Henry the Cat

by Jeri Anne Agee

  I kept an eye on him as we left the swings to sit in the grass. He finally walked over and sat down right in the middle of the four of us. Then he started to groom himself until there couldn’t have been a spot he didn’t clean. I tried not to stare at him since no one else could see him, and I really tried not to yell out “THERE’S AN INVISIBLE CAT SITTING RIGHT HERE IN FRONT OF US, LICKING HIS BEHIND!” because I knew they would all think I was crazy.

  I was just starting to relax and think that maybe Henry was just there for a visit when he stood up and started strolling down the hill back toward the neighborhood.

  I knew this may be my only chance to find out where Henry was going, and I didn’t want to waste any time. So I stood up and asked, “Who wants to go for a walk?”

  Sally looked at me and mouthed the word “Henry?” I nodded my head and she understood that we needed to go. We really do need to come up with a code word.

  Peter and Billy both agreed, too, and we set out on what I assumed was about to be some kind of adventure.

  Chapter 10

  THE JOURNEY

  I couldn’t figure out where Henry was leading us, and I wasn’t having one of my feelings. I tried to relax and let the feeling come to me, but nothing was happening.

  As we continued to walk through the neighborhood, I took a few deep breaths and looked around at the streets lined with magnolia trees and blossom trees with the smell of honeysuckle and roses in the air. I could hear kids playing and dogs barking and lawn mowers mowing. I’ve always loved roaming through the neighborhood because of all these things. That day, I might have enjoyed it more if I wasn’t so busy following an invisible cat and trying to convince my friends to keep walking.

  As soon as we reached the main entrance and turned left out of the neighborhood, Peter suddenly stopped and said, “How far are we going to go? I’ve got to be home for dinner by six o’clock.”

  Billy stopped too, and said, “Me too. Plus, I’ve got homework to do.”

  I froze mid-stride. Not because Peter had to be home for dinner at six o’clock, and not because Billy had homework to do. I froze because I suddenly knew where we were going. I closed my eyes and could see it plain as day: Henry the cat looking up at me, right by the dumpster behind what was clearly Daddy’s store! I didn’t say anything to anyone about the vision I just had because I wanted to keep it to myself until I was sure about why we were going to Daddy’s store. And I didn’t want Peter and Billy to think I was crazy.

  I had to come up with a good reason for everyone else to keep walking, because I wasn’t about to turn around now.

  I quickly said, “I thought we could walk over to Daddy’s grocery store and get a cookie!”

  As soon as I said the word “cookie,” they were all in. My friends know what the cookies at Daddy’s store are like. They are about as big as your head and have extra chocolate chips in them. They are so good! Daddy says people come from miles around just for those cookies.

  Daddy’s store isn’t the shortest walk, and we hadn’t told any of our parents where we were going. I was starting to get nervous about walking this far, but I knew we had to make it to Daddy’s store. I sped up when I noticed it was starting to get dark, and because I was getting nervous the closer we got. It seems like every time I have a vision, something or someone needs my help. This time, I worried that Henry needed my help—but I didn’t know why, just that we had to get to Daddy’s store. Henry must have sensed what I’d seen because he stopped, looked at me, and meowed as if to say “hurry up.”

  We still had a good bit of ground to cover before we got to Daddy’s store. I couldn’t believe everyone was still with me the farther we walked. They must really like Daddy’s cookies.

  Chapter 11

  SURPRISE FOR FOUR

  As the sky turned darker, it started getting a little cooler outside. Henry stayed a good bit in front of us, but I made sure not to take my eyes off him.

  Soon, I began having another one of my feelings. I closed my eyes for a second and felt the butterflies in my stomach, but there was no vision along with it. I stopped to catch my breath and closed my eyes for even longer, but still there was nothing.

  I thought about Grandma Mae and what she would tell me. She would tell me to relax my mind and my body and let any thoughts come to me, and all of that stuff that is hard for a kid to do.

  But I really wanted to try. I closed my eyes one more time and I saw it. Clear as a bell, I saw where I was supposed to go, and why! My heart began beating a little faster and I opened my eyes and started walking a little quicker, and then running.

  The others were still with me, and as we rounded the top of the hill, there was Daddy’s store just on the other side of the street. We crossed the street and I ran behind the store, where all of the garbage dumpsters are kept and deliveries are made. That’s where I’d seen Henry in my first vision. Sally, Peter, and Billy followed close behind. I headed into a wooded area near a creek back there. As soon as I reached the edge of the creek I saw them.

  Four tiny kittens huddled together inside an old tire on the ground!

  Henry was sitting right next to them. Were these Henry’s babies? They had to be. One of the kittens was solid white, just like him. The other three kittens had different colored paws and a few colored markings on their ears or tails, but they still looked like Henry.

  By then, my friends had caught up with me. Thankfully, no one asked why I had run over there like a crazy person. Then it dawned on me . . . what if the others couldn’t see the kittens?

  I looked at them and nervously opened my mouth to ask, “Does everyone see four kittens right in front of us?”

  But just then Sally squealed, “Oh my goodness . . . kittens!” and reached out to pick up the one that was meowing the loudest.

