The Wooden Party Cat

I am a cat person at heart. I love dogs and animals in general but I always found myself drawn to cats. I have two of them and they are the only men in my life I can fully rely on. I love them so much and they're always able to make me feel more stable and loved. There is one other cat that can be found in room, although this one is not living. Perched on the thin ledge under my window you can find a small carving of a sleeping cat. This wooden cat was given to me in the strangest way, one I will never forget.

When I was thirteen I was invited to a party by my older and much cooler friends. They were a group of girls in grade ten that were all beautiful and kind and popular. Whether they pitied me or honestly liked me I'm still not sure of, although I think in this case ignorance might be bliss. I felt so included and accomplished when they invited me out on this particular summer night. We got ready together and they even did my makeup for me. It took half an hour to get to the house where the party was being hosted but once we were there, we could hear the music from the end of the street, and I was thrilled.

My friends introduced me to so many new people, all the girls said I was pretty and the boys said it was nice to meet me. I started noticing that the girls said all the girls were pretty with such enthusiasm; you can't help but smile and agree. That was how we made friends. The girls I was with got drunk and then we all went out to the backyard to smoke. A joint was being passed around and I took a couple hits because I was young and at a party. A couple boys were talking to my friends and then one came over to me. He was so much taller then me, all though I was only 5'0 at the time, and he was gorgeous.

His name was Adam. He went to a school downtown and was in grade ten. My cool friends already agreed to tell people I was in grade nine even though I was in grade eight so that's what I told him. We were talking about parties and I shared my theory about how girls make friends and he looked at me weirdly and then agreed. He told me that he didn't think anyone at a party would actually admit something like that so I told him that maybe I shouldn't be here. He touched my arm and told me he was glad I came.

We went back into the house and he introduced me to his friends, they were all nice and polite and gave him looks that I only half understood. We went to the basement were we sat on a couch and talked more about how crazy life is. I did most of the talking. I started telling him about how much I value my cats and he smiled very wide. He took my hand and we went back upstairs until we came to the room where everyone put their bags. He grabbed a black jansport bag and opened the biggest pocket. When his hand reemerged he was holding a small wooden cat.

I didn't ask where he got the cat or why he wanted me to have it, but I took it and put in my bag. He lead me back out to my friends and said he hoped I got home safe. He gave me a hug and then went back to his friends who were all watching us. My friends asked what happened and I told them that we just talked, although I left out the part about the gift he gave me.

I looked for him a couple more times that night but he seemed to have disappeared, maybe back to the basement with an older, prettier, more confident girl. I held back the hair of one of friends as she threw up in the bush by the statue of a very old man. I called a taxi and took my friends back to their houses, making sure they got some water before I left. When I got home the first thing I did was take out that cat and place it by my window.

I'm still not sure why it has such a significant meaning to me. Maybe it was because it was given to me by a boy at a party who expected nothing in return, which was and still is very rare. Maybe it's because I like to think about that night I took care of my friends, but was not used as a doormat. Maybe it's simply because I like cats. No matter what though I am keeping that smiling, sleeping wooden cat for as long as I can.