The Conversation…

“You guys need to fire all the weatherpeople,” he said.  “At the very least, they should make minimum wage.  Anyone who gets their job wrong on a regular basis, shouldn’t be doing it.”

“I agree,” she said, giving him a catnip mouse, along with his food.

“What’s this?” he asked.

“You know what it is.  You’ve destroyed enough of them.”

He pushed it off the stoop.  “Will they put all the women who have abortions in jail?”

“It wouldn’t surprise me.”

“Did any doctors come forward to protect their profession and the invasiveness of government into private decisions between them and their patients?”

“Of course not.  Women are always left on their own.  No men stepped forward and, in this case, no women doctors have come forward either.”

“Don’t you wish you were a cat?”

“Yes.”

“If you were magic, you could turn yourself into one.”

“If I was magic, the supreme court would look a lot different and be serving women lunch on trays while they sunbathed.”

“Nice,” he said.  “Maybe that’s why there’s a damper on magic around here.”

“A what?”

“A spell so that you can’t use magic.”

“You mean magic is here and someone is stopping us from knowing about it?”

“The people who are playing you are stopping you from doing almost everything, including having the right to do whatever you want to do with your OWN body.”

“I don’t think I can talk about this right now,” she said, closing her eyes.

“Another school shooting.  Going for three hundred mass shootings before the end of June?”

“Everyone is shooting missiles into the ocean.  Men just love killing everyone.  Not one single regular person has ever started a war.  And none of the morons who do start them go to battle.”

“Let’s talk about something else,” he said.  “Jinx is single again.”

“Why?  What happened?”

“He didn’t say.”

“We have to respect his privacy.”

“He said you put a bunch of bird houses in your yard.”

“I did, but the birds don’t seem to like them.”

“Why would you put birdhouses in the trees when you know that we’re all at your house. most of the time?”

“Good point,” she sighed.  “I just thought they were cute and didn’t think it through.”

“You’re not going to stop mass shootings.  You know that, right?”

“Yes.  I do.”

“Someone just said that the republicans won’t get reelected if they work for gun control and their jobs are more important than the lives of kids.  They won’t do it, no matter how many kids die.”

“I know that.”

“What do you know about snails?” he asked, licking his back foot.

“Nothing at all.  Why?”

He shrugged.  “Just wondering.”

“What do you know about them?” she asked.

“They’re slow.”

“That’s it?”

“Pretty much.”

“Why the sudden interest in snails?”

“I saw one the other day.  I don’t know how they can stand to be what they are.  They can’t run, jump, or fly and it takes them forever to get anywhere.  What’s the point?”

“I have no idea what the point is about anything.”

“So you’ve given up?”

“Given up what?  Doing the same thing over and over?”

“Yes.”

“Nothing is ever going to change.  Not as long as men have all the power.  Not as long as there are republicans.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know.  Eat ice cream, play and read, until I die.”

“Will that be soon?”

“No one knows when they will die.”

“You can have one of my lives, if you like.”

“What?” she said, leaning forward.

“I have nine, so you can have one.”

She grabbed him and started kissing him all over his face.

“Ack!” he said, pulling away from her.  “What’s that all about?” he asked, licking his shoulder, frantically.

“That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.”

“Really?”

She nodded.

“That’s sad.”

“No it’s not,” she said, putting food down for Jinx.

“Why do you get so upset about things that don’t actually impact your life?  I don’t worry about the lives of dogs, or lions.”

“What’s happening is wrong.”

“That’s it?  That’s why you’ve been fighting for years?  Because it’s wrong?”

“They have veggie hotdogs at Portillo’s.  Delicious.  Poppy seed bun, so warm.  So good.”

“Bad segue.”

“Sorry.  It’s the best I could do.”

“Kind of pathetic.”

“Whatever.”

“I’m only going to say this once more, but the man on tv just said, that the republicans will NOT vote for any gun control legislation. They don’t care who dies.  They will not do it because the people they represent will no longer vote for them and their jobs are more important than the lives of children.  Well, children who are alive.  They only care about cells inside a woman, not actual living children.”

“I heard that too.”

“What’s wrong with those people?”

“Where should I start?”

“At the beginning.”

“I’m going home.  Let me give you kisses and hugs.”

He leaned toward her.  “Make it quick.”

“Oh, don’t be a silly goose.”

“Goose?”

“Just a saying.”

“We’re all coming over tonight.  Do you have any movies with cats or fish in them?”

“Finding Nemo.”

“I mean real fish.”

“No.”

“How about cats?”

“I do.”

“Good.  We can make it a movie night.”

“A cat movie night,” she snickered.  “I love it.  See you then.”

“Be careful crossing the street and watch out for republicans and people with guns, although they might be the same thing.  Republicans with guns.”

“I will,” she said, grabbing her tote bag.  “See you tonight.”

 

 

 

 

The Conversation…

“Yo,” he said.

“Yo, yourself.”

“You look beat.”

