The Cat That Went to Homecoming (3 page)

“No problem Mom,” I said as she instructed me
on how to make Hamburger Helper. I was only half-listening to her
because I’d already decided I was going to eat microwaved popcorn
for dinner!

I pulled the bag out of the microwave and
carefully opened the top so I wouldn’t get a steam burn. I took the
bag with me into the living room and turned on the TV. I started to
shove handfuls into my mouth while I channel surfed. Hershey was
chasing a fallen piece of popcorn around the living room, batting
at it with his paw and pouncing on it after it moved.

I put the remote down so I could go get a
soda. It was on a local news station. As I walked to the kitchen, I
heard the reporter talking about animal-assisted activities. I
turned back to the living room and sat on the edge of the couch.
What were animal-assisted activities?

The reporter was in a nursing home,
interviewing a woman holding a calico cat in her arms. The woman’s
name was Jane. She and her cat were visiting nursing home
residents.

“Animals bring such happiness to people.
Simply petting a purring cat can lower the blood pressure and bring
about a feeling of contentment,” Jane said to the reporter.

“Animals do not judge and love
unconditionally,” She went on to say. I looked down at Hershey who
was rubbing my feet with his cheeks and offering his tummy to me.
She was right. I felt like the entire world hated me because of my
size, everyone except for Hershey.

I listened as she told the reporter about the
visiting animal group she was involved with, and went into the
kitchen for a pen and paper to write the website down.

“I’ll see you in a little bit Hershey,” I
said as I pushed the piece of paper into the front pocket of my
jeans. It may have been summer, but I never wore shorts. I couldn’t
bring myself to show my chubby thighs to the world.

I hopped on my bike and rode down the
driveway, looking to make sure there was no one around.

Seeing that the coast was clear, I made my
way to the library. Three miles sounds like a long way, but on
bike, it only takes about twenty minutes. Probably less time if I
didn’t have an extra twenty five pounds on me, but what the heck,
if I could make it to the library in twenty minutes, I would have
enough time to internet surf and be home before my mom.

The library was in the center of town, across
the street from a park where the popular kids hung out. As I neared
the library, I surveyed the park to see if there was anyone there I
should avoid. There was a group of kids standing by a slide smoking
cigarettes, but I did not recognize any of them.

Thank God!
I thought and parked my
bike.

When I entered the building, I searched the
faces of the people inside to make sure, once again, that I was
safe. The library was relatively empty, and I didn’t see anyone I
knew, so I made my way to the back of the building where the
computer labs were set up.

I found myself a computer, which wasn’t
difficult since there was no one else in the computer lab. I logged
in, pulled the slip of paper out of my pocket, and typed in the
website.

Paws That Heal was an animal-assisted
activity/therapy service dedicated to enhancing quality of life
through animal-human interactions. Volunteers and their pets would
visit a variety of settings such as nursing homes, hospices,
physical therapy rehab centers, hospitals, and schools.

According to their website, research had
shown that having animals around reduced anxiety levels and people
felt less lonely. I could certainly relate to that statement. Just
having Hershey in the same room with me made me content. When he
paid attention to me, I felt like the most important person in the
world!

I decided to look further into this. Maybe
this was something I could do. I knew it wouldn’t be easy for me to
put myself into social situations, but with Hershey at my side, I
could prevail!

The first step was a screening to determine
if Hershey had the potential for this type of work. The screener
would assess him on several attributes: he must be social and
friendly, unafraid of new people and other animals, he must be
comfortable in crowded or noisy situations, he must allow people to
pet him, and he must prove to be predictable.

I wasn’t quite sure if he could do this, but
I was determined to find out. I delved a little further and looked
at pictures of current animal and handler teams and noticed that
all of the animals walked on harnesses, even the cats. This was
going to be tough! Hershey had never worn one, and I wasn’t sure
how to even go about training him to walk on one.

