Miaow There! Page 8

I decided to stay indoors so curled up in my comfy bed, had a relaxing stretch and an all over licking session and then slept... it was much later that Sheila returned. She seemed to be very cheery and I think this was probably because yes she had had several of the naughty cocks’ tails! “Well, that was a really enjoyable evening Misty” she said sitting down on the sofa, picking me up and putting me on her knee. “Mary, Eric and I had a nice cocktail or two before dinner (yes dear, I can see that!) and then we met up afterwards in the theatre and the guy was just so funny the whole audience fell apart laughing! (oh dear, sounds like one of Pedro’s animals doesn’t it... they tend to fall apart when Sheila moves them off the bed!) “After the show we ended up in the café for a nightcap” she went on, “so all in all, a really good day don’t you think, Misty?” I agreed, yes it had been a great day - well each day on here seems to get better than the last one - so I wondered what tomorrow would bring! What she had mentioned earlier sounded pretty exciting to me.

  We both then carried out our bedtime preparations - me to the litter igloo and her to the non bathroom. And then getting into our respective beds, we slept! What would the next day bring I mewsed - sorry, mused?

  The next port of call

  The next morning dawned bright and sunny again. Performing my morning ablutions, I gazed out through the glass wall of the balcony and saw we were right next door to another big ship, not as big as ours though! Again, I saw way down below several lines of those long motor machines and people were coming off both ships and getting inside them. I wondered where they were going. We appeared to be not far from another very big town, at least as big as the previous port where I had seen the statue of the fish lady. But there was no similar statue in the water here as far as I could see. There were lots of big buildings in the distance and rows of smaller brightly coloured houses nearer to the water’s edge where I thought I could see a kind of stone road crossing over the top of the water... I suppose you would walk across it to reach them. Pity I wasn’t going to be allowed off the ship to see some of these strange new places, but, on the other paw, it might also be a bit frightening when you consider I’ve never really been out of our back garden at home!

  After Sheila had sorted out the litter igloo and given me my breakfast she went off for her own and I sat outside to do a bit of birdwatching. Several of those big white birds were flying around and some all black ones too, but none came really near our ship. Pity. Pedro duly arrived, plus two big shrimps (!) and I enjoyed having my usual morning pats from him. He bustled about in his efficient manner and within only a few minutes, all was done and dusted and he left not long before Sheila returned, but almost immediately she went out again saying she would be back just after lunchtime. Oh well, thanks for the company I thought irritably and stamped outside again. I soon wished I hadn’t because all of a sudden I heard a sort of rushing water sound and some heavy drops of water fell on my head. Looking up I could see some sort of moving platform with a crew member on it who appeared to be squirting water at the stateroom windows! Before I realised just exactly how close he was, a sudden squirt totally drenched me from head to tail!

  Hell’s teeth... I leapt in the air giving a loud screech and flew back inside narrowly avoiding another soaking as the platform continued on its slow route past. From the safety behind the glass doors I peeped out and saw that the whole of the floor outside was now soaking wet and full of puddles and what’s more, my cushion and litter igloo were wet too! But blow them I thought furiously, look at ME... look at my fur, ruined, sopping wet! My previous irritability escalated into a really bad temper now and as I shook and shook myself to try and get dry again, I was growling under my breath. After shaking like fury for about five minutes I gave up and decided to sit outside in the sun to try and dry my catsuit, but it was hopeless, every part of the balcony was wet. Right, I thought, so I’ll have to go and drag out one of the fluffy rags from the non bathroom and roll around on it. I knew that this would do the trick as if I am at home and outside in the garden and it starts raining, Sheila rubs me down with my own little cat sized drying rag. I walked across the room, dripping all the way, into the non bathroom and I could see several of the white fluffy rags hanging above me. After a few leaps I managed to hook my claws onto one and then pull it down. So far so good. I managed to drag it back into the main room and then had a good rolling session on it - well that was all I could do for the moment. I went and had a drink and then sat down on the sofa still growling to myself. Suddenly this day I had been looking forward to so much had become a disaster day. Well, I suppose it could only get better. Eventually I nodded off.