“I’ve been busy.”

“They undercounted us and there are 12 million living here.  That’s a lot of people.  I wonder how many have cats?”

“No idea,” she said, putting down treats, “but I think there are more cats living with us, than dogs.”

“You can’t be surprised by that, right?”

“No.  I’m not surprised by that at all,” she said smiling.

“Do you think the supremes will make curfews for women, so they can’t be out after six?  What if they say women have to have dinner on the table and a clean house, or apartment?  Will you guys have to wear red capes and white cones of shame?”

“Maybe.”

“I was kidding,” he said, licking his paw.

“I wasn’t.”

“They can have witch burnings by the Bean.  Last time they just had woodcuts and bad drawings.  Now there will be videos and tons of pictures.”

“Billboards too.  Don’t forget those.  Maybe a Witch Burning channel.”

“How did you let things get this bad?”

“We DIDN’T LET THINGS GET THIS BAD,” she said LOUDLY.  “We have no power, no voice, the only voice is male. And now that male voice is conservative, right-wing, religious, sexist, moronic and…”

“I’m sorry I said anything,” he said.  “You can always live with us.”

“Thank you.”

“Not a problem.  I’ll start looking for a refrigerator box.”

“That’s very kind of you but it’s not necessary.  You can all live with me, remember?”

“But once they make more laws…”

“It’s insane that a few people can make laws for the rest of us.  Especially when there are sex abusers, like Clarence Thomas, in the group.  Anita Hill never had a chance against the establishment.  I still have a T-shirt with her on it.  I should try and find it.  It said, I BELIEVE ANITA HILL.”

“I see you’re wearing more buttons.”

“Sometimes.”

“You’re not going to have any more babies, so you’re safe.”

“No woman is safe if we have no choices.  We fight because it has to be done, it doesn’t matter what age a woman is.”

“Maybe wearing your ABORT THE COURT shirt isn’t a good idea.  Brings out the hate in the other side.”

“I’m okay with that.”

He nodded at her and gnawed on his back foot.  “You’re yard is nice.  We all like it out there.  Nice places to hide and do…other stuff.”

“I’m glad you like it, but no hunting.”

“Sure,” he said, innocently. “Wouldn’t think of it.”

“I mean it.”

“A squirrel dug up your flower and ran away with it.”

“I saw the hole in the pot.”

“The bird houses were a fantastic idea.”

“No hunting.”

“Right.  No hunting.”

“A friend of mine brought me a veggie dog from Portillo’s.  Best thing ever.  They just started carrying plant based dogs and it was perfect in every way.  I can’t wait to have another one.”

“You’re eating something that’s not chocolate, or chocolate related?  I must be junk food in some way.”

“There’s a new Dr. Strange movie out.”

“Do you have it?  Can we watch it tomorrow night?”

“It’s still in theaters.  But I’ll get it when it’s out and we can have a movie night and everyone can come over for snacks and a film.”

“When?”

“I don’t know?”

“Can’t you call someone?”

“No.  Not really.”

“Why not?”

“I wouldn’t know who to call.”

“You have a phone and a computer. Surely you can get a number.”

“Look, I’m just going to wait until I see it in the store.”

He stared at her.

“What?”

“I don’t understand you.”

“No kidding.”

“It’s Sherlock Holmes, playing Doctor Strange.”

“Yes.  I know that, but he’s not Sherlock in the movie, he’s Doctor Strange.”

“He’s multi-talented.

“Yes, he is.”

“He can’t jump a fence like we can, or catch a vole, or bird.  He can’t see in the dark, or…”

“I get it,” she said.  “He not a cat.”

“Jinx said to say hello.  He’s also been busy.”

“With what?”

“Whatever he does, I guess.”

“You don’t know?”

“Of course, I know.  But he has a new girlfriend.  She’s completely black, except for one white paw.  She younger than he is, but they seem happy together. Her name is Buttercup.”

“I’ll leave a dish for her as well.  I fed the others on the way here, but I have to get going.  Things to do,” she said, kissing him.

“What about my pets?”

She ran her hands over his back and face, kissing him and whispering sweet nothings in his ears.

“Okay.  You can go now,” he said, curling up for his nap.  “See you tonight.  Be careful crossing the street.”

She kissed him one last time, picked up her tote bag and walked away.

 

The Conversation…

“You guys don’t have to worry about the new Omicron variant.  Not really.”

“Why not?”

“You’re too busy killing each other, even though the new Omicron thing has cases up 60 percent, hospitalizations up 20 percent, with 700,000 new cases a day.  Really contagious.  Things are not looking good for humans.”

“So you’re saying no matter what we do, we’re going to die.”

“Pretty much.  Anyone can get a gun, and your vaccinations and boosters aren’t working as well as they were on the other strains.  This new one doesn’t recognize the stuff in the shots.”

“I don’t know why I come here,” she said, closing her eyes.

I like your button.  Coat hanger with a slash. Won’t do any good, but nice of you to let everyone know what you think, so the right-wing can kill you.”

