Gary and Morris Celebrate New Year’s in the City with a Friend

Christmas had come and gone and Gary and Morris were both still enjoying the holidays. Marjorie had been home a lot more, which meant more attention and more treats during the day. The two cats had been stuffed and fluffed for over a week and they were loving it.

“I could get used to this!” said Gary, who had just gorged himself on a bowl of dry food and was now receiving head scratches from Marjorie.

“Amen, brother!” said Morris, who was lying flat on his back with all four paws in the air.

“You two are such silly boys,” said Marjorie, who was watching TV while all this took place.

The cats smirked, eyes shut with satisfaction.

“I’m excited about going into town!” she said. “I’ll be attending a New Year’s Eve party! I guess they loved our Halloween party so much they wanted to have one too!”

Gary and Morris didn’t think much of the idea. They were almost asleep and not paying very close attention.

Suddenly the phone rang, and Marjorie had to get up.

“I know it’s a crime to move a sleeping kitty, but I have to get the phone! Sorry, Mr. Gary!”

She gently slid Gary over on the couch cushion and walked over to the kitchen.

Gary woke up a bit and slinked off the couch and onto the floor near Morris.

“Y’know…” he said, “We’re all caught up on sleep,”

Morris yawned and sarcastically said, “That’s putting it lightly.”

“Why don’t we do something tonight?” Gary asked.

“What do you have in mind?” replied Morris.

“I was thinking it’s been a while since we last headed into town, too, and since mom is going to be away, we can get out for a while,” said Gary.

“What do you want to do there?” asked Morris.

“The humans usually have lots of stuff going on during this time of year. I want to go run around and see what they’re up to, try some of their food and see what kind of fun we can have!”

Morris liked the sound of that. He also thought they were about due for a change of scenery. He swore he was starting to grow a little belly.

The two cats hashed out a plan to escape the house just after Marjorie left, and to jump on the local bus they had previously rode into the city a handful of times. The driver was friendly and usually gave the neighbourhood cats snacks. Once in town, they’d be able to sneak around and watch all the people celebrating the New Year.

“Now that we have a plan, we just have to wait…” said Morris, who rolled onto his back once again and started to nod off.

“That’s… that’s right,” said Gary, who also started to yawn and fall asleep.

ÅÅÅ

Gary woke up to the sound of something knocking against the window. It was Bullwinkle!

“Morris! Wake up! Bullwinkle is at the window for some reason!”

The other cats at The Foundation were going crazy and hissing at the full-sized moose staring in the front window.

Morris got up and both he and Gary walked over to said window where Bullwinkle gave them a big smile and gestured to come outside.

“Interesting,” said Gary, as the two cats bolted to the basement window to get outside.

They ran to the front of the house and saw the giant moose standing before them with a playful expression on his face.

“Hi, Gary! Hi Morris! What are you guys up to tonight?”

“Hey Bullwinkle!” said Gary.

“Boy, are we surprised to see you here,” said Morris. “You’re going to scare the humans!”

“I saw your mom get in her car and leave a couple of hours ago while I was out looking for some willows,” said the mighty moose. “Figured I’d stop by later to see if you guys wanted to hang out!”

“Well, we were actually planning to go into the city to see what the humans were up to, but it looks like we overslept. The bus isn’t coming anymore because it’s too late.”

“You guys could hop on my back, and we could go together!”

The cats thought about it, and while it might be hard to stay hidden and enjoy the sights of the city with a full-sized moose in tow, what other choice did they have?

Morris nodded at Gary.

“Bullwinkle, we are in!” said Gary.

“Climb aboard!” said Bullwinkle, who knelt down on the ground.

Gary and Morris clambered onto his back and just as they had many times before, the three of them took off into the night.

The walk was a long one, but Bullwinkle kept a pretty good pace, and the conversation was good.

Eventually, the trio reached the edge of town, and they were feeling a rush of excitement.

“Sometimes I forget how bright it is!” said Gary.

“Those humans sure know how to light a place up,” said Bullwinkle.

“We’re going to have to be careful about what we do,” said Morris. “We don’t want to attract too much attention.”

The animals agreed that they would try to keep a low profile, especially Bullwinkle. The only liability, as Gary and Morris saw it, was the fact that Bullwinkle was young and still easily excitable.

They wandered gently into a small little park with some benches and a cobblestone path.

“Alright. Where should we go first?” asked Morris.

Suddenly they heard a group of young people approaching.

“What do we do?!” asked Bullwinkle.

Gary thought for a second, then told him to run to the middle of the park and stand perfectly still.

The cats followed and then scurried off to a nearby bush.

The group of young people were walking down the path and making a lot of noise. Suddenly, they motioned towards Bullwinkle and stopped.

Gary and Morris could hear them talking.

