She brought out the black bag on a Thursday evening, the crinkly kind that lives folded up under the sink next to the dustpan, and I want it noted for the record that I did not like the sound of it from the very first crinkle. That bag has never once, in my experience, contained … Read more
It came in sometime after the lamp went off, which is exactly the kind of cowardice I would expect from something with no bones. I heard it before I saw it — that specific dry, papery tick against the lampshade, once, twice, then nothing, which is worse than the sound itself because it means the … Read more
I want it on record that I was not consulted. The reading chair — mine, functionally, though she sits in it sometimes when I allow it — has been moved. Not far. Perhaps the width of three of my own body-lengths, which I recognize is not a great distance to some, but to me it … Read more
I want it on record that I was not hiding under the bed. I was conducting a perimeter check from a low, tactically superior position. There is a difference, and I resent that no one in this house seems willing to acknowledge it. It started with the light going strange. I noticed it before she … Read more
Something was wrong with her today and I want it on the record that I noticed immediately, before the sighing even started, back when she was still just standing at the counter holding her phone like it had personally disappointed her. I have a very good nose for the ordinary chemistry of the house — … Read more
She left the canvas shoes by the door again, toes pointed inward the way she always leaves them, like they’re ashamed of something. I want to be clear that under normal circumstances I do not dignify shoes with my attention. Shoes are beneath me, literally and philosophically. But today the shoes smelled wrong, and when … Read more
Welcome to Oliver’s Diary. This site will be an ongoing account of one particular cat’s life — his days, his grievances, his affections, and the general business of running a household he did not ask to share with anyone. New entries are on their way. In the meantime: he is doing well, he is supervising … Read more
