[title subtitle=”words: Sarah Phillips Burger
image: Alena Ozerova / Shutterstock”][/title]
He got his name in an incidental kind of way, led primarily by her desire to meet his needs. In the mornings he would sit by the door and meow. “Yes, Boss,” she replied, sliding the glass door to let him outside. Later, after asking him if he would like his dinner, his reply was another meow and whiskers that grazed her calf in his lazy evening attempt at affection. “Okay, Boss.”
When Laura picked him out at the shelter twelve years ago, the name on his certificate read “Smokey,” but that never really stuck. The small, black feline that was more bushy tail than anything else, didn’t answer to it, but always let her know exactly what he wanted, and when.
She sat in her large recliner, gently rocking while she watched him lay in the bay window, bathing in the sun as though that was the sun’s job until further notice. Looking at him now, still bushy tailed but a bit overweight, she couldn’t believe it had been over a decade with him by her side. Boss had been with Laura through the death of her husband and then her move to be closer to her daughter and only grandchild.
He was fiercely loyal, showing affection only to her, fleeing for cover whenever anyone else stopped by to visit. That was, until her granddaughter, Willa. Nowadays, it was hard for her to think of Boss without thinking of Willa, and vice versa. She watched them grow up together, learning about the world around them and relishing in each new delight they found with each other.
Closing her eyes, Laura pictured them chasing butterflies by the pear tree in the back yard, Willa’s long, brown curls bouncing around with every landing of her foot, laughing as Boss leapt high in the air in his vain attempt to capture his prey. She could see the two of them curled up together in the guest bedroom, Boss sleeping in the crook of Willa’s bent legs, the both of them soundless and resting after a long day. She even witnessed moments between them that seemed private, in a way, like when Willa blew dandelions, making her little girl wishes. A couple of those wishes stuck to Boss’s nose which made him sneeze. Or when she would lie in the bay window, reading a book aloud with him perched beside her head, seeming to listen to every word.
Laura opened her eyes and looked at her watch. It was 3:20 pm; Willa should be coming in any minute. Her now teenage granddaughter always stopped by after school, unless she had band practice. Laura loved it when she visited, her energy from the day still with her, eager to talk about everything that happened during school with her and her friends. She knew that one day this would end when Willa graduated, and that made her appreciate it even more. As if on cue, Boss raised his head in anticipation and the front door opened.
Willa entered, dropped her bookbag by the door and made her way to the living room. “Hey, Gram,” she said, leaning down for a peck on the cheek. Her hair blanketed them both before she stood straight again.
“Hi, baby. I made you brownies today, if you’d like some. They should still be warm.” Boss meowed but doesn’t move, summoning Willa.
“Maybe later,” Willa said before obeying his command and taking her place in the window beside him, followed by, “hello, Boss.” Slowly, she ran her hand from his ears, down the length of his spine and finally his tail before she let out a long sigh.
“How was school today?”
Leaning back on the cushions, Willa tucked her knees under her chin, her pink Converse perched on the edge of her seat, and shrugged, “I just don’t get people sometimes.” Bracing herself for teenage drama, Laura tucked her own legs in beside her before asking Willa what happened. “Some guys at school were saying mean things to my friend Chris, calling him names and stuff.”
Willa turned to look at the cat, her hand gently rubbing his belly. “People can be jerks sometimes,” Laura said, shaking her head. “So, what’d you do?”
“I told them off, of course,” Willa said, rolling her eyes. “I guess I just don’t understand why people think the way they do,” her voice rose in frustration. “You can tell them till you’re blue in the face that they should accept people for who they are, that ‘love is love’ and all of that, but they just don’t seem to get it.” Boss’s head jerked up to see what was the matter.
Laura breathed deep, trying to find the right thing to say; how to explain something that she, herself, didn’t really understand. Lately, it had been more and more difficult for her to wrap her head around all of the cracks that divided people. No matter the issue, there seemed fewer routes to agreement and more people left screaming at each other with the gap only growing deeper and wider.
She looked at her granddaughter, whose face was again turned away, hiding tears of disappointment while she rubbed Boss’s ears, soothing him and herself. “When you were little, Boss wanted nothing to do with you. Do you remember that?”
“Not really,” Willa shrugged.
“As soon as you came in the door, he would take off running for the bedroom. I found you so many times, crouched down beside the bed trying to explain to him that you just wanted to say hello and maybe pet him if it was okay. Youreallythought that you could convince him.” The memory tickled her a bit and she heard Willa giggle, too.
“But he wouldn’t come out, so you gave up. Every day after that, when you dropped by, you said hello to him and then left him alone. You didn’t chase him or try to coax him. You just let him be.” Willa looked up, wiping her face.
“It took him a year, but he finally learned to trust you. One day, we were out back planting flowers, and he came up, trying to see what you were doing. I think we were planting daisies that day. You held each different color up to his nose so that he could smell them. Then, when we were done you sat on the porch eating an ice cream cone. Half of it melted and ran down your hand, so you let him lick it off.”
“I think I remember that a little,” Willa said while rubbing her hand.
“And now look at the two of you.”
Willa smiled and looked at Boss.
“Unfortunately, not everyone is going to see this world the way that you do, baby. But you just keep doing you; do what you think is right and fair. Maybe your example will change somebody’s mind, maybe it won’t. But in the end, you will be able to look back and be proud of yourself and the friend that you were.”
Willa looked at her and nodded. Boss stood and arched his back, stretching everything from his yawning mouth down to the very tip of his tail. He allowed Willa one more scratch behind his ear before jumping down and heading toward the kitchen.
“Gram, can I have a brownie now?”
“That’s a great idea.”
Boss meowed in agreement.