  I was awakened by Sheila coming in. Her smile of greeting was suddenly replaced by a look of horror when she saw me, my fur still damp and spiky, and the normally sparkling stateroom now not looking quite so sparkly! “What on earth has been going on here, Misty?” she gasped, then a look of realisation came over her face, “OMG, I forgot they were going to wash the windows this morning, I should have closed the doors to the outside!” She glanced around and then, for some unaccountable reason, just burst out laughing - that hyena like sound again! “I shouldn’t laugh, Misty” she stuttered (no you damn well shouldn’t!) “but I’ve NEVER seen you looking so scruffy” (well, thank you very much for that!) “and before I clean you and the room up, I must take a photo, nobody at home will believe the state you’ve got yourself in, everybody always says how pretty you are and how immaculate you keep yourself!!” (Well, dear, I’m “pretty” fed up now - the state I’VE got myself in? That’s rich! You mean the state the WINDOW CLEANERS have got me in!) She picked up her phone and pointed it at me (that’s right - humiliate me again when you show your friends at home!) By this time my fury was increasing by the minute. I have never, ever given Sheila a scratch, even when we have had the odd contretemps, but I certainly felt like giving her one now. However, sense prevailed and I thought I’d better not aggravate the situation any more so I merely wagged my tail and sat sulkily down in the corner. “Don’t worry Misty” she soothed, “a nice blow dry will sort you out in a minute, and I must tidy up here or else Pedro will have a heart attack when he comes in later!

  I watched as she fetched another of the fluffy white rags and carefully wiped down the walls where I had brushed against them, and also the sofa. She went outside and dried off the litter igloo and set the cushion out in the sun. I hoped it wouldn’t take too long to dry as I wanted to catch the evening sun on it as I’d done before. Yes, I was getting into the pleasure of the cruising routine, dear reader, though this morning’s events had somewhat marred today’s experience! Opening a drawer she produced a hair dryer and picking up my brush and comb, sat me down on another drying rag and proceeded to dry my fur off and give me the promised blow dry. Aaah, this felt better. I always like being groomed. After a few minutes of blissful brush strokes accompanied by a nice warm rush of air, I felt my usual happy self returning and so began to purr. “Good girl, Misty” said Sheila, “All’s well that ends well. Now you look gorgeous again and everyone will say how pretty you look. Pedro will not realise what a car crash this room looked like when I came in - though he may think I’ve used rather a lot of towels today - and all’s well so we can get on with enjoying ourselves. I’ll give you your lunch now and I’ll just have a quick wash and change and then we’ll go up and have a nice coffee and then just have a leisurely afternoon because it’s going to be a special night tonight being formal night!” Well, I certainly agree with all that I thought, and then enjoyed my lunch snack of cheesy crunchies while she sorted herself out and tidied away the bits of shopping she had bought when off the ship. I noticed another teddy had joined the gang. This one was wearing a vest with a strange name on it that began with the letter S and ended with the letter M. I suppose it was the name of the port where he had previously lived. He would find it different living in Cornwall! “Right, let’s go” she said, so off we went.

  Shortly we arrived at the froth
y coffee lounge that Sheila loved, and she quickly settled herself into a comfy chair while I curled up under the table. Her friend Violetta came over, gave me a quick pat and brought over a large cup of the brown stuff. She stood chatting to Sheila for a while and then suddenly said “Ooops, look who’s coming, I must get back to work!” She disappeared down to the end of the lounge where there was a counter with an array of tempting looking (to you humans who love sweet treats, not to we cats!) cakes and pastries. I wondered who was so important that she had to rush away and look busy! I peeped out and saw two of the crew members approaching, one was Pedro’s boss, Tom, and the other was a tall dark haired man who had even more gold rings on his jacket than Tom had!

