Brief Synopsis:
This is an excerpt from my book, Big Uggo: Memoir of a Stray Alley Cat. Having gone through a metamorphosis of his own, Uggo begins rescuing injured critters, saving a dragonfly named Dip, along with his girlfriend, a ladybug named Dot. He resumes friendships with Honey, a ground squirrel, and Pink, an albino rat. The excerpt is from a point in the story when all the critters are plotting to save Yellow, the larva of an endangered butterfly. Yellow is ornery, and resisting metamorphosis, because he’s afraid of who he’ll become. Uggo has spent the night alerting all his friends to be on the lookout for Yellow, who has recently disappeared.
Excerpt:
It didn’t take long to bring Pink up on the events of the night. I’d done the best I could, but I wasn’t sure my best was good enough. I needed to eat and sleep and I knew Dip would be ghost-like until his body temperature rose, so there was no point trying to send him off, searching. I hunkered down on the lounge chair tucked my feet under my chest, drew my head and neck in. It wasn’t my favorite position to sleep in, but it was the warmest. I dozed to the sounds of an awakening world. Only this morning the clicks, whistles, grunts, croaks, hisses were louder, and different. Underground, above ground, the hum was all about Yellow.
I don’t know how long I slept, I only know it wasn’t long enough. I assumed it was Pink sniffing around my head, standing on my whiskers, annoying me. I opened my eyes ready to give him a wicked stare, ready to blast him with my frustration, but it wasn’t red eyes, but black ones looking back at me. Before I could adjust my attitude, Honey started talking.
“This is too close to people for my taste.” She tensed her belly, lifted her back till she was sitting on her butt, front legs tight against her chest, ears upright, alert.
“Whoa, relax, you’re safe here.”
“Look,” she said, I don’t like hanging out in Gaye’s yard, but I gotta tell you about Kook. I don’t think you know him, but he knows you. Smart boy, smarter than any red squirrel I’ve known down here at The Point.”
“Slow down, you talk too fast.”
Honey took a quick breath. “His mom says he opened his eyes at five weeks, his ears at six; she couldn’t wait to turn him lose. He wasn’t born, more like ejected.” I must have looked startled. Honey thought a second. “Her words not mine. Kook’s engine burns hotter than your typical red squirrel.”
My thoughts raced ahead of Honey’s words. Kook on the ground—Dip in the air—
“Been hanging out in the live oaks above where the ferals sleep ruffling the feathers of the mallards and geese grooming and resting nearby. So far the flock’s been tolerant, but he’s wearing out his welcome. Quick, smart, he’s your guy for finding your caterpillar.”
“You talk to him yet?”
“This morning, I distracted him from pestering the daylights out of a woodpecker. Kook thinks the woodpecker’s tree den is his. I’m telling you Uggo, you’d be doing The Point a favor putting Kook to work looking for Yellow.” Honey let go of a tight sigh. “I got him started, he’s on it.”
Gaye opened the big doors, stuck her head out looking for me. Big Time cut between her feet, getting to me before I could get to him. I stretched long, my butt in the air. It felt good to pull at the kinks along my spine.
Brushing up against Gaye’s fluffy slippers got me a head rub and a greeting. She was always happy to see me, especially first thing in the morning. Tuna was mounded in two bowls. I was in the middle of a bite when Dip shot through the open doors, buzzed around the room, slamming into picture frames until he figured out the light over the stove was warm. He landed on the handle of the teakettle.
“There you are,” he snapped. “I’ve got a red squirrel making all kinds of racket out there.” He flew to the center of the open doors, shot back, landed on the edge of the cat bowl closest to my head. “What are you gonna do about it?”
“Follow me.” I pretended like nothing had happened and walked towards the bushes where Dip and Dot slept. Dip landed on the branch, hovered, and moved closer to Dot, who crawled between Dip’s wings, her favorite place. Then I saw the beady eyes of what had to be Kook. He was talking to himself, voicing his every movement. Right foot here, left there. I smell—rat—cat.
“You Uggo?” I started to answer, but he cut me off with a gush of anxious talk. If jaws could drop the way I see Gaye’s jaw drop every so often, all of our eating parts would be lying on the ground. Honey wasn’t kiddin’ when she said Kook had lots of energy. He was on fire with clucking frenzy.
“You have blue eyes, you have yellow eyes, yours look like none I’ve ever seen before and you should never wear polka dots.” he said to Dot, who was peering from between Dip’s eyes.
“Who are you?” Dot and Dip chorused.
“Who am I? Who am I? He flitted his tail back and forth balanced on a tangle of bougainvillea branches long enough to look at his tiny clawed feet and announced that the only name he’d ever been called, then thought a minute and decided that he’d been called all kinds of names by a variety of two-legged, four-legged and winged creatures, but the name that stuck was, “Kook.”
“Honey sent you out to look for our yellow caterpillar,” I said. “Got any news?”
“I do,” he snapped, than went back to describing his every move as he crawled closer to us.
“STOP!” I shouted. “Where is he?”
Kook shifted directions so fast, pink blossoms lost hold of their branches.
“Follow me,” he called over his shoulder. Dot decided she needed to eat and headed for aphids. Dip pumped his wings a couple of times and flew off. I scrambled to get out of the bushes, rushed to the top of the hot tub, flew over my old den like I had sprouted wings. The last thing I heard was Gaye scolding me about jumping the fence. Dip was way ahead.
