Welcome
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| There
were many cats in Mystic Island when we first met Sweet Pea and Asparagus,
but most of them seemed to disappear as the season wore on. Sweet
Pea and Asparagus, who we suspected were related, hung out together. The
two of them were our guests for supper every night. In the early
evening they would bound up the many steps to our home. Because of
the possibility of flooding, being so close to a lagoon, the houses in
our neighborhood were built on stilts, or long poles. That is why
there were so many steps. Next to us was a deserted boatyard.
Sweet Pea was a small black and white cat, with exceptionally long white whiskers and large green eyes like two glimmering pools. She had a white spot on her black back and a black spot on her white tummy. But her special feature was a small black “mustache” which appeared under her little pink nose. Asparagus was a distinguished gray and black tabby. She was very devoted to Sweet Pea. Their domain was the tall grasses and banks of the lagoon. |
Our
family, which included my brother Bill and my mother, had taken a
great fancy to these little cats. Once, when Sweet Pea disappeared
after a storm we feared she had drowned in the lagoon. Asparagus
kept a vigil for her on the landing for several days and would not eat
until she returned. Sweet Pea lost her voice from that experience,
and could never meow properly again.
Life was generally pleasant despite the threat of sudden storms. The lagoon reflected the sun with sparkling ripples. Often we would see the moon shining so brightly in the water that it looked like it belonged there. We at first wondered where the two little cats took refuge from storms, and eventually realized it was a boat named the Azalee, because we saw them emerge from it several times. They had chosen well, as it was one of the better abandoned boats and still looked somewhat seaworthy. We often wondered about its owner. How would they feel about the new occupants? But to Sweet Pea and Asparagus, all that seemed to matter was that the Azalee was home. At the end of summer we noticed that Sweet Pea looked as if she was ready to have her first litter of kittens. We had seen a very large black cat in the vicinity for several days. He even ventured up our steps once, but Asparagus made a disagreeable sound and he backed off. She was very outspoken. He visited us once more a week later, but made no effort to join the others for supper. He disappeared after that, but we were sure that he was the father of Sweet Pea’s kittens. |
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Every day we watched for signs of Sweet Pea’s blessed
event. She came to dinner a little earlier, and seemed hungrier.
The black spot on her white tummy was getting bigger.
One night when she came for supper (much later than usual), we saw her black spot was small again, in fact, all of Sweet Pea was small again.
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We realized she had delivered her kittens and were quite excited about it. But we had no idea where she was hiding them. We searched the Azalee as best we could, but there were too many nooks and corners. No signs of kittens anywhere. It became our daily chore, looking for Sweet Pea’s kittens. About six weeks later we were astonished to find them right on our own landing, where Sweet Pea had brought them one by one during the night. It was quite a distance for a little cat to carry four kittens. It meant making the difficult trip from the old boatyard, past the docks, over the stones and up the stairs, all 24 of them, four times. After placing the kittens behind the large air conditioner on the landing, she discreetly left, looking at us from a distance. |
