You’ve Got a Friend

That’s what Mary, my Wellesley roommate, said to me when I walked through the front door of her lovely home in Minneapolis. Audrey, also a longtime friend from Wellesley days, and I were curious if Mary had arranged for one of our classmates to jump out from behind the living-room couch as a surprise opening act for our mini-reunion. Enter Maeby.

Maeby is my new best friend of the feline persuasion. This darling tortoiseshell cat with the expressive flat face, which seemingly floats above her compact body (she doesn’t have much of a neck), bonded immediately with me. We had the best of times playing and cuddling during my too-brief stay.

Not that I needed documentary evidence, but I was very satisfied to find—so many miles from Catland—that I could still earn my keep as Cat Lady. Mary’s two other cats were affectionate, too, though Maeby is my girl.

When Mary and Audrey and I attended Wellesley during the 1970s, James Taylor was the man. I can remember many nights in our dormitory rooms listening to his album Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon, and replaying his version of Carole King’s “You’ve Got a Friend.” Little did I know then that this song would serve as a personal anthem for a weekend filled with nostalgia and enhanced by my meeting yet another furry friend.

Query of the Day: Are you a cat magnet?