Could he Nathan asked I’d share my salad with him He should go back and join his family for dinner Nathan’s mother said She looked at her husband and he nodded in agreement Time to go home little guy his father said as he gently tapped one of his fingers against the screen Instead of running off the squirrel climbed up the screen until it was at the spot where he’d been tapping His father moved his finger and tapped at another spot on the screen and the little animal followed after his finger So what do we do now Nathan asked We could close the door and he might go away his father suggested That would be rude Nathan said 4
But it’s not like we can bring him in Nathan leaned in a little closer to the squirrel He’s crying I don’t think squirrels cry his mother said But I do hear something it’s squeaking He’s probably calling for his mother to come and get him Nathan said Nathan’s father went to close the door and hesitated He knew Nathan was concerned It’ll be okay Nathan I’m sure his mother will come and get him as soon as we close the door Nathan wanted to believe his father but he was worried He nodded his head ever so slightly in agreement His father slowly started to close the door and Wait Nathan called out Look 5
His father stopped He hoped he’d see the mother squirrel Instead he saw what his son had seen It’s Batcat Nathan said Batcat was a stray cat that roamed the neighborhood Nobody owned the cat so he didn’t really have a name But Nathan had started calling him Batcat because while he was mostly black the lower half of his face was white It looked like he was wearing a mask just like the comic-book character Do cats like squirrels Nathan asked Not in the way we’d like his father said The big old cat sat on the fence He was staring right at them and at the little squirrel His tail was swinging ever so slightly There was a little kink in it 6
where it had been injured at some time His ears were pressed down His left ear had a chunk that was missing Slowly Nathan’s father opened the door The squirrel clung to the screen as it swung out His father walked across the deck toward where Batcat sat on the fence You have to leave now he said to the cat Batcat didn’t move This wasn’t a cat used to being told what to do by anybody Scat cat Nathan’s father said and gestured with his hands Batcat’s tail swished a little bit harder and his green eyes blazed angrily For a second Nathan’s father felt a bit uneasy like he was walking toward a tiger instead of an alley cat He knew that 7