  They stopped right by Sheila. Both of them gave her big smiles; she stood up and they all hugged each other. “Great to see you again, Dimitrios, Tom” she said. “I heard you were on board,” the one she had called Dimitrios replied,” and I will be seeing you at dinner tonight! It will be good to catch up on your news!” I listened. He spoke in a strange accent too... not like Pedro’s and definitely not Cornish! I wondered in just how many accents you humans speak! Cats basically miaow much the same except for our oriental cousins who do seem to have their own cat language! They continued to chat for a while, and then Dimitrios looked down at me and said “Well, well - who is this? I have met Truffles before (he grinned) but not you! Don’t tell me you are writing a book too!” They all laughed and Sheila explained that, yes, I was doing a follow up to Truffles’ book but it would be my own thoughts (possibly different from hers) about cruising on this beautiful ship. “Wonderful” said Dimitrios, “I look forward to reading it!” He bent down and gave me a pat. I moved forward and gave him one of my best pussy smiles plus a loud purr. “Now Misty”, said Sheila, “you must be very well behaved because this is Dimitrios and he is the Master (or Captain as some people call him) of this ship! In other words, the really big boss or Top Cat to you!” They laughed again. Well, so he was Top Cat was he? I didn’t know ships had masters - I thought it was only dogs that had masters. You learn something different every day don’t you, and I sure was doing just that on this great adventure! I remembered that Sheila has mentioned the name Dimitrios before, she appears to have been friendly with him for several years, but I didn’t realise he was the main man! “And this is Tom” she continued. “Ah, but Misty and I have already met” said Tom smiling and also giving me a pat. “You HAVE?” squeaked Sheila, “How on earth was that... ?” “Well I came round to your stateroom the other evening” he said, “just to check things as a matter of course due to health and safety regs because I knew you had a furry friend travelling with you” (more laughter) “Bimey” said Sheila, “Well I hope you found everything in order?” “Top marks!” replied Tom, “nothing to worry about. Everything was pristine, but I knew it would be anyway!” Thank goodness for that I thought. They chatted for a few more minutes and then with a final pat for me they left. Sheila sipped at her now rather cool coffee and I relaxed back under the table again and took a quick cat nap. It was nice to have met the Master, I reflected. I knew how he must feel being a master, or captain, because I am master (mistress) of our house too! So we had something in common! Some while later, Sheila nudged me awake and we returned to the stateroom.

  I strolled outside and sat down in the sun which was still very bright. I could hear Sheila pulling drawers in and out and opening cupboard doors... obviously the big decisions about what she was going to wear this evening were starting to be made. As I’ve said before, half her life seems to be taken up with deciding what clothes to array herself in! Eventually I heard the sound of music coming from the moving picture box and the clink of a glass. The afternoon canapés must have arrived, so time for me to go inside and see what treat was awaiting me! A couple of slivers of ham rolled around cheese and some turkey nibbles. Very acceptable. Oh yes, I could definitely get well used to this kind of life!

  Back on my indoor bed, I decided to have a doze until my real dinner arrived. I knew she’d choose something nice. And yes it was... creamed mackerel followed by little chunks of veal in a delicious sauce! Then Sheila, looking particularly sparkly this evening, departed for her own drinks and dinner with Dimitrios and friends saying she would collect me afterwards so we could go to the theatre and watch the spectacular show! Great stuff. I contentedly rolled over and fell into a doze again, only waking when Pedro arrived to accept another couple of shrimps! Full to the brim, I was a happy cat! I noticed that he’d made an extra special creature from the fluffy rags tonight (I believe it was that big bird you call a swan, though when I’d finished scratching its underside it maybe looked more like a floppy chicken) and also on the bed was a carry bag with the ship’s name on it and some extra choccies.

