GAR2 RGI1 AEP2 Y922
By Maxine Jasmin-Green
- 730 reads
Monday had started out like just a normal day. I was at work and had been very busy, so it was a nice shift. After I finished work, I went straight to town to buy a birthday card for a good friend, I had planned on posting it last Saturday and time had gone and I had not been able to, my friend is going to be 50 she is a leap year baby, but I wasn’t sure what day she celebrates her birthday, so I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss the day. I went into my favourite card shop called Smart Ideas, and saw a lovely card with fifty on but as I got to the till I said to the Staff, “My friend is going to be fifty, she is a leap year baby, have you got a card with leap year on?” She said, “No, sorry,” I said, “This card I am buying is SO Claire but if there was a leap year card, age fifty then I would definitely buy it," She replied, “No one has ever asked for one,” I said, “If they saw it on the shelf, people would buy it, the sales assistant then agreed with me and said, “To be honest, my daughter is also a leap year baby and will be thirty, I would buy her that card, I will email our Director at Head Office and put your idea to him and see what he says OK.” I said, “OK.” I had brought my pen with me and I wrote it up in the shop at the till to the side, and put twenty pounds in before sealing it. Then I went to the post office.
When I got home, Meghan told me, “The cats have been in all day from last night,” She was doing three-night shifts in a row, Paul had not long got up. The cats and dogs had been fed, and family life was going on as normal. Meghan got herself ready to do her third and final night in a row, a long twelve-hour shift. Paul had cooked a nice meal for both of us.
At 7pm I fed the cats again, and one by one they went out on their own accord, but Gray way still in, so I put her out the back door. Two years ago, Paul joined a local group in our village, for up to date info, like missing pets, stolen and abandon cars, community meetings etc. I didn’t join, he asked me to but it wasn’t my sort of thing.
Paul had a notification come up on his mobile phone it read, “I have just witnessed a car hit a grey cat and the car didn’t stop, I got a towel and picked up the cat and took her to the vets, I’m sorry to tell you the cat has died, the vet said they will keep her for twenty eight days.” We looked at each other shocked, and I said, “It can’t be Gray, as I’ve just put her out the back.” Paul said, “There is another gray cat at the other end of the street.” I said, “It could be that cat then?” Paul said, “Let’s go to the vets to see if it is our cat,” I really didn’t want to go and I didn’t want to look at a dead cat. Before we went, we stood outside our back door and called her, usually her sweet face appears, but nothing appeared, so we took the short journey to the vets, they had just closed and was about to drive off, they said, “We are very sorry the gray cat that came in has died.” We talked a minute or two longer and said, “We will be in tomorrow to take her home and bury her, is 5pm OK?” The receptionist said, “Yes that’s fine we will see you then, we then left.
From the group post we knew it was Dave two doors down, so Paul knocked his door, Dave and his Wife came out, he showed us the blood in the road, and he said, “When I took her to the vets, I thought she was having a seizure, but the vet said, “No, it is muscle spasms,” I’m SO sorry, she was a beautiful cat.” Paul and I just kept saying, “Thank you so much for helping her and not leaving her there, for being kind to her in her final moments, she would have been so afraid.” As Paul carried on talking to Dave, I went into the quite road outside his home and took pictures of the large volume of blood, and the trail of blood leading from the impact to the path.
We said our goodbyes to Dave and his Wife, back inside the home, we were stunned. I sat on the sofa and soon began to shake inside of my body, I’ve experienced this shaking before when I have received bad news, and I realized it was shock. Poor Gray! I said, to Paul, “That was her last meal,” He nodded, looking down at the floor.
Meghan was on nights, and I was determined I would not tell her while she was at work, I would tell her in person tomorrow morning, the shaking within me continued, then it would stop and then start again. I said, to Paul, “Why did she go to the front, she usually comes back at the back window?” He said, “I don’t know.”