“Whatever.”

“I’m only saying that because you take care of all of us, and if they kill you, it will hurt a lot of cats.  Besides they’ll all miss you.”

“What about you?  Will you miss me?” she asked.

“Did you hear that a judge in California struck down a law that corporations had to have three women on their boards?”

“No.”

“You don’t keep up, do you?  I’m a cat and I know more about what’s going on with humans than you do.  Ten people shot to death in a grocery story in Buffalo New York and…”

“I don’t really want to hear it.”

“Why?”

“Just eat your treats.”

“I ate them.”

“Did you like them?”

“Sure.  Who doesn’t like treats.  Finland and Sweden are joining NATO.”

“I know.”

“Finally.  Now that they think they could be next…”

“Again, WHATEVER.”

“The flowers you planted look nice.”

“Thank you.”

“You have to water them all the time.”

“I’m okay with that.”

“I hope so, because if you’re not, they’ll all die.”

“What is with you today?”

“I’m just in a good mood.”

“This,” she said, “is your good mood.”

“Can’t you tell?”

“You’re all doom, gloom and death,” she said, putting a plate of food down for Jinx.

“But don’t I look happy?  i mean, the weather is nice, everything is growing and chipmunks and other friends are out and about,” he snickered.

“Ack!”

“What if you all have to stay in your houses, or apartments or tents?  And all the pregnant women will be locked up, in jail.”

“Do you have anything nice to say?  Anything at ALL?”

“I’d like a coloring book and some crayons.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, why not.  Cats like to color, and I want to show the younger cats how to do it.  Kitten season is coming up and I think creativity is important.”

“Are you playing with me, or do you really want a coloring book.”

“I really want one.”

“Okay.”

“There’s a gigantic Bean in Chicago.  I don’t know what kind, lima, pinto?”

“It’s a piece of art, not a real bean.”

“Where is it?”

“Downtown, on Michigan Avenue.”

“A kid was shot to death there over the weekend.”

“I’m going home.”

“Why?”

“You are making me depressed.”

“His teacher said that when he asked the kids to write some of their goals, that kid wrote, “Not to die.  To make it to 21.”  He was only 16.

“Do you think the world is falling apart?”

“Yes.  It has taken a long time, but the reality of it is that when the first protohuman stood up and grunted, things started going downhill.”

“I want to argue with you about that, but I don’t think I can,” she said.

“You can’t argue with the truth.”

“Tell Jinx his food is over there.”

“Will do.”

“See you guys tonight?”

“You know, saying you guys, is a Chicago thing, don’t you?”

“I do.”

“You say it all the time.”

“I know.”

“Did you buy any fake mice for tonight?”

“Yes.”

“Good.  The old ones are looking pretty ratty and a lot of them have been lost.”

“I have new ones.”

“Great.  See you later.  You can kiss me and pet me now.”

She snickered, and ran her hands all over him.  He closed his eyes and purrs leaked out of him in one long, uninterrupted rumble.  She kissed him, rubbed her face against his and said, “I love you.”

He rubbed his face against hers and whispered, “I know.”

 

 

 

The Conversation…

“Summer’s here.  You said you were sick of winter.  I guess someone was paying attention,” he chuckled.

“First of all, cats are not supposed to chuckle and secondly, I specifically asked for spring, not ninety-two degrees.”

“Be careful what you wish for,” he said.

“Not relavant.”

“Is too.”

“Is not,” she said.

“How’s the Roe vs Wade thing?”

“Sky is blue and the trees are getting green.”

“That bad?” he said.

“International astronomers took a picture of the Milky Way’s ginormous, super massive, black hole.  It’s cool. I want to put the photo on my fridge.”

“Will it eat us?”

“No.  It’s just eating the things around it.  Then it might nap, before something comes within its event horizon and wakes it up.  Besides, we’re a tiny rock on one of the spiral arms, far from the center.  Besides getting hit by something big, just have to worry about the fact that eventually, Andromeda will crash into us. Then, it will be all over.  Can’t even imagine it, can you?  Two galaxies crashing into each other, or maybe it’s called merging.  Sure, we’ve seen pictures of others doing it, but I wonder how much of it we will be alive to see?  I’m thinking not much.”

“You’re a depressing person, sometimes,” he said.

“Just sometimes?” she asked, kissing his neck.

“I was being polite.  Jinx said I should try that more often.  How’s the war?”

“Which one?”

“Ukraine, where they gave the Jack Russel Terrier an award for sniffing out bombs and saving lives.”

“It’s still horrific.  But Finland officially wants to join NATO, and Sweden may join next week, so that’s good.  It’s the exact opposite of what russia wanted.”

“Russia will go after Finland.”

“He already threatened them, but he’s kind of busy murdering innocent, unarmed, people right now,” she said.

“Humans are insane.”

“Without a doubt,” she said agreeably.

“Doesn’t that bother you?”

“Of course.”

