Chocolate Covered Nothing

I had one hell of a day and night. Aside from a 30min nap at work, I was on my feet all day. The freezing snow storm was a welcomed relief to my feet whose farthermost appendages warmly embraced the numbness that welcomed them once finally outside the laborious doors. It would be a thirty minuet wait below the white covered streets above before the first o f two trains finally arrived. My only solace was the thought of my cherished soon to be five hours of sleep and a copy of the Interpreter of Maladies whose tale was so much more interesting then my own. Throughout the ride I promised myself three things before my close of day. One was a shower, two where these words, and last but most importantly was the chocolate covered strawberry waiting for me at home. It was the last of five that I had yesterday. I am not sure why I saved that one last strawberry in all of its cocoa covered beauty. I remembered downing the first four in a gluttonous sugar rushed fashion. Yet, I paused before that last one strawberry with slight blotches of bright red peeking from beneath it’s its protective safety blanket of guilt inducive brown. I set it aside and deeply considered what a sell out that one last piece of sugared delight would be to the 45min run I had earlier. Today was another story and there was no forgiveness in store for the wrath that said strawberry had escaped the day before. I was so ready for it. It haunted my thoughts and taunted my growling belly the whole ride through. When I got home, I even teased myself a bit longer by deciding on a hot shower and only then the chocolate covered strawberry topping to my day. Consider it the proverbial cherry on top. And so, the moment came when I met my fate with the then forgotten berry.

As in a B-movie scene, right when I was about to maneuver it into my mouth the damn thing falls as if in slow motion. I think the “fuck” that escaped my mouth my have also sounded slow-motion like in that 100th of a second. Faster then that 100th of a second, was my dear friend the cat. I am not sure where she came from but what ever chance the strawberry had of receiving a rub-a-dub-dub, thank you god for this grub, dusting off, kissing and projecting it towards the heavens for a germ purification, prior to the who cares I am going to eat you anyway moment, was utterly destroyed once she gave it the speed of light attack and repeat swatting. I do not know if she thought it was a ball, despite how well it seemed to roll, nor if she purposefully thwarted my needs, for at some point having overlooked hers, but she rid that strawberry of any possible edible appeal. She ran after it, as did I, except that I was trying to save it, she must have thought it a game because she continued to chase after it and beat it around the room with great skill. I was so mad. You should have seen me trying to salvage it before frustraion kicked in and I finally, very loudly, shared my sentiments on what a bad kitty she had been.

Damn her! When you want her to move she pretends to be a beached whale and when you need her to mind her own, she turns into Hell-Cat. And so, this was the ending of my day and chocolate covered nothing.