Ghost Cat - Thelma's Dilemma

by Carol Colbert

  Thelma knew that there were others that could take on the form of an animal other than herself. Caramel and Ace, the miniature ponies in Enchanted could, although Zippy could not. She was actually disappointed that Mrs. Johnson had split them up now that she knew that Snowball could talk. She wondered how much power the other cat possessed.

  Thelma did not have time to find out because Mrs. Johnson plopped herself down on the chair and watched television until the doorbell rang a couple of hours later. It was Sarah at the door.

  “Mrs. Johnson, thank you so much for taking in Gertie and Cooper! I ran home right before lunchtime to pick up something I had forgotten to take to the girl’s school and I never saw them run out. It is so cold outside too, I am going to have to be much more careful from now on.” Sarah said picking up Thelma and putting Cooper’s leash back on.

  “They were good as gold, I enjoyed the company.” Mrs. Johnson said. “They gave me something different to think about and someone to talk to today. It gets boring here all alone, well, with just me and Snowball.”

  “How did the two cats get on?” Sarah inquired. “They were a bit playful, they were fine.”

  Sarah took Cooper and Thelma back to their house and started to make dinner. She fed them extra treats. “I am so sorry you two were out in the cold, I didn’t see you when I was here earlier.”

  Chapter 8

  Thelma had trouble sleeping that night. She kept thinking about Snowball. It was a shame that she was so hostile, it would be nice to have someone to talk to and confer with.

  Sarah told Jim about Cooper and Thelma’s adventure over dinner. “I feel so bad, I never saw them get out of the house. I was so upset about forgetting the chicken for the luncheon at school that I didn’t think about anything but getting back to the school in time. “

  “Well, the good news is that Gertie didn’t run away, she stayed right with Cooper, so that is good to know. They seem like real pals,” Jim said. “By the way, I am thinking maybe the week after next we can run down to Tennessee and get Gertie’s ashes, just a quick trip. Do you think your friends John and Jennifer could look after the girls? The animals should be OK for just those two days, or maybe Mrs. Johnson could let Cooper out once or twice a day, what do you think?”

  “I really hate to leave the girls, but I also hate to drag them back down there and for such a sad occasion again. We don’t know where those ashes are supposed to go, what if they are going on the other side of the state from her house? Or a different state even, we just don’t know what will come up once we get there.” Sarah said.

  “Then we dump them on the road and come back home, who would know?” Jim said. All three of the females at the table stopped eating and looked at him.

  “Daddy, gross!” Suzanne said.

  “You are weird.” This from Riley.

  “Jim!” yelled Sarah.

  “I didn’t mean it, you guys, and I swear I even heard Gertie meow her disapproval. O.K., it wasn’t funny. But otherwise is that O.K. with you if we go in about a week?”

  “I wish we could just go right away and get it over with, the weather is going to turn bad for the coming winter any day again now.” Sarah said.

  “I can’t just take off work again so soon. Things at JAMICO are not going as well as they could be.” Jim mentioned.

  Sarah looked up with a worried expression on her face, but her husband just smiled at her, so she let it go for the time being.

  “Why can’t Mr. Pickles, Riley and I go with you this time?” Suzanne said.

  “You have school. Noting is settled, we will work it out and probably won’t know exactly what we are doing until the last minute knowing us. I guess I should get busy and finish going through all of the papers from the trunk so we don’t miss a thing that would have to have us going on another trip there yet again.” Sarah said.

  “That, my dear, will not happen.” Her husband proclaimed as he put another pork chop on his plate. “In fact, Gertie might just have to wait until spring if we get another early snow storm here or along the way. That is a heck of a long drive even in good weather.”

  Thelma was watching and listening. She was also counting the pork chops, her mouth was watering. She had never gotten as hungry before as she had been since coming there. But then too, she had very little to occupy her time and mind with other than food and Sarah was a very good cook.

  “I think I will bake a pie tomorrow to take to Mrs. Johnson as a thank you for rescuing Cooper and Gertie. She mentioned that she is lonely over there. She must be in her mid-seventies. I feel sorry for her, she is a very nice woman.”

