A Ghost! A Ghost?

It was late on a rainy fall afternoon; the sun was setting, and Banana was restless.  Today was Halloween--one of Banana's favorite holidays.  She loved greeting the kids that came to the door, dressed in their funny costumes.  She loved watching Cheese as he hid under the bed, because that meant she would get all the head pats from the kids.  And she really, really loved sneaking out to the Cat Halloween party that was held after the people had gone to bed.

But it would be awhile until the excitement.  The people would not be home for at least 127 minutes, Banana had already eaten her second lunch of the day, and now she was bored.

Cheese was quietly snoring in his favorite autumn napping spot--in the corner, behind the chair.  Someone had left a blanket back there, and it was just soooo..soft...

Banana decided to roam the house, carefully inspecting the floor of each room for toys, but found only dust bunnies. 

As she turned the corner into the living room, she noticed a movement in the window.  Glancing up, she saw...a white cat peering back at her.

"Hey!" she shouted.  "Hey!"

As she looked around for something...anything...that would help her get up into the window (she couldn't quite make the jump from floor to bookcase anymore), Cheese poked his head out from behind the chair.

"What?!" he sleepily demanded.


"Look!" Banana pointed.  "That white cat...at the window...she's looking at us!  I think she wants to play!"

Cheese looked, stretched, looked again.

"What cat?  Where?"

"THERE!"  Now Banana looked toward the window.......


"That cat was there, I know she was."

"Uh huh," Cheese ducked back behind the chair and turned around so he was facing the wall.  He just knew it was going to be one of those evenings, when Banana was restless and he was not going to get a good nap.   AND, it was Halloween, which meant...shudder....visitors!

"Hmph....I did see that cat....I did...she was looking at me....." Banana muttered as she trudged toward the kitchen.  "Looking at me with one blue eye and...one green eye?"  Banana shook her head.  "No!  That's silly.  I've never seen another cat with one blue eye and one green eye."  Banana burped.  "Maybe....my lunches didn't agree with me....Maybe....the cat...wasn't real?"

Banana sat down by the food dish, thinking.  She reached down for a piece of kibble, and chewed and thought some more.

Before long, the kibble was gone and Banana was sleepy. It was dreary outside, but the porch was dry and she thought maybe the fresh air would help improve her mood.  And, there was that one chair that was a lovely napping spot...

Banana slept for 58 minutes, and when she woke up, she felt much better.  She was surprised to see that evening was settling in and the moon coming up was full and bright.

Banana wondered what she should do until the people came home.  She had already looked for her toys, which were probably hiding from her.  She had already eaten.

Maybe there was a squirrel or two out by the feeder that needed chasing?

As she looked around the yard, thinking her deep thoughts, she spotted something on the fence.  That cat!  That white cat! 

She jumped down and was ready to push through the cat door, when...
"HEY!!!!" She heard Cheese yell, "Where's all the food??  BANANA!!!!"
Cheese was so angry, he ran out onto the porch and right into Banana.

"Ooooooof!  Get off, Cheese!"  Banana pushed at Cheese.

"What's your name?"  Banana turned back to the other cat on the fence.
Banana blinked.  She blinked again.

"Who ARE you talking to?"  Cheese looked over at the fence, because that's what Banana was looking at too, and if there was a squirrel up there, he wanted to be the first out the cat door.

When Cheese looked back at Banana, he noticed she was shaking.

"I did.  I did see a cat up on that fence.  A white cat, Banana murmured.  "Not a ghost.  Not a ghost.  Not a ghost."  Banana was staring at the fence with a strange look on her face.

Cheese waived a paw in front of Banana's face.  She didn't blink.

All of a sudden, Banana jumped up and ran into the house.  When Cheese found her a few minutes later, she was covered in dust bunnies.

"A ghost.  A ghost.  I saw a ghost." Banana said, looking wildly in all directions.  "Is she here?  Inside?"

"Calm down, Banana."  Cheese stroked her head.  "Tell me exactly what you saw."

"I.  Saw.  A.  Ghost."  Banana yelled.  "She was all white. All white.  You couldn't see her.  She had one blue eye and one green eye...."

"Hmmmmm...." Cheese was listening, stroking Banana, and trying not to laugh at Banana being so scared.  "Hmmmm....a ghost...one blue eye...hmmm...and....what?  One green eye?"  Cheese couldn't help it, he started to laugh.

"Don't laugh at me!  I'm scared of that ghost!" Banana squeaked.

"Ghost?  That's no ghost!"  Cheese rolled on to his back, and tried to stop laughing long enough to explain.  "That's my friend, Peanut!  She comes to visit me.  Let's go look."  Cheese pushed Banana out from under the bed and down the hall.

Sure enough, there was Peanut, looking through the front window.
"Banana, meet Peanut.  Peanut, this is Banana."  Cheese said with one last giggle.

It Was Hot!

It was a hot day in summer.  Truth is, Banana and Cheese couldn’t remember a day it hadn’t been hot, but then, the cat’s memories were not very long.  Probably because of the heat.  Or, because they were cats…

What was I talking about?

