The Gift of Give-Star Story Number 5

Star slept soundly under the small table next to Gloria Shepherd’s paisley rose colored, soft wingback chair. Gloria sat contentedly beside the table knitting a toboggan-style hat, almost, but not quite sky blue, intended to match the jacket she had knit her son and mailed him a couple of months earlier. Probably she should have knit the hat and sent it the same time as the jacket, though she never knew if her son wore the clothes she knit for him. But when he received the jacket, he had called right away, couldn’t say enough nice things, and told her the friends at his new job couldn’t say enough good things when they saw him wear it on a weekend. Well. Okay then. She’d send the cap she intended all along, once she got it done, grateful the adult son liked something she made for him.  It

wouldn’t take long, for sure.

Gloria hummed softly to herself, songs from her younger days, happier times. Though not lonely now like she used to be, thanks primarily to the sleeping dog under the table, she still missed the husband she had lost a few years ago, missed her son so far away now and his friends she had mothered as her own. The dog stirred in her sleep, and Gloria again veered her thoughts to happier days, more recent times, the meeting of Revin, the young man who worked so hard to help his mother support himself and his younger brother and sister, and to those very same younger brother and sister children. The sister, Devin, had called twice to set up a day to come learn from Gloria how to knit. This afternoon Gloria planned to go to her local yarn store and get materials for the little girl, something easy enough for small fingers, but something to give her a real “thing” when they she has finished making it. A scarf would work, of course. Most people started with a scarf.

Gloria sat and worked on the hat for her son and mulled over colors for a scarf for a little girl, that child such an unexpected gift at this time of her life. Her grown son showed no interest in settling down and giving her grandchildren. To share the excitement and joy a child brings to a day made Gloria’s heart lift a bit, and she smiled just thinking about it.

It also, she knew, in the reality of it made her tired. “There’s a reason,” she remembered her own mother saying, “young adults have children.”

Star stood under the table, took a step, and stretched her front legs as far as she could in front of her, lifting her hind quarters as far as possible in the air, creating the perfect “bow” pose, but really just stretching. Gloria held her knitting still, appreciating Star’s perfect “sock” front legs, the gleaming white markings from her feet up almost half way up those legs, shining even under the faint light under the table. One of her back legs also wore such a white sock, but her other back leg had just a white foot. Whenever Star moved in darkness, she resembled disembodied feet and legs, the blaze of her face hovering above her feet, one white flame marking the end of her tail.

Now, though, the head that almost stretched to the floor, shimmered black, except for that brilliant white fur starting at her coal nose and moving over her snout, spreading between her eyes ending with the star shape on her head that gave her the name. Reaching as far forward and raising her back end as far as possible, Star took a step and reversed the directions of her body parts, now lifting her head as high as she could while stretching her hind legs as far behind her as they would stretch. She ended the whole thing with a vigorous shake that began at her nose and worked its way back to the

shining white tip of her tail, that blot of white shining as she waved that feathered tail back and forth throughout a day. (“How,” often wondered Gloria, “do you shake a nose?)  She then sat on the floor and looked at Gloria, who got up from her chair and walked with the dog to the back door, opened it, and let Star into the back yard.

              

“Don’t leave the yard!” Gloria commanded.

“As if…..” wafted through Gloria’s mind, and Gloria did not even blink. She did, though, shake her head, smiling. When she first started catching snatches of mental conversation from her unusual dog, she never sensed any kind of attitude, only the kindness that truly captured the personality of the dog.  As Star’s health improved over the days of rest and good food, every once in awhile, Gloria felt Star’s humor emerge, noticed her, when Gloria admittedly missed the obvious (“the light to cross has been green awhile now,” Star had one time conveyed to her at a street corner), Gloria sensed that Star might have, well, an opinion about Gloria’s, er, deficiencies. At that moment, as they hurried across the street, watching the light flash the yellow that meant “you’re about to have to stand there again on that corner!” she all but felt the dogs eyes roll.

Gloria’s heart gladdened with the emerging personality of her dog, too. In fact, the couple of months, or so, since Christmas had been good ones for Gloria, mainly due to Star.  Still smiling, Gloria prepared for her walk to the yarn store.