  Thelma’s ears perked up both at the mention of pie and of the possibility of going back into Mrs. Johnson’s house. She would like another crack at that Snowball. Her name should be Fireball.

  “One thing I don’t understand.” Sarah said “I mean besides Gertie and Cooper getting out without me seeing them. Cooper had his leash with him.”

  “Maybe Mrs. Johnson put one on him.” Riley said.

  “No, it was definitely Cooper’s leash. Oh well. Another one of life’s little mysteries.”

  “When you bake the pie tomorrow, are you going to make one for us too?” Suzanne asked. “Of course. How about a nice pumpkin pie?”

  They all heard the sounds of a little tummy growling and they laughed. “Gertie wants a pie too, mommy.”

  The next morning Gertie had time to heat up some left over scalloped potatoes in the microwave and have two cups of coffee. She knew her time was limited, but she also figured that Sarah would probably go to the grocery store to get the ingredients for the pies since Thelma didn’t see any pumpkins in the house.

  Cooper and Thelma had a system worked out where he would bark when he saw one of the family members returning home. Cooper could not speak, other than saying Momma, but he was very smart and was loyal to Thelma. Thelma figured it had something to do with all the bacon and other breakfast foods she would treat him to when she got the time and chance to make breakfast herself.

  She took a very quick shower and even after clearing away the dishes, Sarah hadn’t come back yet.

  Thelma noticed a can of beer in the refrigerator and although she liked the taste of it, she did not want to go through that whole flatulence thing again. Cooper could take the blame for the noise and probably smell, but the blue mist would be hard to explain away.

  Thelma had been adding items to the shopping list that Sarah kept on the refrigerator and that every family member could write what they needed or were out of. She had to make sure they had enough coffee and bacon and other goodies so that what she ate when they were gone would continue to not be noticed. She liked the bread that the family ate, but wondered why Sarah didn’t make her own bread.

  Pouring her third cup of coffee, Thelma opened the journal to read more entries. Gertie seemed to write in a form of short hand on some pages. Thelma figured out that T and L probably meant Thelma and Luna and J was for John. What she couldn’t figure out was what O was for. Her mother’s name was Ophelia, but, if she was reading the journal entries correctly, they told of a defiance and of disrespect and that would not fit her mother. Gertie did speak also of a love for O.

  Thelma’s eyes got big when she saw a notation saying “I hid the ring in the trunk so O would not take it. As long as she does not have it, I know she is more likely to return home. I never should have told her of its powers.”

  The ring has powers! Thelma jumped up and tossed the journal behind the couch and then started towards the bedroom to look for the ring. Just then Cooper started to bark. Darn it!

  Sarah came into the kitchen and saw Cooper and Gertie sitting there waiting for her. She was carrying bags, but no pumpkin. Sarah emptied the contents of the grocery bags onto the table and then turned to preheat the oven. “I see you two have your chops up for goodies, so I’d better get going on them.” Sarah smiled.

  Thelma was looking at the stuff on the table. A pumpkin in a can? I wonder how that
works.

  Soon the kitchen was filled with delicious smells. Sarah was making not only pumpkin pies, but also pumpkin cookies and bread. All from those little cans with the pumpkins on them, Amazing.

  Thelma was waiting for Sarah to leave the room so she could jump up and get cookies for her and Cooper. She changed her mind when Sarah said “I am taking this pie over to Mrs. Johnson’s house. I won’t be long.”

  Thelma ran in front of the door and yelled her little kitty head off. “Do you want to go with me and visit Snowball?” Thelma jumped against the door. “Well, O.K., but I am carrying the pie so you had better stick close to me or you will be in big trouble, sister.”

  Thelma walked besides Sarah to the house next door. Seeing Thelma was with Sarah, Mrs. Johnson said “Oh, maybe I should put Snowball in the other room first.”

