Oscar’s Unplanned Rescue: A Commuter’s Tale

Oscar was sitting in traffic on his way back from work. Often on long drives home, he wondered if it was worth the hour-long commute. He had often considered asking Mildred if they could move closer to his workplace. Whenever he was on the precipice of having the conversation, Mildred would mention a close friendship with a neighbor, how much she loved their backyard, or he would see his kids playing down the street with their friends. He knew she wouldn’t have been opposed to moving, but he, too, loved their neighborhood. So, he had made peace with these long commutes. They weren’t all bad. They provided an excellent opportunity to listen to audiobooks. He had explored topics such as political theory, American history, and the importance of composting, all of which proved interesting. Today, he was listening to Kingship in the Middle Ages and how Henry 6 had not lived up to these expectations. Just as they were starting to detail his lack of military prowess, he happened to look down at his gas gauge. He sighed. It was hovering too close to empty for his comfort. He saw a gas station on his right and pulled in.

It didn’t take him long to pump the gas, and he heard a slight noise as he put the pump back in place. Confused, he looked around for its source. As his gaze travelled downward, he found its source. A small black and white kitten was walking towards him, meowing. The sight was so unexpected that it left Oscar momentarily stunned. Upon reaching him, the kitten stood and looked up at him, still crying. Oscar began shaking his head. He did not need an animal to rescue on his commute home. Indeed, this had to be the gas station’s cat. He quickly picked up the small creature in one hand and headed towards the store at the gas station. Upon entering, a middle-aged man looked up at him. “No pets allowed unless they’re service animals,” he said. Oscar looked down at the cat, who looked back at him. Picking him up had silenced his cries, at least for the moment. “Isn’t this your cat? Holding out the black and white kitten. The clerk looked over the glasses, perched on his nose, at Oscar, as if the question were the most ridiculous consideration. “ No, the cat is not mine. I don’t like pets”. Oscar was getting frustrated. The cat had been outside the gas station. This wasn’t an unreasonable question, “I thought, because he was outside in the parking lot, he might be the gas station’s cat?” The clerk, who had been doing a word search before this interruption, was eager to return to it. “No, that’s not the gas station’s cat. Still, I’m happy to call animal control to have them come and get the animal”.

Oscar had a choice to make. With one quick look down at the kitten, he knew what he would do. “No need, I’m taking him home.” The clerk had gone back to his word search. “Okay”. Since he had stated he was taking the kitten home, he needed to call Mildred and let her know they would have an overnight guest. After returning to his car and putting the kitten on the car seat, he picked up his phone to call Mildred, but before he could, the kitten was crawling up his chest, and the needle-like claws were piercing his skin. Grunting in pain, he gingerly plucked the kitten off his chest and decided that placing him on his thigh might be a safer location. The kitten was happy with this change in scenery; he lay down and began purring. With him settled for the moment, Oscar was finally able to call Mildred. “Everything Okay?” Mildred answered the phone with a tone of light concern. “You’re running a bit late”. ” Yeah, sorry I stopped to get gas, and then a kitten walked up to me. I didn’t want him to end up at animal control, so now I’m sitting in the car with him on my leg”. “Oh!” Mildred’s surprise was palpable. Mildred was always good at problem-solving. “Well, why don’t you come home and eat dinner? The kids and I have already eaten. We don’t have anything for kittens. We can go to the pet store down the street and get some supplies”. This was a relief to Oscar. “That would be great, I am hungry”.

Mildred hung up the phone with Oscar and focused on her mission: “Everyone, get your shoes on; we have to go to the pet store.” Violet looked towards the locked box that contained Wilbur’s food. “We just got him more food”. Mildred decided to bite the bullet and explain to the children why they were going to the pet store. “Your dad found a kitten when he went to the gas station, and we’re going to keep it here overnight until we can take it to the humane society tomorrow”. A bunch of questions followed, and she patiently answered while encouraging everyone to get into the car.

An hour later, pet supplies had been purchased by Mildred; Oscar had eaten dinner while the kitten had climbed or attempted to climb up his chest. The kitten had been relocated to the guest room so Wilbur couldn’t bother the temporary household member. He was only placed in the guest room after being bathed and a flea comb used. He indignantly meowed, crawled under the bed, and fell asleep. Violet, James, Rose, and Lilly wanted to spend the night in the room with the male kitten, but Mildred shepherded them upstairs. “Do we have to take him to the humane society?” This question came from James. Oscar looked at Mildred. He’d grown up with a cat and would like to keep the kitten, but he knew Mildred would be home all day with any pets they had.  Mildred sighed, “I need to think about it. Everyone, it’s time to go to bed.”

Keeping the children focused on their school work the next day was difficult. The kitten was one distraction, but Wilbur was of a different order entirely. He spent the entire morning whining at the door while he lay patiently waiting for someone to let him investigate what was on the other side. After many fruitless attempts, Mildred left the children to work on their schoolwork and placed a baby gate that Wilbur couldn’t get over. The whining stopped, and he stared through the gate, tail wagging gently. Mildred was watching this unfold and had pulled up a chair to supervise the meet-and-greet. What happened next stunned her. The kitten, meowing, climbed the gate and then sat looking up at Wilbur. Wilbur lay down, gently placed the kitten between his front paws, and began licking it.  For the rest of the day, the kitten followed Wilbur around. They took a nap together and even drank from the same water dish. By the end of the day, the kitten had been named Bond, since it looked like he was wearing a tuxedo. As she watched Wilbur and Bond sleep together, she wondered if they should really take him to the humane society. It was looking less and less likely.