“But?”

“But there’s nothing to be done about it.”

“There’s always something that can be done.”

“Whatever we do, can be UNDONE.  All those years we fought for CHOICE, and now….”

“Your eyes look like fire is going to shoot out of them.”

“Do you think that’s possible?” she asked, feeling her face.

“I didn’t, until now.”

“Part of New Mexico is on fire,” she said.  “Started from a controlled burn. People lost everything, and it’s far from over.”

“Do you think the one-percenters are trying to kill everyone?  Just keep a few of you around to wait on them and clean their bathrooms?”

“Yes.”

“A cat would never sniff out bombs.”

“I’m sure of it.”

“Humans put them there.  It’s up to humans to take them away.”

“I get that.”

“Dogs are willing to do almost anything.  Cats save people all the time, but they know who’s responsible for whatever’s going on.”

“I understand.”

“Dogs have short memories.  They forgot how many of them were used in experiments.  Forgot how they were tortured and killed, by humans.”

“Now who’s depressing?”

“Just saying it like it is.  Would mice and rats work for humans?  Once they were let out of their mazes and cages?  Would they help them once the electrodes were removed?”

“I’m going home.”

“There’s a lunar eclipse coming up.”

“It will probably be overcast.”

“Probably.”

“Bye.”

“Really?  You’re leaving?” he said.

She kissed him, hugged him, and rubbed his ears. “See you tonight.”

“Be careful crossing the street.”

“Say hi to Jinx for me,” she said, walking away.

 

 

 

 

The Conversation…

“Happy, happy,” he said, yawning.

“Thanks.”

“You’re kind of our adopted mother, I guess.”

“That’s sweet.”

“Jinx picked flowers for you, but he dropped a lot of them.  The flowers that did make it, wilted, so…”

“It’s the thought that counts,” she said, putting his plate down in front of him.

“If that’s true, I’m thinking about getting you a huge mansion, a yacht, and a gigantic place where cats can live.”

“Sounds good, but I’d want all of you to live in the mansion.”

“With a pool and hunting groun….I mean nice back yard.”

“I’m sure that’s what you meant.”

“I noticed that you bought a ton of flowers.”

“I did.”

“Why are they in the garage?”

“Too cold for them to be outside.”

“Then why’d you buy them so early?”

“Because I’m excited about summer and flowers.”

“Flowers are fleeting.”

“So are we.”

“True as that might be, spending all that money on them for a few weeks, seems extravagant, even for you.”

“I want to have fun while I’m alive.  I want to enjoy my yard, now that the poison ivy is gone.”

“If that’s what you want,”  he said.

“What if this is the last summer I’ll ever have.”

“You going somewhere?”

“We’re all going somewhere, and none of us knows when.”

“I hate it when you philosophize.”

“That’s not what I was doing.”

“Yes, it is.”

“Think whatever you like.”

“I always do.  Don’t you?”

“Yes,” she said, chuckling.

“Why isn’t every day mother’s day?  No one would even be here if there were no mothers.”

“As long as patriarchy is running the show, women will never be free or get any respect.”

“You should kill the bad ones.”

“That’s one answer,” she said, dreamily.  “I know who would be at the top of my list.”

“The guy who looks like his face is melting and resembles a basset hound.”

“Yes, but it’s not nice to make fun of people.”

“Who said?”

“MY mother.”

“Well, I guess if she said it…”

“I had a wonderful time today.  Now I’m with you, and the wonderfulness continues.”

“I don’t remember my mom,” he said.  “A lot of us don’t.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, sadly.

“One or two kittens grow up and stay with their mother’s, but it’s not all that common.  It usually happens with indoor cats.”

“What was your mom’s name?”

“I don’t know.”

“Is it true that Queens whisper the true names of their kittens into their ears at birth?”

“They wait a couple of days, until we can hear better, but yes.  It’s true.”

“Do you know the name she gave to you?”

“Of course,” he said.

“I’m glad.”

“Do you miss your mom?”

“I do,” she said.  “Both of my grandmothers, as well.”

“Too bad those we love have to die.”

“I guess we have to make room for the new people who will destroy the earth.  Besides, life would get boring, if we lived forever.”

“You don’t know that for sure.”

“If we aged it would.”

“That’s true,” he said.

“I think the gray female with the French name kind of likes you.”

“I know.”

“How do you feel about her?”

“I don’t have time for a relationship.  I have to watch over everyone.”

“I love you.”

“I know you do.”

“Can I kiss you now?”

“Sure.  You’ve got three minutes, use them wisely.”

She smiled and ran her hands down his back.  She kissed him, whispered sweet nothings into his soft ear, and felt him purring.  “See you tonight?”

“Of course,” he said, closing his eyes.  Happy whatever day.”

“Sweet dreams.”

 

 

The Conversation…

“So you guys are going to start dying again, right?”

“I hope women will go to war over this.”

“It won’t help.  You’re hated too much.  Feared too much.   And the women who vote against you are brainwashed to be on the side of men.”

