Trooper by Forrest Bryant Johnson

Author:Forrest Bryant Johnson
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781510728233
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
Published: 2018-03-12T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 15

The Night Visitor

“Everything in kitty’s world belongs to kitty.”

Old English Proverb

THE SALESMAN SAT WITH A rigid, military-like bearing in the chair opposite my desk, waiting for me to make a decision on how many monogrammed polo shirts to purchase for our gift shop.

We exchanged polite conversation on other subjects from time to time as we had in previous business meetings, but I always had to pay close attention to understand, as his words were heavy with a Chinese accent. His merchandise was, however, of good quality and priced competitively. I only needed to make a decision on the exact quantity to buy.

While we discussed delivery time we were interrupted by a horn blowing in the driveway. He responded to the puzzled look on my face.

“Mother, father wait in car. They from China. Visit me in LA.”

“Oh,” I responded. “Why don’t we invite them in? They could join us for something to drink; a soda perhaps. I didn’t know you had anyone with you.”

“They don’t speak English,” the salesman said, “only Chinese.”

“That’s OK,” I replied, “maybe they will be more comfortable . . .”

The horn sounded again, a longer blast this time. Then the salesman’s cell phone rang. A brief conversation followed in Chinese. A strange look dominated his face as he closed the phone and stared at me, eyes wide.

“Father say . . . large wild animal trying to get in car!” he said, with a slight element of doubt in his voice.

We rushed out the office door. There in the driveway was a blue compact car. Trooper sat on the hood, his face only inches from the windshield. He had one of his large fuzzy paws pressed against the glass.

“That’s my pet cat. He won’t hurt them,” I assured him, “he’s only curious.”

The salesman approached the side window and shouted words of comfort to his parents through the glass. The elderly couple did not appear convinced.

“Here,” I said, “come over here next to me and touch the cat. His name is Trooper. Maybe your parents will understand that the cat is harmless.”

He came to my side and reluctantly stroked Trooper’s back. Then he returned to the side window and spoke to his father again. The old man answered, and nodded his head with a slight smile.

“Father say, ‘thank you very much’, but . . . they will wait in car. Been in USA three days. Never seen cat that big. Me also.”

“Trooper is a funny cat,” I said as we returned to the office. “He is possessive. He believes everything on this property, including cars, belongs to him. He investigates all visitors.”

Our business meeting ended in a friendly manner.

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