Chairman Miaow (a Cat Tale)

8/6/2019 Chairman Miaow (a Cat Tale)

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people had the insight to distinguish between failure and refusal, especially in one who

seemed so young and bright. They had been deceived before, so they believed.

That would credit the children all children with rather more mindmessing ability

than Miss Evie could allow or cope with. Applying it to what she had learnt since, she

was seriously discomfited.

A boy had thrown a cat off a roof. It was entirely possible that he did not understand

that animals hurt. How old was he? Four? Six? Eight? And in any case, did animals hurt

like people did? She could understand the confusion that could block out all feeling.

In her it came out as fear, and in a specifically female form. She had never been afraidof everything, nor did this fear have a name. Sometimes in times of tension or stress, or

when she had to make a decision or take responsibility, the fear superimposed itself on

faces, even those she loved. Perhaps as compensation, she felt she had to love everybody.

In practice, she ended up tolerating them, and feeling them more as them and never, it

seemed, feeling part of us or, especially, whole within an us.

Madame Madame was the visitor You must not tell me stories like this when

you are pregnant. You could get so emotional that you might miscarry. And what

dreadful things to say before a little boy.

That boy Madame explained gently is the son of my midwife. As for Vladimir

she indicated the slim, blonde child he has heard a lot of worse things, most of them

in the past year.

Yes, my dear. But if it were me I should not like to have to be served by a woman

whose son who does such appalling things, Miss Evie said. And it is a bad influence

a bad example.

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She heard a rubbish bin tip over with all its papers, wrappers, cans and so on. It was

not long before she identified the culprit. In the morning light things and people

werent so bad. She had had to cope with a lot of strange and amusing behaviour.

Eveline, Wladek, Madame said, calling them both like children, Id like you to look

at some cats.

Miss Evie wanted to call her friend out out on it. Photographs were, perhaps, the

classic displacement activity. They communicated so much about life and the world

and, as they were meant to do, took her mind out of the rubbish. Otherwise she would be

scrambling to get out of her bed and clean the whole thing up, making it much biggerthan it really was.

Miss Evie wanted to know so much about the photographs. Were they taken on one of

her friends endless traveling trips? Were they colour or black and white? And most of

all, perhaps, where did the light and shade fit in? She saw how the cats behaved and

misbehaved in the frame. She tried to restrain her extreme reactions, which the boy

took great delight in. And she joked about not being such a great model of restraint at

other times. Being in front of the classroom was a performance, mostly, and with people

she trusted and connected with, it was bearable. There were even times when she hit

heights of satisfaction.

Susanne, my lily, do you notice that the cats eye is all washed out? What is the

photography term saturated? You know so much more than I do.

You know your own eyes. Though if a certain part of the brain was knocked out

during your swimming accident, you may or may not know. Tell me what else you can

see. Describe and dont exaggerate, Madame Gilbert said.



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So Miss Evie described the images. She still felt the background and the foreground

jump out at her in what otherwise might have been unthreatening pictures. There were

pictures of Madames clever sister the large piano stood out on the wooden stage, as did

the black and white stripes and the v-neck that Adriana had chosen to wear that evening.

There were a few pictures of meetings and parties which had happened in the previous

few weeks, when Miss Evie had been in and out of the rehabilitation centre resting up

and exercise, as well as learning to live in a world without red and green and certain

shades thereof.

Her wardrobe had been reduced to certain fashionable neutrals and their variations always an excuse to go shopping a rationalism that caused Madame to cut back with

Why should any woman need an excuse? such as beige, navy, off-white and of course

brown. Her latest passion had become various cat spot patterns such as leopard, which

had become fashionable, in Paris at least, during the last year.

They talked a great deal about music, the lack of which she had been suffering. Her

governess had been very musical, particularly in the communal sense. Miss Evie was able

to get dressed for the mid-morning in her cycling clothes. She loved to cycle, especially

in the summer, and could go for quite a long way. She would also need protective

clothes, like orange and fluorescent yellow. Fortunately, she could see the signs and read

and obey the pictures. Thank goodness for the European standardization and the defined

paths which allowed her to see much of nature.

