Bon Voyage, Mr Foster

“Renn?...Renn!”

Dr Bellen walked up behind Renfrew Foster and made sure the old cat saw him standing beside him at the window. Renn had been growing increasing deaf over the last few years, and since he could not clearly hear the human approach, he was sometime startled when the doctor seemed suddenly to appear next to him. Now, Renn peered up at Dr Bellen with tired eyes.

“What are you looking at?” the man asked.

“The view. It’ll be the last time I see it.”

Through the window were the grounds of the Cosy Apartment Feline Sanitarium: its lawns and buildings; tree-shaded benches, pathways; the bandstand where concerts were sometimes held, especially in warm summers, like the current one. A soft breeze stirred the curtains. Renn had gazed out of this window, and many others, for fourteen years, ever since he had come to stay at the sanitarium.

“Fourteen years is a long time for a cat,” he mused. Glancing up at the human, he added, with wonder, “I was just three when I came here.”

“Yes, and a few years after that, you became my assistant.”

“Did I do a good job, Doctor?”

“You’ve done the best job, Renn.”

“Well, I know I’ve slowed down a lot recently. I haven’t been walking very good, and I’ve been stumbling. And my mind wanders a little bit…”

“Don’t worry about that. Imogen has filled in when necessary. You’ve trained her well.”

“She still has a lot to learn,” the old cat said, “but I guess I did, too, when I became your assistant. Do you remember all the reports I submitted?”

“Remember? I still have them on file. Reports on bugs, on wind, on grass, on birds - and of course on water.”

“My speciality!” exclaimed Renn. He purred at the thought of all the water he had studied. He sniffed the air. It smelled just a little salty, it seemed to him. But then, even his big nose wasn’t doing the job it used to, these days. “I used to be interested in everything. Now, I just want to sleep most of the time.”

Dr Bellen stroked the cat’s smooth head, and responded, “But each night, we discuss the sanitarium and what is going on. I still count on your reports, you know.”

The two watched as a taxi rolled through the open gate, half a mile down the drive. Dr Bellen picked up Renn’s little suitcase. He wasn’t taking much with him, but then, no one needed to carry a great deal with them, when they journeyed to Samarra. As they exited Renn’s room, they were met by Imogen, who sniffed noses with her chief.

“The best of journeys, Renn…” she said.

Several other cats paused to say good-bye to the old-timer, but he seemed less then interested, after he parted from Imo. As they walked slowly down the corridor, he confided to Dr Bellen.

“To be honest, Doctor, I don’t know most of these cats anymore. There have been so many. I remember the first ones, of course: Tungsten and Josie and Tucker. Will I see them in Samarra?”

“Of course,” the human assured his friend. “The First Four will be together again.”

“And Brazil. He likes snuggling with me. He’s a new one, but he’ll give Imogen trouble.”

“I’ll keep an eye on them.”

Dr Bellen helped Renn into the back of the taxi. The seats were very soft and comfortable, and Renn settled in nicely. It would not be a long trip to the station, but Renn knew the veteran cat’s trick of always making himself at home. Soon, they were heading down the road outside the gates of the sanitarium. But then, Renn noticed something unusual.

“Doctor, isn’t the station down that way?” he asked, after the taxi had turned not left toward the village but right.

“Indeed, but we’re not going to the station. We’re going to Snug Harbour.”

“Snug Harbour!” Renn had never been to the port-town, but of course had heard of it. “What for?”

“You’ll see.” Dr Bellen smiled.

Through the undulating countryside they travelled, past farms and small communities. The fruit crop was nearing its harvest, and the orchards were heavy with apples and peaches and pears. The scent of the fresh produce, still on its trees, was strong, sweet and pleasant. Yet there was still that salty tang that came to Renn’s nostrils, like a summons.

Soon the roofs of Snug Harbour’s buildings could be seen. Tall houses and blocks of flats, all made of stone, with roofs of red and grey tiles, filled the town, their neighbourhoods carved up by winding streets. Over the bridge that spanned the River Slowater, the taxi drew ever closer to the origin of the salt.

“What is that smell, Doctor?” Renn puzzled.

“It’s the sea, Renn; the salt sea.”

“The sea!”

The automobile bumped over cobbled lanes and onto the expanse of the harbour. Spread beyond it was the sea, green and fresh, more water than Renn could ever have imagined. Along the docks were ranged several ships, some for freight, others for passengers, a few for both.

“I thought it only fitting for a connoisseur of water’s last long voyage to be by ship, on the sea,” Dr Bellen revealed. “That’s yours, the SS Driftwood.”

Renn was speechless. The sea was endless behind the moles of the harbour. People and animals were busy all about him, loading ships, embarking, conversing, working. Dr Bellen paid the cabbie and helped his fellow passenger out. A gangway led up from the docks to each of the ships. 

“It’s all perfect, Doctor!” Renn said, nearly breathless. When they approached the plank up to the Driftwood, Renn insisted that he could walk up himself, though he asked the human to carry his bag for him.

There was still some time before the ship sailed, so Renn and Dr Bellen toured the vessel a little. They met the captain, who invited Renn to dine at his table; luncheon would be served not long after they left Snug Harbour. When the cat suggested rather reluctantly that he would make a poor guest, as his appetite was not dependable, the captain smiled, and told him that on a ship bound for Samarra, everyone’s appetite was at least good, and would become better the closer they came to their destination. This cheered Renn greatly.

The chief engineer came to report to the captain and was introduced to Renn. The rough seeming gentleman in the slightly dirty uniform saluted, and invited the new passenger to view the engine room during his trip. Renn mentioned that he was feeling tired, but the engineer laughed with a roar, and said that he’d soon be feeling much more energetic.

“It’s the sea air, you know, sir, the sea air!”

At last, it was time to sail, and for Dr Bellen to disembark. Renn became quite quiet as he stood at the railing with his friend.

“I will miss you, Doctor, and the sanitarium. I’ve forgotten everything about my life before I came to live there. We had some fun, didn’t we?”

“Yes, we did, Renn. Do you remember your roofless cave, where you went for a little peace and quiet?”

“Haha, yes, from the roofers who were working on the sanitarium buildings when I first came. And the monster that climbed on my back and chased me through the corridors? Haha, it was just a bag, after all.”

“Poor Tucker didn’t know that.”

“Hahahahaha, and neither did I at the time!” Renn purred as the doctor rubbed his chest one final time. “I’ll miss chest-rubs, too.”

“You’ll find everything that you love in Samarra, Renn. I promise.”

“But you won’t be there,” the cat reminded the human.

“Not right away, but some day.”

The Driftwood’s big horn sounded, and those going ashore began filing down the gangway.

“Good-bye, Doctor. I will remember you to Tungsten and Josie and Tucker, and all the others.”

A minute later, Dr Bellen was on the stone of the dock, watching, with dozens of others, as the ship slowly eased away from the land, and turned toward the sea. Renn stayed on deck, his eyes, tired and a bit goopy, never leaving his friend. When the ship turned its bow toward the open sea, Renn padded to the stern, and continued to watch Dr Bellen, until the Driftwood was far out on the water, no more than a blur on the horizon, and Snug Harbour, to those on the ship, was just a line between sea and sky.

The crowd on the dock dispersed, and eventually Dr Bellen turned and stepped into one of the taxis waiting for passengers by the customs shed. He gave directions to the Cosy Apartment Feline Sanitarium but, as the car started rumbling away from the harbour, turned once more, and looked out to sea.

“Bon voyage, Renn, my friend. Bon voyage.”