Granted, the temperatures had risen above freezing, but not enough to amble along, so Gloria and Star hurried the few blocks to the yarn store. When Gloria walked in with Star, no one even blinked; Star walked to the corner and lay down, a good dog, and waited patiently for Gloria to finish—as far

as most people knew. Every once in awhile, though, a stray thought drifted through Gloria’s head as she sifted through various yarns; apparently Star didn’t like waiting. “I like that one….” Or “Are you about through?” or “Do we need to make another trip later? I may need to go outside…” 

See? Star was having opinions.

Gloria, though, refused to be hurried, and finally selected a soft, pink, bulky yarn, perfect for a little girl, and some needles of a size small hands could manipulate for learning. As the cashier rang up the items, Star quietly made her way to the door.

“Look at that!” another customer exclaimed, “that dog acts like she knows you’re done!”

Gloria didn’t look towards the door….she didn’t want to see her dog’s reaction. Even not-too-smart dogs learned signs like “my owner has finished shopping.” If she was anything at all, Star was NOT not-too-smart.

Once outside, though, the dog’s tail wagged, and she headed again towards home. Most people, Gloria thought, would be insulted for hours by a comment  that disparaged them along the lines the dog had just heard.. Dogs really do live in the now.   Take a lesson.

Suddenly, Star stopped.  She halted so quickly, in fact, that Gloria almost fell over her. Looking down, she saw her dog crouched as if to attack….something. Following that crouching wolf creature’s gaze, there appeared to be that something in a small evergreen bush of some kind. Star made no sound, but those deep, brown eyes almost burned. Gloria froze herself.

She didn’t know much about border collie dogs, really nothing before Star showed up at her house on Christmas Day. Actually, she had not realized that Star was a border collie till she started trying to learn about her amazing dog. Since then, she had read a few articles at the library about this dog breed, and she realized that the pose Star now held would, if she faced a sheep, move the sheep back, probably a step at a time.

However, the bush into which Star glared at the moment surely had no fleece or hooves. What the heck held her attention that way? Gloria tugged lightly on the leash. “Star, come!” she lightly chirped.

Not once, ever, in the months they had been together had Star ever outright ignored Gloria—till now.

“Star! Star, let’s go!”

As Gloria studied the dog, she thought, “I might as well tell the bush to grow horns.”

And then, Gloria laughed, because across her mind had breathed the words, “You’d sound pretty dumb.”

Well, at least Star still knew Gloria was there…..

Then Star took one step…just one. She still crouched, still had her head lowered between her shoulders, still stared hard, but she did move one step closer to the bush.

“Okay, Star,” said Gloria softly. “What is it?”

And then, Gloria heard a tiny, quiet, “E-e-e-o-o-w?” 

Star moved another step.

“E-e-e-e-e-o-w.”

Gloria dropped the leash she held and moved forward slowly, placing the bag from the yarn store on the sidewalk. When she finally reached the bush, she leaned forward, trying to see inside the dense bush when suddenly two tiny green-ish eyes glowed up at her. “Oh-h-h!” she breathed.

“Get him, please.” Star, of course, inside her head. Gloria looked over at the dog. Star had stood up straight now, watching Gloria intently. Easy for her to say…..well, was it? She had never wondered if those sending of thoughts the dog managed took hard work or not. For now, Gloria filed that to think about at a later time. Now she looked again at the eyes peering out at her.

Around the green-ish eyes white fur stuck out in all directions; a small black triangle nose snuffled in, out, out, as the tiny creature breathed. When, again, it opened its mouth to make a sound, the small pink tongue showed itself over tiny teeth.

“Where did you come from?” Gloria asked, watching the miniscule kitten back away.”

“Oh…..” breathed Gloria, wondering how she would ever get the little creature out from it’s hiding place.

“E-o-o-ow.”

Gloria reached, and the kitten, again, backed up, eyes growing rounder, looking up in fear, swatting with its petite paw, and, gathering itself, managed as ferocious—and cute—a “s-s-s-s-s” as something that small could project, clearly a warning to watch out! a warrior cat waited here!