Madame helped her get into her shoes which happily were Velcroed, as shoelaces

too often got into the pedals and sign the book. They also packed a bag full of food and

money, as well as water.



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Miss Evie remembered her sunglasses and her foldable cane, which was at the end of

her bed. It was white with blue stripes. The sunglasses were a modestly shaded brown, tro

level out her world while the sun was shining.

And let us hope the car doesnt produce sickness in you, Miss Evie said. It was

probably one of those modern convenances one could do without, especially in this age

of concern for the environment and overweight children and teenagers. Fortunately in the

summer, the girls got enough exercise with all the sports and training they would do.

Evie noticed her hands for a while, and saw that they were denuded of colour, apart

from the spotty and freckly tan that had developed. Her fingers were still light, and herwriting hand had blisters on it, especially where she held her instrument chalk and

permanent marker were no stronger than pen for this, which was always the bane of her

life as far as work on the board was concerned. As for writing papers of any length, it was

pure sabotage, and often blood was burst on the ink and paper. And yet if she rested , she

would lose her concentration.

She had then taken to wearing gloves so that her hands would not hurt on her cycle.

She was no mean hand with the brake after a few skinned knees and other such

adventures. The bicycle was five speeds at least, and was easy to shift. A fit woman

might get enjoyment out of it, and stretch a few muscles and get her heart pumping. And

best of all, it gave Evie freedom and joy.

There were many trees, regularly planted in a line. There were shrubs, some with a

special smell, like lemon or lavender. Oh, beautiful! Vladimir cried with his hands in

the air rather than by his side. His voice caught the sky. He and Madame were lying on a



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shagged country rug with a two-browned tartan, looking at the various clouds and their

movements.

You could spend a whole day doing this, Miss Evie said, when she got off the

bicycle and did some cool-down stretches, sitting perpendicular to the rug.

Someone said, Watch out, theres cat piss. Miss Evie gave a stern look and

disapproving body language. But in private, she wondered how a cat could walk along

this common and declare it their territory. There were many competing claims, both

human and feline.

She smelt the ground and registered it was not a joke. Some people liked to get theirkicks by winding her up. The unmistakable acrid smell sent her vomiting, or at least her

throat was doing some imitations of it. She wanted to hide in the shrubs as her face

blushed. She could only feel the heat. It was so much more intense than the suns heat

at least it felt so. She rubbed her face to get it cool again, and breathed deep breaths into a

brown paper bag of the type used for school and corporate lunches. There. Thats much

better, she said as the wind came by and the branches swayed in her direction and the

bird flew by. And look at that bird and her feathers. She started up a monologue about

it.

Out of the blue, Vladimir said, The girls want to know, all of them, when you are

coming back to school. She nodded and said little more than, I see. She did not feel in

the mood for opening and closing circles today. She just wanted to have a great time: let

those who were employed achieve the goals and have the challenge that came. Then he

wanted to know when she would put the bicycle back, and who it belonged to.



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Evie wondered how the situation would eventuate, or degenerate, as she very much

feared. She knew she was considered a soft touch, and tried not to aggravate it or allow it

to feed into her insecurities which children, especially, specialized in doing if you

allowed yourself to blame them. And even if he was only doing what he had seen done,

or what had been done to him, she still could not allow it. Until someone showed him a

better way, or it was no longer reinforcing, he was going to get gains out of it and keep

up thinking new ways to do it.

Would something like cat urine be exciting to him? Or would he imitate it, with

consequences? It must be quite arousing. But it was often little more than a nasty smellon shoes the last vestiges of wildness to be washed off when you went places.

Unlike the other thing and Evie did not often think of her bowels it was not so easily

avoidable, and was often met after the fact.

That was not the most disturbing thing that cats did, however. The three were in

silence as they looked at the last pictures. Vladimir was trying to understand, and curled

up from body to body. I think I am going to cry, he said, rather as another boy might

have said, I am going to the toilet.

His face looked puffed and serious. Madame Susanne hugged him and he nestled into

her. Then Evie remembered her bicycle, and looked up at the clouds in the sky. They

were both amused to see her point her cane up. Susanne filled in and told stories of the

dead cat, which she had been looking after, at some risk to herself.