  Snowball, who had been standing next to Mrs. Johnson, looked at Thelma at the door and both cats at the same time tried to get to the other, but in a friendly way this time. Neither one of them wanted Snowball to be behind closed doors where they could not deal with each other.

  “Looks like they made friends already, they should be O.K. together. We just wanted to bring you over this pie as a thank you for taking care of Gertie and Cooper yesterday.”

  “Gertie.” Mrs. Johnson said. “That is an unusual name for a cat.” Thelma could swear that she saw something in Snowball’s eyes, but just for a moment. Something sad.

  “Can you stay and have a cup of coffee with me, Sarah?”

  Sarah started to beg off, she was very busy today. But she looked at Mrs. Johnson and realized that she was lonely and really, in the big scheme of things, what difference would 20 minutes make anyway?

  “I think I can spare a few minutes.” Sarah said smiling and placing the pie on the table.

  “Oh good, it should take just a moment to make a pot of coffee.” Mrs. Johnson said, looking happy and moving a bit faster than Sarah had ever seen her move before.

  When Snowball and Thelma saw that the pie would be cut and served, both of them wanted to stick around for a chance at a taste. They looked at each other, calling a silent truce between the two, at least for the next several minutes.

  “I didn’t know that you had gotten another pet, Sarah. What made you get a cat? It seemed like she and Cooper got along well, but wasn’t that taking a chance?” Mrs. Johnson asked, pouring a big mug of coffee and placing it in front of Sarah.

  “She kind of found us. We went to Tennessee for the funeral of a very dear old friend of ours. Her name was Gertie and she was over one hundred years old.” Snowball jumped on the table and sat right in front of Sarah, staring at her.

  Mrs. Johnson put her back on the floor. “I am so sorry, Sarah, what were you saying?”

  Sarah cut the pie and served Mrs. Johnson a piece and herself a smaller piece. “Gertie left us a trunk. We had it on top of the van on the way home. That was when everyone had that freak snowstorm a couple of weeks back.” Sarah said, pausing to take a sip of coffee.

  “I remember, hit several states.” Mrs. Johnson said.

  “We were on our way home when a truck splashed a great deal of water onto the windshield, causing Jim to swerve and the trunk to fall off.”

  “I just wanted to leave it there. It had started snowing hard by that time and I was anxious to get home. Getting that trunk really took much longer than we had anticipated. We did end up circling back and, although the trunk had damage, we managed to get it secured back onto the roof and headed home. It wasn’t until we got here that we looked at the trunk and found this little white filthy and cold kitten. Suzanne named her Gertie after the lady who gave us the trunk.”

  Mrs. Johnson had a faraway look in her eyes. She said nothing for a moment or two and Sarah had almost began to worry that she had drifted off somewhere. “I knew a woman named Gertie once. She was dating a man whose son I was in love with.”

  “Whatever happened to him?” Sarah asked, hoping she was not over stepping their friendship.

  “Oh. Well, his father went off to war and never came back that I know of. Don felt such a responsibility for Gertie for raising him that he refused to leave her.”

  “The Gertie we knew who died helped raise a boy named Don whose father went away to war. But that was in Tennessee.” Sarah said.

  “So was I. I only moved here hoping that Don would follow me, but he never did. Snowball made the trip with me.”

  Sarah and Mrs. Johnson looked at each other at the same time. Thelma and Snowball looked at each other as well. There was no sound in the house, everything was dead quiet and then Mrs. Johnson started to cry. “I don’t suppose we could be talking about the same family, do you, Sarah?”

  “I don’t know. I am talking about Don Ellis and Gertie Enchanter. I believe Don is about seventy seven years old now.” Sarah said.

  Mrs. Johnson started to cry harder now and Sarah got up out of her chair and put her arms around the older lady. “Mrs. Johnson, I am so very sorry, but if this is true and we know the same people, you still have a chance to see Don again.”

  “Is that girl still around?” Mrs. Johnson asked. “Girl?” Sarah said. “I don’t know who you mean, Don is an only child as far as I know and he never married.”