I did a Google search on how to train a cat
to walk on a leash and found a page of step-by-step instructions,
but I had left the house so fast that I didn’t think to grab some
change to pay for printing. It was five cents a page, and I had no
money.

It’s okay, I thought to myself. All is have
to do is ask the librarian for a piece of paper and a pen so I
could write this all down. I was the only person on a computer, so
it would be safe to leave for a moment or so. No one would need
this particular computer.

I looked around me and made sure it was safe
to leave for a minute. I walked over to the woman at the checkout
desk when I heard a familiar voice greet me.

“Hi Ellen,” It was Cindy Haskel.

My heart rate jumped and I felt completely
flustered. My eyes must have been the size of dinner plates. God, I
wanted to sink into a hole and disappear. She was going to say
something hurtful, I just knew it.

I swallowed my fear and turned to face
her.

“Hi Cindy.” That was all I said, but it was a
big step for me. She looked surprised but smiled, seemingly
genuine.

“Are you having a good summer so far?” she
asked.

“Well, I’m not really doing much right now,
but I have plans.”

Great! Now she was going to want to know what
my plans were and if I told her, she’d probably broadcast it to all
the popular girls and I’d be the butt of every joke yet again.

But she didn’t ask, she just said, “We should
get together sometime.”

I was speechless. I didn’t know how to
respond and was afraid if I did, I would stutter. All I could do
was nod my head.

“Okay, well you know where I live. Stop by
sometime, and don’t forget your swim suit! We have a slide now. I
don’t think you’ve been over since we installed it.”

“I’ll do that. Thank you, Cindy,” I replied,
thankfully without stuttering. Then I worked up the courage to ask
her a question.

“Hey Cindy, do you have a quarter you can
lend me? I need to print something and I didn’t think ahead, stupid
me!” I stammered. “I left the house so fast I didn’t think of
grabbing any change.”

“Here’s a dollar,” she interrupted my rant,
“and don’t worry about it, really. You can pay me back by promising
you’ll come over sometime.”

She handed me the money, and put her hand on
my shoulder. That felt so strange. I blushed and looked at the
ground, too timid to look her in the eye.

Meekly I said, “I will, and thank you so
much, Cindy.”

After we parted, I went back to the computer
and printed out the harness training information. I had enough
money left to print out the volunteer application, the pet
screening schedule and locations, and all the pertinent information
I felt I would need to study.

The ride home was invigorating. I had so much
to do and could not wait to get started!

My mom’s car was in the driveway when I got
home, and I could see her pacing through the living room window.
Oops, I didn’t make it home in time! Hershey was sitting in the
window, tail swishing from side to side. This time he wouldn’t
greet me at the door for he knew Mom was madder than a wet hen!

“Just where the heck have you been?” my mom
demanded as I walked through the door. Hershey slunk out of sight
and ran to my room.

“I’ve been calling your cell phone for over
an hour, only to find it sitting between the couch cushions!”

“I rode my bike to the library because I
needed to use a computer. I’m sorry Mom. I didn’t mean to scare
you.”

My mom sighed and sat on the couch, looking
sad and defeated. She had tears in her eyes and gave me a weak
smile.

“I’m sorry, too, Ellen. I hate that you have
to go to the library to use a computer. It was my intention to have
a computer for you before school starts up again. I’ve been saving
up for one. I didn’t think you’d need to use one until fall.”

I sat next to her and put my hand on her
knee.

“It’s okay, Mom, really. I’m fine with not
having a computer. I don’t need Facebook and all that other social
media stuff.”

I explained to her what I saw on the news,
and what Paws That Heal was all about. I showed her the printouts I
brought home with me.

She read it over and looked at me in shock. I
knew my mom was worried about what she called my “social anxiety.”
A few months ago I had overheard her talking to my grandma about
taking me in for therapy sessions to help overcome my insecurities,
but thankfully that never transpired. I was sure money played a big
role in that.

“Ellen, I am so impressed,” she said. “This
would be a wonderful experience for you.”