The orange moggy was something of a feline terrorist and a law onto himself, like

most of his breed. A terrorist cat? Vladimir repeated with incredulity in his voice.



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A person or a being who inspires fear, Evie interpolated. Wladek knew what all sorts

of fear was, and had had his experiences with those who inspired it in him, both before

and after he was able to speak about it.

So a cat is an animal- Vladimirs rounded middle consonants making the word

incomprehensible to strangers, though in the sentence they might have seen what he

meant and an animal is a being?

With a big capital B, Susanne said.

Like a G for God? Vladimir said.

Yes, a cat most certainly is an animal. But Susanne, to use the language from theheadlines! It is a wonder that our animal friends do not get into there more often.

It was usually when they were in a show or they had been abandoned by their owners,

which happened more and more often now the families were up to their eyes in Asian

stocks and bonds. Or some sensational cruelty or indulgence would hit the media.

Unfortunately, we do seem to talk and think in headlines! Too often, thats all the

paper that I see and remember. And I must admit, they use shock tactics more often than I

would like. They stick in the mind, Susanne said. She was taking on Evies point of

view, and Vladimir was playing beside her, quietly. He was looking at the trees and birds,

with a view to chasing them.

So tell me. Was this creature of yours ever mistreated?

So fashionable, Eveline! Susanne said, It would have been way down deep, as the

American children say. But bad behaviour is bad behaviour, and as he was a danger to me

and my foetus Susanne was about a month or six weeks gone, depending on who you

spoke to not to mention my barely immunized three-year-old who should have had



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all his shots while in the country we had to euthanize him. For his own good and for

us.

She put an arm on Evie to make sure the older woman was not getting hysterical.

But surely that is against your moral code to make such an expedient decision! And

you were trying so hard to teach Wladek not to be cruel to animals. I wonder what he will

now take out of it.

That is a separate programme. He is now learning to take care of plants, and his

grandfather Roberts father Stewart has now got into aquaria. Or perhaps you did

not see. Anyway, Maggie Gilbert is the cat lover among us. It was she who got me intothe cat fanciers society. Now come theres a bracing wind and we can have a good

conversation. I dont know how private your present rooms are, but this is something I

know we both feel very strongly about. Old Marmie-Blarmey dont ask! lived a long

life.

Evie gave a sigh of relief. This was good to know. She felt something on her face

between a frown and a pout. She knew she would be completely plastered and floored if

this turned into a really intellectual debate Susanne could take such things into the

stratosphere. Her own feeling that this was Osciewim in the veterinary office was

difficult to shake off but she just refrained from saying so, though she might resort to it

in joke. She respected her friends right in the normal course of matters.

And who was she to advise, Dont make decisions based on your hormones? She

herself had to be careful. She must not suspect Susanne of seeing danger everywhere

there was to see and instances where it may not have been. Who was she to question

Susannes moral code, especially in this respect? No, she must try, whatever her own



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feeling, to see the situation from her point of view. And get some other eyes and ears if

necessary.

I am glad that Maggie is a cat fancier. Its good to know that your sister-in-law and

you share interests that she is prepared to share with you. It gets all the communication

juices going and I am sure, makes things easier at family gatherings, Miss Evie said.

She must remember to ask about the first anniversary and also about the house move,

which Susanne had been pursuing between terms and on weekends.

Yes, I still find them a minefield, for several reasons, not all of them which I shall

reveal to you. I have learnt that it is more to do with them than with me. Nevertheless, wehave crossed several milestones, and thats reassuring. Susanne said, Check your watch.

I, at any rate, must get back soon to the mess hall. Otherwise, they will be wondering

what has happened to me.

Evie did check her timepiece, pushing it up across her arm. Her eyes looked and felt

like fried eggs, especially as the expanding yolk was concerned. Susanne put Vladimir in

the harness part of her own bicycle, and Evie was left to collect hers.

I, too, will be glad to return to school, when it is advised for me to do so. Not that I

follow advice- Evie said with her jaunty laugh though I have liked things as they are

now. The only thing is that the nights are so lonely, without man or beast to hug or for

them to hug me.


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Chairman Miaow (a Cat Tale)