“The thing is, no one HAS to have an abortion.  No one is making the right wing women have one.  It’s amazing how they are willing to kill people and let them die, when they say they are pro life.  They don’t care about living women, kids, doctors, or anyone but themselves.”

“Of course they don’t.  They’re in it for control over the lives of others.  How many kids do you think they adopt, or feed and clothe?  Besides they have abortions, they just fly out of the country, or maybe they’ll come to Illinois, since that’s where the sane people live.”

“Our weather may suck but at least we fight washington.  Abortion will stay legal here.  But republicans are going to run on that platform.  They will have the backing of the right-wing conservatives.”

“Isn’t there a way you can get rid of them.”

“If only.  They’re like a disease with no cure.  They can’t let others alone.”

“Evil?”

“Most definitely.”

“You should be glad you’re older.  You’ll die and then you don’t have to see the country continue to go backward and fall in to the hell mouth.”

“I’ve already thought of that.”

“Do you think you’ll get arrested again?”

“I doubt it.  It’s just such a hateful thing to do, from men who don’t even make fathers pay child support. I think all the red states should be forced to merge and all the blue states too.  That way everyone can have their own way.  If the red state people cross the line and come into a blue state, the penalty should be extremely tough.”

“That makes a lot of sense.”

“I know, right.  We hate each other, so why not split the country in two.”

“You have to do something.”

“You keep saying that.”

“Get rid of the supremes.”

“That would be so cool.  RBG and Albright must be so disgusted.  They left far too soon.  Men shouldn’t have ANYTHING to say about women, or their health.”

“They want you to die.”

“I know.”

“I like this food.”

“I’m glad.”

“You should go.  I’m sure you have a lot to do.  If you want us to attack anyone in particular, let me know.”

“I will.  Thank you.”

“It’s the least I can do.”

“It’s never going to stop.”

“I know.  You can tell me more about it tonight.”

“Okay,” she said, kissing him.  “I love you.”

“Be careful crossing the street.  You don’t want to get hit by a car, when you need to overthrow the government.”

She laughed and kissed him again.

The Conversation…

“Don’t do that again,” he said, turning away from her.

“Don’t do what?”

“Don’t send someone else to feed us.”

“Why not?  You’ve made it pretty clear that you just want the food.”

“That is not true, and you know it.  Besides, cats don’t trust easily and you upset the balance by having the vet feed us.”

“Whatever,” she said.

“What’s wrong with you?” he asked.

“Why are you pretending to care?”

“It’s my job to watch out for the others.”

“You’ll get used to someone else, so will the others,” she said, cooly.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means, I’m tired of the way you treat me.”

He turned toward her.  “I am the way I am because I can never show weakness, or emotion.  The others look to me for strength.  I am tough because it’s my job.”

She looked at him and sighed.  He put his paw on her hand.

“Don’t tell anyone I did that.”

She nodded.  “It must be hard to always have to be the strong one.”

“You get used to it.”

“You know I love you,” she said.

“I know.”

“I didn’t mean to upset all of you.”

“I know.  I don’t always mean to be the way I am either.”

“I’m not getting you a live hamster.”

“I know.”

She smiled.  “I’m not getting you a bunny either.”

“I know that too,” he said.  “Is a salmon out of the question?”

“What do you think?”

“Had to give it a shot.”

“It never hurts to ask.”

“Hows the war going?”

“There are so many of them, but in the Ukraine, people are dying.”

“A lot of lizards are going extinct.”

“I heard.”

“You guys kill everything.  The part I don’t get is, that you kill everything for power and money but when everything’s gone…what good will power and money do for anyone?”

“The men in power don’t care about the future, they only care about what they can get for themselves right now.  It’s called greed.  If you want a picture of greed, imagine an ugly, politician, drool, dripping from his mouth, sweat beading on his face, as he sits in a pile of money and goods, in a suit that’s too small for him…”

“You mean the last president?”

“Yes, I should have just said, think of trump,” she said, nodding.

“Would have been faster.”

“Or putin. He’s just murdering everyone because he’s a greedy, power hungry moron.  And while he seems to take neatness to the extreme, he’s still slimy.”

“There are a lot of those guys in your species,” he said.

“And they all lie.”

“That’s why you’re all in trouble and taking us with you.”

“Yes.  That’s exactly why.  And the good people, like Albright and RBG, are dying off.  We are going backward.”

“You do know that you’re the only species who wants and need stuff, don’t you.  The rest of us don’t need anything.  Well, food, water and shelter, but we don’t need clocks, cars, underwear…”

“Underwear,” she snickered.  That’s funny.  Do you think a giraffe would look good in a t-shirt and shorts.  Too silly.”

“Unless it’s in a children’s book.”

“Yes,” she agreed.  “Unless it’s in that.”

“I’m just saying that the rest of us don’t use the earth’s natural resources.  It’s just you guys.”