Then she stood up, grabbed my hand, and led
me to the door. She snatched her purse and her keys from the table
and ushered me to the car.

“We’re going to get you that harness and
leash and tomorrow you are going to start training Hershey.” She
said.

Chapter
Five

Training a cat to walk on a leash is
difficult! Just getting the darn harness on was a challenge! I did
exactly as was recommended; I started out by having him wear the
harness in the house without the leash to get used to it. I would
take it off and lay it on my bed, he would smell it, bat at it with
his paws, and sometimes lie on top of it. The harness carried his
scent so he knew it was his. I only gave him treats when he had the
harness on to show him the harness was a good thing. It only took a
few days to get Hershey to the point where he would wear the
harness without protest. He wore it all day long, while we watched
TV and while we cuddled until it became as unnoticeable to him as
his every day collar.

A week later, we graduated to adding the
leash. We walked around the yard which Hershey quickly decided was
fascinating. He explored every inch of our yard and I never
directed him, I let him lead the way. He would crouch down when a
bird was near, stalking it. He rolled around in the grass and
sunned himself. Hershey concluded that being on the harness meant
being outside, and being outside was great fun!

Walking Hershey outside of the confines of
our yard presented the biggest challenge for both of us. We were
both fearful of leaving the safety of our own yard. I was afraid of
running into someone who would tease me. Hershey was afraid of the
change in scenery and he didn’t seem to like the feel of the
concrete road on his paws. He walked in the grassy ditches crouched
low to the ground, always keeping an eye out for some unseen
predator, just as I always kept watch for my predators. We didn’t
walk very far at first, only two or three houses down the road and
back. Every day I pushed us further, one more house. When I got us
to the point where we could walk the equivalent of one block, I
decided it was time to make our screening appointment.

Mom arranged her schedule so that she could
drive Hershey and me to our screening. A few nights before the
appointment, she came home from work with an animal carrier for
Hershey. It looked like a big purse, and it made me feel like Elle
Woods in Legally Blonde!

“Now you can transport Hershey in the style a
prince like he deserves,” she said with a big smile.

The day before our appointment, Hershey and I
went for our afternoon walk. Hershey took off, leading me in the
direction of his choice. He made frequent stops to chew on grass
and roll around. He was fearless that day, and in the mood to stay
out, so we kept walking, not paying any attention to where we were.
Before I knew it, we ended up in front of Cindy Haskel’s house as
she was walking down her driveway.

“Wow, I never saw anyone walk a cat before,
that is so cool!” she said before she opened her mail box and
retrieved the family’s mail. She crouched down to pet Hershey.
Hershey remained still and allowed her to stroke his back, all the
while looking up at her with a watchful eye. He didn’t seem to know
how to react to this person he never met before. Once she stood
back up, he crawled atop my feet and lay across them. His eyes
remained fixed on Cindy, but he did not seem as skeptical.

“I, uh,” I stammered nervously, not knowing
what to say. “I am just trying something new.”

“Well, this is the coolest thing I’ve ever
seen. What a great idea!” Cindy said. “Do you have a minute to stop
in?”

I was scared at this point.

I can’t do this! If I tell her “No” she
might think I’m a snob and if I were to stay, I wouldn’t know what
to say or do. How am I going to get out of this situation?

Hershey seemed to read my mind. He stood up
and reached up my legs like a toddler wanting to be picked up. I
pulled him into my arms and he burrowed his face into the crook of
my elbow, hiding. I looked at him and realized he was giving me an
out.

“Oh, Cindy, I’d love to, but this is the
furthest Hershey and I have ever walked and I think he is a little
freaked out. I’d better head back home with him. I’m sorry, but how
about next time?”

“That would be great.” She said sounding a
little disappointed. She looked past me, wide-eyed.

I turned to see what had Cindy so nervous,
and there coming down the street on her bike was Darcel the
Dreadful.