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CHAPTER IX
HARVEY, July 19 Thursday afternoon Yesterday I was a dog. Today I am a dog. Tomorrow I’ll probably still be a dog.
It was a
hot afternoon three days later, and Emily was working at the ice cream
stand. We had gone out clamming that morning, but the wind was up and
the water pretty choppy. Emily got just a few clams, not enough to
bother with selling, so she dropped them off for her mother to fry. She
worked in her garden, pulling some weeds and picking tomatoes, and then
we walked to work. Emily tied me up to my usual tree, a big gnarled
red cedar, filled up my water bowl and gave me a dollop of vanilla ice
cream. She put on a Merle Haggard tape she's fond of, and turned over
the "Closed "sign so that it said "Open". She scooped ice cream cones
for a few customers, none of whom I recognized. I was just dozing off
when I lifted my head to scratch at a mosquito, and saw a familiar
figure walking up the road. I glanced up at Emily. She was staring in
his direction, and I knew she had seen him by the way she was twirling
a lock of her hair.Sigh! There’s so little hope for advancement. Snoopy (Charles Schultz) He was coming down the road with a long, swinging stride, but he kind of hesitated when he got near, and looked in our direction. He took a deep breath and turned onto the path that led to the ice cream shop. “Uh, Oh!" I said to myself. I could see Emily's hand shake as she handed a scoop of chocolate chip in a sugar cone to a teen-age boy. She dropped the dollar bill he gave her and had to get down on her knees and reach under the counter get it. The boy walked off and she called out "Have a nice day" in an unnecessarily friendly manner before she finally looked at the man standing before her. "Want an ice cream cone? We have five flavors." She was twirling her hair again. The man didn't want any ice cream. Instead he looked at Emily and said, "I wanted to tell you that I found Kali. She was pretty shook up but she's okay." I don't know who was more relieved by that news, Emily or me. I knew she had not really forgiven me, and I was not used to carrying around such a burden of guilt. I wagged my tail, but neither of them was looking at me. "Thank God," Emily cried. "I've been so worried! Where did you find her?" The man shuffled his feet a little. I could tell he was nervous too, and he didn't answer her question. "Look, I want to apologize. I know it wasn't really your fault, and I was pretty rude. It's just that Kali, well, she's my only mate, you know, even if she is just a cat..." Emily interrupted him. "Oh I understand, I'm that way about Harvey. I'd be ready to bite nails if someone made me lose him. He's not really a bad dog, but he behaved terribly, I know. He can be so hard-headed, and he doesn't listen too well and..." I wasn't sure I liked this turn of the conversation, but I had to admit I'd asked for it. "Well, the thing is you see, the lady at the Community Store told me you worked here, and I wondered if maybe, when you got off work...I was just going over to the Fish House to get some fresh fish for Kali and me. But Kali likes her fish raw, and it seems like a shame to light up the grill for just one person..." He stopped and shuffled his feet again, looking at Emily to see how she was reacting. She just stood there, eyes wide, waiting for him to continue. "So, if you're not busy tonight, I thought maybe we could sail out to Teach's Hole. I have a grill on the boat, you see, and I...I could tell you about finding Kali," he finished rather lamely. I was definitely sure I did not like the way the conversation was going now. I was pretty certain I was not included in the invitation, and I had hoped Emily and I could go on a long bicycle ride that evening. But Emily did not even look at me. "Sure." was all she said. "About 6:30, at the dock?" he asked. "And, um, I don't think Kali is quite up to another meeting with your dog, um..." He glanced in my direction. "Harvey." Emily finished the sentence. "You're right. He can stay home." “I knew it!" KALI, July 19 Thursday afternoon …the cat that in the corner dwells
Emily Dickenson I don't know when I had seen the skipper act so wrought up. He got the hose out and washed the entire length of the "Mary Bee" again, even though he had just washed her a few days before. He put things away that had been sitting out on the counters for months, and he spent a half hour washing the lettuce he had bought for a salad and cutting up carrots and tomatoes. Then he changed clothes twice, trying on a pair of blue pants his mother had given him, then putting on a pair of old faded khaki shorts that he wore all the time. He finally settled on a denim shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He paced the boat nervously, checking the wind and glancing at his watch every few minutes, as it drew time for this new "person" to