“I know, and I don’t know what to do about it,” she said, frowning.

“Have you ever thought that this planet is one gigantic tease?  Like a place where everyone and every thing is constantly jerked around until it dies?”

“Oh it’s definitely that,” she said, nodding.  “Absolutely.”

“Are we good?” he asked.

She put her arms around him and kissed his face.  “We are very good.  I’m sorry.  I guess I didn’t understand.”

“As long as we’re good, everything will be okay.”

“Are you all coming over tonight?” she asked.

“Yes.  And Mona, the grey and white cat, is feeling a lot better, thanks to the vet.”

“I’m so happy to know that.”

“I’ll tell Jinx you were here.  He’s been upset.  He thinks I chased you away.”

“Tell him things are back to normal.”

“I will.”

“I’ll put his food right here.”

“Okay.”

“I’m going to hug and kiss you now.”

“I know.”

She leaned into him and sighed.  She ran her hands over his body and felt him purring.  She kissed him and hugged him, and he let her, softening to her touch.

“Thank you,” she said, backing away.

“Sure,” he said, licking his shoulder.

“See you tonight.”

“Be careful crossing the street.”

She smiled, picked up her tote bag and walked away.

The Conversation…

“How’s the war going?”

“Which one?” she asked, distractedly.

“The one in Ukraine.  Mass graves, dead children, you know…that war.”

“I haven’t watched the news for the past couple of days, but I think things are probably worse.  I hope I’m wrong.”

“Are people losing interest in the war and moving on to the next thing?”

“What?” she asked, putting his food dish down in front of him.  “Losing interest?”

“You know what a short attention span humans have.  They get all excited about something and everyone goes crazy for a month, and then you all go back to your daily routine, until the next thing comes up.”

“That’s not fair,” she said, tearing open a new bag of treats.

“Maybe not, but it’s the truth.  Remember no guns in school, the million women march, BLM, all over the streets and…”

“I get it,” she said, unhappily.

“You have all thees issues that are important to different people and groups, and the politicians let you rant and rave, march and print t-shirts, knowing that you can’t sustain anything for very long.  So, nothing ever changes, and it never will, because nothing lasts and the men in power don’t have to do anything to stop you, since you stop yourselves.  The truth is, it’s impossible to keep pressure on the men in power, because people have lives to live, work to do, kids to watch.  Oh sure, you keep the issues going in your own little covens and …”

“Covens?”

“Whatever,” he said, licking up the last of the food  “The point is, you all just turn back into your miserable, dissatisfied, selves and the government laughs and laughs and laughs.”

“The sun was out yesterday.”

“Really bad segue.”

“Things are starting to bloom, or least it seems as if they are.”

“So you don’t want to talk about the war and all of your species inability to hold a thought for more than three seconds.”

“No, I don’t want to talk about that.”

“What do you want to talk about?”

“Summer.”

“What about it?”

“Sun.”

“You know you’re an optimist, right?”

“Okay, let’s not talk about summer.”

“Mice have small feet.”

She closed her eyes.  ”

“Civil rights?   Women’s rights?  Human rights?  Equality?  Cat rights?  Animal rights? LGBTRKLOS rights,” he said.  “Should I keep going?”

“I get it,” she sighed.

“You know things don’t change right?”

“What are cat rights and LGBTRKOLS rights?”

“The right to be a cat and walk freely in the world without being attacked or stolen and experimented upon, or eaten, or tortured.  The other one is for people to love anyone they want to love.  Your species talks about love until paint peels from walls, but you want to control love and make rules around it, so the religious and conservative right, can keep making lives miserable and actually keep love from being a real thing.  Love doesn’t have borders, you know.  Look at Snuggles and Harry.  No one cares that they’re both male.  Cats, as well as other species, know way more about EVERYTHING, than all of you put together.”

“OMG!” she said, putter her hands over her face.  “Why do I come here?”

“Because you love me, and you love the other cats too, I suppose.”

“What are you looking at?”

“You probably shouldn’t wear dangling earrings when you come here.  I want to catch them.”

She reached up and unhooked her earrings and put them into her pocket.

“Thanks.  I told you for your own safety.  I mean they looked kind of like tiny birds fluttering by your shoulders and…”

“I understand.”

“Will you catch a bunny for me?  So I can have him for a friend, I mean.”

“Why are you doing this to me?”

“What do you mean?” he asked, innocently.

“You know exactly what I mean.”

“Maybe you should pet me for a minute or two.”

“Why?  Am I being dismissed?”

“You make me tired.”

“I make you tired?”

“You can be very stressful.  You have a lot going on in the human world and you all just keep doing the same thing over and over again.  It’s exhausting, to see you run on a billion hamster wheels.  Hey, how about getting a hamster for me. They’re a lot smaller than bunnies, but if you have a thing about rabbits…”

She just sat there, eyes closed, counting to a hundred.

