The Five Lives of Our Cat Zook by Joanne Rocklin

Author:Joanne Rocklin
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Amulet Books
Published: 2012-02-14T16:00:00+00:00

E-OW! EE-OWEY! EE-OW! EE-OWEY!”

I will never, ever forget Zook’s wail, that long, long, sad and disappointed wail he made when Dog/God took him away from me and Boo put him back into his cage.

Mom came to pick us up at the vet. After she’d made us both apologize to the two receptionists, all she said was, “Let’s go.”

Then …

SILENCE.

Here we are, me and Freddy, in the backseat of the car. We’re holding hands. We’re in big trouble. OK, it’s mostly me who’s in trouble, when you come right down to it. I am looking at the back of Mom’s head as she drives. Even the back of her head looks angry. Her orange curls seem coiled tighter than ever. The Villain’s beside her, fiddling with the radio.

But I don’t hear the music, or the traffic, or the air that always whistles through the back window on my side, the window that’s stuck because Mom can’t afford to fix it right now. All I can hear is Zook’s wail, even though we’re heading home and he’s back at the vet’s for more kidney flushing.

I take that back. I can hear Mom’s silence. Silence has a sound—ever notice? Mom’s silence sounds like a drum. THUMPA-THUMPA-THUMPITY-THUMPA. You can really hear it if you’re in big trouble in the backseat of her car.

We slink into our building behind Mom and the Villain. Thumpa-thumpa-thumpity-thumpa, even in the elevator going up. And also the sound of Zook’s sad EE-OWEY in my head.

The Villain clears his throat. “Need a new lightbulb in here,” he says, looking up at the elevator ceiling.

He’s right, but now isn’t the time for a lightbulb discussion. My mother frowns and looks straight ahead. The Villain puts his hand on Freddy’s head and Freddy smiles up at him.

“We saw Zook,” Freddy says. He’s already forgotten he’s in trouble.

“I know you did,” says the Villain, and lifts Freddy up. My mom and I don’t say anything.

Inside, Mom herds me to the living room couch. The Villain and Freddy go into the kitchen. It’s clear I’m the only one who has a problem here. I hear the Villain opening the fridge. Our fridge.

My mother sits in an armchair across the room, staring at me. Thumpa-thumpa-thumpity-thumpa. Finally, finally she speaks, but in a sad voice, not an angry one. All of a sudden I realize I like it better when my mom is angry.

“Oona, Oona,” she says. “What were you thinking?”

Well, that, ladies and gentlemen, is a big question. I was thinking lots of things! Dumb things, I guess. But right now I’m thinking about only three. Number one: Zook’s wail. Number two: Zook’s old collar. Mud’s collar, that is. Number three: It’s time. Time to tell my mom everything, no matter how happy she is with the Villain. She has to get over him! And she will when she learns the truth.

My mother leans toward me. “Do you realize how bad Mario feels?” she asks. “We spoke to him from the car on the way to pick you up.

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