“What is that? Is that a moose?” said one of the teenagers.

“I don’t think it’s real. It’s not moving,” said another one.

“Maybe it’s a new statue. Didn’t the mayor say something about new statues in the park?” yet another replied.

“Who cares?” said the first one. “Boring.”

The group continued walking while laughing and talking loudly.

“Phew!” said Morris.

The cats crawled out of the bush and back over to Bullwinkle.

“How’d I do?” he asked.

“You were great,” Gary replied.

Let’s go see what the city has for us.

The three creatures headed out of the park and onto a quiet street. Since it was New Year’s Eve, most of the humans were in their homes or at local businesses having fun.

As they were walking down the street, they came across a man with a cart who was selling hot dogs. At first, the animals were nervous about him seeing them, but it was too late. He had already made eye contact with Bullwinkle.

“Oh, my word!” he said. “Look at you three!”

He seemed a little nervous, but they could tell he was a good man. As they slowly walked towards him, he seemed to be captivated by what he saw; two cats and a moose, hanging out together.

“Hey, guys. Are you hungry?” he asked. Gary and Morris waited to see what Bullwinkle would do.

The man held out a hotdog bun for Bullwinkle, who approached cautiously and with kind eyes. He sniffed the bun and then took a big bite. This seemed to relax the man with the hot dog cart who then looked down at Gary and Morris.

“Hey, fellas! Would you like a smokie?”

He tapped on the top of the cart and the two cats jumped up to see what was going on. That’s when the man put a hot, steaming, smokie down on a cutting board, chopped it into little pieces, then made a pile of meat in front of each cat.

Gary and Morris could hardly contain themselves. They started slamming down that hot sausage meat as quickly as possible. It was delicious and salty, and their mouths felt the heat from the grill. They were in heaven.

Next up, the man with the cart opened a bag of regular chips and let Bullwinkle devour those while he cut up some pieces of cheese for the cats.

They were all having a great time enjoying each other’s presence. The man at the cart gave the cats and the moose some pets then told them to stand still so he could get a picture.

“I will never forget this New Year’s Eve. You guys are so cool. Come back anytime!”

The animals rubbed against his legs and shoulders to let him know they were friends, then took off into the city with an added spring in their step.

“What a great start to the night!” said Morris.

“I have NEVER done anything like this before,” said Bullwinkle.

The animals could hear music coming from down the street. It was lively and exciting and dotted with the sounds of voices of people having fun.

“Let’s go see what’s going on there!” said Bullwinkle, as he started into a light trot.

“Bullwinkle, wait!” said Gary.

The cats looked at each other and took off to catch up with the giant moose.

They came across a somewhat tall building with people standing out front. Some were smoking, some were just chatting, and others were using their phones. Inside, there was a live band, lots of colourful lights, and people – so many people.

“I have to get a look inside!” said Bullwinkle.

“That might be a bit challenging,” said Gary.

“Look! We could go up there!” Bullwinkle replied.

Using his giant head, he gestured at an elevated road that ran behind the building. There was a bit of sloped green space between it and the road – just enough for them to look inside some of the windows.

“How will we get up there without being seen?” said Morris.

“I know this place pretty decently. Follow my lead,” said Gary.

The cats hopped on Bullwinkle’s back and he started running down the street.

“Right! Left! Right!” said Gary as he barked out directions.

After running for a few minutes, they came around a blind corner just as a car was coming from the opposite direction.

SCREEECH!

The car came to a halt, headlights blaring and horn honking. Gary and Morris, who were still on Bullwinkle’s back, winced as the light from the headlights hit them. Bullwinkle just stood there. He drew an intimidating figure standing in front of such a small car.

Inside the car were four college-age students, who were sitting in total silence now. Their mouths were hanging open as if they had been hit with a stun gun.

Bullwinkle slowly started to walk around the vehicle as the college kids sat there frozen. Their eyes followed the great moose as he walked by, and when one of the kids in the back seat noticed Gary and Morris on his back they pulled out their phone and snapped a photo.

“I think we might have scared them a little,” said Bullwinkle.

Gary and Morris laughed.

After another quick jaunt, the trio arrived at the sloping hill behind the event hall where everyone was dancing and having fun. It was a steep hill, but the excess of trees and bushes made it easy for them to gently scale their way down to a height where they could see in a window.

Bullwinkle was tall enough to walk right up to the side and peer in while Gary and Morris jumped up a tree and onto the window sill.

The animals gazed upon the partygoers, who were singing, dancing, having cocktails and chatting with each other.

“That sure looks fun,” said Morris. “Don’t get me wrong – I love sleeping, but that looks like a close second.”

Gary laughed and asked Bullwinkle what he thought.

“It looks like a blast if you’re a two-legged soft animal. My antlers would get caught on everything there, and I wouldn’t trade my antlers for anything.”

