Devonne Brown

Thank God for the kindness of strangers. Little mercies we are grateful for that we often take for granted, like someone holding the door when our arms are full. They’re rarely there at 6:00 a.m.

I had my arms full. My teacher bag was draped across my left arm with my coffee in my hand, a carton of orange soda and a bag of cheetos filled my right hand. How was I supposed to get in the door when it was bucketing down rain? My badge key was around my neck. The unmistakable sound of a mewling kitten came from behind the steps, a tiny one at that. Its orange fur was both clinging to and sticking out from its shivering body. I dropped everything and  put it in my teacher bag. 

The baby was mine now, I had to take care of it. It wobbled in the bag going up the stairs and elevator to my classroom. I’d be able to keep it safe, warm, and dry until lunch, then I’d drive it home for my son to feed properly. It would survive on milk for a few hours. Norris, the tom cat, would be most put out when it arrived, he hated babies, that whole kitten scene turned him off. “Compassion” was not in his vocabulary. 

I dried the baby and put it in a box with paper towels and a saucer of milk. My students would be thrilled, they’d drive me crazy wanting to handle and pet the kitten. As my mawmaw would say, “They’d wool it to death,” which is something you can do, I suppose, but my boundaries would be clear. “It can’t be handled much until it’s had its shots, flea, and worm treatments,” The threat of wormy things, bugs, and disease kids pretty much accept, girls don’t though. They like to push the boundaries and do what they want, thinking that all the rules and safety issues will bypass them completely. They’re totally untouchable.

I was right too. I couldn’t turn my back on the box for a second in class without a girl getting the kitten out of it. “But it was crying,” she’d say. They drove me crazy. Middle school girls are on a wavelength of their own. How they survive to adulthood is beyond me. God knew what she was doing when she blessed me with twin boys.