  I could hear the kitten purring in her arms from where I stood. I let out a sigh of relief and said, “I’m glad you can see them, too!”

  Peter looked at me in a weird way and said, “Of course we can see the kittens. We aren’t blind, Birdie Mae!” and he elbowed me in the side and laughed.

  Billy and Peter each reached down to pick up one of the little fur balls, too. The one Billy reached for was small and quiet compared to the others, and the one Peter picked up had orange ears and orange feet. The last one left was the solid white one that looked just like Henry. I picked him up, and he nuzzled my neck and purred. I didn’t think I could be any happier than I was at that moment.

  Then I looked down and there was Henry weaving in and out of my legs as if to say Thank you, thank you, over and over again.

  When he finally walked away, I watched him climb to the top of the dumpster and perch on top of a box like he was king of the world. I smiled at the sight.

  I kept my eye on Henry as I held his tiny little fur ball baby in my hands. Henry seemed so content that he was now lying down and cleaning himself again.

  I gazed down at the tiny kitten in my hands and couldn’t believe how much he resembled Henry. When I looked up, Henry was gone.

  I wondered, Could this be why Henry came to me? If these were his kittens, where was the mother cat? I had so many questions, and no one to ask. I thought to myself that a trip to Grandma Mae’s house might be in order. Maybe she could help shed some light on this whole situation.

  But right then, I knew that those kittens needed a home. I handed Sally the white kitten I was holding and ran inside to get Daddy. When I reached the store entrance, the smell of cookies hit me and it made my stomach growl. I found Daddy right away, and he followed me outside with a worried look on his face.

  As soon as Daddy saw those four fur balls he let out a long low whistle and asked, “Well, what do we have here?”

  All four of us at once excitedly asked, “Can we keep them? Can we keep them?” and Daddy let out a big belly laugh.

  He said, “Are you sure the mama cat isn’t around here somewhere?”

  I looked at Daddy and, in a whisper, I said what I believed to b
e true. “I don’t think they have a mama or a daddy anymore.”

  He looked at me, but he didn’t question it.

  I knew that the kittens were Henry’s and I knew that there was no mother cat coming back.

  Daddy mentioned that the kittens looked hungry, and as if they understood, they each meowed their own different sweet sound.

  He said, “Stay right here. I’ll be right back.”

  Soon Daddy came back carrying a box with a baby’s blanket in it, and a can of cat food.

  After I asked Daddy for about the tenth time if we could keep them, he at least agreed to go inside and call everyone’s parents and explain the situation. And to let them know where we were, since it was now dark and way past time for us to have been home.

  A few minutes later, he pulled the car around back and told us to hop in and bring the kittens. Sally and I jumped up and down and squealed with delight as we all climbed into Daddy’s car.

  Chapter 12

  LITTLE HENRY

  We drove straight to our house because Daddy said everyone’s parents were going to pick them up there. Sally’s, Peter’s, and Billy’s parents had all agreed to take a look at the kittens. I knew that once they saw them we would all get to keep them. Everyone’s family already had pets—Peter has Marshall, Billy has a dog that came to school that one day, Sally has a guinea pig, and my family used to have a dog but he ran off with the neighbor’s dog one summer. (Sally and I used to say they ran off to get married.) None of us had ever had a cat before, but that was about to change.

  When we got inside, Bubba went crazy once he saw the kittens.

  He started yelling “Kitty, kitty, kitty, kitty!” and doing a dance around the room fully decked out in his new cowboy costume that mama had bought him. Buying costumes has been one way that Mama can get Bubba to wear more than just his superhero underwear.

  After Daddy looked at each kitten carefully, he announced that there were three girls and one boy, and if everyone’s parents agree to keep a kitten, then we better start picking out which one we want.

  We all knew which one we wanted. The same kitten we had each picked up back at the store. It was easy. The small, quiet kitten went to Billy, the long-legged kitten with the orange paws and orange ears went to Peter, and the little kitten that was white with gray paws and meowed all the time went to Sally. That left one kitten: mine. It was the only all-white kitten and the only boy, and I was so excited that I got to keep the one that looked just like Henry! We each picked up our kitten and nuzzled it and then watched them play with each other.

  “What should we name them?” Sally asked.

  I looked at the white fluff ball in my arms and the big blue eyes staring back at me and said, “I think you look just like a Henry.”

  Everyone laughed, and Sally gave me a knowing smile. Of course, no one else but me knew what the real Henry looked like and how much this kitten resembled him. But my friends agreed that he looked like a Henry, and the name was chosen.

  Sally stroked her kitten and said, “I think I’ll call her Cotton because she looks like a puffy ball of cotton.”

  Billy and Peter were still trying to figure out what to name their kittens, especially since they both had girl cats. They wanted names that weren’t too girly but still sounded cool.

  Sally and I giggled at the two boys trying to come up with girl names. Then the doorbell rang and there were Sally’s parents standing at the door with a box in their hands and big smiles on their faces.

  When Peter’s parents and Billy’s parents arrived, they took one look at the kittens and both agreed to keep them. We were all so excited!

