Love, Marriage, and Gizmo

"Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea."

Robert A. Heinlein

Shortly after my wife and I met, I went over to her townhouse to pick her up for our second date. As I walked through the door, I got a rude surprise.

Liz had a black cat, a Burmese, who I immediately disliked. My impression was that the feeling was mutual. I was a dog guy, and the cat had a "What are you doing in my house?" kind of attitude. After meeting Gizmo, I was wondering that myself.

Somehow, I was able to put the cat out of my mind. Gizmo and I tolerated each other as Liz and I dated, fell in love, and got married. That is, until we got back from our honeymoon, and Liz moved in, Gizmo with her.

Gizmo liked the house well enough, and she seemed to get along okay with my dog, Winston, though I think he pretty much ignored her. We stayed out of each other’s way, taking a "live and let live" approach to being under the same roof.

But, one night, early in our marriage, Liz and I were lying in bed reading. We were about to turn out the light when I noticed a few fine, black hairs on my pillowcase. In the next moment, there seemed to be one in my mouth.

I didn’t like it. I complained to Liz, who looked at me like I was a little crazy, perhaps wondering if her thirty-day money-back guarantee was still in effect.

Somehow, we survived, and Gizmo and I gradually got used to each other. We even grew to like each other, a little. After a while, I enjoyed her jumping in my lap to be petted, meowing at me in the morning and when I came home from work.

But what I eventually came to like best was sitting in bed with Gizmo as I read. I would pull up the covers, and she would crawl in, turn around, and lie right next to me, purring. Though it took some time, I fell in love with the cat, against all the odds.

Gizmo's gone now, but she became part of our family. She was here when each of our kids was born. She was a wonderful cat, though it was a while before I realized it. And I still miss her.

-Hank

"Love, Marriage, and Gizmo," from The Saturday Morning Post, at hankfrazee.com