“You okay?” Mick asked his friend Jerald who was sitting alone on a raggedy couch. His question jolted Jerald out of a daze. “You’ve been staring at that spot in the carpet for twenty minutes.”
Jerald wasn’t okay though. He had just lost his roommate Thomas the evening before. It still hadn’t sunk in to his tiny skull that Thomas was gone. Many of their friends had gathered at their home to grieve and to show support for Jerald. It was getting to be that time when many were leaving. There were only a few stragglers left and were saying their goodbyes.
“You want me to get you something to eat?” Mick asked his buddy.
Jerald waited a few seconds before responding with a “no”. His appetite was non-existent. “I just want to lie down.” He grabbed a folded, now brown, blanket from the top of the couch and covered himself as his head hit the cushion. He had to adjust his head as one of his whiskers got caught underneath his cheek.
“You sure you don’t want a slice of my wife’s famous cheesecake?”
Just then, the smell of the cheesecake on the counter crept into Jerald nostrils. It smelled exquisite but he just couldn’t bring himself to get up. He just shook his head and rolled over so his back faced Mick.
Mick realized that his friend just really needed to be alone at the moment. He didn’t really have much else to say anyway that would cheer Jerald up.
“Well, if you need me, just call. We’re going out with Pinky and her new boyfriend Brian.” Mick paused. “Seriously, we’re here if you need us.”
Mick looked up to see their other friend Bernard enter the room. Mick just shook his head as if to say, “don’t bother.” Bernard just hung his head and turned to walk away.
“Me and Splinter are heading out.”
Bernard whipped back around. “What have I told you about calling me that!”
Mick chuckled a little.
“My name is Bernard” he continued. “That splinter incident happened a long time ago!”
“Yeah, but you cried like a little baby.”
“The thing was HUGE!” Bernard yelled with his arms raised. “If you had a chunk of wood that size in your paw, I guarantee you’d be crying too!”
Mick glanced down at Jerald who was covering up his head with the blanket as to not hear anymore. He looked back at Bernard and motioned his head toward the door to say, “let’s go.”
Bernard’s countenance fell. He and Mick looked back at their grieving friend one last time and headed out the front hole.
Just silence now.
The darkness engulfed his sight as Jerald. He couldn’t stop thinking about Thomas. If only he could come back and show his bright, yellow smile. Cats weren’t known for their above par dental hygiene.
Jerald gently closed his eyes and a tear rolled down one of his whiskers onto the wooden floor beneath him. He was nearly off to sleep when he heard a knock.
“Hello?”
Jerald recognized the whiny voice right away. It was his neighbor Chuckie who had just gotten back from out of town.
“Jerald? You in here?” Chuckie asked. “Just wanted to let you know that I’m back. Did you just have a party?”
It was then he noticed the little ball on the couch. “Jerald?” Jerald took the blanket off of his face.
“Oh my!” Chuckie exclaimed. “What’s the matter?”
Jerald didn’t respond.
“Are you okay?”
“Thomas died last night”, Jerald muttered as Chuckie gasped. “He was hit by a van.”
“Oh my! I’m so sorry to hear that.”
Jerald pulled the blanket back over him and let out a sigh. His big ears erected back.
All Chuckie could do was stare at the old piece of cloth with a faded diamond pattern. Then a thought came to him. “Wait a minute. Isn’t he the cat that lives here?” he asked as he tilted his head in bewilderment. He heard a faint ‘yeah’ come from the couch. Chuckie pondered for a moment. “I’m so sorry. I’m a little confused.” He lifted his paws up to hips. “Please forgive me for asking but why are you mourning his death? Didn’t he make your life unbearable? I mean I didn’t know him as much, but it seemed you were always in fear of him.”
Jerald tossed the blanket down to his feet. His head hit the back of the couch. He just focused his attention on the ceiling. After a brief pause, he finally uttered, “It’s more than that Chuckie.”
“How so?”
Jerald sat up. “I mean, sure we weren’t friends, but we had some good times together.”
Jerald remembered a time where Thomas had chased him out of the house. He had to throw almost anything in his way to prevent from being captured. Tricycles, garbage can, you name it. Thomas was ready to pounce when Jerald stopped in his tracks. It caused Thomas to do a somersault over him and slammed into a light post. Jerald looked up to see the most beautiful sunset he’d ever seen. Marvelous pink, orange, and violet painted the sky. Had he not been chased out he would have missed it.
