Cat Cap!

Zooming down the lane at the Kennedy High Pool, my kickboard and fins zipping me along, I glimpse a large black cat head puttering in the lane next to me. Its golden eyes follow me for a moment, before passing in the opposite direction.

A cat cap? How marvelous!

A few minutes later, resting at the wall, the wearer of the Cat Cap pauses, and I can’t help but comment.

“I love your Cat Cap!”

“Yes, well we all need a sense of humor in the pool!” She grins broadly, the water dripping off her white moon face.

I laugh as expected.

“Do you have a cat?” she asks.

“Yes, do you?”

“Yes, I do. And…..” She pauses for dramatic effect, her eyes twinkling. “I also have another pet…..”

“You do?” I wonder what this could be? Obviously, it’s something special and not an ordinary pet like a dog or a goldfish or even a turtle.

“Yes…..” She’s bursting now with palpable excitement. “A horse!”

“A horse, wow! My sister has a horse,” I offer, not being a horse person myself.

“She does?”

“Yes.” I don’t volunteer how I’m a little intimidated by horses, letting Cat Cap Lady tell her horse story.

“I have wanted a horse for 22 years, and now finally I have one!”

“That’s a long time! My sister wanted a horse, too, for a long time. And now she has one. It’s very exciting.”

Cat Cap Lady nods, “Yes, it certainly is.”

“Do you live here in Richmond? Is your horse near the pool?”

She laughs, “I do live in Richmond, but my horse is about 20 minutes away.”

“Oh…..” I don’t know what to say. The horse talk seems be dwindling but now wait there’s more!

“Where is your sister’s horse?” she asks.

“Oh, my sister lives in San Diego.”

“Really! Wow! I am interviewing for a job in San Diego next week and I was wondering about where to keep the horse down there.”

“Oh, I’m sure there are lots of places. It seems pretty horsey down there where my sister lives.”

“Where does she live?”

“Encinitas…North San Diego.”

“Yes, well, I know there are places for horses. In fact, I did a little research and it’s cheaper to keep horses down there than it is up here. Go figure!”

“Yeah, well, everything is more expensive in the Bay Area.”

She nods, thoughtful.

I’m getting cold and so need to get out of the frigid water before I turn into a blue cube, but not before one more compliment on the Cat Cap. “Well, I do love your Cat Cap. Where did you get it?”

“Amazon.”

“Of course, you can get everything on Amazon. Though probably not a horse!”

She laughs, adjusting her kickboard under her arms before taking off down the lane. I climb out of the pool, sit on the deck for a moment to watch her kick down the lane. The black cat bobs up and down in the splashing, a golden eye winks at me, as I heave myself up and shiver over to grab my stuff.