COMRADE KOLYMA
On a beautiful Saturday morning I called Blackie but to my utter surprise someone else answered.
“Hello, who am I speaking to?”
“This is Zoe. Wait a minute! You don’t sound like Blackie.
What’s going on here? Is anything wrong with Blackie?”
“Oh, no, nothing bad has happened to Blackie! I’m his roommate, Tommy Graziano.
Blackie told me about you. And I told him that I wanted to meet you. Sorry for the inconvenience, but Blackie went to Ottawa last night.
He had to escort Mr. Hamilton, the owner of our property, because Mr. Hamilton’s sister is very sick. She has advanced bone cancer and it looks like she’s going to leave us soon.”
“Oh, no, I didn’t know that. Okay, how about you and I meet up?”
“Sure, you know what, Zoe, why don’t you come over right now. If you can, I’m all alone.”
“Sure, you don’t need to give me your address or directions. Blackie filled me in shortly after we met.”
I left the apartment building and shortly afterwards I began to walk on Sherbrook Street. Shortly afterwards, I change direction due north up a steep hill. By the time I was at the apex of the hill I felt like I’d performed a strenuous workout.
As I approached the kitty house I took a deep breath, not really knowing what to expect. Although I’d heard good things about Tommy and he certainly had a nice telephone voice it was no guarantee; not until we met and became good friends.
I entered the Hamilton’s yard then headed straight to the kitty house. I couldn’t help but notice the Hamilton mansion. Wow, Mr. Hamilton must’ve been a multi-millionaire. I kept that in mind for future reference.
I knocked on the door and then waited patiently for Tommy to invite me in.
“Zoe, is that you?” “Yes, it sure is.”
“C’mon in, please.”
I entered the kitty house. The first thing that I noticed was the utter cleanliness and beauty of it. Blackie and Tommy were living it up.
Tommy was resting on a lazy boy chair enjoying cartoons on a beautiful seventy inch HD television; the newest brand, indeed. Better yet, the sight and scent of a good new kitty friend, and not to mention the pizza and other food on the coffee table, was worth the effort of being there.
“Zoe, come here, sit beside me. Please help yourself to the food and drinks. I don’t really like to eat alone.”
“Thanks, Tommy.”
I leaped onto the couch beside Tommy and then dug into the food and drinks. We had an incredible time together, chatting about cat and human stuff.
“Zoe, I want to tell you something very important. But, please don’t tell Blackie. He was very hurt by your mother’s aggressive antagonism towards him. She didn’t even try to hide her feelings.
Another thing, Blackie knows exactly why your mother hates his guts. He told me that he’ll never step ‘foot’ in your apartment, never!
Above all else, don’t let him suspect that you know. If he does, he’ll know that it was me who broke his trust.
Zoe, Blackie told me to visit you at your apartment. He said if he can’t go at least his roommate can.”
“Gosh, Tommy, I feel so terrible. I’m all bummed out. What my mom did was unacceptable, but it also took me by surprise.
I’ll try changing her attitude. It’ll likely take some time though.
“What do you think, Tommy?”
“Zoe, I think that’s a great idea. Take your time with it, because this is a very delicate subject matter. People with this kind of an attitude usually don’t change overnight, unless a magnanimous event was to take place.
Until then, we need to hope that your mother will accept Blackie for what he really is, an incredible cat.
Zoe, enough with the bad news, you came here to have a good time. I’m your host, so have a good time.”
Tommy and I conversed for another two hours before he asked me quite an odd question.
“Zoe, have you ever huffed?”
“Now way, that’s very dangerous, even deadly. Not to mention, it’s addicting.
Huffing will destroy a person’s life, starting from the first time.
Tommy, why do you ask me about huffing?” “Umm, it’s nothing, just wondering.”
There was something unusual in the air. Even before I entered the cat house I detected the scent of paint and other household chemicals. I shook it off, not wanting to think of that remote possibility. Besides, these scents were much weaker than the food scents.
Shortly afterwards, I noticed that Tommy was becoming quite fidgety. I figured he had to use the restroom, or maybe he’d had enough of me but was too shy to say so.
