LA VISITADORA (THE VISITOR)

by Jim Willis

Part 3: Late Again

The traffic crawled past a construction site as Cathy glanced nervously at the clock on the dashboard. "Late again," she muttered. Adjusting to the new work schedule was taking its toll on her sleep. She dashed from the employee parking lot at a half-run, and cursed as she fumbled with the security code on the keypad at the back door. Her shoes squeaked a staccato as she arrived breathlessly at the nurse's station.

"You know, the world won't end if you're a few minutes late," Sandra the new nightshift supervisor said as she looked up from the computer terminal.

"I know," Cathy gasped. "I just think I should set a good example."

"Well, it's not working," Sandra replied. "Two of the girls called off sick."

"Great," Cathy answered as she tossed her purse over the counter and onto an empty chair.

"And I've got some sad news," Sandra said. "Mr. Amato passed - he went in his sleep. I just called his friend, Mrs. Bessler. She's on her way. I haven't done anything in his room yet; I've been trying to catch up on this medication list."

"Don't worry about it," Cathy said. "I'll take care of it. You go home - you need your sleep."

A familiar stillness greeted her as she entered Mr. Amato's room. She stood next to the bed for a moment. His right hand clutched Dora's collar and he wore a slight smile of contentment. She said a silent prayer, grateful that another suffering soul had been released.

She picked up the collar and the little bell tinkled as she set it on the nightstand. She replaced it with the rosary beads that hung from the lamp and folded his hands over them. Her hand routinely smoothed out the indentation in the pillow next to his head and then she stared at her hand.

"Cathy," a small voice said tentatively from the doorway and Cathy whirled around with her fists clenched.

"Oh! Mary ... I'm sorry ... you startled me." She sat down in the armchair and took a deep breath as Mary walked to the bedside.

Mary patted her on the hand. "This must be very hard for you," Mary said. "You have to deal with this sort of thing all the time."

"I don't think you ever get used to it, but you understand that it's the natural conclusion," Cathy answered. "I'm sorry for your loss. Can I get you anything?"

"No, thank you," Mary answered. "It's not as if it was unexpected," she said sadly. "He's in a much prettier garden than mine now." She twisted the handkerchief in her hands. "Well, I won't keep you. I'll come back later for his things. I have to make the funeral arrangements ... just a small private service. You are welcome to come, of course."

"Thank you," Cathy said. "I'd like that. I'm only sorry I didn't get to know him earlier. I know how much you are going to miss him. I've been meaning to ask, will you be keeping Dora?"

"Dora? Oh no, dear," Mrs. Bessler acted surprised by the question. "The cat died a few months ago ... about the time Mr. Amato started to go downhill. She was very old. He was too sick to realize and I didn't want to let on. I kept telling him stories about her and how much she missed him because it made him happy."

"I see," Cathy said thoughtfully. "By the way - what colour was she?"

"A very pretty cream colour," Mary replied. "Almost a gold - maybe that's why he named her Dora. With some red shading ... rather unusual looking. He thought she was the most beautiful cat in the world."

"Well, they are together again," Cathy said with certainty. She stood and impulsively gave Mary a hug.

Cathy looked out the open window of Mr. Amato's room at the cloudless blue sky. She inhaled the spring air deeply. She watched as Mary Bessler walked slowly down the walkway toward the parking lot. She felt a sense of peace and hoped Mary felt it as well.

She slowly opened her hand and stared at the tuft of cat hair resting on her palm. She had brushed it from Mr. Amato's pillow. The golden cream strands tipped with red glittered in the sunlight. She blew it from her hand and it hung briefly in the air until a breeze carried it skyward.

The End

Copyright Jim Willis 2001      1, 2, 3

For a list of Jim's other articles and poems, please click here:

Jim Willis is the author of the book, “Pieces of my Heart – Writings Inspired by Animals and Nature,” now available through www.Amazon.com  in the U.S. and the www.amazon.co.uk in the U.K. Jim’s writings have been featured often both in About Cats and About Veterinary Medicine. If you were touched by “La Visitadora,” you’ll love the book!

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