Just then, a big loud semi-truck drove past their spot and honked as another car pulled in front of it. The noise startled the animals causing the two cats to jump in the air and land on a nearby branch. Bullwinkle, however, slipped from the tree that was holding all his weight, causing him to slide down the hill and crash through a window.

Bullwinkle landed in the kitchen, knocking over big vats of spaghetti sauce and noodles. The minute he hit the ground, the band stopped playing and everyone started screaming.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! It was a mistake! I am not going to hurt you!” Bullwinkle said, but nobody understood him.

Everyone continued to scream so Bullwinkle thought he’d better get out of there fast. He stood up and snorted loudly. Almost instantly, the crowd of people parted to both sides of the room.

Bullwinkle saw his opportunity and tried to run, but he slipped on some of the pasta sauce and couldn’t get a solid footing - just when he was feeling so brave!

After a couple slips and his legs now covered in tomato sauce, he was off, as fast as he could, charging over the dance floor towards the front door. In good humour, the band started to play again, and after the big moose made it outside everyone came back onto the dance floor, laughing and chatting about what had just taken place. The only person not laughing was the chef, who was also covered in tomato sauce and very frustrated.

Once outside, Bullwinkle looked around for Gary and Morris, who had already made their way around the building and were running towards him.

“Let’s get out of here!” said Bullwinkle, who was laughing and having the time of his life.

As the three of them ran off into the night, the partygoers outside snapped some photos of them going by.

Once in a quiet spot, Gary, Morris and Bullwinkle stopped and laughed themselves silly. They couldn’t believe what happened.

“Wow!” said Morris. “That was amazing, Bullwinkle. I’ve never seen anything so funny in my life.”

“I can’t help but feel a little bad for them,” Bullwinkle replied. “I did not want that to happen but that’s the first time I’ve ever been on a dance floor!”

They all continued to laugh and regale the events that had just taken place. Just then, they heard a familiar noise. It sounded like Marjorie’s vehicle. It had a distinct sound they’d known for years, and it was getting louder.

“Bullwinkle! Statue!”

The great moose once again struck a dramatic pose and stood as still as he possibly could. The cats did their best to hide behind his legs, but they were thin and not very good at hiding their silhouettes.

The car got louder, and its headlights began to illuminate the area where the animals had been standing. As it got closer it seemed to slow down, and the driver peered out the window. IT WAS MARJORIE!

She looked at the moose mysteriously, as if it shouldn’t really be there. She reminded herself that it could be a statue the town had recently installed, or maybe it was a New Year’s Eve art piece. She couldn’t quite figure it out, but she was on her way to pick someone up to bring them back to the party she was attending, and time was of the essence.

As she drove by, she also noticed two little cats milling around the feet of the moose. It was dark out and she couldn’t see any details, so she kept driving.

“Little babies! I hope you have somewhere to call home! I’ll be back tomorrow to make sure!”

The car continued down the road.

“That’s about enough excitement for me for one night,” said Bullwinkle. “How about you guys?”

Gary and Morris were still laughing at the entire situation. What a night it had been, and Bullwinkle had only made it more interesting.

“Yeah, sure, Bullwinkle,” said Morris. “Let’s go home.”

The cats crawled onto his back and the three of them took off towards the city limits, passing numerous vehicles – many of which would slow down, either with curious onlookers staring at the site before them, or passengers snapping photos on their phones.

When they got home, Bullwinkle dropped off the cats and bid them adieu. He then waded back into the deep snow to get back to his cabin.

“That was a lot of fun,” said Morris. “I’m glad you suggested going out tonight.”

“Thank Bullwinkle!” Gary replied. “We slept past our bus time, and he showed up tapping on the window.”

They chuckled and ate some snacks before falling asleep by their favourite window.

The next morning, Marjorie was putting on her coat to go check in on the cats she had driven past the previous night. She had a care bag with her that had wet food, dry food, and medical supplies just in case.

As she was leaving, she got a call from a friend and after hearing them speak, she paused and looked at Gary and Morris.

“A moose and two cats? What do you mean they look like mine? I don’t have a moose, in case you weren’t aware.”

She hung up the phone and jumped on social media as per her friend’s request.

There they were, all over Facebook. Photos had been posted by people of all ages, all over the city, of her two boys, Gary and Morris, and their full-sized moose friend, Bullwinkle. Marjorie had seen Bullwinkle around the property from time to time, but when she drove past him the night before, it was too dark to see any of his familiar markings as well.

She stood there looking at Gary and Morris.

“I see you two had a busy night. You were the cats with the moose! Hot dogs? A dance hall? My goodness I don’t know how you do it!”

She scooped them up in her arms and gave each of them a kiss on the forehead.

“Happy New Year!” she said.