Norman's Neighborhood

Nine

"I'd better wash the lunch dishes now," Evelyn remarked, getting up from her chair. She picked up the handkerchief, refolded it, and placed it back on the table next to Millie's chair. "Would you like something to drink?"
"That sounds good. How about some nice strong tea?" Millie requested. "I'll come in the kitchen. I need to get up and move a little!" She picked up her cane and stood carefully.

On her way to the kitchen, Millie stopped for a moment and observed the three animals, smiling at the unusual compatibility of a bird, a cat, and a dog. Normandy still lay sprawled on the floor with Jester and Louie for company, his large head resting on his outstretched front paws. Jester's vibrant plumage stood out in marked contrast to the dog's neutral gray coat, while Louie's luxurious silver tabby coloring blended in. The gregarious bird was now standing on Louie, preening the long hairs of his tail. The cat was nestled near the big dog's chest, and occasionally Jester's black beak ran through some of the dog's fur as well.

Without raising his head, the dog rolled his eyes upward to glance at Millie. His prominent eyebrows brought to her mind again his resemblance to Leo Khatchaturian, and Millie smiled to herself. She'd had an interesting life, she reflected. The deep sorrow of Will's death had been softened, by the passage of time, to a bittersweet memory. She'd once read, in German, the works of poet Ludwig Jacobowski. One of her favorite lines, from "Leuchtende Tage" ("Bright Days"), was this:
Nicht weinen, weil sie vorüber!
Lächeln, weil sie gewesen!
English translation:
Do not cry because they are past!
Smile, because they once were!

Millie sat down at the table, facing the living room so she could see the trio. The tea kettle was on the stove, just beginning to whistle, and Evelyn had already put two mugs on the table. Millie's featured a flock of caiques, while the design on Evelyn's was of an elephant equipped with a colorful houdah. Evelyn loved elephants, and collected them in many forms. Even her phone case had a design of elephants!

Norman kept his eyes on Millie. He was grateful for the hospitality of the two kind ladies and for the ready acceptance of himself by Jester and Louie; he felt as if all of them were great friends already. However, he had a strong compulsion to get back to his own family. He shifted restlessly. Louie got up and stretched as fully as only a cat can, then wound his way through the kitchen doorway. Jester, who had hopped to the floor, bounced giddily into the kitchen and climbed up onto her cage.

It was time to leave. Norman slowly scuffed over to the front door, then turned his head to look back at Millie.
"Evelyn, it looks like Normandy is ready to go... We've enjoyed meeting you, Normandy. I hope you'll come and visit again!"
Evelyn came out of the kitchen and went to the door. Opening it for the big gray dog, she echoed Millie's sentiment as she told him,
"Goodbye, Normandy. Come again any time!"
With a backward glance and a slow wave of his tail, Norman stepped outside.

Trotting down the path toward the sidewalk, Norman sniffed the fresh air. The sun was shining, making him blink in its brightness. Every color was intense after the rain... As he passed under the wisteria-covered arch, water dripped from the rain-soaked vine onto his back, but his coat was so dense that he hardly noticed.
He shook a little, turned, and continued down the sidewalk.

There were a few small puddles here and there where the pavement was uneven, and at one of the larger ones Norman stopped to lap up a bit of rainwater. It was fresh tasting, unlike the soapy gray water he had encountered in the gutter! Birds sang merrily in the treetops, melodically expressing their pleasure in the balmy afternoon sunshine. From down the street, voices carried in the still air. A car door slammed; an engine started. Norman's ears turned this way and that, registering the various sounds as he jogged along steadily, passing house after house.

The neighborhood was unfamiliar; he had gotten off track earlier, when he was startled by the reckless driver. He felt disoriented, and needed to get his bearings. He passed a vacant lot, its bare ground dark from the recent storm. Wisps of steam rose here and there in response to the warmth of the sun. Little birds fluttered over the moist soil, pulling the worms that had surfaced. Norman took only cursory notice of the activity.

From behind, there was a vaguely familiar sound. It grew louder - a muffled, scraping rumble accompanied by "Click-click, click-click, click-click, click-click," until it was almost upon Norman. Continuing to jog down the sidewalk, he twisted around a bit to look over his left shoulder. Two young boys, probably a little older than Todd Benson, were overtaking him rapidly on their four-wheeled conveyances; one rode a scooter, and the other a skateboard. Both seemed oblivious of the large animal directly in their path, so Norman scuttled off the edge of the sidewalk and pressed himself against the chain-link fence surrounding a freshly landscaped yard.

The boys whizzed by without seeming to take any notice of the dog. The sounds of their transport receded: "Click-click, click-click, click-click, click-click..." and Norman moved on. He sprinted a block or so, then slowed for a while. He couldn't just dash along without direction; he needed to get on track to return home!

As he ambled slowly, sniffing the air and taking in the sounds of people and animals going about their lives, Norman caught scent of something he hadn't encountered before. It was some sort of animal; not a dog, nor a cat, nor any other creature with which he was familiar... and then he saw it, or rather, them. In a sort of cage with an open floor, a fluffy white thing sat munching the still-damp grass.

There were several other, much smaller and less fluffy, miniature white things scampering around in the enclosure. The cat-sized one suddenly sat up on largish hind feet, front paws dangling and long ears straight up. Some of the little ones mimicked the bigger one, coming over to sniff at Norman with wildly twitching noses. Norman didn't know what those creatures were, but they seemed friendly. He sniffed back at them cordially, but didn't stay long. The largest one returned to all four feet, but continued to watch him as he resumed his journey.

An interesting smell wafted in the air; it smelled like food, but not ordinary food. It was an exotic, alluring smell, and it was making Norman salivate. It seemed to be issuing from somewhere just down the street, in the direction he was currently heading. He picked up his pace, licking his chops as he loped along.

There was a market at the end of the block, a dazzling white stucco building with awnings of broad blue and white stripes. The sign above the doorway read, "Thessaloniki Aegean Market and Deli". 

A few cars occupied parking spaces near the front of the store. Norman saw an old, bent-over woman crossing the small parking lot, scooting her walker. "Scraaaape, rattle-rattle, scraaaape," the walker seemed to complain. The woman plowed forward, toward the street.

Instinct set off alarms in Norman's head!  Anticipating what was about to happen, he put on a burst of speed and galloped up to the wizened old woman.  Just as she lifted her walker down into the street, he grabbed the back of her long, bulky sweater in his teeth.  Horns blared as cars swerved aside to avoid the aged woman.
"Yaya! Stop!" a girl's voice called out.

A tall, thin teenage girl raced up, long black hair swinging, and put her hands gently on the elderly woman's stooped shoulders. As she struggled to maneuver the woman and her walker back up onto the sidewalk, she met with resistance.
"It's on fire!" the old woman exclaimed, pointing shakily across the street with her gnarled hand, toward a house that had two large windows facing the street.

"Yaya, that's a reflection of the sun," the girl explained patiently. "Now, we need to get out of the street. It's dangerous here." She tried again to get the woman turned around, but "Yaya" gripped her walker with both hands and stiffened her body.

Norman, who had let go of the sweater, prepared to take hold of it again. He stood right up against the elderly woman and nudged her.
"Yaya! Zoë, what's happening?" A skinny red-haired woman ran across the parking lot and up to the scene of disorder. Her thick hair, wound into a high bun, was skewered in place by a bright blue pencil. A few strands had come loose and framed her pale face.

"Yaya was heading into the street," explained Zoë, "and this dog stopped her!"
"I've never seen him around here," responded the younger woman, helping Zoë shepherd the elderly one to safety, "but he's just what we needed!"