The cat couldn’t have rung the doorbell! Yet the bell rang, she could have sworn it did! She ran to open it without asking. No one was there. And then her gaze slid downward. She felt a chill inside, and her heart pounded. She could never be like this. Or did it? And she thought Richard was delirious. Then she counted: exactly seven days had passed. So it was true. She opened the door wide, not daring to take the animal in her arms. The cat quickly slipped inside. And ran into the hall. She got into her husband’s favorite rocking chair and immediately fell asleep. And Jessica just continued to stand there, clutching the kitchen towel and wiping away her tears…
She cried all week. She took a leave of absence from work without pay. She could not even go out on the street – her legs would not hold her.
Her beloved husband Richard, with whom she had been together since kindergarten, suddenly became very ill. He was a healthy, six-foot-two, jolly fellow, with whom everything went smoothly in his hands. Never even had a cold. And then suddenly – cancer. He ate it up in a few months, didn’t even flinch…
By the end my husband weighed less than 50 kg. Jessica tried to keep it together. She kept joking. That summer was coming. And they would go on a boat. They would pick mushrooms and lingonberries on the other shore. They’ll bake potatoes. They’ll fry bread. And there is plenty to do in the garden.
Richard listened and nodded. As if he agreed. His hands became very thin and weak. Barely touched her hand and whispered:
– How could you… Without me. We must think of something. We must take care of you! My little one,” Richard coughed convulsively.
– Come on, darling, lie down, you mustn’t worry! How little am I? I’m already 48 years old! – Jessica sobbed.
– Not already, but still! – her husband tried to smile.
He was like that. A good-natured man with a sense of humor.
He spent two days in oblivion, and then suddenly opened his eyes and so clearly punished:
– In a week, as I’m gone, will come to the door, Jessica, a white cat. Let him in, he’ll bring happiness. Soon you’ll be happy!
– Richard! What are you saying? What do you mean, he won’t? Richard, I can’t live without you! – the woman cried.
She decided it herself – her husband was delirious. By evening Richard was gone.
The couple had no children. And the poor woman couldn’t find herself. And then that doorbell rang…
Looking at the white cat, Jessica could not understand: whether by chance, or her husband knew something? From the future? But how?
The cat woke up. She timidly crouched down next to it. It didn’t look like a stray. Groomed, snow-white. Whether she imagined it or not, the cat seemed to resemble her husband through his eyes and mannerisms.
She went to the kitchen: she had boiled her porridge there. The cat squealed. She poured him a bowl. Richard loved kissel, too. The cat licked up every last drop.
– Well… Kissel,” the woman whispered.
And so the cat got a name. Jessica’s heart had been aching lately. And that night, the first night when the cat came, she suddenly woke up in the middle of the night and realized that she could not breathe. As if some kind of weight. She gasped for air, trying to reach for the phone to call an ambulance. But I could not. I just slipped helplessly to the floor.
The last thing she remembered was Kissel quickly running up to her and crawling on her arm.
When she opened her eyes, morning was raging around her. Sunbeams were bouncing across the walls, catching up with each other. Nothing hurt. And a cat was poking joyfully in her ear.
He helped her out more than once.
Once Jessica didn’t close the door when she slammed the floorboards. She had to go to the store anyway. Suddenly the door swings open and a man walks in. Seems inadequate, wild eyes. And he comes at her. She just groaned. And from the wall in the corridor, where the hats are lying, Kisel jumped. Almost on the intruder’s shoulder, letting his claws out. He howled and threw the cat off and fled.
Or, when once again remembering her husband, the woman fell asleep, and there was a kettle on the stove, and a towel fell from above. The cat woke me up when the whole kitchen was full of smoke. He was howling so frantically.
Jessica bought him a harness. And walked with him. Gradually calming down. Her poor tortured heart did not perceive Kisel as an animal. But as a messenger from her beloved Richard.
One summer evening they were walking in the park. It was already late. But Kisel insistently dragged her for a walk there. And then on a bench Jessica saw a boy about 10 years old. He was looking at one point. And there was such sorrow in that little figure that the woman could not stand it, she stopped. The boy was crying. But when he saw her, wiped his eyes and quickly turned away.
She sat down next to him on the bench. Thought about how to start a conversation. What if you need help?
And then Kisel, jumping off her lap, approached the child. He murmured, began to rub his hand. The boy looked up. Blue, miserable eyes. He timidly stroked the cat. And the cat hugged him by the neck.
They got to talking. The child explained that he had escaped from the orphanage. He can’t be there. He wants to go home. But there is no home. And Mom and Dad aren’t there anymore either. The fire’s gone. He got out. Or rather, his father pushed him out at the last moment.
Jessica stopped feeling sorry for herself at that moment. Moved to the boy, began to stroke his head, telling him about her husband, about herself, about the cat.
Then she said she would see him off – they must be looking for him.
And at the very gate she suddenly remembered and asked:
– What’s your name?
– Christopher,” the child answered simply.
In the morning Jessica was already at the management. She started to explain that her salary was high, she had a four-room apartment, a summer cottage. If she had to, she would arrange her marriage. Jessica even talked to a neighbor about it, he promised to help with a sham marriage, if the need arises. If she can’t adopt, she can take the child into foster care. She was told that the child is difficult, uncontactable, and there are small children, so if she wants, she can take them.
– No. I need Christopher,” she said.
And she asked the boy to come and visit. He was in the playroom by the window. Jessica came in. She had some cinnamon buns with her. She had a lump in her throat and couldn’t even call out. Only Christopher, as if he felt something, turned around. And such joy flashed in his eyes!
– Hello! How are you? Where’s the cat? – came running up.
– I… to see you, Christopher. Here, I came to see the director. Christopher, do you want to live with me? I know, no one can replace mom. I’m a stranger. But… You’ll be fine, I promise. A child shouldn’t live in an orphanage. Everyone should be taken home. So that all children have mothers and fathers. Because the most important thing in life is family and home. A place where they wait for you! Christopher, I’ll always be waiting for you! – Jessica whispered, wiping away her tears.
– Will you really? Will you really take me home? Home? – The boy groaned.
Jessica filled out the necessary documents. Soon Christopher crossed the threshold of her apartment. Kisel ran out to meet him. The boy picked him up in his arms, tucked into the silky fur.
Jessica fussed, set the table. And for a long time sat by the bed, where the boy was restlessly sleeping.
A month passed and Christopher became unrecognizable. He stopped shuddering and screaming in his sleep. He called her “Aunt Jessica”. And in the evenings, when we watched movies together, he kept holding her hand. And also, embarrassed, he asked me to read to him before going to bed. People she knew shrugged their shoulders: why did she need it? She would live for herself.
They did not understand that for the first time after her husband passed away, she began to live. She had a boy and a cat. They were her favorites.
That evening Christopher was riding his bicycle in the yard, but he could not keep his balance. Jessica ran out to him. And then the boy, sitting on the ground and stretching out his hands to her, suddenly shouted:
– Mommy! Mommy!
Jessica hugged him. And softly whispered that now it will not hurt, all will pass. And a little louder she said:
– Everything will pass, Christopher, my son! Mommy’s here!