“Sure, he kept me on my toes a lot of the time, but it’s…it’s just gonna be…different without him. I’m gonna miss sneaking around him at night and dropping a carton of eggs on him to get him riled up. It’s the little things like that.”
Chuckie was starting to see his neighbor’s point of view. “I’m sorry Jerald. You’re right.” He said as he lowered his head.
A brief moment of silence was interrupted by a clang outside of a metal garbage can falling over, followed by some yelling. It was still distant enough that the two couldn’t make out what was being said. Chuckie had gone to the window to inspect the scene. The indigo evening sky made it a little difficult to see who it was too. He had to wait until they came down the road. He described what he saw to Jerald whose ears were perked up.
“Where’s that little runt? I’m gonna rough him up real good!” the two finally heard.
“Oh my.” Chuckie gasped. “It looks to be a black cat that said that. He’s being held back by Sylvester from down the road. As well as a…bigger…orange cat.”
Jerald realized who the voice was. It was Thomas’ friend Felix. He asked himself why he was here though. And why was he so mad? Why would he want to hurt him?
“I know you’re in there!” Felix called out to Jerald as he tried to fight his way up to the house. "Thomas wouldn't have died if he wasn't chasing you! You better not ever show your face again or I’ll make sure you’ll go visit him!" he yelled jabbing his finger toward the house.
The thought struck Jerald like lightning. His eyes widened. He hadn't thought about that. Could it really had been his fault? Was Thomas really chasing him when the van struck him? More butterflies formed in his gut. His eyes started to swell again. His throat tightened. A wave of nausea rushed over. “I think I’m gonna be sick” Jerald said softly and laid back down under the blanket as Felix’s friends finally pulled him away from the area. “C’mon. You look like a fool”, one of them said as they faded into the night.
Chuckie took a step toward Jerald. “Woah! Don’t listen to that doofus! Thomas’ death is not your fault.”
At that moment, they heard another voice. A softer voice. “Jerald?” they called.
It was another neighbor, Stewart, from down the road whom Jerald had befriended recently. Jerald liked having him around. Being younger than Jerald, Stewart looked up to him as a mentor and it gave Jerald someone to teach the ropes of the neighborhood.
“I heard the commotion all the way down at my house. Is everything all right?” his white fur glowed in the kitchen light.
“Hi there. I’m Chuckie.”
“Yes, I know. I live just down the street. I’m Stewart, remember?”
“Ah yes” Chuckie said as he shrugged him off. The focus went back to Jerald whose floppy ears sagged to hide his face.
“Who was that?” Stewart asked.
“Forget about them, kid” Chuckie snarled. “Bunch of no good, rotten furballs. They’re just trying to cause trouble.”
Stewart nodded in agreement. He looked down at his neighbor who put his face in his paws. “Are you okay Jerald?”
“No, he’s not okay!” Chuckie answered for him. “He thinks he killed Thomas.”
Stewart perked up. His eyes grew the size of quarters. “That can’t be right.” he spoke sternly. “My buddy Jerry would never do such a thing.” Stewart was the only one who called him ‘Jerry’. He thought it made him feel younger. “Tell Chuckie that’s not true.”
But Jerald couldn’t. He just wasn’t sure. “What if I did, Chuckie?” he said finally looking up.
“Oh, come on! You can’t be serious!” Chuckie yelled with his hands thrown in the air. “Forget this! I’m outta here!”
Stewart was left speechless. He found it difficult to even look at Jerald so he just watched Chuckie stomp away. He continued staring even after Chuckie no longer appeared in sight.
Stewart turned back to his friend once he heard whimpering. His mind went blank. He felt hopeless, not knowing what to do for Jerald. All he could muster up was, “everything is going to be OK.” As he took a step forward. He had no other words but those.
“You’re right.” Jerald uttered, looking blankly at Stewart.
Stewart cracked a smile. He was surprised, but glad he could give Jerald a little bit of hope.
Jerald finally stood up. The springs in the couch squeaked. “I know what I have to do now.”
Stewart was a bit nervous upon hearing that. His smile fell as his jaw relaxed. The look in Jerald’s face was haunting. “Wh-what’s that?” he said, taking a step back.
Jerald grinned and lowered his eyebrows and lunged at Stewart.
“Avenge Thomas’ death!”