Spanish Eyes
PART 2- Want Ads
By MAtropolis
Days past, and Matty and Travie hung out with Rick a lot, showing him around.
“Misto’s starting to get suspicious,” Matty said out of nowhere.
“Huh?” Travie pondered. They were sitting on the edge of the fence around Central Park.
“You been hanging around Rick, and he’s getting that unreliable, untrusting, deceitful, pitiful feeling.”
“Are you saying…?”
“That’s right. He’s suspicious that you’re cheating on him.”
“That’s ridiculous! He still doesn’t trust me!” Travie exclaimed.
“He’s very insecure,” Matty said.
“But—but—but—I can’t believe he still don’t trust me!”
“Doesn’t.”
“Whatever. The point is, he doesn’t trust me whatsoever.”
“I do feel your pain. But I warned you. Misto is very uncertain. That’s why I always suggest Alonzo. He’s a guy who’s not afraid of anything. And the only cat he’s ever suspicious of is Bombalurina. I don’t know why he dates her. She always ends up cheating on him or something to that effect.”
“Yeah, but Mom doesn’t cheat on anybody anymore. She dumped Alonzo and is dating Tugger.”
“SHE’S WHAT?”
“Dating Tugger!”
“She can’t! She didn’t dump Alonzo yet!” Matty cried.
“But she said—“
“It doesn’t matter! She never dumped my brother!” Travie screamed.
“Do not be alarmed!” she ran as fast as she could toawards the junkyard.
“Rick, life is very confusing around here, I think you’ll get use to it.”
“But Matty, I have learned that when life is going wrong, all you need is music. Music makes your heart beat faster and longer. Music is what my mother would have called Soul Food. Lets you live, and when you love it, it loves you back.”
“Than by all means, let’s sing!”
“We’re not just going to sing, we’re going to dance too! We’re gonna get ourselves moving!”
The two moved out from the shadows of the bench and into the sun. Of course, it was setting by now, casting beautiful colors over their fur. As if magic, music began to come from nowhere, no doubt an upbeat Mexican mix. Rick easily danced to the music, swaying his hips, moving his paws quickly, grabbing Matty and having her dance along.
“Now I have to show you something.” Once again music began, but this time it was the music of the Jellicle Ball. She showed him her best moves, her kicks, bending and a few cartwheels, and ended, on pure accident, in a split. Rick helped her up.
“That was neat. That’s what you do at the Jellicle Ball?”
“Yeah, but it takes a lotta practice. Why don’t you try?”
“Me? I could never do that stuff!”
“Sure you can! Come on now.” Matty grabbed his front paw, and swung him around, showing him how to dance to the easiest song she knew, The Rum Tum Tugger. It started to rain, but Matty and Rick were so warm they danced through the night. The summer rain felt so good splashing on their fur.
“Hey, this is fun!”
“And now I have better news. Your accepted into the tribe!”
“Wow! That’s great!”
“This is the part where you do a flip.”
“A FLIP???”
“Sure! All the kittens can do a flip. Well, except Jemima, but she’ll learn.”
“Well I’m not a kitten.”
“Oh, but you are! You’re technically not a cat until you turn two. If you want me to prove it, we can go talk to Coricopat and Tantomile about it.”
“That’s okay. I don’t think so.”
“Neither did I. Now give it a try. I think you’ll be surprised.” Rick jumped on to his back legs and then bounced on his front paws and landed on his shoulders.
“OW!” he yowled as the pain shot through his body.
“You okay?” Matty asked, though not very enthused.
“I think so. You knew that was going to happen!”
“Of course I knew! No one does a flip on their first time. Well, except Tumblebruts, but he was gifted with that talent. Why do you think I made you do it on the grass? Tell me Rick, what is your real talent?”
“Huh? My real talent? Gee, I don’t think I got one.”
“Oh puh-leeze! All animals have a special talent.” Matty helped Rick up and dusted him off. Again she caught his stare back from his beautiful Spanish eyes. Then she looked away, noticing she could see his eyes because the sun was spreading over the hills and casting light upon them. The dawn had come.
“Hey, what does that poster say?” Rick asked. He pointed to a pole with a small poster on it.
“Don’t change the subject—“
“I’m serious!”
“Fine. It says, ‘MISSING: A brown and white cat with dark brown eyes of Mexican tradition…” Matty’s voice faded off.
“It’s them! My family’s come back for me! They’ve come to take me home!” Ricky exclaimed with great joy.
“That’s—that’s fantastic,” Matty lied. She wanted to be happy for Rick. She knew he wanted more than anything to go home. But she didn’t want him to leave. There was something about this Tom that had to stay. His eyes. And his smile. They were so kind. So gentle. So true.
“I wonder where they are?” Rick wondered aloud.
