Audrey Hepburn's Pearls: Part I

Chapter 63.1: 1995, Georgina

Chapter 63.1: 1995, Georgina

 

Sometime in the mid-afternoon, I was sitting on the couch watching Oprah. She was talking about cooking, a chef rapidly showing her things. Needless to say, I was immersed in it since I love cooking. The ravioli I'd had around 1pm was settled in my tummy in just the right spot and I was enjoying myself. After fluffing the couch to get the pillows the way I wanted them -finding a Cap'n Crunch kernal under one of them for some reason- I had been exhausted but quite satisfied. Even better, Cha Cha was asleep in her bedroom right now. It made me very content to know she was getting some well deserved rest.

Oprah was stirring the pot when movement appeared to my front right side. And when my eyes flicked there, I gasped, my hand going over my mouth.

Regally, a beautiful white and grey creature was slinking slowly out of the doorway of the small room off the living room. With eyes of deep blue, highly inquisitive, the large, fluffy cat was observing me. Stepping soft on the carpet, it was making its way in my direction as if apprehensive.

No one had told me there was a cat here.

By itself, my mouth started making clickings to try to coax it near me. A memory of times very far gone by when I'd seen homeless cats came to mind. They'd been everywhere, and I'd tried my best when I was young to get them close enough to pet. But feral cats are not ones to do this. 

However, this was no feral cat. It looked well maintained, lovingly so. As if it'd never had a non-well taken care of day in its life. Even around its neck was a pink collar with a heart-shaped tag.

"Come here, baby," I whispered, my voice not higher than Oprah's on the low TV right now but gentle. The cat just continued to stare at me, still, not much away from the doorway. My hand began to beckon her, my fingers curling. I didn't want to scare her.

With a burst of speed, the cat jumped my way and I jumped back into the couch in surprise. It pounced onto the arm and suddenly it was on my lap. This I was not prepared for and its slight weight shifted around as the cat walked all over my knees and thighs. There was one thing for sure: it sure wasn't afraid of me. Not like any cat I'd ever met.

"What's your name?" I asked, struggling to get ahold of the little tag on its collar as it tried desperately to get me to scratch under its chin. In no time, I was giggling as it rubbed its face on my hands. Finally, I was able to get that tag and look. "Baby Doll? That's a pretty name," I laughed, giving in and rubbing under her chin as her motor started running. At least, I was assuming it was a girl cat with a name like Baby Doll.

Her face dug into my thigh, we were instant friends. Oprah tasted the fruits of her labor with the chef on TV and proclaimed it the best thing she'd ever tasted. 

After a while, Oprah was just ending when the phone rang and made me jump, causing the kitty to frighten but not leap off of me which I was grateful for. But this presented a problem.

The phone. I couldn't talk on the phone. Would they understand me? Would what I was saying be correct? I hadn't been presented with this problem before. Instant worry was born in my heart and the phone rang on as I deliberated in my head what to do. 

I jumped again as the door of Cha Cha's room banged open quickly and she rushed out with heavy movements. My hand went over my heart in relief, but worry as well. I wanted her to rest. She needed more sleep. She'd only been asleep for about three hours. But the call may have been important and there was no way I could talk on the phone. It was a sad conundrum.

The phone lifted with a plastic scraping and I listened in due to being here.

"Bueno?" Cha Cha asked. I was confused. Was that how one answers the phone in Spanish? Did she get a lot of people calling her in Spanish? How many people did she know who spoke Spanish? 

"Oh, hello. No, I called your phone this morning. I'm at this number, too. I'm sorry. Did you backtrack the call? Oh, I see. Your name is Tony, right? Right. Ruiz? Oh, I'm sorry. No, she's not here. Um...I can give you her phone number. One moment...Okay. Do you have a pen and paper? Yes, I can wait."

After a few moments, she was off the phone and I heard her walking down the hall again. I hoped she'd go back into her room, but she didn't. Instead, she joined me in the living room. She plopped onto the couch near me and sighed.

"Who was that?" I asked.

"Oh, that was Tony, Ruiz's friend." She swallowed and then smiled at me. "I see you've made friends."

I noticed the warmth on my lap again. Baby Doll was in a ball, silently resting with slow breathing for a cat. "Cats like old ladies," I said, rubbing the top of her head between her ears. This was met with a rumbling from within her, causing the sides of my mouth to curl up in content.

"Baby Doll likes everyone. Friendliest cat in the world," Cha Cha beamed. But then she looked troubled. It made my eyebrows crease. She continued and I found out why. "She's Ambrose's cat."

"Oh," I said, looking down at Baby Doll. "He must love her a lot. She's so well taken care of."

"Hm?" Cha Cha asked. She must not have understood me. I needed to simplify.

"Ambrose must love Baby Doll a lot," I repeated slowly.

"Oh. Yes, he does. It makes me worried."

"Why?" That was a weird connection to what I had said. Why would it make her worried?

"Because he's all alone over there in detox. He must miss her a lot."

Oh. That made a lot of sense. 

She sighed, and leaned against the couch, staring at us. "I bought her for him a couple of years ago for his birthday. He'd just started living with me and he was so sad all of the time. Ruiz told me that he'd had a cat when he was little, so I decided to buy him a cat and when he got her he lit up. I'll never forget it. She helped him get over something, but I don't know what. She's been a comfort to him. Now he doesn't have her. It makes me very worried. He doesn't have anybody and he thinks Ruiz hates him. I don't know what to do." Melancholy filled her face and made me unsure what to do either. But I wanted her to be okay.

So without the words, I lifted my hand and rested it on her's. She looked up, gentle surprise on her face but the sadness still in her eyes. We stared at each other for a few moments as the News on TV squaked on about something or other. 

Finally, I thought of something to say though I knew it couldn't be at all comforting because it was a lie. But at least it was something in sincerity, which she could perhaps appreciate.

"It will be okay," I tried to convince her, staring into her sad brown eyes.

"I hope so," she said in a rolling sigh.

I patted my hand on her's to secure it and there it remained for the rest of the News, a silent effort of comfort.