“You know that when the bad guys, attacked the capital no one was shot to death.  They cops let them walk away, after all the terrible things they did, they were allowed to leave.  I bet if a peaceful group of people just got to the door, they would be gunned down and…   Hey, where are you going?”

“I think it was a lot of the things you said,” muttered Jinx.  “I like this food, it’s so good.”

“Something I said?” he asked.  “What did I say that would upset her?”

“Everything,” said Jinx.  “Absolutely everything.”

They watched her go.  She never looked back.

“Maybe you should apologize if she comes back tomorrow.”

“Apologize?  For what?” he asked.

“That’s for you to figure out,” said Jinx.  “I’m going on patrol.”

No kisses, no I love you’s, no hugs, he thought to himself.  “She just left,” he said, to no one in particular.  “I wonder what’s wrong with her?”

 

 

 

 

The Conversation…

“Still not doing anything to help the people in Ukraine, I see.”

“I can’t do a single thing about what the men in charge are not doing.”

“I get that.  You all gave up your freedom and voices a long time ago.”

“I brought your favorite treats,” she said, jiggling the bag.

“Do you think this is going to be one of those years where we don’t have spring?”

“Don’t know,” she said, putting his wet food on a paper plate.  “It hasn’t been that bad.  I mean, sure, it’s dark, cold, rainy, dreary, raw and…  Maybe you’re right, but we haven’t had ten inches of snow…yet.”

“The russians murdered all the young men in one of the towns.  All of them.”

“Tell that to the so called world leaders.”

“Bad things are coming,” he said.

“Great.  Could you possibly BE anymore depressing?”

“Probably,” he said, scratching at his plate.  “You know you shouldn’t use paper plates, it’s not good for the environment.”

“It this case, it’s okay,” she said, giving him more food.

“Why?  because you don’t want to bring dirty dishes to your house and wash them?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t think that’s a good enough reason.”

“Then I won’t feed you.”

“What if the world runs out of paper plates?  Will you let me starve to death?”

“If that happens, I’ll think of something, so don’t worry,” she said.

“Wow, you’re in a bad mood.”

“I believe in reincarnation and I’m thinking you were one of my cats in another life.”

“Maybe you were one of my cats.”

“I’m not sure we change species.  There’s no evidence of that.  I mean lots of people remember past lives when they’re young and none of them, at least that I know of, has ever said they were cats.”

“So you think I’ll always be a cat and you’ll always be a human?”

“I think so.”

“Well, THAT explains a LOT.”

“What do you mean?” she asked, playing with his back paw.

“It means that those of us who are intelligent, will never get to fix all the things your stupid species breaks.”

“Hmmm.  I never thought of that.”

“Humans don’t think of very much, when it comes to doing what’s best for the world and those who live here.  You know the war is going to spread, don’t you?”

“Why do you say that?”

“See, to intelligent beings already KNOW that.”

“Based on what?”

“You know, you guys used to have instincts. You shouldn’t have ignored them.  Your instincts are now rusty, and buried deep inside you, but they’re still there.  You do use them in times of danger, or anytime you’re terrified.  I mean there are certain things you can’t look away from.  But when instincts are honed, as in the REST of the animal world, you just know things.”

“I’m too tired to try and get in touch with my rusty instincts.  Unless, of course, they are telling me to go to bed earlier and get up later.  I always believed sleeping was a waste of time, now I understand that it’s good for not looking at what’s going on in the world.”

“You hardly sleep at all.”

“I need to practice.”

“Cats know everything there is to know about sleeping.”

“That, my beloved, is what’s called an absolute truth.”

“It’s not rocket science, you know,” he said, pawing the treat bag.

“It is for some of us.”

“But you don’t want to sleep.”

“I know.”

“I’m getting mixed messages,” he said.

“I’m going to plant flowers and that will make everything beautiful and colorful.”

“It will be winter soon.”

“Okay, that was just mean.”

“Why?  It’s true.”

“Still mean.”

“What’s mean?” asked Jinx, starting to eat his food.

“I said I was going to plant flowers and he asked why, and then he said that it’s going to be winter soon.”

“He’s right,” said Jinx.  “It’s almost always winter, isn’t it?”

“Argggggg!  I’m going home to dream about unicorns and rainbows.”

“You know unicorns lived here at one time,” said Jinx.  “They left because they knew humans would kill them, or lock them up. They’re still around, just in a different place.”

She stared at him.

“Jinx is right,” he said.  “A lot of species left once you came along and started killing everything.”

She closed her eyes and put her head on her knees.  “Why do I come here?” she asked herself.

“That’s easy,” said Jinx.  “You come here because you love us.”

She bent over him and kissed him all over his face.  He sat still and let her.  She ran her hands over him and then kissed him again.  “Thank you for letting me do that,” she said softly.

“Anytime,” he said.  “Thank you for the food.  I have to check on two cats living in the park.”

“See you tonight,” she said, as he raced away.

“Do you tell everyone you see that you love them?”

“No.”

“Well, I don’t believe you,” he said, turning his back on her.

