Oreo’s Adventure
It was my nephew Daniel’s Bar Mitzvah’s. The whole family flew to Los Angeles to celebrate the happy occasion. We all stayed at the homes of different members of the family. Peter, Kelly and I stayed with Gilda and Antonio. Upon arriving there, we were introduced to the newest member of the family. His name was Oreo. Oreo was the classroom pet white mouse. It was summer holidays, and someone had to adopt him. Renata, my niece, volunteered for that honor. To meet us, Oreo was dressed in a bow tie. He looked like a dandified mouse and was quite spoilt. Oreo had the run of the house and was not caged.
People who know me know that I have a great revulsion and indeed a great fear of mice. I don’t care which species they are. I shudder just thinking of them. If I had known this creature had the run of the house, I certainly would have chosen another member of the family to stay with. However, it was too late to do anything about it but to be gracious. They agreed to cage Oreo, which made me feel a bit more comfortable. However, they were very lax with that agreement.
Renata and Ariel were young at that time. They shared a bedroom with bunk beds. One night I sat telling the children stories. Ariel began nodding off. I picked him up and carried him to his bed. As I did so, I felt a slight electric shock. I looked about me and realized the wire of his table lamp had been gnawed by that precious mouse. Carefully, I pulled the wire out of the plug, bent down, and gave my nephew a good night kiss.
Containing my anger at my sister’s irresponsible behavior, I went in search of her. She was in the living room watching the news. I sat beside her and asked, ‘Tell me Gilda, who is more important, Ariel, or Oreo?’ She gave me a look as if to say, ‘What kind of stupid question is that?’ I told her what happened. She sounded a bit concerned, but not too much. I tried to keep away from that rat as much as possible. I was beginning to voice my displeasure on a daily basis.
The evening of the Bar Mitzvah arrived. It was a joyous evening. We went back to Gilda’s house tired but elated. Now, Gilda could not care less about the niceties of life. She handed Peter, Kelly, and me a couple of sheets and pillows to spread upon the carpet in the living room. It was summer, so we did not get cold. However, sleeping on the floor was not the least bit comfortable. Peter and I would wake up achy and not too rested. Kelly was young then and could sleep wherever you put him.
At any rate, as soon as we entered her apartment, the mouse dashed forward to greet us. ‘That rat is not caged!’ I exclaimed. ‘Oh, go to sleep,’ she retorted impatiently as she and Antonio headed to their bedroom. Peter tried to calm me down. Kelly tried to as well. However, as we lay on the floor in the dark, I kept going on and on. I feared that mouse scampering between us in the middle of the night. ‘Shh!’ whispered Peter, the pacifist. ‘Hush up!’ exclaimed Kelly impatiently. The whole building fell into a deep quiet rest. I tossed and turned, tossed and turned. I lay between Peter and Kelly. I could hear Peter’s steady breathing as he slept. Kelly, on the other hand, was not sleeping, even though I thought he was. As I lay with my eyes wide open in the dark, I felt something soft brush against me! I sat up in terror and let out a blood-curdling scream! Peter jumped up with his heart pounding! Gilda and Antonio rushed into the living room. ‘What’s the matter?’ they gasped. ‘Oreo! Oreo!’ I repeated over and over. Kelly began to let out a deep unrestrained chuckle that turned into uncontrollable laughter. He had rolled a balled-up sock at me. When he explained, Antonio let out an Italian expletive, Gilda uttered a ‘Jesus,’ and Peter said, ‘Good Grief Stella, I won’t be surprised if you woke up the whole building!’
Months later Gilda called me in New York to tell me that Oreo had crept into the freezer and frozen to death. She did not get any sympathy from me, even though I felt sorry for the poor mouse dying such an uncomfortable death.