By JP Vallières
Little droplets of gas dripped making a small pool in the asphalt.
The cat said, Gracias, and licked up the gas, which immediately made her relax.
The cat loved to get high. Getting high made her feel nostalgic for days long gone.
When she was a kitten, she lapped up milk with her siblings. They would crowd around a little bowl, vying for position.
When all the gasoline was gone, the cat tipped over, her tail gently waving in lazy circles.
*
It’s a cat, said a guy chewing gum. He was supposed to be working the register, but didn’t want to. What he really wanted to be doing was painting, but he didn’t know which paints to buy. Whenever he went to look at paints, he became overwhelmed with all the colors and all the styles, until he simply gave up on his dreams and aspirations. Some dreams come at a cost.
Do you love me? asked the guy, squatting down, gasoline in his nostrils.
The cat waved its paw dreamily.
The guy took this as a sign: TAKE ME WITH YOU.
The guy picked her up and walked all the way to his house, forgetting about his gas station duties.
Ma was allergic to every cat she had ever encountered, except for this one. I love her, said the guy’s Ma. I want to pet her and I want her to eat up all the mice in our house.
The guy smiled. Ma smiled. The cat was getting all sorts of attention.
*
The cat woke with a nasty hangover. A mouse ran by, scampered right over the cat’s tail. But she wasn’t hungry, nor was in the mood for tormenting smaller creatures. That’s how hangovers can be.
The cat slept for three days, gas vapors occasionally wafting out her butt.
When she woke, she stretched and yawned and then realized how hungry a cat can be, almost as hungry as a tiger.
She found three baby mice in the guy’s boot. The mice were singing a soft song, but not soft enough!
Thank you! cried Ma. You are so useful!
The cat found the papa mouse and she found the mama mouse and ate them, too. Now there were only aunts and uncles to munch on, and luckily aunts and uncles taste just as good as mamas and papas. Don’t forget about the tiny cousins!
*
There must be something inspiring about the cat; a week after acquiring the cat Ma and the guy changed forevermore.
The guy purchased paints and set forth to paint a wooden fence. And then he found other things to paint like walls and poles and cinder blocks. He went forth and painted and is still painting today.
Ma started walking under the sun. She even smiled and talked to people, like she used to. She made friends at her exercise class and bought a cool pair of shades to wear on the beach.
JP Vallières is from the Village of Adams. He is the author of the novel, The Ketchup Factory. Some of his work can be found at Tin House, Passages North, Litro, and Shenandoah. Find out more at jpvallieres.com.