Tess emerged covered with dust
from the woodpile beside Azdine's tent
and followed me across Deep Creek
on the narrow bridge built from a fallen tree.
She rubbed her head against my sneakers while I stopped midstream
and retrieved a beer from the red and white plastic shopping bag
that Brett had hung by a rope from the bridge.

I sat beside the creek with the beer and bread and cheese.
Did some writing. Tess disappeared.
Came back about half an hour later
with a mouse that she threw up into the air.
She sat on it for a minute or so,
and then checked to make sure it was dead.
It was. It was the first time I'd ever seen a mouse killed in this way.
She's a tubby, pear shaped cat, and I started to laugh.

She looked at me sideways with wild yellow eyes,
picked it up the dead mouse and laid it on the wooden platform
beside the door of our tent.

Came over and sat beside me, licking herself
while I wrote.

 
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