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THREE ORPHANS
by Roger Dean Kiser
While visiting my orphan brother, Wayne, in Gainesville, Georgia, I saw a little kitten running along the roadway. We were five miles from the nearest house. It was obvious that this cat had been dumped by someone trying to get rid of it. I asked Wayne if we could stop to at least take it to a safer place. "I don't want no darn cat," said Wayne. "Well, I didn't ask you to adopt the cat. Just move it to another location so that it will not get run over," I told him. With one of those mean, gruff old looking moods, which some people get on their face, he pulled off the highway and let me pick up the kitten. As I got back into the truck I looked at him and said, "Now that didn't kill you. Did it?" "I gotta dog and that's all I need," said Wayne, with that mean old look of his still on his face. I picked up the cat from my lap and I held it toward him. "Why don't you reach out there and scratch that mean old man?" I told the cat. Wayne gave me one of those out-of-the-corner of your eye looks, but he didn't say a word. As we drove up to his house, I took the kitten and stood beside the truck petting it. "That cat is not coming into my house," Wayne said, pointing at me. "You want me to just throw it out in the street?" I asked him. "I don't guess I have to tell you that this is a little orphan kitten," I said back at him. Wayne and I both were orphans and we both know very well what it is like to have no one to give a hoot about you. "Don't pull that one on me," he replied. "Well, it's hungry and it needs some water," I told him. Wayne didn't say a word as he pointed toward the house, with his head, giving me permission to bring the kitten in for a drink of water and something to eat. "I ain't got nothing but dog food. That's what it's going to have to eat or it can just go hungry," said Wayne. As soon as Wayne sat down on the couch, the kitten ran over to him and grabbed hold of his sock, with all four claws. He shook his foot as hard as he could but the kitten would not let go. Soon, Wayne was laughing as loud as he could. "Look at this darn cat," he told me. All at once the kitten let go of his leg. Wayne reached over and picked up the kitten and began to stroke it. "Listen to the motor in this thing," Wayne said. About that time, Wayne's dog came walking in from the back bedroom. All at once the dog and the kitten began to chase one another up and down the hallway, and around the couch. "I guess they sorta like one another. I'm surprised. My dog don't like no one," he told me. "Yea, like somebody else I know," I whispered to myself. As the animals continued to play with one another, Wayne and I got in some computer time. About an hour later we walked into the back bedroom and there was Wayne's dog, and the kitten -- both asleep on Wayne's bed. The kitten was all curled up in a tight ball next to the dog's chest. Over the next two days, I would see Wayne go to the refrigerator and cut up small pieces of his premium ham and hand feed it to the small kitten. On Sunday morning, I woke to the smell of breakfast. As I was about to take a shower I walked through the living room. I saw Wayne cooking in the kitchen. There on the floor were two bowls of food -- one for the kitten, and one for the dog. I knew right then and there that another orphan had been saved. I loaded my suitcases into my truck and then I turned around. I stood there looking at Wayne, his dog, and the kitten all looking at me. "Don't even think about it. Less you wanna fight," said Wayne, as we both laughed. Wayne and I hugged one another. I got in my truck and I drove away knowing that my orphan brother had found another piece of his heart.
© Roger Dean Kiser Visit Roger's story site here: http://www.rogerdeankiser.com Stories from The Life and Times of Roger Dean Kiser "American Orphan" www.tajmahalreview.com
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