“Well, Tommy, it’s been a pleasure seeing you. Let Blackie rest a bit. He can call me when he returns. No doubt, he has more than enough on his mind.
Tommy, give me a call in a few days, I’d like to hear from you.”
“Thanks, how about I walk you down the hill, to Sherbrook Street?”
“No thanks, Tommy you’ve been too kind as is. But remember, please give me a call.”
I left the kitty house with a big smile on my face. Maybe, there was a chance that my mother would change her attitude.
I waited patiently for three whole days before Tommy gave me a call. I was lying down in my bed thinking about life when the call came.
“Hello, who is this?”
“This is Tommy. Zoe, how’s it going?”
“Wow, Tommy Graziano, I’m happy to hear from you.
Listen, Tommy, can you come over tomorrow, say at about noon. Mom will fix us a nice burgers and fries meal. Don’t worry drinks and desserts are included.”
“Fantastic, I can’t wait until I meet your mother. Maybe, I can sweet talk her into accepting Blackie.
Blackie will return to Montreal in a couple of days. I just finished speaking to him on the phone. He says hi to you and that he’s not angry at you or your mother. I believe him. Blackie is not the kind of cat that’ll hold a grudge against another person, especially if it’s another cat.”
The following day at roughly noon my mother and I waited for Tommy. But for some reason, this time around my mother decided that we should meet Tommy in front of our building.
Something wasn’t right. I ‘smelled a rotten fish’.
Mom and I waited for Tommy for roughly ten minutes before we saw him approaching from the west.
“Honey, Zoe, I want to speak to Tommy. I want to ask him about his heritage and family tree.
Zoe, I’m not a racist. I’m your mother. Furthermore, I don’t want you to interrupt me while I’m speaking to Tommy.
That’s not a request, it’s an order.”
“Mom, what’s going on here? Okay, you have some serious negative jibes concerning black people, humans and animals. But Tommy’s white ‘like us’. I know for a fact that his forefathers were of European stock.”
“I know that, but I want to know what kind of ‘whites’ they were. Now, like I said, do not interrupt me.”
As soon as Tommy was within spitting distance of us my mother stepped in front of me literally blocking much of my view; Tommy could barely see me also.
“Tommy, glad to meet you, or, well, it’s conditional. You must pass my test first.”
I stood there, pissed off as hell, but unfortunately unable to do anything to prevent a potential tragedy.
“Tommy, where are you from?” “Madam, I’m from Canada.”
“No, honey, I want you to zoom in a bit more.” “Huh, oh, I’m from Quebec.”
“No, you don’t seem to understand, zoom in some more, like a microscope.”
“Madam, I was born in Montreal. How’s that for an answer?”
“No, where are your ‘people’ from?”
“Huh, I don’t understand what you mean?”
“Well, let’s see if I can determine the answer; what is your full name?”
“Oh, it’s Tommy Marzoni Graziano.”
“What! I want you to leave our premises immediately! Don’t you dare ever speak to my son again! I’ll call the RCMP if you do!”
“Madam, what’s the problem please tell me?”
My mom pulled out her cell phone and with a hand and finger gesture threatened to do as she said, call the RCMP. Meanwhile,
I was utterly dumbfounded, unable to understand or imagine why my mother had totally rejected Tommy.
Tommy lowered his head in shock and then walked away, heading due west, literally back to his kitty apartment.
To tell you the truth, I was fuming, almost ready to boil over. For a brief moment I felt like I was going to bitch my mother out. But before responding, I had to hear her explanation.
As soon as we entered our apartment I leaped onto the nearest sofa in the living room. I arched my back, extended my claws, bared my canines and most important of all I glared at my mother with extreme intensity. She looked like she was scared; considering the context I liked that.
“Zoe, please don’t look at me like that. And, umm ...
change your body language too. You’re making me feel uncomfortable. I’m your mother, damn it!”
“Mom, this is the second close friend of mine that you’ve literally humiliated, and to a certain extent threatened. Now, what’s the problem with my dear friend Tommy Graziano?” “Zoe, those people are ‘connected’.”
“Mom, I don’t understand what you mean, elaborate.”
