Cream Soup Spoon Final Chapter

Awhile back I posted an in-progress, but, not finished, but probably going to be the words, version of the end of my most recent attempt at a novel.

Parenthetically, it worth noting that my novels always end up more like memoirs.

How odd.

Things changed.

That post significantly lacked what these -final - words purvey.

So this is really how it ended.

I hope people to whom I have given a copy of the book will still read the whole thing; how it got here is a strange, and entertaining journey.

So it is really worth reading.

The rest of it.

Here it is - the snippet - the end.

"Alfie, Rose and Cinq were gathered by the counter where Peter had prepared their breakfasts for so many years.

"They all had that same hopeful look they always had had; but Peter was gone; and they knew it; but they had gathered anyway.  It was rather like a wake.

"Karen appeared just as they were about to disperse.

"'I’m sorry Peter isn’t here; I’ll feed you; just give me a minute'.

"She started to move toward the cabinet with the cat merry-go-round and the cases of fussy cat.

"But she stopped abruptly.

"On the counter where the cat bowls would soon be placed was one of the basket weave hand towels.  

"On it was a single shiny cream soup spoon.

"The cats heard Karen suppress a sob.

"Cinq turned toward the direction that Karen was looking and saw what she saw and kept it to himself.

"'Do you think humans have souls'? He asked.

"Alfie snuggled over to Cinq and gave him a few licks of brotherly cleansing.

"'Souls – the human word for ‘here-now-this-time-that-time’ transmute; they don’t identify with specifics. Why did you ask that'?

“'Because Peter is over in the corner'.

“'He’s over there by the window that looks out on Bert’s grave'.

“'That’s where we last saw him, when he jumped into that thing that was over there.'

"Rose chirped.

"'I haven’t been brushed yet today'.

"Peter walked over and said 'let’s get brushed, Rosie'.

"And they both went to the cat tree that doubled as a brushing station.

"Rose jumped up through the access portal to the top.

"That's the brushing station.

"When the brushing was finished Rose jumped down and went back looking hopeful about Karen dispensing the morning’s ration.

"But Alfie ran over to Peter.

"He jumped up into the top of the cat tree.

"The brushing station.

"He sat and put his paws on Peter’s shoulders.

"'That’s great writing, Peter'.

"'I like what you’ve done since you’ve been gone'.

"'Yeah, and we are headed out again, imminently'”

The End