It was Pepi’s 10th birthday. Elliot and I were in the Indigo Hill Swimming Pool, probably our last time there. Elliot became friends quickly with a boy named Zachary. We all played together, into the darkness of the night still in the pool. Zachary followed us in his swim floaties while Elliot dove for the bouncy ball and crab toy that sank to the bottom of the pool (one of the games we play – I push him down to the floor of the pool. Sometimes he retrieves the toy, sometimes not. It’s his choice. If he does not retrieve it, I hurl him into the air, spinning, and say something like, “SCOOB! SCOOBY DOO! You’re supposed to get the toy!” I don’t think Zachary ever saw anything like that before, especially a parent playing with his son for such a long time.
Then we played a catch game with Zachary for a long time. We met his father. Apparently, they just moved here from San Diego.
Elliot asked me to tell him a story. Zachary and he listened.
“It was Pepi’s 10th birthday. All the Pizza Kittens gathered to plan a surprise party for him. They got a cake with a frosting mouse on the top, and 10 candles. They hung decorations all over the house. They bought presents: cat nip, cat toys like a fishing pole with feathers on the end, and cat treats. They wrapped the presents.
Then they went into the basement, where Pepi was sleeping, and woke him up!
All the Pizza Kittens sang “Happy Birthday” to Pepi. (Here I sang the song). They brought him the cake, and he blew out the candles. They brought him presents and decorations. He loved all of it.”
Somehow I involved Lebowski, Zachary’s cat, but I don’t remember now how he fit into the story. Zachary seemed to like that since he did not know Pepi.