“We’ll have to find them!” Matty said brightly, yet insincerely. “But first, we should tell the other cats.” Matty and Rick went home. But all Matty could think of was the wonderful night, the best she’d ever had. The dancing, the rain, the brightness, his eyes…
But that was all over now. He was going home. And if that’s what he wanted to do, Matty wanted to help him. She cared about him too much to be selfish and plead for him to stay with her and forget his family. But the night made her smile. But the way it had to end…
The next morning, Travie, Matty, Rick, and Misto started looking for Ricks owners. Misto only came because of his suspicions. Matty was looking at her front feet as she walked. Travie noticed her glum exspression. “What’s wrong?” Trav whispered. Trav didn’t know about the night before. How magical it was. Like the night Travie and Misto got together. One you can never forget.
“Nothing,” Matty lied again. She couldn’t tell Trav now. Not now. Sh edidn’t want Rick to know how she felt. She wanted him to think she was very happy for him. And in a way she was. If she had a chance to see her family again, she definetly would.
“They’re probably looking around the hotel we were in,” Rick noted. “We should check there.” Everyone nodded.
Sure enough, there were three people looking around, calling out, “RICKY!” But Matty most noticed the smallest of them.
“That’s my little girl,” Rick told Matty. She’s a human kitten. I love her every much, and I think she loves me too.”
“She’s very pretty,” Matty managed, trying hard not to cry. “Go on now. Go home.”
“Matty…please come with me. To meet them, I mean.”
“Alright.” Matty and Rick walked over to the little girl.
“Mommy, Daddy! Look! It’s Ricky and another kitty!”
“Ricky!” the father said. “And who’s this little rascal?” He picked Matty up gently. At first she struggled, but his touch was so careful that she stopped. “No collar. Probabla a stray.”
“Can we keep her Daddy?” the little girl asked.
“No Christina. She might belong to someone. But she seems to like Ricky.”
You don’t know how much, Matty thought.
“Maybe we could keep them both and they’d have kittens!” Christina exclaimed. Matty gasped. Just the thought of that scared her.
“No Christina. No more cats. I told you you can get a puppy. And that’s all.
I’m part puppy, Matty heeded.
The father put Matty back on the ground. “Come on Enriquo.”
That name. That name, Matty’s mind echoed. She remembered the way she met Ricky. She was so nosy, leaned over and crashed. But she was glad she did. She only knew Rick for a week or so, but in that time, or before that, she fell in love with him. Maybe it wasn’t love, but sh eknew that there was something about Rick that especially attracted her.
“Don’t forget me,” Rick whispered.
“I would never,” Matty replied.
“Matty?”
“I’ll miss you.” And with that, he kissed her gently, then he started to walk towards his family. He looked back several times to see Matty’s sad puppy eyes staring back. She waved one paw. He got in the car and waved form the back windshield. The car drove. She waved until the car was out of sight, She chased the car for awhile, but then stopped on the sidewalk. And burst into tears. It started to rain, but she felt so cold without Rick’s warm fur up against hers. She thought of that magical night. It only made her cry harder. And began to sing:
“We were dancin’ in the summer rain, we were dancin’ through the night.” But that’s as far as she got. He voice got wavey, and she cried harder. “I miss his lips and the way he sashayed his hips as he shook his shoulders. I miss the smell of his fur, I don’t care, if it take my whole life to find him.”
But how could she look for him? Go all the way across the world, with nothing to help her except heart? The sun came up, and the Tom was gone, his masquerade was over. I seached the streets, drunk with love…” her voice trailed off. She cried harder. The way he cared about her. The way she could only laugh when he fell on his shoulders. She almost wish she hadn’t. But then she helped him up, and they only came closer. His body, so warm. So gentle, so kind. “I miss the touch of his body so much, I yearn for the warmth inside him.” But maybe, by the grace of God, she might see his beautiful Spanish Eyes again. “Somewhere in time he will come back to me, and I’ll spend my whole life beside him.”
Suddenly, warm, fluffy fur rubbed up against her. “Are you okay?” It was Travie.
“I don’t know. I miss him so much. Last night we were out in the rain, dancing. HE was so…everything. But now he’s gone. His beautiful Spanish Eyes—gone. I miss him already. I’ve never actually felt this way about a Tom. I thought they were all—you know, moronic dorks, fun, but no feelings.”
“I know. But don’t worry. I know we’ll see him again one day,” Travie assured her.
“But Trav. I can’t live without him!”
“Sure you can. Just hold out until he returns. Remember how you met? Because you’re nosy! Obviously, if it’s meant to be, he’ll return. Just hold out til Tomorrow.”
“Okay. I will. But only cos you’re my best friend.”
“Put a smile on your face!”
