Sunday. Went to see Dad in the morning. He seems a little better. It’s hard to tell. One day he seems fine, the next day he’s out of it.
The medication makes him loopy. Today he muttered about “chasing that red dot.” Disturbing to hear him talk like that. It was Dad that taught me the red dot is a mean trick that some humans play on kitties.
The Smiths never try to tempt me with the red dot. The Smiths are kind.
There’s a new kitty in town. Her name is Pia, and she’s gorgeous. Jet black, like a panther, with green eyes. Lean and svelte. You should see her move. Caramba.
We met for the first time out back, by the old oak tree. She slipped through the hedge from the next yard over. We sniffed one another. She isn’t spayed, but also not in heat right now.
I can wait.
We chatted. Pia lives two doors down Elm Street, with the Ericsons, who just moved here from Sweden. Mr. Ericson runs sales in the Americas for a Swedish company that makes -- I kid you not -- composting toilets.
Mrs. Ericson is nice. She feeds Pia herring. I prefer my chicken livers but will eat herring once and a while as long as it’s not that awful fermented kind.
They have a daughter named Bibi. She’s Roderick’s age. Pia worries the Beauneville Latin boys will call Bibi a slut because she likes to hang out in the nude. Seems to be a thing among Swedes. They run naked through the snow and whip one another with birch twigs.
Supposedly.
I assured Pia that the Beauneville Latin boys are mostly harmless nerds.
Pia asked me to catch her up on the local gossip. It’s complicated, but I did my best. Every young man at Beauneville Latin is hot for Molly Bloom, but she’s icily determined not to give anyone the time of day except Roderick. Molly and Roderick are inseparable, but I don’t think they’re fucking. At least not yet. Not in Roderick’s bedroom, at least. I would know. I sleep on that bed.
Natasha flirts with Roderick and he thinks she’s hot but she really adores Henry Witherspoon. Roderick also likes Megan Cupcake because she’s buxom and bubbly and she throws herself at him, but he also thinks she’s batshit crazy. Katie Zeppelin has a secret crush on Roderick. It’s so secret he doesn’t know anything about it. Betsy Flapper also has a thing for Roderick, but only because she hates Molly and wants to break up Molly and Roderick. Roderick wants nothing to do with Betsy because he thinks she’s mean.
I invited Pia inside but she demurred. Time for foursies.
All for now.