Eleven Months

The profile shows one of Bella’s many quirks: “Fifth foot.” Sometimes, she seemed more liquid than cat.

We were in Pittsburgh a year ago visiting Traci’s family. I wanted to stay home with Bella, as I knew that at some point soon, she would take a turn for the worse. This knowledge clouded my break, though I was and remain grateful for the time I got to spend with her.

The tumor ulcerated late in December, and I detected a small bump at the base of her neck before we left. We returned to a warm greeting–and a greatly enlarged mass just above her right shoulder.

The cancer had spread yet again, and as we had done too often over the past few weeks, we faced the prospect of losing her even sooner than we had feared.

Yet she seemed as healthy, friendly, playful, and robust as ever. That was the rub. We knew just how sick she was, yet aside from the invisible lumps and the ulcerated mass below her jaw, you’d never know it.

That was the last week of relative normality.