Relative Something

Sunday, September 26…

We didn’t really sleep-in all that much this morning, but we lounged for a bit and I took extra time to write and banter with Cyndie. When we headed out of the cottage around 9:00 a.m., we wandered over to the horses and spent time there, feeding them and mucking out their stables. Ian wandered down and joined us in the task. I noticed that some critter had been pulling food scraps out of a gap in the compost bin and pointed it out to Ian. He said the bin had completely blown apart from a wind gust and he had never quite gotten it put back together all the way because he was considering moving it. Then the girls started refilling it with compost, so now it was existing in a partial state of assembly and being used regardless. I did some digging and was able to push the sides back together again, so hopefully the scrounging animals won’t continue to make a mess of things.

We went up to the house for a little bite of breakfast and Ian sat with us to visit. We suggested that we wanted to take a walk, as Cyndie hadn’t yet seen all the far reaches of the property that I have been enjoying while working with Ian. After checking with Victoria, he said it would be best if he did an errand with her and we go explore on our own. It was a beautiful day and we took a long, slow tour, taking a lot of pictures with both our cameras. At the high point of the property, we could see over to the spot that had been burning the day before. It was still smoldering, and we lingered for quite a while, to be sure it wasn’t an uncontrolled fire re-igniting.

We walked down to the spring Ian and I had uncovered, and then around to the old cork tree, and the moss-covered stones. From there, it was a short distance up to a display of rocks I had stacked, then back down to the camellia gardens, following them around, backwards from the order Ian and I had watered them a couple of days before. That led over to the orange trees and then we climbed the double-sided stairs to the ‘gazebo’ with the marble table and pedestal seats, where I sat to pose for a picture. I sensed it may be getting long for us to be off on our own and that they may be wondering about us, so when we neared our cottage again and I heard voices, I assumed they were checking for us. I called out an “Ola!” and the reply I received from Stephanie was the most dramatic shock imaginable… “The cat is dead.”

What a blow that was. Just a short time before, on our walk, Cyndie had said it was the most precious moment she was feeling so far, to be getting the full impact of the beauty and wonder of this place all at once. To go from that feeling and then be thrust into the tragedy of the unexpected death was really something dreadful. Victoria was trying to talk through the mystery of possible explanations and Stephanie was full of despair. When Cyndie approached, in her own disbelief, to confirm what she was hearing, Steph handed her the dead cat.

Meanwhile, Ian was driving their car around the property, searching for us, wanting to retrieve us for lunch. Victoria said he didn’t even know about the cat yet, as they had just discovered it themselves. I wanted to relieve him of his search, but I didn’t want to wander away to find him, as I would risk always being a step behind. Then I heard his car, down below us on the tier of camellias from which we just had climbed, and I flagged him to reveal our location. I had the unfortunate task of reporting the news and witnessing his reaction of shock. It really caught us all by surprise and seemed to have occurred unexpectedly quick. Without hesitating, Ian dug a hole where Cyndie had placed Tiddles the cat, and in an instant, the animal was laid to rest.

There is a dramatic void created by his passing.