Gertie's Choice by Carol Colbert Page A

her cousins Thelma
and Luna had come to them in feline form years ago, Ophelia had
from time to time tried to change into a cat herself. It took her
many tries and she was afraid of being stuck in that form, but she
finally was able to accomplish it. She knew that Donald had
developed a fear of cats since that episode even though he did not
consciously remember any of it, due to the chocolate coffee he had
been told to drink. Whenever she was especially angry at Donald,
she would wait until he was mostly asleep and then she would turn
into cat form and jump on his bed.
    Ophelia had to laugh at the
memories of those nights. His howl was louder and scarier than any
animal she had ever heard.
    Ophelia was furious when
she heard Adela beg Donald to go with her. She knew that Adela
could have been more successful if she had played it cool instead
of acting like a wimp. No one wanted a doormat and that is exactly
what Adela was sounding like. First a doormat and then a demanding
shrew. When she heard Donald tell her that there was not a chance
in hell that he would leave with her and Adela start to cry,
Ophelia could stand it no more.
    “NOooooo!” Ophelia said
and started running towards Adela’s car. The window was open and if
Mrs. Davis would have looked out her window right at that moment
she would have seen a little white cat jump through the car window
and into the back seat.
    Ophelia did not even
consciously think about what form she was in. She set about tearing
the cloth in the back seat with her claws and her teeth. She was so
angry that she could barely see what she was doing, so thick was
the blue fog. She growled and hissed and wore herself out tearing
and clawing and scratching the vehicle. All she could think of was
that Adela Johnson was her only chance of getting rid of Donald so
that she and her mother could use the red ring and get back to
Enchanted.
    After a few minutes of
frantic destruction, Ophelia was exhausted. She laid there on the
backseat trying to gain her second wind when she heard a woman’s
voice saying “Son of a bitch!” before everything went black in
Ophelia’s world.
    Adela Johnson had thrown
her purse and sweater into the backseat in a huff. Her heavy purse
hit Ophelia right on her little kitten furry head and her sweater
covering her up so that Adela did not notice that she had a kitten
in her backseat. Adela then squealed her tires as she left
Kentucky, and Donald, for good.
     

Chapter 18

     
    Gertie sat the roast beef
and mashed potatoes onto the table and turned to pick up the salad.
“Donald!” She called out, “You and your sister come in now, dinner
is ready.”
    Donald walked into the
kitchen and sat down at the table. “Did you wash your hands?” She
asked him, annoyed that she would still have to remind a man of his
age to wash his hands before sitting down to a meal. Donald got up
and left to wash his hands and then came back and started piling
food on his plate.
    “Is Ophelia coming soon?
Where is she?”
    “I don’t know.” Donald said
in-between bites.
    Gertie took a quick walk
around the house and looked out the windows to check the porch and
backyard for her wayward daughter. “I don’t see her anywhere. When
was the last time you saw her today?” She asked Donald.
    “This morning.”
    ”You haven’t seen her since
this morning?”
    “Nope.”
    “Did she say she was going
anywhere or when she would be back home?” Gertie asked, her anger
rising with each question.
    “She said she was going to
Enchanted.” Donald said.
    Gertie almost dropped her
cup of coffee. “Could you repeat that, Donald, what were her exact
words?”
    “Those were her words, she
said I am going to Enchanted.”
    Gertie ran to Ophelia’s
bedroom and checked her closet and dresser drawers. None of
Ophelia’s clothes were missing. Donald had to have heard wrong.
Ophelia would have never mentioned the name Enchanted to
Donald.
    Gertie went back to the
kitchen and finished her