  A good while later Sheila arrived back, also looking happy. She was clutching a red rose and a large photograph. “Right, Misty”, won’t be a sec” she said disappearing into the non bathroom. A few minutes later out she came, put on my really expensive sparkly collar and lead (on me I mean, not her... she’s not that kind of human!) and off we went to the theatre. It seemed a long walk but eventually we arrived and sat where we’d sat before, her on one of the high seats at the back with me on the ledge in front. It wasn’t long before the mewsic (sorry, music!) started and the show began. Right from the start it sounded very unique... unusual magical sounding music and lots of people in really colourful and strange costumes singing and dancing to it. It almost felt tribal or as if everyone had gone back in time. All the people in the seats, including Sheila, were clapping and swaying to the rhythmic music, and I was too. Then Sheila nudged me “Look Misty, it’s Peng Fei. Watch him, he’s marvellous!” I peered down to see a figure throwing a shiny object up in the air and swinging it around - he seemed to be catching it on a piece of string! He carried on doing this for quite a while in all manner of ways. After much applause from the people watching and some more wonderful music and singing from the rest of the performers, he appeared again but this time seemed to be walking and swinging along on a piece of string himself! I was transfixed, I wasn’t even sure a cat could balance like he could! Who exactly was Peng Fei? Mystery man? He could change his face at will, and now he was doing all this! No wonder Sheila has often said how nice it is to have him as one of her friends and proud she is of him! The show ended with a spectacular climax and everyone stood up and cheered in unison. “Well Misty” said Sheila, “that was great wasn’t it? Now we’ll go and see Peng Fei, he will be waiting outside the theatre to see people as they come out. He will be expecting me too!”

  Following the slow moving mass of people leaving the theatre, we made our way down to the floor below and there she spotted Peng Fei waiting. When they had exchanged big hugs and greetings, I looked at him but up close he looked rather unusual, almost green with golden stripes on his face and, in fact, to me a bit scary! So I hid behind Sheila. “Well, Peng,” I heard her say, “I think you’ve got more make up on than I have!” They both laughed. “Here’s Misty” she said. “Hello Misty” said Peng Fei, “I’ve heard a lot about you” and he bent down to pat me, but I backed away, he did look a bit frightening! So many faces and now another one! “It’s OK Misty” he said understandingly, “I can see I am looking strange to you, but I am made up like this for the show. I promise you I am NOT scary and next time I see you I will look just like anybody else!” I looked up at Sheila and she was nodding in agreement, so I gingerly crept forward and let him pat me. Thankfully his hands looked normal! “You’re a very pretty little cat” he said, “Sheila has sent me photos of you, but you look even better in real life!” Oh well, I thought, flattery will get you anywhere so on came the purr and from that moment we were buddies! They chatted for a while and arranged to meet up in a couple of days’ time and we then went our separate ways.

  Next stop was the noisy casino which seemed to be busier than ever tonight. However, somebody was already sitting at Sheila’s favourite machine so
we had to go to another one. “Come on Misty, bring me luck” she said, “sitting down in front of another. “Oh there’s Val and Ken!” she exclaimed, and waved to a couple of people opposite who I recognised from the time we had played the game putting little balls into holes. “Brought your lucky cat with you?” chuckled Ken, “send her over here for a bit, I could do with some luck myself!” Sheila then proceeded to press her machine’s buttons and hope that the right pictures came up. I did too, not necessarily for her sake but for mine so we could escape this noisy place! With a sigh I resigned myself to a long wait and tucked myself neatly under her seat. It did seem an age, but suddenly I heard a shout of delight coming from Val’s direction swiftly followed by a squawk from Sheila! It seems both of them had won something from their machines as both had beaming smiles as they pressed their final buttons and got given the white slips of paper that seemed to please them so much. In their excited chatter following, all I could make out was that Val had made a profit of seventy dollars and Sheila a profit of fifty dollars. As I didn’t know what a dollar was this didn’t impress me! Ken didn’t have such a big smile, though, as it appeared he had given his machine forty dollars! They talked a bit more and then they went off to find Dylan and we left on the bedtime trail, but stopping for Sheila’s usual nightcap in the coffee lounge first. Back at the stateroom and ready for our respective beds, I reflected on my day. Apart from the disaster with the water early on (and fortunately Pedro never noticed anything amiss!) it had been a really good day so I went to sleep a contented little cat! Sheila, I’m sure, felt the same.

  Life on board

  The following days of this lovely experience passed in a kind of happy blur. I was well and truly into the daily routine of living the high life on this beautiful ship, with everything I could ever desire (apart from one of those elusive white birds!) so close to paw. I began to understand why Sheila loves cruising so much when I compared it to the humdrum life we live at home. If there was perhaps the odd spider or butterfly to chase here and there, well I would rather like to live on a ship and if there was a vacancy going for a ship’s cat, I’d be well up for it!