Sympathy for Bev

by Julie Cook, Stone Mountain, Georgia, USA

While in the past I've enjoyed and laughed at stories of Ollie and Ted, today I have more sympathy for Bev.

Last week our refrigerator quit cooling. I had to call a service repair person. Repair was scheduled for Friday and after they called to tell me they were on the way I got things ready to put the cats in the back bedroom. I put the litterbox and food and water in the bedroom then herded the cats that way. Selena doesn't like visitors and she would have hidden anyhow, but Hobbes loves visitors and especially enjoys people who bring in tools! I locked the cats in the back room just before 'She' showed up. Her name was Denise and she went right to work on the refrigerator. I went back to cleaning and dusting the other parts of the house and let Denise do her thing in the kitchen. Eventually I made my way to the back of the house to put clothes in the washer; which is when I heard it. Hobbes was crying, begging to be let out. He knew someone was in his house and he needed to make their acquaintance.

Denise finished thawing the ice that had built up around the fan and told me she was just going to replace the timer and she'd be finished. She walked out to her truck to get a part. I decided since she was almost finished and she'd taken up most of her equipment that it wouldn't hurt to let Hobbes out to meet her. I opened the bedroom door and Hobbes ran to the kitchen. He looked around but no one was there. There was a toolbox however so he knew the visitor couldn't be far. He jumped up onto the feeding table and looked out the window in time to see her return. He was ecstatic! There was someone visiting and he was going to get to meet them.

When Denise came back into the house I introduced them and told her that Hobbes wanted to meet her but that he wasn't allowed to come out when we had repair persons working because he thought it his duty to hand tools to the working individual. Then it happened. Denise looked at Hobbes and he looked at her. She smiled and said, "That's all right, Furpaws, I need all the help I can get. If you promise not to run off with my tools you're welcome to hand them to me when I need them." Hobbes turned to look at me with a smug expression and said, "Meeroow." Which I interpreted as "So there!" and he hopped off the table and sat next to Denise. They discussed how they would put the timer in the refrigerator and how it would keep things cool. She told him which tools she would need and where he could find them. When she reached into her toolbox he'd watch very carefully and then put a paw into the tools and point to her the ones she'd need. I decided this was just too much for me. I returned to my dust rag.

They worked together for another 15 minutes before they finished the job. She stroked his head as she wrote out my bill and accepted payment. She told Hobbes, I mean me, that if there were any problems to be sure and give her a call. After she left I caught Hobbes pawing at the bill she had given me. He was trying to sneak off with Denise's phone number. I don't doubt they discussed ways to make the refrigerator fail in the next week or two so that she can come back to visit.

Bev, I feel for you. At least I don't expect Denise to become a regular member of our household.

Editor's note:

• If you want to comment on this article, why not write direct to Julie Cook?
• She will be pleased to hear from you!
• The references to Bev refer to Beverley of Napier, New Zealand, who has a lot of stories here on this Storypage, many of them about Ollie the cat and Ted the plumber.

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