  “Never married.” Mrs. Johnson repeated. “How well did you know him and Gertie?”

  “Jim was transferred to Tennessee from his work place. We were there about six years. Gertie lived in the house next to us. We have only been back in Michigan for a little over one year, we lived in Southgate for a little bit before buying this house.”

  Mrs. Johnson got up and poured them both another cup of coffee. “There was a girl, her name was Ophelia.”

  Snowball started to yowl loudly as if she were in pain. Sarah didn’t know what to do and Mrs. Johnson acted as if she had not heard her.

  “Ophelia was Gertie’s daughter.”

  This surprised Sarah a great deal. “I never knew that Gertie adopted a daughter, never heard one word about her and Gertie herself never mentioned it either.”

  More yowling from Snowball and this time Sarah walked over and petted her on the head. Thelma stood there in shock, just watching and listening. Could this be the “O” that Gertie wrote about in her journals? Thinking back to the wording of the journal, it did sound more like speaking of a rebellious child. If this were true, then Ophelia was Thelma’s cousin. Gertie had named her daughter after her mother, Gertie’s sister.

  Before she could think of what Jim would say about it – Sarah told Mrs. Johnson about the ashes that Don has said that Gertie wanted them to spread and how they were planning a trip back to Tennessee within the next couple of weeks. She also could not help herself when she told Mrs. Johnson that she was welcome to join them so she could see Don again.

  Mrs. Johnson looked at Sarah for a long moment and then said. “Do you think it is possible that Don would still remember me?”

  Sarah said “Well, he never married and never had children, so my guess is that maybe, just maybe, he was waiting for you. What made you come to Michigan?”

  “Foolish pride, like I said, I thought that perhaps Don would follow me. Only he never did. I guess maybe that was a good thing since she only just died. I could have been there all this time fighting with Don about her. I can see where he would be grateful, but to stay with her all of his life seems really odd.” Mrs. Johnson added sadly.

  “Don has his own residence, he did not live with Gertie, at least not the six plus years that we were there. I would imagine he would have inherited the house and whatever else Gertie had since she is gone now. Although, there is the girl. She was not at the memorial service, or if she was I didn’t know it and no one introduced her to us.”

  Chapter 9

  Thelma watched Snowball go into the basement and she followed right behind her. When she was sure that the ladies upstairs could not hear them, Thelma said “You are Ophelia, aren’t you?”

  “Yes. My mother is Gertie and now
she is dead.”

  “What do you remember about your life with her and how you came to live with Mrs. Johnson?” Thelma asked.

  “My mother was very special. She fell in love with the wrong man and let him ruin her life. He was not my father, my father was like me, like us. My mother was afraid that her lover, his name was John, she was afraid that John would leave her if he knew about her powers. You see, my mother was about sixty or so years older than John, but looked to be the same age. When he went off to war I was glad, but then we got stuck with his son, a kid named Donald.”

  “You and Donald did not get along?”

  “We barely knew each other. I had many powers and used them to trick him and hurt him. Mother and I were fighting a lot. I kept running away. I had always heard of a place where people like us belonged. Our last name is Enchanter and there is a village somewhere named Enchanted where my mother’s people are from. I kept wanting to go there. But mother said that it was not Don’s destiny to go there and that she would not leave Tennessee because she wanted to wait for John. She never believed that he would be gone forever.”

  “When did you leave your mother’s house for good?” Thelma asked, feeling very sorry for this young kitten.

  “Well, that was a fluke really. Adela had come to say goodbye. That is Mrs. Johnson’s first name. She is not really a Mrs. since she never married, but that is what people call her anyway. She came to tell Don that she was leaving the state for good, apparently hoping that he would beg her to stay or go with her.”

  Snowball started to sniff loudly. “I admit that I turned myself into cat form – I am actually a very beautiful redheaded young lady. I jumped into her car because I wanted to tear up the seats or something. I hated her because she wasn’t able to convince Don to leave with her. I wanted to scare her or mess up her car – something – anything – that would send her back into the house running to Don to try again to get him to leave.”