“Tommy’s a Mafioso, he’s a mobster. I knew if from his walk. Those Mediterranean Europeans, they’re not like us. Haven’t you heard of Al Capone, Lucky Luciano, the Gambinos, Genoveses, the Columbos and others?
Zoe, I don’t want the mob to know anything about us. I just want to live a nice, decent normal Canadian life.”
“Mom, Tommy’s not a Mafioso. There’s hardly an Italian North American who’s seen a Mafioso in real life. Mom, I want you to call Tommy up and apologize to him.
Mom, you’re a super-racist.”
“Why thank you ... umm, I mean, no I’m not! That was a slip of the tongue. Zoe, you’re trying to mix me up. I’m not a racist!”
My mother didn’t apologize to Tommy. In effect she and I almost stopped talking to each other.
We’d eat separately and barely glance at each other when we crossed paths.
I was so humiliated, especially because Tommy was Blackie’s roommate, and no doubt they were very close friends. I simply couldn’t muster up the courage to call Tommy up.
As the weeks passed it became apparent to me that I’d lost Blackie and Tommy as friends. There’s no telling what they were saying about my mom and me.
I learned a valuable lesson. Thereafter, I’d never bring a friend over to my place. My close friendships would be off limits to my mother.
Time continued to pass and it seemed like I was too apprehensive to make any new friends. I was worried, because it was apparent to me that if my mother offended another one of my friends, something very nasty would happen.
But then, things took a sudden turn while I was walking on Greene Avenue. It was a nice Saturday evening, with hardly a person in sight. But there was one person lurking in the shadows. I spotted him through the corner of my eye. Suddenly, he crossed Greene Avenue heading straight for me.
This person was a very large, powerful and handsome Siberian cat. His coat was a mix of white, black and red his eyes were shiny, sky blue coloured.
“Hey, kitty, how are you?” asked the Siberian cat.
The first thing I noticed about this cat was his foreign accent. It sounded kind of Russian, but I couldn’t be certain without asking him first. But at the same time, I didn’t want to appear too brazen.
“I’m fine, and how are you?” I responded.
“My name is Comrade Kolyma. My people are from Siberia. My parents immigrated to Canada just over six months ago. I want to be a good Canadian cat.”
“Wow, a real Siberian cat. You’re so big and strong. You must be as strong as a medium-sized dog.”
“No, actually, well ... I don’t mean to show off but, I can take on a Pitt bull with relative ease. On a good day, maybe two or more Pitt bulls simultaneously.”
“Comrade, my name is Zoe Marshall Thomas. I was born right here in Montreal, and it would be my pleasure if you became a Canadian like me. I can’t wait until your family receives its citizenship.”
“Thanks, Zoe. If you don’t mind, I’d like to be your friend.”
“Comrade, consider us close friends. But, umm ... my mother is sick, so I can’t bring you over to my place. But I can give you my email and my personal phone number. We can chat and send each other messages, and we can have regular meet-ups, how about that?”
Comrade answered in the affirmative. After exchanging phone numbers and emails we parted ways. While walking home I was rehearsing my every move, ensuring that my mother wouldn’t find out about my new-found friend. A Siberian cat, there’s no telling what she’d say about him. Anyway, things looked very good for the time being.
On a cool Wednesday evening, I called Comrade for a nice chat. Speaking to him helped me relax. Although I’d lived around humans my entire life, I was, after all, still a cat. I needed to converse and socialize with my own kind.
But before calling Comrade I ensured that my mother wasn’t snooping in on me. I simply didn’t trust her. When I determined that the coast was clear I called Comrade.
“Hello, who is this?” “Comrade, it’s me, Zoe.”
“Zoe, what’s going on? Is everything all right?”
“Of course, Comrade, don’t worry, I didn’t call you because something was wrong I just wanted to chat.
Listen, do you want to sneak out tonight?”
“Wow, of course. Actually, it wouldn’t be my first time. I sneak out every once in a while. How about midnight? My parents will be sound asleep by then.”
“Yes, Comrade, let’s have a rendezvous at midnight. Where do you want to meet?”
“We can meet up at ‘Wino