some rubbing alcohol from the medicine cabinet,
biting my lip as I dabbed the cut with cotton balls, I slapped a Band-Aid on it
and went back to ignoring it.
The outside world awaited, so I slipped the duffle bag over
my shoulders and jerked on Callie’s leash to get her up and moving.
She didn’t budge.
“Come on.” I tugged the leash, dragging the obstinate cat a
foot or so across the floor. Are all cats this stubborn? “Fine.”
I picked her up and perched her on top of the duffle bag
next to my shoulder. I had hoped she would walk and reduce the weight I already
carried, but since she seemed pretty determined not to, she could ride. At
least she wasn’t shoved back inside the bag, and with the strap of the leash
wrapped around my wrist, if she took off, she wouldn’t get too far.
I let out a huge sigh and placed my hand on the doorknob. “Time
to go.”
I had wasted several morning hours searching for keys and
wrestling my cat into the harness, so the orange sun hung high overhead,
bathing everything in its warmth and causing shadows to hide. The day still
offered plenty of daylight, but I really should have gotten a much earlier
start, except that getting up early wasn’t my thing and I had no interest in
changing my bad habits. Not today anyway.
The parking lot was of average size, but finding the vehicle
that matched the set of keys proved a lot harder than I had first anticipated. The
number of Fords in the lot surprised me, but I inserted that key into every
upright and undamaged one until, finally, a door opened.
As would be my luck, both side mirrors hung like broken
bodies and dangled by only a few cords. The back windshield was blown out and
tiny shards of glass and dried leaves covered the entire back seat. A giant
spider web crisscrossed over the opening—beautiful and somewhat uplifting—but I
didn’t see the spider anywhere, which was a good thing. I would have probably
killed it had I seen it. Spiders gave me the creeps. Good for the spider to
survive the initial blast and craziness, but it sure as hell needed to have moved
on.
I placed Callie in the car and attached her leash to the
gearshift—another unlucky thing for me. Of course, I would have to find the
keys to a standard. She turned herself around in the passenger seat and curled
up into a ball. I tossed the duffle bag on top of the leaves in the back seat
and slid in behind the wheel.
I gave the key a quick turn while pumping the gas and
pressing down the clutch. I may not have had a lot of experience with driving a
standard—okay, I had very little—but I was doing my best to make lemonade out
of the massive lemon life had handed me.
The beat-up car came to life, but jerked and sputtered,
surprising me so much that my foot slipped off the clutch. I bounced around
inside the car as it stalled and settled.
Callie freaked out and jumped into the back seat nearly
hanging herself in the process. I unraveled her, gave her several comforting
strokes, and placed her on the seat next to me once more.
“Okay, car. Work with me here. It’s the end of life as I
know it and you’re all I’ve got.” I glanced at Callie. “Well, besides a
temperamental cat, but I could really use a break.”
One foot on the clutch, the other on the gas, I turned the
key once more. It chugged to life, and as long as I kept my feet balanced on
the pedals, the car didn’t bounce around like it was having a spasm.
“I did it!”
Callie didn’t appear too impressed.
Now came the tricky part—putting it in reverse and backing
out of its covered spot. Had the cement barrier not been placed in front, I
would have driven forward, up and over the sidewalk and grass, but the barrier
nullified that plan.
Six attempts to put the car in reverse, and I still hadn’t
moved more than a foot, but I had succeeded in scaring the crap out of my cat.
She’d gone as far under the seat as her taut leash allowed. This wasn’t
working, but the idea of leaving a
biting my lip as I dabbed the cut with cotton balls, I slapped a Band-Aid on it
and went back to ignoring it.
The outside world awaited, so I slipped the duffle bag over
my shoulders and jerked on Callie’s leash to get her up and moving.
She didn’t budge.
“Come on.” I tugged the leash, dragging the obstinate cat a
foot or so across the floor. Are all cats this stubborn? “Fine.”
I picked her up and perched her on top of the duffle bag
next to my shoulder. I had hoped she would walk and reduce the weight I already
carried, but since she seemed pretty determined not to, she could ride. At
least she wasn’t shoved back inside the bag, and with the strap of the leash
wrapped around my wrist, if she took off, she wouldn’t get too far.
I let out a huge sigh and placed my hand on the doorknob. “Time
to go.”
I had wasted several morning hours searching for keys and
wrestling my cat into the harness, so the orange sun hung high overhead,
bathing everything in its warmth and causing shadows to hide. The day still
offered plenty of daylight, but I really should have gotten a much earlier
start, except that getting up early wasn’t my thing and I had no interest in
changing my bad habits. Not today anyway.
The parking lot was of average size, but finding the vehicle
that matched the set of keys proved a lot harder than I had first anticipated. The
number of Fords in the lot surprised me, but I inserted that key into every
upright and undamaged one until, finally, a door opened.
As would be my luck, both side mirrors hung like broken
bodies and dangled by only a few cords. The back windshield was blown out and
tiny shards of glass and dried leaves covered the entire back seat. A giant
spider web crisscrossed over the opening—beautiful and somewhat uplifting—but I
didn’t see the spider anywhere, which was a good thing. I would have probably
killed it had I seen it. Spiders gave me the creeps. Good for the spider to
survive the initial blast and craziness, but it sure as hell needed to have moved
on.
I placed Callie in the car and attached her leash to the
gearshift—another unlucky thing for me. Of course, I would have to find the
keys to a standard. She turned herself around in the passenger seat and curled
up into a ball. I tossed the duffle bag on top of the leaves in the back seat
and slid in behind the wheel.
I gave the key a quick turn while pumping the gas and
pressing down the clutch. I may not have had a lot of experience with driving a
standard—okay, I had very little—but I was doing my best to make lemonade out
of the massive lemon life had handed me.
The beat-up car came to life, but jerked and sputtered,
surprising me so much that my foot slipped off the clutch. I bounced around
inside the car as it stalled and settled.
Callie freaked out and jumped into the back seat nearly
hanging herself in the process. I unraveled her, gave her several comforting
strokes, and placed her on the seat next to me once more.
“Okay, car. Work with me here. It’s the end of life as I
know it and you’re all I’ve got.” I glanced at Callie. “Well, besides a
temperamental cat, but I could really use a break.”
One foot on the clutch, the other on the gas, I turned the
key once more. It chugged to life, and as long as I kept my feet balanced on
the pedals, the car didn’t bounce around like it was having a spasm.
“I did it!”
Callie didn’t appear too impressed.
Now came the tricky part—putting it in reverse and backing
out of its covered spot. Had the cement barrier not been placed in front, I
would have driven forward, up and over the sidewalk and grass, but the barrier
nullified that plan.
Six attempts to put the car in reverse, and I still hadn’t
moved more than a foot, but I had succeeded in scaring the crap out of my cat.
She’d gone as far under the seat as her taut leash allowed. This wasn’t
working, but the idea of leaving a
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