I eventually slunk back into the morning room seeking companionship. I watched the Captain in my meditative way, trying to fathom what had happened. To quote Carl Van Vechten, the great cat chronicler, it is true that the animals suffer vaguely, but suffering is not less because it is vague. The Captain suffered, I could see it. Winston Churchill had been a boon companion to us both and the grief and loss had not yet come full upon us. I jumped on the Captain's lap and affectionately dug my claws into the worsted wool of his pants. Perhaps this slight gestured brought his grief to the forefront of his mind, for he stood and yelped in pain. I hopped onto the back of the wingchair, comforted by our shared emotion.
Anon our comtemplative silence was interupted by Margaret, walking like a aged flagship ahead of two men whose company she seemed to wish to be rid of. The two men came in talking to Margaret about all the good "the show" would do. She's an old lady and they talked loudly and down to her.
They were the camera man and the producer of the reality show. !" I should add that a reality show is being filmed at the house.
"The manufacture of collars will elevate the workers in Mexico," was one of the gems I overheard. (they assumed she's a racist because she's old and white, more dialog here) Brooks, the director, said many stupid in this exchange and others. By and by, we'll come to suspect that he orchestrted the murder of the bird, [but later he'll prove himself a man of moral and physical courage. His actions will speak louder than words. I of course will never be duped because I see beneath the surface.
Brooks suddenly stopped talking. "Where's the parrot?" he asked, his wit razor-like.
Being apprised of what happened, their sadness and disappointment was greater even than Helen's. Both men immediately looked at me.
Brook's mouth hung upon. "I can't believe we missed footage of that."
They discussed creating a reenactment. Margaret, Mad's mother was still there, but they ignored her because they thought she was deaf. She gave some reaction to hearing of the parrot's death, but covered it up. She also did not look to me with suspicion. She's a good sort.
"Madeleine will be on board." She was desperate for fame. Madeleine was a minor celebrity, the current high-scorer on the iPad/iPhone Glee karaoke app.
"Do you want to go up and ask her?" Brooks asked.
"No, I don't want to go up there." He lowered his voice. "She's always stepping out of the shower and I don't want to expose my camera equipment to humidity."
"Yes, we should talk straight with her about that. Plan it out. She always tries to make it seem like an accident."
"I wonder how she does that? Or is she just constantly taking a shower," Elliot answered.
"No, she never steps out of the shower like that when her mother is around. Maybe she has surveillance cameras set up," Brooks said jokingly. Actually, she did, although I might not reveal that quite yet.
Brooks turned to Margaret. "Can you get Mad for us?"
The old lady smiled politely into space.
Elliot said, "she always wants Mad to be respectable. She's not going to go for it." Ah, he had indeed found wisdom. Man sometimes stumbles upon the truth, but he usually manages to brush himself off and continue, as Winston Churchill might have said. Margeret also liked the parrot, but it would never occur to the television people that they were intruding into a house of morning.
"So what, she's deaf as a stone." Brooks replied. He turned to Margeret and smiled. "Isn't that right, dear?"
"Yes, that's very nice," a tremulous voice replied.
"Can you bring Mad here please?" he said loudly. "Then you and Captain Peacock can have a nice chat in here." Out of the corner of his mouth he said to Elliot, "We'll do the reenactment in the conservatory. The light's better."
"Yes, I'll be glad to," Margaret said.
The Captain had ignored the entire exchange because he really was deaf. I had seen him turn his hearing aides off. When he gets really annoyed he takes them out and turns them all the way up. The high-pitched feedback would filming and the sound would need to be redone.
[The cat lives alone, has no need of society, obeys only when she pleases, pretends to sleep that she may see the more clearly, and scratches everything on which she can lay her paw.
- Francois Rene Chateaubriand]
Margaret did something similar. She went up to Mad's room. "Hello, dear," she said, knocking on the door. "Let's go shopping. They're done filming for the day and Nordstrom's is having a sale."
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Funny little cat.
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