“In the midnight light of ‘Lenny’s
’76 All-Nite’ filling station,
all things happen…”
- Anonymous
Genevieve is my cat. My veterinarian said she was too fat.
“She needed to move around more…”
And…even though I told him how small my apartment was…all
he would say was… “well figure it out…how much is she eating?”
And when I told him…he said…“well it isn’t all that much,” so he
sold me a puppy-size comfort-harness that fit her just right…
and a leash…
And that was how I started to take her out on walks with me…because I love Genevieve…and I wanted to do the right thing by her…and that was how I met Lenny.
*
Genevieve…she was pretty okay about learning to do the leash thing… I think that was because she had always been
an indoor cat…
But the world outside…it wasn’t ready for Genevieve…or...
at least it wasn’t ready for me walking her the way I was…
That wasn’t a thing humans and cats were supposed to
do together…and some unpleasant things happened…
So I started taking her out at night…usually around
midnight…give or take fifteen minutes or so…
It’s a quiet neighborhood I live in…
families mostly...folks are home…
plenty of streetlight…
(though I do take a flashlight with me…just to be sure)…
And very quickly...Genevieve and me...we established this routine
where we would walk together down about five blocks…straight line…
Down to the local filling station and back… and that was good for both of us
because…at this point on the road…the bladder doesn’t work so well…and because
The filling station was open twenty-four hours…so I could always
count on it having a clean Ladies Room available…
with no key needed.
*
Now the way it all happened was...one night...as I was passing the
lighted office where the all-night attendant sits…I heard this
man’s voice calling out to me…“mighty fine cat you have there…”
And Genevieve…she looked very interested...and then she started to pull me over to the office where there was this
tall skinny guy in tight jeans...leaning up against the side of the doorframe…watching us...
He had a patch over his right eye…was clean-shaven with slicked back black hair (dark for his age)…and when he stepped forward…he stood straight…and he smiled…and I could see…
his teeth were white and nice…
And I could tell he was a true gentleman...(Genevieve always did
have good taste)…and he invited me in to have a cup of coffee with
him…and talk a little…and I did...and that is how it started….
*
Every night now…when Genevieve and I walk together…we stop…and we say hello to Lenny…and he has fresh coffee ready…and we...all three of us... we sit together…and Lenny and I…
we talk for a while. We enjoy talking...
I remember...first thing he told me was that his name was Lenny (short for Leonardo)... and that he owned the station...and that he hires people to work for him during the day… but then…come nighttime...he takes over.
“Always did like working nights…” he said…
And then he told me about how he was seventy-eight years old…and how he had these health things going on with him…and I told him about how I was seventy-four…and how...also... I had these health things going on with me...
And then we talked about the easy stuff…and then about
much harder things…like prison…and hospitals…and
time in the rain…and the ways we have to keep us sane…
And that is how it has been for a long time now…and the Veterinarian… he says…that Genevieve is looking “quite trim” these days…and he can see that I am taking very…very…very...good care of her.
***
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