Gloria smiled at the hiss, but still did not want to reach and push it farther back under the bush. Then she saw Star stroll around to the side of the bush, shove her head forward until it disappeared into the leaves, and then “w-h-i-r-r-r” a tiny kitten flew out and plopped at Gloria’s feet.

If possible, its eyes grew even larger and rounder; the green deepened, and all hissing or meowing stopped. Frozen in place, the kitten shivered and tried to shrink inside itself—until a much larger pink tongue from the other animal present started to work, licking it up one side and down the other, knocking it to its side, then continuing to lick, lick, until the white coat was glued to the little feline’s body, the round eyes now squinched shut, and the kitten forgot its fear trying to escape the unexpected and inexplicable bath.

“Star!” Gloria exclaimed, “give the cat a break.” Looking down, she said, “Come here, little one…..are you a boy or a girl?”

“I told you to pick him up.” The thought sharply crossed Gloria’s mind. Star certainly had attitude today….

Gloria picked up the little cat, who easily fit in one hand, slipped it in her pocket, picked up her bag, and they headed home.

Once again, Star became the perfectly-trained dog, walking along at Gloria’s side, as if it would never enter her head to not do exactly what Gloria asked.

Entering the kitchen, Gloria lifted the kitten from her pocket and grabbed—Heaven help her—a dish cloth from the counter, folded, but not yet put away, to rub him dry from Star’s recent bath and make him feel sheltered and held, then set him on the floor in the kitchen. “Now, what do we call you?” she asked.

The kitten sat still, no longer shivering , but still keeping those big eyes on Gloria, with quick glimpses at Star. Perhaps he worried Star might start cleaning him again…..

Gloria had to admit that the kitten’s white hair looked much different, smoothed out a bit, after Star’s bath and her drying. Star, meanwhile, sat nearby, watching the little cat with that border collie “eye,” before any thought of leaving might enter that teeny head. Gloria stepped to the refrigerator for milk, poured some in a small bowl, warmed it a bit in the microwave, and set it in front of the kitten on the floor. The

kitten looked up again at her, those big green-ish eyes looking greener than ever as the little fellow warmed. His nose twitched, and he began to lap milk like he had not had anything to eat or drink in days…..which, maybe, he hadn’t.

As he lifted his head, licking his mouth of its milk mustache, Gloria smiled, patted his little head, and said, “Hello, Jade.” What a perfect name, she thought. Jade, like the green of his eyes.

“What’s jade?” floated into her brain……

Gloria stopped briefly and looked at her dog. Such was their relationship, she forgot frequently that Star really was a true, canine dog and not more than that. The communication they shared so bonded them that Star felt much more a friend or child than a ‘mere’ dog, if there is such a thing.

“Jade,” Gloria explained, “is a stone that is made into jewelry sometimes or pottery or…..other stuff. It is green. Since this little guy's eyes are green, I thought that would be a good name for him. It kind of goes with his eyes.”

Star sat and looked thoughtfully at Gloria. Then she shifted and started licking the kitten again, this time more gently, cleaning milk from his face, as the kitten, now warm, tummy full, stretched and started the sound universal to safe, happy kittens. He purred.

In a moment he slept on his side, and Gloria lay beside him, his back against her stomach, keeping him warm. In his sleep the kitten shifted closer to the dog, giving a huge, tiny kitten sigh, snuggling in, for the first time in who knew how long unafraid and happy.

Star gave a final swipe of her tongue, gently, just a last comfortable touch, hefted a huge sigh herself, and sleep lowered her eyes. Gloria, smiling as she watched this domestic scene, started to return to her knitting. As she turned, right before Star’s eyes closed completely, she felt in her mind, “I don’t see color very well. He likes his name, though.”       

Gloria’s heart swelled, just kitten size, and felt a tear form in her eye. How much more wonder, she wondered would this dog bring to her? Then she froze. It hit her that she had assumed Jade was staying……oh, dear. Vet tomorrow, cat food, litter pan…..

Star had brought Gloria a new, surrogate family and now an orphan kitten. Such gifts, yes.  But, hopefully, Star had a limit to waifs brought to her door!

As that startling thought crossed her mind, she glanced over and saw her dog looking at her intently.

Oh......uh oh?