We were walking through a residential neighborhood to get to church one Sunday morning almost 2 years ago when I spotted the most beautiful cat lying on the sidewalk. When I bent down to pet her she barely moved and had the softest fur ever, but I noticed I could feel her bones through her coat. Right then and there I told the Chef, 'No church for us today. God put this cat in our path and we're taking her with us.' So off he went to knock on a few doors and find out if she belonged to anyone. Finally a guy said she just wandered the neighborhood and he didn't think she had a home, so the Chef jetted off to get a can of food while I waited with her as she peered through the bushes into a backyard occupied by a large dog. We think it used to be her home and she got left behind when her family moved, as was very common when the recession first hit and people abandoned their pets.
When the Chef returned and opened the can she zipped over to the back of the truck and hopped into the hatch. We closed it and took her home. She never cried or tried to get out once, instead finishing her snack and stretching out on the leather seat in back. The Chef named her Grayce--for her gray fur, that she was found outside our church, Grace Community Church, and that it was God's grace that put her in our path. She was a constant companion, a light as a feather little pal who slept next to him on the pillow and softly touched his cheek repeatedly in the morning to get him to wake up. She could play a mean game of chase the feather and was often found racing up and down the halls in between the leaned picture frames when she wasn't sitting right next to the Chef while he worked on his computer.
Three days ago she went missing and someone called yesterday to say they saw her get hit by a car a couple doors down from his parents' house where he's been staying temporarily while the restaurant gets up and running. The Humane Society confirmed it late today so I don't think I'll be posting anything else this week.
It might seem crazy to some people, but Grayce was like family to us and we are devastated and guilt-ridden over what happened to her. She was much more than just a cat or even the average cat; I'll admit I even tried to get him to trade my two cats in exchange for her on more than one occasion (sorry Monk and Lil). She was special. The Chef is particularly tossed up because, as an avid cat lover, he hadn't had a cat for many years since his last one passed away. Grayce filled a hole in his heart, reawakened his love of cats, and they were best friends. It was the story of a guy and his cat. As dramatic as it sounds, we'll never recover.
I'll see you sometime next week. Cat lady over and out.