The Cat Lady (In progress)

As Jenna pulled onto the newly paved driveway she suddenly felt as if she were being watched. As she put the car in "park" and turned the engine off, her attention slowly turned toward the old, run down house on the other side of the picket fence. Jenna's gaze was drawn to the second floor. In the side window she could barely make out the dark shadow of a woman, and as she sat there the shadow gradually disappeared.

'Man, that lady really gives me the creeps.' Jenna thought to herself as she stepped out of the car and shut the door. She quickly walked to the back of the car and proceeded to open the trunk. Inside were the last few boxes that would complete the move into her new house. As she picked up some of the smaller boxes the hair on the back of her neck stood up. Jenna knew she was being watched again. Ignoring the urge to look over at the old house, Jenna quickly shut the trunk and headed towards the front door.

Once inside she took a deep breath, closed the front door, and headed towards the living room. The boxes she carried were filled with books and knic knacks that she was going to display on the large oak bookcase in the back corner of the room. She sat the boxes down on the floor. Once that was done, Jenna turned around and decided to go into the kitchen to make a cup of tea.

As Jenna walked into the kitchen she suddenly stopped. A faint scratching sound could be heard. It sounded like it was coming from the other side of the room. She slowly walked across the kitchen towards the door that lead to the porch. As she got to the opening, she stopped again. She continued to listen, the sound was a little louder now. She realized that it was coming from outside the back door. Cautiously, Jenna made her way to the door and peered out the window. On the other side was a beautiful calico cat with large sky-blue eyes who was making it quite clear that it would like to be let in. Since Jenna was a major animal lover she decided to let the cat in. As she reached out to turn the door knob and pull the door open, the cat quickly jumped through the opening and headed straight for the kitchen.

Startled, Jenna jumped back as her right hand pressed against her chest, gasping in shock at the intrusion.. She had definitely not expected that to happen. As she walked back to the kitchen, heart still pounding at the sudden turn of events, the cat quickly came over and started rubbng itself against her legs, purring in content.

"Oh, well now, aren't you sweet. Where did you come from, huh?" Jenna asked as she knelt down to pet the furry animal.

"She belongs to me." Came a tiny voice from behind her. Again Jenna was startled. As she quickly turned to see who was at the door, she lost her balance and fell heavily onto the ceramic floor.

In the doorway stood an elderly woman. She couldn't have been more than 5 feet tall. She had a small, petite frame that seemed to hunch slightly forward. Her grey hair shimmered in the sunlight as she slowly made her way into the kitchen.

"Oh, I'm sorry my dear. I didn't mean to frighten you!"

"No, that's okay. I guess I'm just a little jittery."

Jenna pushed herself up off of the floor, her heart still beating rapidly in her chest. As she tried to regain her composure the old woman slowly bent over and called to the cat.

"Come over here, Jasmine, bad kitty! You know you're not supposed to wander off. Mommy gets very worried when her babies don't come when they are called."

Jasmine seemed very reluctant at first. Then slowly, lowering her head and pulling her long, fluffy tail in between her legs, she made her way over to the old woman's outstretched arms. As she lifted her frail body up with the cat dangling in her thin arms her attention turned back towards Jenna.

"You see, I don't have any family. My husband, Phillip, died four years ago. My cats are the only family that I have anymore. I am very protective of them."

She began to stroke the cats' long multi-colored fur, but strangely, Jasmine didn't purr! Jenna thought it was quite odd.

"I'm sorry, child. Where are my manners. I haven't properly introduced myself. My name is Mrs. Fielding, but everyone knows me as, Mayme."

Mayme approached Jenna, her right hand outstretched. Jenna wanted to back away, but instead, hesitantly raised her arm towards the old woman.

"Jenna. Jenna Richards." She quickly shooked Mayme's hand and then promptly lowered her arm to her side.

"So nice to meet you, Jenna."

"Likewise!"

"I've got a wonderful idea! Why don't you come over and I'll make some herbal tea for the both of us? Then you can tell me all about yourself."

Suddenly, Jasmine grawled angrily as her fur seemed to stand up on her back. She jumped out of the old woman's arms which sent her falling backwards into the doorjam. The cat scampered quickly towards the back door, her tail waving back and forth. In a moment, she was gone.

"Mrs. Fielding, are you okay?"

Jenna quickly ran over to help the woman stand back up. Her heart was beating heavy against her chest as the woman pulled a handkerchief from the left pocket of her navy blue dress. Her hand shook uncontrollably as she lifted the square piece of cloth to her forehead and swept it across soaking up the beads of sweat that had formed.

"I'm okay, dear. I should be more careful. Jasmine is very tempermental. One minute she is wants to cuddle up on your lap and the next . . . well, you saw for yourself!"

The old woman, clutching the handkerchief in her hands, slowly headed towards the door. As she reached the opening, the woman stopped and turned back to face Jenna.

"We'll have that talk another day. I think I am going to go home and rest a bit. It was a pleasure to finally meet you, Jenna."

Mrs. Fielding slowly made her way down the small uneven sidewalk and to the yard beyond.

As Jenna stood there, her mind reeling with what just occured, she quickly tip-toed over and shut the door. She shook her head as if to toss out the memory of what just occured. As she walked over to the sink, she picked up a small pot to fill with water. She decided to make her tea and cuddle up on the couch with a good book. Her vacation was over in two days so she just wanted to relax and unwind for the time being.