Normal (?)

“I’m leaving now.” My cousin grabbed her keys off the coffee table. “I left a list for you in the kitchen. 

I tuned her out and followed her out the door. A streak of gray caught my eye on my way to the kitchen for a snack. Rat! - I immediately thought - but it was the cat. Why did she let it roam around? Wasn’t it supposed to be in a cage? Why did she get a cat in the first place? I thought of pulling cat hair out of my yogurt and postponed eating possibly contaminated food.

I sat in the living room and it followed. But it didn’t come near me or sit with me. It went to the other side of the room and watched me. I felt like I was under a microscope. I was put under a microscope by an animal. An animal was watching my every move, in the house. An animal was watching a person as if the human was the intruder or somehow out of place. The outrageous of it was too much for me. Out of spite for being made into a spectacle, I watched it. To an outsider, it would seem odd: a human and a cat glaring at each other as if they were playing a game of chicken. Watching it became tedious when it shifted its weight from its legs to crouch as if it were making a statement: We’ll be here a while.

***

Was this normal for them? Taking up space they had no right to? And who was it? Wait! What was it doing now? It was by my food. It was sitting at our table. Was it eating next to my bowl like the normal one did? 

***

My head jolted at the sound of scurrying. It streaked from one side of the kitchen and hid under the table. I was bewildered. Because of thunder? Weren’t cats supposed to be viscous … primal? But what did I know of animals? They were probably all skittish. I finished my yogurt and headed to the living room. I pressed the power button on the remote and was greeted by a ‘No Signal’ sign. I scrounged Ember’s house for a book and eventually found one on cats - the perfect thing to bore me. I began reading and contemplating the absurdity of owning a book on cats and having the real thing slinking around your house … unattended. I was asleep before my mind could get really get going. 

THUNDER!

Disoriented, I recalled my surroundings. The cat! Ember told me something about the cat. I dashed to the kitchen and retrieved the envelope. In my haste, the contents fell to the ground. I grabbed it up and contorted my eyes to read Ember’s hand.

• Let the electrician in at two 
• Take Kazey to the vet at four

*Remember: Feed her an hour after I leave. I’ve been feeding her on a schedule to stop the side effects.

• Always clean the sink after washing dishes. (There’s a smell if you don’t.)
• Kazeey likes Alexa to play music (rain sounds) about fifteen minutes after she eats. (It helps her sleep.)

Thanks! Cuz :)  

KAZEY! SIDE EFFECTS? The vet? I forgot. Is it sick? I found my phone and dialed Ember’s number. Voicemail. I redialed and looked for the cat - Kazey! Idly, I wondered if she was a boy or a girl. Whatever! I’ll recheck the list. 

“Hey, Ember. Things are going … normally. I read your note. Out of curiosity, what are the side effects? Are they serious? Let me know when you get this. Bye!”

Could the ca- Kazey die? First of all, what side effects could cats get? I’ve never heard of that before. Where was the last place I saw her? Under the table? In the bathroom? Living room? Please be alive! I suddenly remembered eating next to her empty bowl and she was watching me. Was she hungry? Was I torturing her?  Look at me, I thought, prodding my conscience over a cat! I suddenly felt like one of those people who had pets and bought books about pets. Why did I agree to do this?

I stopped in my tracks. Turning back to the kitchen, I saw a note marked Kazey’s food on a cabinet. I filled the food and water compartments then resumed my hunt for the - for Kazey. I saw something gray and furry in Ember’s bedroom and ran to it—a blanket. My palms were sweaty. “Meew”, I turned. It was between a meow and a plea and I lunged for it. A furry heap was at my feet. I crouched. It felt warm the way living beings do.

***

I felt something unfamiliar touching me. I picked up a scent in the air and my stomach ached. The stranger in my home was watching me act like a street cat. My normal knew to walk away while I ate. But as my discomfort ebbed and my strength returned, the unusual presence felt safe and normal.

***

A piano riff rang through the silence. 

“Hey! What’s wrong? I got your call.”

Suddenly I was annoyed. If she got my call then she got my voicemail. I asked in a clipped tone, “What are the side effects Kazey gets?”

“Did you feed her?”

Her. I made a mental note.

“I did. Side effects?” 

“She gets really lethargic when she doesn’t eat on schedule.”

I felt slightly guilty. I muted the phone to ask Alexa to play rain sounds. I walked into the bedroom and left Kasey to relax.

“Did you clean the sink out?” I knew where this was headed. 

“Ah no! We’re not going through a run-down of the list. You asked me to do this for you, I’m doing it. Also,”, I was suddenly enraged, “how could you leave your cat with someone without making sure they knew something about cats!” I hung up. 

I left the room to watch Kazey eat. Her back, or rather her tail, was to me. I watched her in her territory. Her home. It suddenly seemed normal to have an animal in a home - it was their home too. 

The End