She started petting him and felt his purr start up.  She leaned forward and kissed him, whispering sweet things to him.  He turned around and head butted her, rubbing his face against hers.  She hugged him and kissed him some more.

“You can go now,” he said.  “I’ll see you tonight.”

She kissed him one last time and then picked up her tote bag and left.

 

 

 

The Conversation…

“Is there any way you can stop the people who represent this country from being on television?”

“No.  Why?” she asked.

“Because it’s humiliating to let the rest of the world think they represent any of us, cats included.  I was on the ledge of the window across the street last night, and saw a newswoman ask what good the sanctions were, and what good they were doing.  The US representative said they were making the russian representative in the meeting she had been in, uncomfortable.  She said she thought that putin wouldn’t like that and THAT would stop him from doing what he’s doing. How out of touch do you have to be, to even think that, let alone say it out loud a few times, in front of others?  The newswoman didn’t ask her if the body parts and dead people laying in the street made HER uncomfortable.  She should have asked if the sanctions saved a single life, but she was far too polite to do that, and politeness shouldn’t count when people are being slaughtered.  The US representative looked and sounded like an idiot, but the newswoman let her get away with saying nothing at all, although I could tell how frustrated she was not being able to push her to answer.

“Politics,” she said, putting a plate full of food in front of him.

“Not an excuse for killing, is it?” he asked.

“Yes.  I think it is.  If you’re rich, powerful, and hateful…it is.  As for the talking heads.  They never say anything, that way no one can blame them for anything, because they haven’t said anything.  They just keep flapping their lips, and the men in Ukraine, just keep opening more body bags.  I saw the person you’re talking about, and I had to turn  off the sound.  I couldn’t watch or listen to her.  Too pathetic and embarrassing.”

“She never answered the questions, she just repeated the same thing, as if she was caught in a loop,” he said, grooming his tail.

“Here’s the thing; putin is breaking all the rules. HE is allowing his men to commit atrocities.  Executions, rapes, torture.  All of those things are under his command.  If he wanted those things to stop, he would stop them.  So we know he wants, and allows, those things to happen, just like targeting hospitals, daycares, schools and apartment buildings.  He is giving his okay, or ordering those things to take place.”

“Why do you think the sun never shines around here?”

“I’d like to say corruption, but I know that’s not the answer, because the sun doesn’t care that we’re all crazy,” she sighed. “It’s too depressing to think about.”

“I think so too.  It’s not healthy, living without sun.”

“It is not.  Everyone here takes vitamin D or they’ll die,” she said, shaking her head.

“Really?” he asked.

“No.  But a lot of people take it.”

“I wonder if cats should take it?”

“Did you hear about Texas, and the books they’re pulling off high school library shelves? Too much sex, hints of sex, and other things.  Too explicit for their precious teenagers, who are probably having sex on a daily basis and doing drugs as well.  They removed, I KNOW WHY CAGED BIRDS SING.  I believe that Texas is going backward so fast that they’ll all be living in caves and trying to invent fire soon.”

“I’m thinking Amazon will be selling a lot of the books that were banned.  The woman who started this whole thing, just made those books exciting and readable,” he cackled, his whiskers twitching.

“I hope the kids read every book on the banned book list,” she said.

“Do you think all the people in Ukraine will be killed?”

“A lot have escaped, but a lot more will die.  Genocide is an ugly thing.”

“There are a lot of ugly things, for people and for cats.  How can anyone think putin will stop, until he’s stopped?”

“People believe what they want to believe.  There are those who think love, prayer and wishes will stop what’s happening.”

“They’ve obviously never been up against an angry mob.  And if those things worked, how did we get to his horrible point in time?” he asked.  “I’m so glad the other animals aren’t like humans. You’re so terrible.”

“We are,” she said, bending over to kiss him.  “I’m sorry.  I know I apologize for our species all the time, but I can’t stop what’s happening.”

“You keep saying that.”

“I know,” she said, miserably.

“You’re all so mean.”

“Not all of us.”

“It doesn’t matter if it’s not all of you.  The planet is still in crisis, people are dying, hate crimes are being committed, animals are going extinct, war never ends, habitat destruction is killing us, and no one is safe from anyone else. And you can’t trust anyone.  Lies have erased truth.  I could be specific but what’s the point?  You’re destroying yourselves, which is fine with me,” he said, brightly, “but you’re taking us with you.”

“I’m SORRY.”

“That doesn’t help.”

“What would you like me to do?”

“You said there isn’t anything you can do.  I believe you.   We just have to accept the fact that your species is the end of everything.”

“I’m going home,” she said, packing everything away.  “Tell Jinx I love him and I hope he likes his new food.”  She leaned over and kissed him all over his face and neck.  She ran her hands down his back and rubbed his ears.  “I love you so much.”

“Everything comes to an end,” he said sleepily.  “I’ll see you tonight.  A lot of us are coming over, so be ready for a house full.”

She nodded, got up, and walked away.