The next morning, Meghan arrived home singing she was in good spirits, I said, “Wash your hands I have some news,” She went and washed her hands and came back into the lounge, I said, “Last night about 7pm I put Gray out after she had eaten and a minute or so later, she was killed in a hit and run.” Meghan said, “OH NO!!! She burst into floods of tears, she asked me lots of questions, including, “Are you sure it’s her?” I said, “Yes we will be collecting her today at 5pm.” She cried for ten minutes solid, her face and eyes red. I went on, “I didn’t want to tell you at work,” She replied, “I’m so glad you didn’t.” She went and had a bath and went to bed without breakfast.
Five hours later, Meghan got up, she said, “Look at my eyes, they are all puffy and red I have had little or no sleep,” Her eyes looked puffy and red indeed. Within the hour Meghan was on her mobile, then she said, “I will be ordering some chocolates for our neighbour to thank them,” I don’t know where she finds these fabulous sites, she chose the words to put on the large box of Cadbury’s, “To our neighbour, we want to thank you for looking after our cat Gray in her final moments,” She said, I have looked at lots of photos of Gray that I have taken on the Cannon and have chosen these two, the one where it shows off her beautiful green eyes and Gray as a baby, one will go on the front of the box of chocolates and the other will go on the back.” They were cute, and I asked Meghan, “Please can you send me those, so I can put them as my status on Facebook.” After I had spoken to Meghan, it was only then I put it on social media, and the love and compassion poured in, there were so many people who understood, what it was like to lose a beloved pet, from all over the world, loved poured my way, it was a sad day.
The receptionist at the vets, had told me, “Your cat will be wrapped in a large towel, we advise you not to look at her for her head took the full force of the accident,” I told her, “We will not look,” The receptionist added, she will also be cold and stiff, this is because we have to keep her cold for up to twenty-eight days.” I replied, “I understand.” But, on the way home, Paul said to me, “I’m going to look at her, just to make sure it is her,” I said, “Please don’t, let’s just remembers her as she was in life, we know it is Gray, she hasn’t come home,” He replied, “OK, I won’t look.” It was hard to try and comprehend that she was gone, that we would never see her face again, I’d said to Paul, “At least we know where she is, not everyone knows what happens to their pet, they just live in hope year in, year out, hoping they will return, but they don’t,” He nodded his agreement.
We went with Gray into the garden, and Paul said to Meghan, “Where would you like her buried?” She chose a spot, and Paul started digging. When the hole was dug, he placed her gently into the ground, her gray dish was placed by her head and Meghan put some cat Dreamies into it, that the cats love so much and she was covered up. Back inside, as a tribute to Gray, instead of raising our glasses to her, Meghan gave the other cats three Dreamies each.
It was my day off, and my lovely Manager, text me to say, “Do you want tomorrow off?” I replied, “No thank you I will be in for my shift tomorrow,” How sweet is that. He texts back, “Are you sure?” I answered, “Yes, I’m sure.” He has a cat, but his cat does not go outside, I must admit, I wished this week, that ours didn’t either.”
Meghan did say, after Gray was buried, “What would we do, if she turned up now?” I said, “We would have to be quiet, for whose cat did we just bury?” I went on, “I suppose that has happened in the world somewhere, with animals and people alike.”
The beautiful, grateful chocolates arrived this morning and with the lovely card, that I bought from Smart Ideas, I will put twenty pounds in it, we decided tomorrow evening when Meghan has finished work, we will go to Dave’s.
So, what does the title mean?
It is in four sections, so going for left to right it is:-
The first letter of each is, Gray
Then the second letter of each is Age 9
Then the third letter of the first 3 is RIP
Finally, the fourth in each is 21.2.22
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Comments
This was such a sad read and
This was such a sad read and I'm so sorry to hear the news about your cat. It's never easy getting news like that, I know from my own past experience how much they become so much part of the family, it's like loosing a loved one. I really hope time heals for you and I'm sure Gray is still with you in spirit.
Take care.
Jenny.
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I'm so very sorry for your
I'm so very sorry for your loss Grace
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