Tuesday, August 05, 2008

"Her husband was quite cross when he'd come home and found out", said Aunt Lillian. She was an older woman who'd had three children, all left for school. She liked to drink wine out on the porch with old friends and talk while staring out onto the garden. Summer was so short.
Today, her neice Raya was over to talk about Lil's sister Martha.
"So, she'd taught this new kitten to not chase mice?" asked Raya.
"Well, yes." She replied and topped off Raya's glass of white. "She didn't want 'icky dead mice' all over the place for the baby to put in it's mouth. Not like they really seemed to have any rodent problems. So she bought this wind up mouse toy and taught it to love the toys and to ignore other things like mice. I'm not so sure as to how. I never really got to ask her." She remembered that cat well and how adorably it tousled and fought with it's precious toy.
"I don't understand how this has anything to do with her husband divorcing her, Aunty." Raya was used to the long drawn out stories of bridge and Club that her aunt told but when her side stepping became part of a story she actually wanted to hear, it was a little annoying.
"It was because of the baby," replied Lil.
"This baby again. What baby? Aunt Martha doesn't have any children. She never has..."
Lil shook her head sadly and hated being one of the last to be around to tell these stories. She preffered happier tales.
"The cat has to do with him leaving her because when a rat bit their newborn baby and killed the poor thing, her husband blamed the cat for not mousing it. And blamed Martha for teaching it to be the way it was and consequently for the death of their child."
Raya was so lost and stunned that she'd never heard of this until now. It just explained so much but she'd always taken for granted that Martha was the way she was just because. Such childish logic, really.
"She went mad, then?" ventured Raya.
Lillian looked out at her peonies and thought of that little kitten and how cute it used to be until Martha had murdered it and run it's blood all over the babies room walls. The mess had been horrifying.
"Oh, yes." She refilled her glass.