arrive. He knew I did not really like it when strangers came on board, and he pleaded with me, picking me up and looking into my eyes (really, it was embarrassing!) to be nice to her. When she finally did show up, a few minutes after 6:30, however, he pretended to be cool as a cucumber. He walked out on the bowsprit and offered her a hand. "Just in time," he said. "I want to get out past the channel before the Cedar Island ferry arrives. The wind's blowing a bit north, but I think we can sail out without turning on the engine. Have you done much sailing?" This while he showed her back to the cockpit and suggested she sit on one of the blue cushioned seats. I had crawled up under the sail, where I could see what was going on without being seen myself. I carefully scrutinized the person whose dog had put me through such an ordeal. "I've sailed a bit," she answered. "But I'm sure no expert. By the way, this is kind of silly. I know your cat's name, but I don’t know yours." The skipper laughed. "I don't guess we did get properly introduced. Sam. Sam Barlow." He held out his hand and she took it, shaking it solemnly. "I'm Emily," she started to say but Sam interrupted her. "I know, Emily Grey, the girl clammer. The lady who works at the Community Store told me. She said you were a nice, smart girl, but a real tomboy. Always had been, she said. And now you're determined to make a living at a man's trade. She said you'd had a hard time at first; the other fishermen weren't happy about having a woman on the water. But she said you were doing pretty well at it." I narrowed my eyes, watching as the strange person, Emily, turned red. "So I guess you know all about me, then. Did she tell you anything else?" Sam laughed. "Just that you have your hands full with that dog of yours, but that she doesn't think he's mean." Boy, that was enough to raise the fur on my back! Not mean? I'd hate to run into her idea of mean! "Look, we need to get under way. If you'll take the tiller I'll untie us and push us off the dock. Just push it the way I tell you when I'm ready." Sam hoisted the jib sail, and we were out of the harbor and sailing smoothly toward Teach's Hole within a few minutes. "Is Kali around? I'd like to meet her." The skipper betrayed me, pointing toward my hiding place. "I'm not positive, but I have a feeling she's watching your every move from that corner over there. She's pretty temperamental. She'll show herself when she's good and ready. I've heard this is where Blackbeard the Pirate met his maker," Sam said, as we drew near the cove. "Is that true?" "That's what they say. Edward Teach-that was his real name, you know, was caught here by Lt. Maynard in-1718, I think it was. The Virginians cut off his head and put it on the front of the boat. The legend says that Blackbeard swam around the boat seven times after that without his head. "Over here," Emily pointed to the tree-lined shore, "at Springer’s Point, they say they held the biggest pirate party of all time. Some of the natives here claim to be descended from pirates." By now I had come out of my hiding place, had carefully stretched, and was walking slowly around the newcomer, sniffing her clothes and hands. She admired my beautiful coat and apologized profusely for the behavior of her dog, which was a good start toward being accepted. I allowed her to rub her fingers behind my ears, and I could see that Sam was grateful to me. It was a beautiful evening, the air clear and warm, and I could imagine coming ashore for a marvelous pirate picnic on the emerald hummock at Springer’s Point. We dropped anchor and Sam took the cover off the grill which was attached to the railing at the stern of the boat. He added charcoal from a plastic bag, and lit it. He took two bottles of beer out of the icebox and handed one to Emily, then placed a couple cat treats on the deck for me. He then proceeded to tell Emily all about my adventures, at least his version of it. HARVEY, July 19 Thursday afternoon Back in the cabin he flopped down on the floor and put his chin down on his paws.
John Steinbeck I curled up in my bed after Emily left and took a dog nap. The windows were open, so I could keep an ear out for anything going on outside. I heard George pull up in front of the house and turn off his engine. Jackson, his Chesapeake Bay retriever, barked a greeting, and I trotted over to the door and whined an answer. George opened the door and stuck his head in, looking for Emily, and that gave Jackson and me a chance for a quick nose sniff. I’ve never heard either of them say it, but I think George is sweet on Emily. She likes him fine but it’s like me and Annie, she just wants to be friends. I figured he’d be pretty unhappy if he knew she was out on Sam’s boat. George and Jackson left and I went back to sleep. KALI July 19 Thursday evening …the cat would have the rare grace of never saying a word too much.
