I'll Lie Down On The Couch For A Bit

Cat Duty. My friend was away at the other part of the state visiting family and someone had to take care of kitty. Guess who won the Feline Lottery? One guess.

The second, or evening, trip was late and He Who Is was waiting on the window perch for me to come and provide the only thing lacking in his life: the ability to open a new can of cat food. For everything else, I am pretty much useless; open the can and get out of the way.

When I enter the house, Sitka Rollover is waiting at the door. “Sitka” is his first name; “Rollover” is a reference to his favorite habit when you meet him: brush him on one side and he rolls over so you can do the other; repeat until he is satisfied. He can roll over five or six times before he feels he is properly brushed.

Then comes the windows. The sun porch? There is an open screened window with a stool, upon which he can either smell the smells or curl-up sleeping, or a nearby rug-covered table for closed-window but larger-space snoozing. His choice, as is everything he does. Plus the extended garden window in the kitchen for gazing.

So I lie down on the couch for a few minutes during those late hours, just for a few minutes. It might be after the late news, a few minutes into David Letterman until midnight when I go to the newspaper and pick up the early copies. I wake up and it’s 2:00 am. Cat’s sound asleep next to me.