Oreo, the Unforgettable Pet
Peter and I had gone to visit Kelly and the rest of the family in Los Angeles. We stayed with my parents. They lived in the Valley. My sister and brother and their families lived in the city proper.
One evening we were out late with my sister and her family. Instead of driving back to the Valley, my sister suggested we sleep over at their home. They live in a two-bedroom condo off Wilshire Boulevard. Gilda and Antonio were and are the most unconventional of people. One did not expect them to do what most people do. We were offered the wall-to-wall carpeted floor of their living room, sheets and three pillows for our beds.
At this point I am going to go back in time. My niece Renata had been taking care of the classroom rat which had eventually become her pet. He was really a white and brown mouse by the name of Oreo. He even had a bow tie, collar, and a leash for some reason. Were they going to take him for walks or to visit friends, just like one would take a dog? I don’t know. Renata even owned a bow tie to match his. They would both wear them together. She loved that!
Everyone who knows me, knows that I am not a lover of rats or mice. They make my flesh creep. Oreo was no exception, however fancy he was, however many bow ties he owned, or however cute they considered him to be; to me he was still a rat! But to Gilda, Antonio, Renata, and Ariel he was THE PET! He was not caged but had the run of the house. He scampered everywhere he desired. You never knew where he would appear. If you were sitting on the sofa, he would think nothing of climbing up and sitting next to you. I shudder all these years later, just thinking of it!
Because we were at Gilda’s, my brother Jacky and his wife, Patricia, had earlier in the evening come for a visit with their dog, Mr. Theodore. If Oreo was a spoilt rat, Mr. Theodore was a most privileged dog. He was an aristocrat amongst dogs. He went wherever Patricia went. He was well-behaved. He did not consider himself to be a dog but their four-legged son. He had his own seat and place setting at the dining table. They would tie a napkin around his neck as he ate. At any rate, they had come over to see us. Dogs will behave as dogs do, even ones as perfect as Mr. Theodore. As soon as the door opened, Oreo rushed forward to see who it was. Mr. Theodore wagged his tail and came forward to greet him. Oreo let out a big rat squeal and ran for cover. Mr. Theodore chased after him. Gilda, Antonio, Renata, and Ariel dashed after them. I am sure you can imagine the pandemonium that followed. Patricia quickly picked her dog and went to sit in a corner, hugging him protectively. Kelly and my brother stood aside chuckling and greatly amused. Gilda and Antonio were crouched on their hands and knees beside Oreo. “Jam! Give me jam! Oreo is going to faint!” Gilda demanded. Someone produced the jam. Antonio held the rat while Gilda stuck her finger into the jam jar and offered it to Oreo. He licked her finger clean. She dipped her finger into the jam jar again. Once more he did justice to it. Ah! Oreo was going to survive this ordeal. Big smiles on the faces of the Coco family! I mentally made a note to be cautious as to what we eat at my sister’s house! It dawned on us that with Oreo there, one never knew where a spoon or a finger went. Peter and I looked in disbelief. Peter was always too polite to express unkind thoughts, but my face and my curled-up lips expressed my thoughts very succinctly. My opinion did not change a few days later when I put a sleeping Ariel into his bed. As I lovingly covered him and kissed his forehead, I felt an electric shock go through me. Surprised, I looked about me and noticed the wire on the lamp by Ariel’s bed was gnawed just a few inches from the sleeping child! Quickly I pulled the plug out of the electric receptacle and angrily went over to my sister. “Who is more important to you, your son or this rat that is lording it over your house! Get rid of him!” The look of dismay on the face of poor little Renata at this threat is unforgettable. She quickly went to find her rat to take him out of harm’s way, just in case I put action to words.
I now go back to the evening when Peter, Kelly, and I used their floor as our bed. It was quite late. The floor was hard. I was not too sure where the rat was, so I was quite tense. Did I mention that I do not like mice and rats? I really do not like mice and rats! Maybe I did not. That night I repeated it over and over again.
Kelly said, “Mum, go to sleep.” Peter said, “Stella, it’s late. Relax. Please go to sleep.” But there was no way I could sleep. Peter never had a problem falling asleep; soon he was gently snoring. Me? I was mumbling all night through, and poor Kelly, who always had a problem sleeping, got the brunt of it. The building was still. The traffic outside subsided as well. I had visions of that rat crawling all over me. I tossed and turned. I mumbled to myself. The hair on my body stood on end, but I was tired. Eventually my eyelids began to droop. I was almost asleep. Suddenly I felt something brushing softly against my body. My body froze in terror! Oreo! Oreo was crawling on me! I let out a loud, blood-curdling scream. It resonated throughout the whole building. Gilda and Antonio rushed out of their bedroom in alarm. Peter sat up, his eyes wide with fear. Kelly chuckled wickedly. He explained that since I would not keep quiet, he might as well give me something to fret about. It was past three in the morning. He had gently rolled a tennis ball that was on the floor towards me. If he could not sleep because of me, he might as well have fun.
I resolved that as long as Oreo lived there, we would stay at my parents and frequent restaurants and cafés when we wanted to see my sister and her family. The stress brought about with Oreo’s presence was too great for me.
A year after we returned to New York, I got a call from Gilda. She was very upset and weepy. It seems that Oreo had scuttled into the freezer when she had taken something out and froze to death. They could not think where he had gone. They searched everywhere. It was only when they opened the freezer next that they discovered him. There he was, resplendent in his bow tie, frozen solid. While I verbally commiserated with her, I felt relief. I could now once more visit my sister’s home in comfort.