Hemingway's Cats by Lindsey Hooper

Author:Lindsey Hooper [Hooper, Lindsey]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington Books
Published: 2021-03-22T00:00:00+00:00

PART 2

WEATHERING THE STORM

A cat has absolute emotional honesty:

human beings, for one reason or another,

may hide their feelings, but a cat

does not.

—Ernest Hemingway

Chapter 9

Diary of a Mad Housecat

After everything that happened, Laura decided she should keep a journal.

Not a gushy “Dear Diary, do you think Brad will ask me to prom?” kind of thing that a heartsick teenager would write. And definitely not a Sex and the City–style “I couldn’t help but wonder” collection of laptop musings on the lifestyles of the rich and single.

No. Laura wanted to keep it simple.

Her journal was going to be a no-nonsense, no-frills record of people, places, and events. Just the facts, ma’am. Like something from the notepad of a newspaper reporter. Or like Ernest Hemingway, who honed his straightforward writing style as a foreign correspondent.

Hemingway once said, “In order to write about life, first you must live it.”

Well, Laura’s life had taken a wild turn in the past few weeks. Key West was full of fascinating people, places, history, and happenings that made her life back in Syracuse seem dull by comparison. She wanted to get it all down on paper—or cell phone or laptop—for future reference. Just in case she decided to start writing again. Maybe, if she stuck to the facts and stopped worrying about “style” and “craft,” she could stifle the voice of that high school English teacher who lived inside her head.

What does he know anyway?

So—on the night of her tense ordeal at sea—Laura Lange wrote her very first journal entry. She returned to the bungalow with the Crabb sisters, took a long, rejuvenating shower, then shut the door of her bedroom and created a new document on her cell phone. She titled it “Just the Facts.” And from that moment on, she managed to log a few entries in it every day.

Even when the hurricane struck.

* * *

August 27th.

Went snorkeling. Almost died.

Jolene and Jilly invited Jake, Mack, and me on a snorkeling trip aboard The Jolly Crabb. We had two surprise guests: Pawpa Hemingway and Tropical Storm Sally. Pawpa loved sailing. Jake got sick. Mack and I got caught in a brief storm: a ripple effect of Sally in the Florida Panhandle. For several minutes, Mack and I lost sight of the boat. Very scary. Luckily, the rain stopped and the sky cleared almost immediately. We returned safely. No one was harmed.

Also, Mack kissed me and I kissed him back.

Not sure what that means. Trying not to think about it.

* * *

August 28th.

Went to work. Got wet. Again.

The day started off sunny. Saw Rooster feeding gypsy chickens on my way to Hemingway House. He asked if I was all right after my sea storm adventure. Said Mack told him all about it. I know they’re close, but somehow I doubt if Mack told him all about it.

Footnote: Rooster looks hot with his new haircut. Didn’t recognize him at first.

Ran into Rick and Ricardo walking their Chihuahuas, Lucy and Desi. They were arguing about money. I heard Rick say,

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