Gato

When we were young, we used to live with our grandmother. I remember my cousin Jojo asking all the little children if we wanted to meet his pet. He told us he had a kitten. That was a silly question. Of course, we wanted to meet his kitten. It was small and black with blue eyes and fluffy fur. We asked him what he named it. He said, "Gato". My cousin Gene snort-laughed but covered it with a coughing fit. Apparently no one noticed except me. I raised an eyebrow at him.

Later, I asked Gene if he laughed because Jojo named his baby kitty, "cat". Gene raised his eyebrow at me and asked who taught me Spanish. I shrugged my shoulders. I said, "I don't speak Spanish". Gene nodded then explained that Gato meant Cat in Spanish. Yes, he did find it funny. He said Jojo was so weird. He could've at least come up with a more creative name. I thought about it for a moment then replied, like Noire, Salem, or Midnight? Gene laughed. He said, let me guess. You don't speak French? I replied, like fries? He said, no like the language but that answers my question. 

He asked me why I chose Noire. I said it's because of the color of the kitty. He said right, in French. I just stared at him. He said, "okay then". Then he explained Noire meant black in French. I nodded my head. He guessed I picked Salem because of a certain television cat and Midnight because it's dark outside like the kitty's fur. I responded he was half right. Salem and Midnight were both black television cats. 

Over several weeks, all the little children grew fond of playing with Gato. I was always examining that poor little kitten closely. My cousin Odie noticed and asked me why. I explained the kitty's eye color, size, beans, ear shape, and fur texture keep changing. I told him, I didn't think it was the same kitty. It was an innocent observation. I was by nature very curious. Odie, Gene, and Lando went out to investigate. Apparently, the garage where we kept the boat was filled with cats and kittens as was a barn in the field behind my Grandmother's home. They were all named "Gato" because he couldn't tell them apart.

The interesting thing was they were all black cats except for a basically black siamese cat. It was shy and didn't come near people often. Out of the blue, it started hanging out with the other cats and people. It made its home in the garage. It became a family favorite friend. Then it disappeared. My Dad and Uncles looked for it. They found it beneath the boat cover. My Dad speculated that it knew it was dying and not having long to live, it no longer wanted to be alone. I suppose people are a lot like cats in this way.