Stephanie's Cat

Stephanie's Cat

Stephanie Greenleaf, a pretty 13-year-old,  had been taking piano lessons for several years from Mrs. Barton, who always brought Stephanie a present, usually candy or a small toy. On one occasion,  when she came to give Stephanie her piano lesson, Mrs. Barton brought a present that was not candy; it was in a small box. "You're going to love her, Steph," she said and opened the lid on the box and took out an adorable Siamese kitten.

 "Mrs. Barton, she's the best present in the whole world," she gushed looking at the kitten. Can I hold her?"

"Of course, dear. She's yours," she said and handed the kitten to Stephanie.

"Thank you so much, Mrs. Barton. I love her. Look how she snuggles up to me. I'm so happy." The connection was immediate. Stephanie talked to the kitten, and the kitten tried to get as close to her as possible. She was so excited that she wanted to play with the kitten rather than play the piano, so the lesson was postponed.

The kitten was so adorable that Mr. and Mrs. Greenleaf wanted to play with her and hold her. As was typical of Siamese cats, Samantha, as she was named by Stephanie, cried. "She is adorable. I love that little cry Siamese are known for," Mrs. Greenleaf said and the more they smiled and giggled when she cried, the more she cried.

"Look how she snuggles," Mr. Greenleaf said smiling as he held her.

Stephanie treated her kitten like she was her child. She fed her the best food, took her to the vet for exams, and made sure her little bed was always clean. She loved Samantha and Samantha loved her. She followed Stephanie around like a puppy. When Stephanie did her homework, Samantha sat curled up on her lap.

When Samantha grew out of  kittenhood and became an adult, the cuteness wore off. Her cry became louder and, it seemed, never-ending. Though Mrs. Greenleaf and Stephanie weren't bothered by her crying, the constant crying annoyed and irritated Mr. Greenleaf, and he soon the irritation grew to hate. "Stephanie, can't you get your cat to stop the wailing?"

"Dad, that's what Siamese cats do."

"Take her to the vet and find out if there' s some way to get her to stop her incessant crying?"

"Dad, all Siamese cats cry. It can't be stopped. I'm sorry."

"Not as sorry as I am."

Something else that irritated Mr. Greenleaf was the cat's slinking. Whenever she mistakenly went near him, she would crouch low and slink away, looking back as she slunk away. Stephanie was aware of her father's hatred for her cat and felt badly, because she was sure Samantha felt the hatred.

Several years went by, and Stephanie went off to college, and, of course, couldn't take Samantha with her. Stephanie had a bad feeling about leaving Samantha. She was afraid her father might kill her, an unlikely event, but Stephanie knew her father would have liked to get rid of her cat.

Samantha stayed away from Mr. Greenleaf. She knew that he would kick her or smack her so that she would end up sliding into a wall. Mrs. Greenleaf tried to convince her husband that he was being cruel, that all the cat wanted was attention and love. Her argument had no affect on Mr. Greenleaf; he hated the cat.

Something else that bothered Mr. Greenleaf was the responsibility he was given. He was retired, and Mrs. Greenleaf worked, so he had to feed the cat and make sure she had fresh water. He thought a number of times about forgetting to feed her. Unfortunately, he couldn't forget to feed her, which he wanted to do, because his wife often called him to remind him to feed her. She knew he would have loved to forget.

One Sunday afternoon, Mrs. Greenleaf went to visit a friend, and Mr. Greenleaf went into the living room to watch television. It wasn't long before he stretched out on the couch and fell asleep.

Samantha sat in the doorway of an adjacent room and watched Mr. Greenleaf. She waited fifteen or so minutes before walking slowly into the living room, where she sat in front of the couch and glared menacingly at Mr. Greenleaf for a while before she walked to the end of the couch, jumped up on the arm, and then jumped to the top of the couch. Samantha looked down at Mr. Greenleaf and seemed to grimace as he snored. After waiting a few minutes to be sure he was sound asleep, she walked back and forth as though making sure her movements would not wake him. Satisfied that he was sound asleep, with claws bared, she walked down the back of the couch and stepped on Mr. Greenleaf's leg. Still watching to make sure he was asleep, she walked slowly onto his chest, where she sat down and looked at Mr. Greenleaf. Then, she stood up, bared her teeth, and darted to Mr. Greenleaf's neck. At that moment, Mr. Greenleaf woke up, raised his arms to protect his neck, and screamed.

Mrs. Greenleaf came home and found her dead husband. She called 911, and EMTs came and took his body away. According to the autopsy report, the cause of death was a heart attack.

A few weeks went by, and Samantha seemed different. She stopped slinking and walked around as though she was the owner of the house. Mrs. Greenleaf didn't notice anything different about Samantha, and, as though Mr. Greenleaf had left his hatred for the cat in his will for his wife, she began to become irritated when Samantha cried, and, after a few weeks of having to take care of her, give her food, and make sure she had water, she began to resent the cat and reached a point where she began to dislike her, a feeling that turned to hate. Sometimes, when she went to work, she conveniently forgot to leave food for her. Samantha clearly felt the hostility and began to slink if she found herself in Mrs. Greenleaf's presence.

One Sunday afternoon, Mrs. Greenleaf went into the living room to watch television and nodded off. The cat sat in the doorway of an adjacent room and watched Mrs. Greenleaf. Samantha watched and waited.   

The End