Cat Person

Zoë is in love. And since she is only nine years old, she still tells me everything: There are ants crawling up her neck, her stomach feels like a sponge, the kid, a pudgy Brit, is as sweet as chocolate fudge ice cream, and life just became colossally more complicated.

The poor child does seem awfully afflicted. Her big brown eyes have acquired a tragic quality and getting her to empty the dishwasher is sheer impossible. Her mind no longer dwells on earthly matters, so much is for sure.

It all started when she enrolled for a musical workshop and met the cast for the first time.
“I am in love with the panther, mom” she declared as I came to pick her up. “We are not getting a cat!!” was my prompt response. “Mo-om, I mean Bagheera, the panther, I don’t know the boy’s name yet.”

Lea, with a big smile on her face that wasn’t without malice added, “It’s pretty bad, mom. She’s all lovey, lovey.”

Lea, six, rejects the notion of love unless it is directed at her blanky. “I am too young for this yucky stuff,” she says and amplifies her words with a heartfelt shudder. And right she is!

Anyway, Zoë is in dire straights and she knows it. Only two days are left and than this Jungle encounter in which she stars as Prickly Pear No. 2 will be over and cat boy will be gone from her life. My only fear: He may remain in ours for a while.