Packy says goodbye to the forlorn little kitten he has fallen helplessly in love with. However, a miracle is about to take place--unbeknownst to Packy or his mother.
The next morning, Packy woke up, all smiles--only to have it disappear when he first laid eyes upon the sleeping little black kitten that now lay on his bed. He knew that today was the day that they were to part ways; tears filled his eyes when he thought of it.
Packy's mother knew that her son was feeling sad. She was feeling sad, too; the kitten had become the focus, the primary cause of his newfound happiness, the most important thing in his life. Now they were about to becoem separated because of those damned rules of the apartment complex they lived in.
No pets allowed. No cats or dogs. Anyone found with a cat or dog in their apartment would be evicted without fail. No questions. However, people could have birds or fish.
At the thought of this, Packy's mother got good and mad. Birds are messier than any cat or dog, and who can love a fish? she thought angrily. I ought to go right to the landlord's office and give him a piece of my mind!!
However, she knew that if she did, both she and her handicapped son would be on the street--and what kind of life would that be?? she mused. The thought of it all made her sick to her stomach; yet she had no choice but to abide by the rules of the apartment complex.
Soon, all too soon, came that painful moment when Packy had to say goodbye to little "Jingle Bells". A worker from the Animal Protection League arrived to take the little mewling black bundle of fur to the animal shelter. "We will find her a good home; we promise you that", she told Packy's mother. Packy couldn't bear to look at the little kitten again; his heart was already breaking.
He sobbed helplessly in his mother's arms. The mother was crying, too. She felt bad for her son; she felt bad that she couldn't keep the kitten without risking of getting into trouble. Yet having a place to stay was more important than breaking the rules, even if it meant pleasing her son, going against the rules.
No, life was not fair, she grumbled angrily to herself. When the pain got to be too much for her to bear, she marched bravely up to the landlord's office, and let him have it. He tried to speak; she didn't give him the satisfaction.
"My son has been through so much; yet you insist on breaking his heart. He loved 'Jingle Bells'. He knows how to take care of animals; he had a cat named 'Trixie', but she died, and when she did, he was absolutely devastated!" she said. "Why can't you bend the rules a little? The only thing that's given him joy lately was finding 'Jingle Bells', but you would rather have the little kitten on the streets--or worse--rather than to see a little disabled boy happy!"
The landlord shifted uncomfortably in his seat at the woman's tirade. He tried to speak, but the woman's laser-eyed stare prevented it. All he could do was sit there and listen to her give it to him with both barrels.
The woman continued: "If Packy gets sick tonight, it's because of you!" she roared. "I hope you're proud of yourself. Breaking a little boy's heart! Well, I know who the bad person is around here--and it certainly isn't me OR Packy!!"
With that, she turned on her heel, then stormed angrily out of the landlord's office, leaving him sitting there in his chair, too stunned to speak.
That's when the phone rang. It was the landlord's supervisor. Apparently he had gotten wind about this little kitten--and heard about the story of the little disabled boy who had found him--, and he wanted to make things right.
He was in the process of changing the rules to where people could have dogs and cats; there'd been too many angry complaints from elderly or handicapped residents wanting (or needing) a companion.
The mother did not know this yet. Imagine her joy when she would find out about the news.
If she could get a hold of the Animal Protection League worker who'd taken "Jingle Bells", maybe it wouldn't be too late. Maybe there'd be hope for a miracle yet in their lives--and in the life of this tiny, mewling black kitten called "Jingle Bells".
The point that stabbed me most in this story was the one of the landlord going at it "by the book" feeling like a little king with the power to impose the house-scriptures.
That there should be a benign supervisor...what it tells you?
Jingle Bells should come back, shouldn't he?
Georg
This just gets gooder and gooder!!!!!!!!! My heart was breaking upon Packy and "Jingle Bells" parting ways; rejoicing when Mama went into the landlord's office, laser eyes blazing; and tears of happiness to find out the higher ups might be able to make a little boy's dreams come true. YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please: more of this story, it's your best YET.
Christmas - only days away; plastic snowmen and glowing reindeer adorn the lawns of neighborhoods all across America. All is calm, all is bright, and yet there is something tragically wrong about this Christmas night.
With swift passage thr
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