's with their homework. They would all watch TV together for an hour before bed. In the mornings, she would wake everyone up for breakfast and after they all got ready for their day she would take her daughter's to school and go to work herself. 

The road into town began on a 10 mile stretch of country road. It was a busy road for the country and she would sometimes see pets or farm animals that had been hit and killed by passing vehicles. These always made Tanya sad. She did not like to think about families losing their pets. She had a dog that she loved very much. A Retriever/Ridgeback mix named Freya, and her mother had three house cats named Sophie, Frog and Squirrel. Jacquie loved her Cats like they were her own children. All of the animals were inside pets and would come to the call of their names. When they were being stubborn, shaking a bag of treats would bring them running.

This day promised to be a good one. The sun was out but not to hot. Both Amber and Sam seemed to be in great moods. Tanya had gotten a great night's sleep and was looking forward to work. Jacquie had even woke up and had coffee with her while the girls got ready for school. Jacquie was an issue that she was not sure how to handle. She loved her Mom and like any good adult daughter she wanted that friendship with her. The problem was that they just saw life differently. When Tanya saw the nice warm sun, Jacquie would see it as bright and harsh. They were not best friends, but there was never a doubt of the love they felt for each other.

Jacquie was twice divorced and single now. She lived with her oldest daughter and her two granddaughters. She was not much of a family woman. She loved her family but was content spending her time alone with her cats. She just seemed to be happier that way. Her cats were her best friends. She had more treats and toys for them than she had things of her own. Her cats helped her to stay sane and out of depression. She loved them.

Amber and Sam were both a lot like their Mother. They were kind and fun young ladies. They worked hard in school most of the time and were generally pretty good kids. Amber was two years older than Sam and the two of them were best friends.

After work on this beautiful day, Tanya picked the girls up from school and they began the trip home. It was about a 45 minute drive so they would sing songs and play word games to pass the time. The trip went quick and before they knew it they were almost home. About a mile and a half before the house Tanya pulled the car over and told the girls to stay in their seats. She got out and walked about 40 yards behind them where she saw her mom's cat Frog lying there dead. He had been hit by a car. She instantly burst into tears. She went back to the car and told the girls what had happened. They decided not to tell Jacquie yet. Tanya would just get him cleaned up off the road and they would bury him. 

She finished the drive home and went on a search for all the cats before she picked up some trash bags and a shovel and headed back. Only two of them came when she shook the bag of treats that always brought them all running. 

The coolest thing about Jacquie's cats were their looks. Sophie was the mother. Both Squirrel and Frog were identical to their mother….mostly. The markings and colors were the same on all of them. Squirrel though, had a little tiny head with giant eyes and Frog was about double the size any housecat should ever be. When they were all together you could see the differences easily. When they were not standing next to each other it was more difficult though. No question this time. It was Frog. Jacquie was going to be devastated. Tanya scooped the cat onto the shovel and set it gently in the bag giving a small thanks to the cat's spirit for being a wonderful companion to her mother. She tied the bag up tight, placed it in the trunk and drove home. 

When she pulled up the girls came out and told her that their Nana was taking a nap so they decided to bury Frog right then and tell her later. They went out back onto a corner of the property and Tanya dug a hole. She dug three feet down and the dirt was tough. It was so hard to dig that she was sure the shovel was going to break before she was done. Growing up in the era of Stephen King, both her and her daughters had seen 'Pet Semetary', and the whole eerie situation was not lost on any of them. She dug the hole to be just big enough for what they needed. They did not make a big deal. They cried and they buried the cat. 

Now Tanya had to figure out how to tell her mother. Jacquie was napping so Tanya started dinner, fried chicken, mashed potatoes and corn. Her mom woke up as she was finishing the meal. The other two cats were in the living room laying around and Tanya's heart ached with having to tell her. "Mom, we need to talk", she said with tears in her eyes. Alarmed her mom answered "What's wrong?", and as Tanya geared up to tell her all about what had happened to Frog, both Amber and Sam screamed simultaneously and jumped back. Jacquie and Tanya both looked at them, then at what they had seen, and only Tanya knew why they had screamed. It was Frog. He was walking out of Jacquie's room.

Of course this threw Tanya for a loop as well. They had just buried Frog. Not 4 hours ago. She had done it herself. Scraped him up off the road. There was no mistaking who it was. All of the cats had the same markings, the same colors and only one cat was that big. Yet here they all three were. Alive and well. The whole 'Pet Semetary' thing was NOT funny! Screw you Stephen King! 

None of them had it in them to dig the cat back up. They went around and asked all the neighbors and put fliers all around but no one ever responded. 

They joke about it sometimes, how mom buried the wrong cat and they laugh because she has such a kind heart, but I wonder what one would find if they dug up the cat. Could be the bones of someone's companion but I like to think it would be an empty garbage bag. Not all stories have bad endings and this one is true. They never found the owner of a missing cat matching the description. They never had the nerve to check but they had buried…. Frog??,  someone's elses cat?

If it was some kind of crazy thing it turned out well. Frog died years later and was the same old cat as he ever was. Honory when it fit him, loving when he wanted to be. Most likely it was someone's companion and was lucky enough to be put to rest by a compassionate soul. This is sad for the cat's companion of course and so when I think about the whole situation I can't help but wonder, what if?