he was looking throughout the
house for the cat
when he visited he made a big to-do
outside the front door before coming in to tip the beast off he was
present she usually attacked him in the
foyer from behind the potted plant it seemed
they had established a game plan
no ambush
he wandered around came up
empty went into the kitchen where his mother was futzing around she
didnt care for the word why he
used it
So as you futz around in here any idea where the cat is
standing at the counter her spine
went ramrod hard
We
don’t use that word in this house.
futz
is believed slang from the Yiddish phrase arumfartsn zihk a buddys grandmother said it all the time in
their house three generations living
together he wasnt Jewish but he gathered
its meaning without explanation meant
farting around Jews had a wordwords for everything an liberally doled them out
Yes you don but I do Such is the beauty of keeping my own place
Seen the cat
Your brother’s cat?
My brothers cat Did you and Dad get another
We did not.
My brothers cat
It’s gone.
Your brother didn’t treat it
well so it began peeing all around the house. We got tired of cleaning up after
it.
Shoud have made David clean up
the mess
He’d only have treated the cat
worse.
Worse
Was he abusing Tigger
He wasn’t kind to it.
he
suddenlyrealised where he learned his sense of semantics euphemisms she shoud have been an attorney a
politician keen to split hairs
He abused her
He wasn’t kind.
his brother was
adopted his parents medical records were
expunged from Davids records then no
recourse was available David suffered
genetic hardships in all likelihood his
mental capacity topped out as an eightnine year old
he
was thirtyone
living
his parents
Maybe we coud agree David treated
Tigger with animosity tha was is fed by his frustration from his lack of agency
lack of authority an ask feeling like a coercion frustration fed by his feeling of disempowerment
He had power over Tigger
No.
as
a kid his parents were three-trick ponies when he had questions for them Yes
No Because (I said)
You don think so or No you havent considered it
Is he continuing to see his therapist taking his medication
No.
they
were efficient too
Are you encouraging him
You know David, he’s hot and cold.
Id heat him up when he got cold
Then you're welcome move back home.
exasperated
she shook her head You have no idea.
I have
some idea
If he came to the
phone when I called he
called every weekevery ten days Id
probably have a better idea
He didn’t want to talk to you,
you know that.
I know Didnt stopped me from asking
No. It did not stop you.
Stopped my brothers and sisters
Yes.
Tiggs gone
She’s gone. She’s in a better
place.
Euphemism
he didnt ask
2205, day-between-two-Ts – Ides of March, 15 3.
23
