We hadn't been to visit Uncle Pete in seven years. Even so, the place still seemed overly delicate. I had to admit, the sight of all those porcelain figures creeped me out. The boys with dogs and fishing rods, and the little girls making kissy-faces were among the worst. "Don't touch that!" Aunt Laurine had always snapped if I got too close to her stained glass lamps or the various china cabinets around the house. But now she was nowhere to be seen.
There were three Siamese cats sitting at the table when I walked in the room. A collie slept soundly on the floor. The table was set for six, although there were only three of us having dinner. Dad walked in shortly afterward and looked around the room, shaking his head silently. He sat down next to me and looked down at his place setting.
Uncle Pete walked in, smiling, and clapped me on the shoulder. "How's my favorite nephew?" He sat down and looked across at one of the cats, chuckling to himself. "I see you've met Errol, Merlin, and Slinky..." The collie yawned under the table. "And that's D'Artagnan."
Dad shrugged and gave me a sidelong glance. "So, Bill, I heard about your divorce." Dad kept on staring at his plate and fidgeted with his fork, nodding. "Well, these things happen. We all have to move on eventually."
My father looked over at Uncle Pete and raised an eyebrow. "If I didn't know any better, Pete, I'd say you'd be one to talk. Didn't Laurine walk out on you a few years ago?"
Uncle Pete rolled his eyes with a smile. "These things happen."
Looking around, it seemed hard to tell if he'd gotten over her absence at all. The house looked exactly the same as it did the last time I'd been there -- when I was five. I couldn't even remember how many years it had been since -
"Seven. It's been seven years since she left." Uncle Pete slumped in his chair and looked down at his plate, fingering the gold on the edge. "Interesting that you brought it up, Bill. Tonight's kind of a special night." We looked at him. "You see, there's a bit of a parlor trick I've been meaning to try that Laurine would never have let me do. But now that she's gone..."
Suddenly, Uncle Pete jumped up from his chair, threw his arms up, and yelled, "KITTYBALL!" The three Siamese cats launched up in a blur, and the collie jumped out from under the table, nearly upending it in the process. The cats collided with the china cabinet in the left corner of the room, with the collie's impact delivering the final blow. Rather than sit and stare in shock like my father and I did, Uncle Pete simply pulled the table further to the right and peered out into the hallway, where the four animals were laying waste to Aunt Laurine's Precious Moments doll collection. Right across from the shelves where they formerly sat, an antique Tiffany lamp teetered and shattered on the floor, the tinkling of broken glass nearly drowned out by a chorus of barking and yowling. Though we couldn't see into the kitchen, the sound of dishes clattering to the floor made it clear where they'd gone next.
My father stared at Uncle Pete in disbelief as the animals made their way back to the dining room and returned to their places as if nothing had happened. Uncle Pete stood up, applauded, and took a bow. "BRAVO!" he cried, causing the cats to perk up their ears. The collie barked under the table. Dad tapped me on the shoulder and grabbed his coat off the back of the chair.
"Uh...I think we should be going..." he stammered, pulling one arm into his sleeve. I remained in my seat as Uncle Pete slumped back down. "You think so, Ray?"
I looked at my father and back at Uncle Pete. The tinkling of broken glass still rang in my ears. "I'd say so, Dad..."
Uncle Pete shrugged and looked around the room one more time. Waving us off as Dad walked out of the room, he looked me in the eye and smiled. "Come back any time, guys. After all...these things happen."
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