  After everyone had gone and it was just me and Mama in the living room playing with little Henry, I said, “Do you think we could take him to see Grandma Mae soon?”

  Mama gave me her understanding smile and said, “I think that can be arranged. I’ll go call her now so she will know when to expect us.”

  Chapter 13

  ANOTHER VISIT WITH GRANDMA MAE

  The next afternoon, we put little Henry in his box and loaded it into the car to go to Grandma Mae’s house. I had a lot of questions for Grandma Mae that I hoped she could answer.

  I hadn’t told Mama the details, but she knew that I wanted to talk to Grandma Mae about everything that went on with big Henry. I hadn’t seen him since we found the kittens. Had he disappeared forever?

  We drove to Grandma Mae’s house with little Henry. He softly meowed. I knew Grandma Mae would go crazy over him, and she did.

  Mama stayed and we all played with the kitten for a little while. Then Mama left and took little Henry back home so Grandma Mae and I could talk.

  I said, “Grandma, so many things have happened over the past few days that I don’t know how I’m feeling about all of it.”

  Grandma hugged me before we sat down and she said, “Tell me all about it.”

  I told Grandma about the crazy things that had been happening with my gift lately. How I helped find the Doolittles’ dog Marshall, and how there was a nail in Darrel’s tire, and about Grandma Ray falling and breaking her ankle, and of course about finding the kittens.

  Then I explained the most important part: how Henry was there with me each time I’d had a vision, and that I’d had more of them than usual when he was around. That’s what I was so confused about. Was Henry related to the visions?

  “What if Henry is the reason I was having so many visions and now that he’s gone, I may not have them anymore?” I asked Grandma.

  Grandma Mae just smiled and said, “There’s all kinds of ways to use your gift, Birdie Mae, but I don’t believe that relying on an invisible cat is one of them. You may think you couldn’t have done it without Henry, but if you really think about it, my guess is Henry just happened to be there when you had your visions.”

  I must have looked doubtful because Grandma Mae continued. “From what you told me, Sally was also there for all your recent visions,” she said, “and several other things probably happened the same every time. Maybe you were always in your neighborhood, or at the park, or at your house. But I can promise you there is no one thing that is causing you to have your visions. It’s just the gift you were born with.”

  That made sense. I hadn’t thought about it that way. That still left one question, though.

  I said, “But what about Henry? He’s gone now and we have his kittens. Do you think that is why he showed up here?”

  She said, “Yes, I think Henry was here for you and for those kittens. I don’t know what happened to the mother cat, but it’s clear that Henry knew these kittens needed caring for and he led you to them because he knew you would take care of them. And that’s what you did. That may be all he wanted, and he may not be back.”

  That made me a little sad. I said, “Just as I was getting used to the big white fluffy guy, he disappears.”

  Grandma Mae said, “But look at what he gave you in return. Not only did you get more practice with your visions, but now you also have a beautiful little kitten!”

  I smiled and jumped up and hugged Grandma Mae. “Grandma, you always know the right things to say to make me feel better.”

  She said, “I bet I know something else that will make you feel better. How about we go get some ice cream and then I’ll drop you off at home so you can play with your new kitten?”

  I said, “Now you’re talking!” and we both laughed.

  Chapter 14

  ONE SPECIAL KITTEN

  Over the next few days, there was still no sign of big Henry. I guessed he really was gone for good. I also hadn’t had any visions since the last time I saw him.

  Meanwhile, Sally, Peter, Billy, and I were all having fun with our new kittens, who were growing quickly into big fluff balls just like big Henry. There wasn’t much else we talked about when the four of us were together, and we took turns sharing the funny things that our kittens did.

  Sally told us how her kitten Cotton and the guinea pig weren’t so sure abo
ut each other at first but now they seem to be friends.

  Peter said, “I’ve never heard of a cat and a guinea pig being friends, but I guess there’s a first time for everything!”

  Then, one afternoon when I was lying on the bed petting little Henry, I had one of my feelings again! My stomach fluttered, and I felt very uneasy. I looked around, half expecting to see big Henry sitting outside my window again, but he wasn’t there.

  Just then, little Henry jumped off the bed and stood by my bedroom door. He looked up at me and meowed a tiny but long meow. I wondered if he might be hungry, so I got up and followed him down the hall. He continued to look back at me and meow as I followed him.

  My strange feeling was getting stronger, and then it happened: I closed my eyes and I saw the reason for my feeling . . . a vision of Bubba climbing up the bookcase in the living room!

  As soon as I opened my eyes, I ran toward the living room and yelled out, “Mama, Bubba is climbing on the bookcase again!”

  When I rounded the corner into the living room, I saw Bubba halfway up the bookcase and little Henry pacing back and forth at the bottom of it, meowing and meowing.

  Just then Mama came into the room. She paused for a moment in shock and then hurried over and reached up to grab Bubba before he could get any higher. He was giggling and kicking his feet as she picked him up.

  Mama put him down and said, “Bubba, how many times do I have to tell you not to climb on the bookcase? It’s very dangerous and you could fall and hurt yourself.”