White Dog Fell from the Sky - By Eleanor Morse Page 0,39
know.”
“They came into the garden last week. I’ve been feeding them milk. He tells me I must kill them today.”
Isaac opened the door of the cage and picked up the smaller of the two by the scruff of its neck. White Dog sniffed it, and the little one hissed and arched its small back. It was very thin, the color of a lion, and had a pattern of circles on either side like targets. He peered into the cage. “What happened to their eyes?” One cat was cross-eyed, the other wall-eyed.
“I don’t know,” the old man said.
Isaac laughed. “Go siame, rra, I’ll take them. Tomorrow, I’ll bring back the cage.”
When he returned with the cats, he was unlucky enough to meet the master.
“What’s in the cage?”
“There are two cats, rra. To rid the garden of snakes.”
“The snakes will eat them, not the other way around.”
He remained silent. He had learned back home never to contradict a white man, no matter what nonsense they may utter.
“Alice!” Lawrence called toward the house. “He’s got cats.”
She came out. “Awhile back, I told Isaac I’d look for an outdoor cat for the snakes.”
“There are two of them,” said Lawrence.
She looked into the cage. “What’s wrong with their eyes?”
“I think their mother had venereal disease,” said Isaac.
“They look healthy enough otherwise,” she said.
“Did you forget I’m allergic?” asked Lawrence.
“Darling, relax. They’re outdoor cats. They’re for the snakes. I told you, don’t you remember? Isaac killed a black mamba.”
“These cats won’t stand a chance against a snake like that.”
“I want to keep them anyway.”
“Well, then, keep them.”
“Do you like the name Mr. Magoo?”
“I don’t give a damn. Call it what you want.”
“They were going to be drowned today,” Isaac said.
“So you had no choice,” said Lawrence.
“Ee, rra, there was no choice.”
The madam always paid him on the last Saturday of each month. Out of the thirty rand, he gave twenty to Amen and Kagiso for room and board. And each month, he saved five rand for shoes for Nthusi, putting the money under a loose chunk of concrete in the floor in Amen’s house. The rest he used for food.
When he opened the envelope on that particular Saturday, he found ninety rand.
“You’ve given me too much, mma.” He held out the extra money to her, but she reached forward with both hands and closed them around his. “For your two brothers and your sister, for school,” she said. He stood before her, his heart pounding. Before he could gather himself, she walked quickly back inside the house.
He returned to Amen’s house with the money inside his shoe, thinking about how he could best send it to his mother. After everyone was asleep, he took out enough for room and board and food for the month. The rest he placed under the chunk of concrete.
16
Twilight. An old woman was fishing in the dam, thin legs stretched down over the bank, her head bowed toward the water. Alice was there with her friend, Muriel, walking on the lip of the dam, just the two of them on that scar of earth, bulldozed like a bowl to collect water. The sun glowed red against the edge of the sky, the breath of wind still hot.
Alice and Lawrence had known Muriel in graduate school back in Providence. One of those odd quirks of fate had brought them to Botswana at the same time. When Alice had first met her, Muriel was happy in herself, happy to please anyone who crossed her path. Her hair went halfway down her back, and she was slender and willowy, her eyes magnified by large, round, rimless glasses. In the eight years since then, she had the same glasses, but her face was worn, less eager. Her husband Eric had come to Botswana as a hydraulic engineer, partly responsible for the building of this dam. Muriel was a librarian at the National Library.
Alice had asked to meet her after work.
The old woman landed a fish, popped it in a bucket, and walked down the path. Alice and Muriel stood next to each other, looking toward the dam, watching a flock of sacred ibis feed. The birds were very tall, white except for black tail feathers and black necks and heads. In the water’s reflection, their legs looked twice their actual length.
“So what’s going on?” asked Muriel.
“Lawrence and I are getting a divorce.”
Muriel stopped in her tracks. “Oh, Allie, I can’t believe it. You’ve always seemed perfect together.”