Mark Twain When the coals were ready Sam took out two potatoes, already wrapped in tin foil, and pulled up a burlap bag from the side of the boat, where it hung in the water. He took out four ears of corn, still in their husks, explaining that the wet husks would keep the corn from burning in the coals. "I bought them at Owens' Vegetable Stand over on the Lighthouse Road. Hope they're fresh." He arranged the potatoes and corn under the coals in the grill and then sat down next to Emily. "So, if it's not an over-used line, tell me about yourself. Tell me how you happen to be living alone with a rash dog on an island in the briny sea. It sounds from your accent like you might be from here, but you seem different somehow from the other folks I've met." Emily curled a strand of her hair around her finger. "There's not really much to tell. Sure you want to hear it?" I didn't particularly, but I figured the skipper would, so I stretched out in the last rays of sunlight that were warming the other seat and got comfortable. "We've got quite a while before the potatoes are ready. Start off by telling me about clamming." The only thing I care about clams is eating them. The skipper makes some dynamite clams casino, and he usually gives me a couple. I drifted into a catnap until I heard her say something that pricked my ears. She was talking now about the same thing Cyclops had mentioned; an oil drilling rig. I opened one eye and paid attention. "They seem to think there's natural gas locked up under the ocean floor out there. No one here knew anything about it, but a few years back some oil companies-Mobile, Exxon, etc. bought up a lot of leases. They've just been sitting on them, but now Exxon wants to develop theirs. It sits right smack in the middle of a big breeding area for fish, near where the Gulf and Labrador Currents meet. Huge hurricanes come through here pretty regularly, and if a bad storm caused any damage to the rig, it could destroy this whole ecosystem. The oil people have all these arguments they use against us. Jobs! They say they'd create good jobs for everyone. Huh! If it’s like Texas and Louisiana, they'll bring in their own people for the good jobs, hire locals for the dirty work. They'll destroy more jobs than they'll ever create. A lot of environmental groups have joined in to help, but with the impetus to find more fossil fuels, it’s an uphill fight.” Sam stood up. "I'm real sorry to hear it," he said. “I'd hate to see Ocracoke messed up. I think the charcoals are ready, though, so let’s talk about that later and eat now." He went down into the cabin, returning with the salad and a pan holding two fillets and a smaller strip. "Spanish mackerel," he explained to Emily. "It's Kali's favorite, and I figured she deserved it. I marinated it in tamari, olive oil, and garlic. I hope that's okay." Emily nodded as he carefully spread the fillets out on the grill. "I bought them at the Fish House. I would have preferred to come out here and catch them myself, but I've been a bit preoccupied. Wine for dinner? " As Emily nodded again he pulled up a bottle of chilled white. “Boy,” I thought to myself, “he's outdoing himself tonight.” The skipper almost never drinks wine. While he opened the bottle, Emily stood up and walked to the bow of the boat. I followed along to make sure she didn't get into anything she shouldn't. The skipper is very persnickety about the “Mary Bee." Emily stared out at the great expanse of water which was the Pamlico Sound. The sky was beginning to turn a soft rose, and it was reflected in the vast mirror beneath it. A group of six pelicans were flying low in a v-shaped formation, searching for schools of fish. "They're beautiful, aren't they?" The skipper was behind us. "Big enough to carry you off if they were so inclined," he added as he noticed me on the gunwale. He handed a glass of wine to Emily and held up his own in a toast. "To hard-headed dogs and temperamental cats." Emily smiled. She did have a nice smile, I had to admit. "Dinner's on." As I ate the piece of raw fish Sam laid out for me and they devoured the plates of food Sam had prepared, the sky turned a fiery red in the west and then mellowed out into purple hues. The boat had come about so there was a perfect panoramic view. The skipper set the plates aside and stretched his arms out on the backrest so that one hung lightly behind Emily. I noticed that she did not pull away when it accidentally slipped down and rested on her shoulder. They sat quietly, watching the sunset and sipping their wine. "So what about you?" she asked. "How did you come to be living on a sailboat, traveling around the Atlantic with a cat?" I perked up my ears, wanting to hear the answer to that question myself, but Sam just sat still for a moment, then quietly said, "Maybe I'll tell you sometime. But not tonight. Now let me put these plates away." He reached for her plate and stood up. Sam whistled softly as he washed the plates and silverware, put them away, and refilled the wine glasses. Emily stared across the sound at the distant lights of the village, and I stared at her, wondering why she was here and hoping to make her feel uncomfortable. It didn't seem to work, for when Sam finished she smiled and announced that it felt absolutely wonderful to be out here. The skipper slipped his arms around her and held her lightly, his chin on her hair, and he might have gone farther yet if I hadn't jumped up on the deck and knocked her wine glass over. Sam glared at me as he wiped it up, but I just washed my foot quite innocently. Afterwards Emily said she'd better be getting back and Sam set the sails. It didn't take long to get back to the harbor, and I was relieved when Sam helped Emily up to the dock and walked her over to her bicycle. I couldn't hear what they said, but I noticed that Emily turned her face up and Sam brushed her mouth with his lips. He stood there, just watching as she rode away on her bike, for what seemed a long time, before he walked back to the boat. HARVEY July 19 Thursday night The great pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him
and not only will he not scold you, he will make a fool of himself too. Samuel Butler I slept off and on, but I kept an ear out for Emily, as I always do. It was after dark when I heard the creak of her bicycle wheel rounding the bend up where the creek crosses under the road. I was at the door, tail wagging to greet her, when she danced in. I’d never seen her so beside herself; you’d have thought she’d treed a cat! She seemed preoccupied later, when she took me for my nightly walk, and she didn’t even yell when I started digging a hole in the Shasta daisies. Before she went to bed, she wrapped her arms around me and sighed, “Oh Harvey, I just might be falling in love.” I licked her face and nibbled her nose, but the truth is, I’m not liking this at all!    |
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