Parker

 After my shifts at Avenue Books, I always stopped my tromp down College Ave and looked in the window of Your Basic Bird. They had cats. Which always seemed strange to me for a bird store, but they would display one cat in the window for adoption. I had seen a prime tabby/tortie for a while now. She was round and plush, her eyes golden and soft. I would stop and say hello to her through the window, thinking I would go in and check her out. I was ready for another cat since Sylvia, my sweet tortie, had told me she wanted a friend. (Well, not really, but I wanted another friend!)

            Then one day, the Torbie was gone. I thought, OK, guess it wasn’t meant to be. And, I walked on down the Avenue, thinking how I didn’t really need another cat anyway.

            About a week later, she reappeared in the window. Miss Plush Torbie.

            I stopped, delighted. “Hey, Miss Torbie, I thought someone had adopted you!”

            She blinked at me with her round golden eyes through the window.

            That’s it, I told myself. It’s a sign!

            I went into the store and inquired from Claudia, the proprietor, who looked like a bird herself, if I could check out the cat in the window.

            “Of course,” she said, taking out the key from her belt and leading me through the stacks of bird feed, toys, and cages, the loud squawking of several parrots screaming in the background.

Poor kitty, I thought to myself. She needs to get away from all these insane birds!

            “I thought someone had adopted her,” I said to Claudia as she opened the cage for me.

            “Yeah, well, you’re right, she was. But they brought her back cuz they said she was too rough with the small children.”

            Laughing,  I sat down next to the cage and pulled the plush kitty on to my lap, thinking how this was the cat for me! Too rough with small children! I like that!

            The torbie settled right down into my lap and started to nudge her head into my hands, lap and legs. She was so soft and sweet. And a total lover.

            “Hey, girl,” I cooed. “Don’t like children, eh?”

            She continued to rub her sweet head against my lap.

            “Well,” I said, “I think we’ll get along just fine! Cuz neither do I!”

            I glanced at the kitty’s info sheet posted on the cage: "Gets along with other cats. Likes to be brushed. May be unsuitable for households with small children. Name: Marion."

            “Marion, huh?”

            Marion continued to purr and rub. She really wanted to come home with me and get the hell out of that bird store!

            “Okay, let me put you back in your cage for just a few more hours. I’ll be back for you soon!”

            I placed her gently back in the cage and she gazed at me with her round golden eyes. I was in love.

            I gave Claudia the fee for Marion and told her I’d be back soon to pick her up.

            As I hurried out of the store to get the car, I knew I had a new friend, who was sweet and soft and affectionate. 

            I named her Parker, after Dorothy, when I got her home. And for over 20 years, Miss Parker was a friend to me, to Ian, who was her caretaker for the last 7 years, and all the other cats I’ve had.

            She is gone now. The end of an era. But I will never forget that day in the bird store when I held her on my lap, marveling at her softness and sweetness….and our shared distaste for small children.