Chucky's in Love

George and I went to a party in Charlottesville last night. We had arranged to stay in town afterward to avoid the hour-long drive back to Buckingham.

We left the party in high-spirits with George's work colleague who very graciously offered us a room to stay at his house. Upon arriving at Chuck's house and after a fun ride in his sports car, we met the star of my tale --Little Chucky, the cat.

Now I have met a lot of cats in my day but never one quite like Chucky. He immediately made friends with George and I rubbing his feline body around our ankles and imploring with sage green eyes for us to pet and talk to him. I didn't want to offend the only other inhabitant of the house, and knowing Chuck's (the human) schedule I figured it was more Little Chucky's house than anyone's - so I made little chuffing lovey sounds that cats enjoy while I rubbed his ears. I never dreamed I had cemented what could only be described as a cat-crush.

We got ourselves settled for bed while Chucky looked on and offered what sounded like polite conversation. When it was time for lights out, Chucky was put out of the bedroom as I am mildly allergic to cats. Within seconds he was wailing with the most haunted meow I had ever heard and beating on the door with his paws and head. So we let him back in.

Chucky wanted to lick my toes, sit on my head and generally love me up cat-style. He was very persistent and jumped back onto the bed each time I nudged him off. Finally, he seemed happy to find a spot near my feet to settle in for the night and I breathed a sigh of relief that a peaceable solution to Chucky's feline overtures was in the making. That lasted about one hour.

I felt something hit my head, groping in the dark revealed it to be a soft little pillowy ball. I had no idea where it had come from and I certainly didn't want to sleep with it. So I tossed it. Chucky flew off the bed in hot pursuit and returned almost as quickly with the ball in his teeth. He deposited the ball on my head again and began purring while kneading my neck in anticipation of the next toss. In my growing sleepiness and irritation I hurled the ball again and Chucky went tearing after it. Reason caught up with my sleep deprived brain and I realized that I needed to hide the ball. So the next time he brought it to me, I tucked it under the covers out of sight. Chucky howled in protest with some very loud and wobbly meows that reminded me of a very out of tune violin. But I would not be won over by his pleading and eventually he chose to settle back down by my feet.

Every time I moved my foot he pounced on it with playful paws and a soft mouth holding his teeth away from my skin. Occasionally, he would get bored with his position and try to reclaim a spot on the pillow next to my head only to find himself nudged off onto the floor again. He ran his raspy tongue over my knuckles and elbows until the ticklishness was more than I could take and he was again tossed off the bed. As annoyed as I was that it was approaching 3am and this cat would simply not let me sleep - at all - I was completely won over by his charm and affection.

His simple desire to interact with another being was so powerful that he had no choice but to make the humans understand his needs.

I was his new friend and for the time being, it seemed, the only one he wanted to hang out with. And hang out we did. I got not a wink of real sleep, but I wouldn't trade a week of good nights' sleep for the completely stunning interaction with Little Chucky The Cat. His is the pure heart of an animal that lives totally in the Present and in the Presence. All animals are like that, it's just that Chucky likes to share his experience with others. I am blessed that he chose me.

Now I think I'll go to bed! :)

Blessings,

Cassandra