WINTER PEOPLE
Shortly after the snake fiasco, things quieted down at the campground very quickly. Tex and Dog mysteriously disappeared from their usual camping spot. The owner-lady wasn’t pleased about their sudden departure. She alternated between telling me it was all my fault to sharing popcorn with me while sniffling at girl movies in the evenings. I tended to stay far away from her during the yelling episodes and pretended to stalk mousies in the garden for long periods of time. Every now and then, I’d do errands with the owner-lady around town. It didn’t take long before a new crowd of people rolled into the campground; the winter folks. Much quieter than the summer people, they tended to stay indoors a bit or spend time with the owner-lady chatting about what they’d been doing all summer while lounging in the office with a mug full of something hot. One of the winter people was an older woman that had obviously been here before. I watched as the owner-lady exchanged happy hugs with the older woman after she walked into the office. In a matter of minutes, the older woman had pulled her tiny trailer into one of the smaller spots. That trailer was almost as small as the Texan’s teardrop! I figured she was an okay person when she smiled after I gave her my most handsome eye blinks. The older woman was tall with very long iron gray hair pulled back out of her face, fierce steel-blue eyes and reminded me of the old cat lady in many ways; independent and confident, albeit much younger than the old cat lady. Of course, women are hard to age properly. Yup, best stay away from the age topic! Even talking about cat-eating snakes is nearly preferable to the age topic.
The older woman and Renee-owner spent time in the evenings catching up with each other. The topics included the Texan and Dog and the cute little teardrop. I knew it was a matter of time before the snake fiasco was brought up. I tended to leave the apartment when they got together to talk, but this one time I was enjoying the warmth of the owner-lady’s scarf she threw down on the kitchen chair (okay, she threw it over the chair, but it must have puddled into the seat by itself). It was at that time the snake attack was brought up; only the owner-lady made it sound like my cat-eating python was a tiny black snake! She made me sound pitiful. I stretched as I fully woke up and tried to tell the older woman my side of the story. I meowed and told her how huge the snake was and the attack and the chaos! All I got was a laugh from the older woman and a head scratch. Renee-owner was giving me that accusing look as she finished the story. I put on my most innocent face and blinked. Hrm, not working. The topic seemed to instantly change to my most favorite thing, food! They were talking about a turkey and recipes and pies with homemade whipping cream. I settled in next to the older woman (whose name was Carmen) and envisioned all that food set out for the owner-lady and me. I think I missed part of the conversation because the next thing I realized they were putting on coats to go outside. I darted out with the ladies as they headed toward the tiny trailer.
The inside of the trailer was decorated with delicate woodworking and bright curtains. It was warm and cozy and of course, I made myself at home. Any friend of the owner-lady is a friend of mine. Through the following days and nights, I alternated staying with the owner-lady and Carmen. Thoughts of the Texan and Dog were far, far away.
The next errand day both ladies went out and bought bags and bags of groceries. The hugest turkey I’ve ever seen was in one bag. My mouth was watering just thinking about it cooking all day in the little apartment above the office. I slept happily thinking about a huge feast and I think I was drooling a bit on the pillow.
Early the next morning, both ladies were busy in the kitchen and I took my spot on the window sill to oversee all the activities. The smell was heavenly. It was all I could do to purr my loudest and clean myself up for the feast.
But wait, what? Why was I being escorted out of the kitchen of the feast? The older woman had a pretty good grip on me, so I didn’t struggle; besides, she was carrying a bag of something that smelled good. After being deposited in the tiny trailer, she began doing some cooking there too. I watched as she took a whole chicken and fussed with butter and spices and put it in a very heavy black pot with an equally heavy lid. She carried it outside to a special table where she had some coals going and arranged the coals on the pot with tongs. Never seen chicken cooked like that, but chicken any style is yummy to me. I stayed with her most of the day and her little trailer began to smell just as good as the owner-lady’s apartment in no time. While the food cooked, she sat at her tiny table reading a book and peeked out the curtains at regular intervals. A familiar sounding truck drove in and I peeked out the window too while we watched old Tex and Dog back into their usual spot. I meowed to go out, but Carmen was firm and promised me gravy and giblets and chicken if I stayed put. Food always wins, so we both just watched as Tex and Dog sauntered up to the office apartment with a bottle of something in a bag. Was it just me or did Dog look like he had a bath? Tex looked all cleaned up too, but then he always put on his good hat when he went to see the owner-lady. Oh boy, I can’t wait until Dog gives me the scoop on where he’s been and everything. Does this mean no more evil eye from the owner-lady? The suspense was about as enticing as the food about to be served in the tiny trailer with steamed up windows. I sighed happily and tried not to drool thinking of giblet gravy.
by queeniejeanne » Thu Dec 09, 2010 4:52 pm
Yea! Those giblets get me every time. Thanks ratkity.
HEY a tiny trailer. Whatever it takes.
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queeniejeanne - Lifetime member
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