The Cold Weight of Guilt
CHAPTER 5, ORANGE BABY…
My little “farm” now included 3 indoor kitties in 2022: Zignatious the Fluffball, Zagnut the Torti-Tabby Tom, and my nameless rescue kitten, “Orange Baby”.
Her beautiful sister had been adopted by my Aunt, her name was Peach; she was as healthy and robust as a young cat could be…unfortunately, Orange Baby didn’t get the same bill of health. She had the gingivitis and malnutrition from their time “on the street” as orphans. She had all the hallmarks of being the runt of the litter. My heart swelled with love for the odd little tyke. It seemed like all would be well, watching all three interact, tumbling and tussling all day.
So began a time of quiet family life…
AKA The Golden Fluffball
The Pandemic Ends, New Tenant Arrives
My isolation, and the entire populations’ came to an end, finally. Life was still tumultuous and uncertain in so many ways. Over the years I had developed a good relationship with my next door neighbors, a gruff New Yorker and her wife and daughter. Because we live in tiny mobile homes at about an arms length apart, being kind makes life more pleasant here.
There was major familial friction in their home, however. It centered around the wife’s blood sister who had recently become homeless, in the process of moving in with them to sleep on their couch . This was a new wrinkle…
Out of the Gutter Art 