The Cat and the Bird

Petey is gone.

He is gone, and it is all my fault.

I let that darn bird drag my cat away from me. And now I have to find him. Both the bird, so I can get revenge on it for stealing my precious kitty, and Petey, so I can try to reconcile with him. I miss Petey.

Petey is gray. He has stripes all over him like a zebra, and a little black nose. Petey is my favorite thing in the world. Mommy didn't like him. She likes him now.

I have to go now. I have to find Petey. I bid Mommy farewell as I put on my boots, and I go to find Petey.

I'm running down the street. I wave hello to Mr. Stevenson. He gives me loaves of bread sometimes to give to Mommy since Mommy can't leave the house anymore and she always says her bread is her favorite.

I have to find Petey.

I also wave hello to Mrs. Ellis. She's really nice to me too. Mrs. Ellis gives me flowers sometimes when I'm sad. She'll come up to me and give me a big hug and say "Oh, Tommy, my dear, why are you crying?" and give me a bunch of flowers to make me feel better. She runs a boutique.

I have to find Petey.

I saw the bird dragging Petey away from me down Tomlin Avenue. It's a dark alleyway, but I'm not scared. I'm not like Batman. I'm like Joe Chill, and I won't get hurt. No one wants to hurt me.

I spend a few hours looking for Petey. I can't find him. I start to cry. I love Petey. He's very important to me. I need him.

I'm burying my head in my knees against a building in the alleyway when someone taps on my shoulder.

"Hey, hey you?" she asks. "Are you okay?"

I sniffle. "I can't find Petey."

"Who's Petey?" She asks. She's sympathetic, but I can tell she's curious.

"My kitty. A bird dragged him away and now I can't find him." I start to cry again.

"I can help you find him if you want?" She says generously. "My name is Jennifer. What's your name?" Jennifer asks.

"My name is Tommy." I say while I stand up. I'm much shorter than she is. "You'll really help me find Petey?" I ask.

"Of course! And then I can take you back home, okay?" I nod.

She bends over to wipe the tears off my face. "Now, Tommy, what does Petey look like?"

I step back to give her a good visual of what Petey looks like. "He's big," I say, stretching my arms. "And he's gray, and he has black stripes like a zebra, and a black nose." Jennifer's face contorts for a moment, as if she's thought of something gross, but she pushes it away.

"Okay. And what did you say happened to Petey?" She asks.

"A big mean bird dragged him away." I say, starting to sniffle again.

"Okay. Let's go down by the lake and see if we can find him there." Jennifer takes my hand and begins to walk down to the lake with me. Not even halfway down the hill to the blue lake, I see Petey down with the bird.

"There!" I yell, pointing to Petey. I begin to run to him. Jennifer follows, slower, and then stops. Her face warps into a disgusted look, and she looks like she's about to throw up. I ignore her, and go tug Petey's body away from the bird and hug him. "I love you Petey!" He says nothing back.

I walk back up to Jennifer, holding Petey in my arms. He keeps lolling out, and he kind of smells. But it's always been that way. Jennifer doesn't want to touch me anymore. She doesn't know what to say. I try to get her to pet Petey, but the closer she comes to him the more she looks like she's going to vomit.

"Let's-" She stops talking for a moment to swallow and take a deep breath. "Let's get you home, okay, Tommy?" I nod, still focused on Petey. He's cold, so I try to warm him up by rubbing him against me. He's still very quiet. I'm still happy.

We walk back to my house in silence, save for Jennifer's occasional cough and my loving remarks about how happy I am that we have saved Petey.

We finally reach my door. I put Petey down on the porch to rest. He seems thankfully, and I don't hear a little sigh in response. He must be very tired. I'm very happy to have Petey back.

Jennifer puts her hand on my shoulder again. "Now bring me to your mom, okay?" I nod again, and pull her inside.

Her face contorts again. She thinks it smells. I can tell.

I pull her over to where Mommy is sitting in the armchair. Jennifer's face turns green, and she goes to throw up. It's smelly, and I crinkle my nose in response. Mommy hasn't eaten her bread in a long time. There's sourdough and rye and country white and wheat. Mommy doesn't like any of it. I guess I'll have to ask Mr. Stevenson for some more. It's all really moldy, but Mommy doesn't notice. She just sits and stares at the wall.

Mommy's hair is falling out. I try to glue it back on, but it keeps falling onto the bread. Mommy's eyes have been closed for a while too. I figure she's like a vampire, and she is awake while I'm asleep and asleep when I'm awake. That's the only explanation.

Jennifer is done throwing up, but she backs away from me. I don't understand. "Tommy, how long has your mother been like this?" She finally asks.

"Well she was like this right after she started saying how smelly and gross Petey was ever since his accident. Mommy didn't want me to keep Petey, but I wanted to. And then she was like this." I reply. I don't understand why Jennifer cares.

"Tommy, I need to go. Right now." Jennifer says. "Sweetie, I'll be right back." She calls me sweetie. Mommy used to do that. But Jennifer isn't my mommy. I have a mommy. But I do want a big sister.

Jennifer runs to the door and starts pulling the knob. But it won't open. It's jammed. I smile, and lead her to the kitchen where I promise another door is. But instead I push her down the big dumbwaiter, down and down and down and down until I hear the crash at the bottom. Mommy made the crash too. So did Petey. Petey was an accident.

I put Jennifer in the laundry cart downstairs and wheel her into the elevator when I'm sure no one is looking. I sit her in the second armchair next to Mommy, and position her in front of the wall where Mommy used to stare. Now she'll be looking at Jenny. Jenny is my big sister now. We're all a big happy family. I laugh.

I go outside again to pick up one more loaf of bread. Mr. Stevenson and I joke around, and he runs his fingers through my hair and tells me how big I've gotten since he last saw me three hours ago. I laugh again. I like Mr. Stevenson.

When I get home, I bring Petey inside. I sit him at the bottom of Jennifer's feet next to all the bread, and I put the last loaf on Mommy's lap. I say goodnight to them and get tucked in to my own racecar bed. The sheets smell, but I don't mind. As I drift off to sleep, I think about the bird that catnapped Petey. I've always wanted a pet bird.