Oh yes, the heat.

It was a hot day.  Everything…was…moving…slowly.  Cheese was moving so slowly, he had stopped moving completely, and was in the full out “nap position”.  

Banana was busy watching a bug move…slowly…across the floor of the porch.  She was hoping the bug would help her find the last crumb of the treat she had eaten last night.  She planned to be patient; when the bug finally found the piece of cheese and tuna nibble, she would pounce:   eat the crumb…and then the bug….Yes, it was a perfect plan.

But Cheese kept distracting Banana.  She thought he was asleep, but she kept hearing Cheese murmur things like:  “45…no,  52…no, 38.6….”  Cheese would stop for a while, Banana would concentrate on the bug, and then Cheese would start in again:  “72.1…no, 55.6…no, 68…”

Cheese went on and on like this, until lots of things happened at once!

The bug changed course, and started walking up Cheeses’ tail…

Banana got angry at the bug for getting distracted….

Banana reached out her front paw, to swat the bug…

Cheese exclaimed, “66.7!  Yes!”   He jumped up…

The bug, caught in a bit of flying Cheese fur, sailed away….

And Banana?  Well, Banana looked silly, pouncing on nothing. 

So she yelled at Cheese:  “Cheese!  What ARE YOU DOING?” 

But Cheese was gone!

He had run out the cat door, and was heading (quite quickly for such a hot day) toward the green plastic chair Karen and Gale had left in the yard.  

The Green Chair

Cheese leapt into the air!

Cheese landed on the chair, and swiftly scaled the chair back!

The chair tipped, and Cheese…!

Cheese landed, with a satisfied splash…in the birdbath.

“Ahhhh…,” Cheese said as he shook the water off his head, “I was right!  I knew I could take a dip in this pool!”

Banana's Teeth

Cheese woke up just in time to save himself from rolling off the comfy blue and… chair. For the 754th time, he wondered why such a lumpy-in-all-the-right-places chair was left in the basement. He was glad it was here though, because he felt safe when he snuggled down in its’ blue and brown and yellow stripiness. Nobody and nothing bothered him here, which was just the way he liked it.
But now he was wondering 2 things:
1) What caused him to need to come to his safe place, and
2) How long had he been there?

Cheese pondered these questions as first he stretched, then gave himself a good, long bath. He knew that for some reason, a good ear-cleaning seemed to lead to good answers.
He thought back, way back, to this morning? Yesterday? No, he definitely remembered having dinner last night, then having a long, quiet sleep in darkness, so it must be a new day….
He suddenly stopped licking and began shaking…he remembered why he had had to run to his safe spot! Just after the sun came up, he heard the sound—the horrible, awful, terrifying sound of what his people called “cat carrier”! The sound of that beast meant just one thing—he was going to the vet, and he hated the vet! [To be fair, he didn’t hate the vet—she was very nice and kind and gentle. No, what Cheese really hated was the cold, slippery table. And, it always smelled of dog! Yuck! And also, truth really be told, Cheese was not very adventurous outside of his own yard. “Out there” scared him a little.] As soon as Cheese heard the first teeny, tiny creak of the door of the “cat carrier”, he ran as fast as he could, down the stairs, across the basement floor, to the safety of his chair.
But wait a minute! If he was here, then who did the “cat carrier” trap inside its door?
Banana? Banana!!!!
Cheese jumped off the chair, ran across the basement floor, and up the stairs. He skidded around one corner, raced through a doorway, and slid to a stop in the biggest room in the house. No Banana. He sniffed the air. He could not smell Banana. He meowed a little as he left this room and headed to the next room…and the next…and the next. Banana was nowhere to be found.
He had an idea…he rushed to the big, glass doors, and looked into the back yard. What? No Banana there either!
Just as Cheese sat down to think some more, he heard the familiar noise from the garage that always came just before his people walked in the door. He heard a car door slam, and a teeny, tiny creaking noise…the BEAST!! That “cat carrier” was coming his way! He ran as fast as he could down the stairs…..to his safe spot.
He heard footsteps overhead, and then the “cat carrier” squeaked—he knew that sound was the opening of its’ door. It was quiet for a moment, then Cheese heard Banana’s bell, jingling.
“Cheeth….Cheeth…wheh ah oo, Cheeth?” Cheese heard something calling him—it sounded like Banana, and yet it didn’t.
“CHEETH!!” Oh yes, he could tell Banana’s yell anywhere. He crept out of the chair, slinked across the floor, then quietly padded up the stairs. He peered around the corner, just as a beam of sunlight came through the window. He squinted into the bright light, and saw….Banana’s teeth! Her mouth was open, and her TEETH sparkled in the sun!!
“Cheeth! Do oo ike mah teeh?” Banana smiled. “I uss ad em cleaned!”
Cheese had to admit, Banana’s teeth did look nice…and clean…and….bright!
“Ow,” Banana asked, “Ut’s oo eat? I’m sarvin!”