Socks and Bobby Socks

As autumn became apparent on the island, we were forced to closes the windows and doors on the south side of our apartment. (The west and north side didn't have windows.) It actually made more light shine into the living room and the second bedroom because the blue sheer curtains were taken down and put in a drawer. The olive tree that had shaded the corner of our porch was shedding its leaves in preparation for winter. The landlord's children were busy picking the grapes from the vines that had made a canopy over the driveway during the heat of the summer.

Odyssey was busy too. She was teaching Sassy about food. Alas, she was bringing "the food" inside. Every day I was sweeping up bird bones, beaks and feathers. I kept on scolding Odyssey about it but she was determined to teach her daughter how to fend for herself. It wasn't long before she acquired two more young cats whose mother had decided that she'd rather go prowling for a tom to get her pregnant again instead of teaching. The white one didn't seem all that interested in learning and just wanted what Odyssey was catching for it to eat. Soon Odyssey wouldn't let this one inside the apartment. The other young cat was multicolored in hues of brown, white, and black. As soon at it felt comfortable around my husband and me, we checked to see what sex it was. . . female. Because all four of her feet, up to the first major joint were white, we named her Socks.

Like Odyssey, it didn't take her long to get pregnant. We kind of suspected this would happen seeing that we were still keeping the windows and French door open on the east side. Odyssey, Sassy and Socks were still out and about in the evenings. We placed a large box of old towels on its side out on the porch for Socks. We weren't sure were we'd put Socks and her kittens once they were here. We knew we couldn't put them in the same bedroom with Odyssey and Sassy.

If I remember right, Socks had her one kitten the last of February. I could hear the box rattling on the porch that morning while was making the bed. It was already warm enough outside to leave the French doors open a crack during the nighttime hours. I didn't see Socks until about four o'clock that afternoon when she came inside with Odyssey and Sassy to get her daily treats. She didn't stay long wanting to get back to her kitten.

The routine was the same for about a week. Socks was getting cabin fever and knew what would cure it. The day she decided to take her break from motherly responsibilities, she didn't come in for her treats. I was a little concerned so I took her treats out to the box. She wasn't there and her kitten was also gone. At that point, I thought that maybe she had decided to move her kitten for some reason and went back inside to fix dinner.

It wasn't until the next morning that I learned about what Socks had done. While I was making the bed, I noticed something moving in the pillowcase. Well, I think we all know that pillows don't move. When I first looked inside, all I saw was the pillow but then I saw the kitten's ear. Socks had dubbed my husband and me babysitters so that she could go out prowling. Until I took the kitten out of the pillowcase, I hadn't a clue as to how it would look. The little thing was a small replica of Socks. I named the kitten Bobby Socks.