Cindee & Friends

Behind the Scenes of Betrayed

Hello, and welcome to our first post in a new series called Behind the Scenes, in which I will go into a little bit more detail about the week’s Tall Tale.  I hope you enjoy it, and that it enriches your relationship with Cindee and her friends.  There will be spoilers below, so if you have not read the story and would like to, you can do that by clicking here!

As with all of Cindee’s Tall Tales, there are some elements of truth in them, and this week’s Tall Tale, titled Betrayed, is no different. Cindee begins by telling us about the day that Boop, her stuffed turtle, pushed her down the stairs.  As the day progresses, we find her sulking in the sunroom, feeling traumatized, hurt, and embarrassed.

Cindee was not the only one traumatized that day, all of us were horrified.  If you have been following Cindee for a while you know that she had injured both of her legs playing in the snow and had gone through a lengthy recovery, which included three surgeries and months of rehab. 

The tumble down the stairs occurred a couple of months after Cindee’s final surgical procedure.  Life was almost back to its regular routine, she had just begun to walk like her old self again and it felt like we were finally out of the woods.  Now, this happens and I think it was fair to say that there was more than a little apprehension and tension that day. 

Cindee had sulked off to the sofa.  We were concerned because Cindee just wanted to be left alone.  Rapi had gone to visit her a couple of times but was rebuffed on each visit.  Simone (aka Mommy) and I had checked on her a couple of times and it became clear early on that she was physically fine.  Eventually, Simone went up to her second-floor office to work for the day, while I did some chores around the house, and we just let Cindee brood.

Now there is something you should know about Cindee.  She has led a somewhat difficult life, having experienced abuse, abandonment, and physical injuries which have all teamed up to make her a very sensitive and scared girl.

Having discovered that she was not hurt, it became clear that the events of that morning had left her feeling emotionally insecure.  Each time I would visit she would look at me with the saddest of eyes, which seemed to be saying “why does this stuff always happen to me?”

I would like to think that I am important to Cindee and that I have a big impact on her life, but truthfully, the one soul that she is closest with and feels comfortable opening up to is a certain rather large orange tabby cat named Rapi, which is pronounced: “Hoppy”, as the “r” sounds like an “h” in Portuguese.

Rapi hopelessly loves Cindee and is constantly lavishing affection on her.  If anyone can bring her out of a funk, it is the big Latin purring machine.  It took most of the day, but eventually, Rapi had her up and back to her normal happy self.  Unfortunately, she still wanted nothing to do with Boop.  It seemed pretty clear she was blaming the stuffed toy for her woes.

Now, in our home there are heart-felt discussions and life lessons going on every day.  Usually, Cindee, Mylo, and Rapi are the recipients, but every so often, they will deliver an important life lesson monologue to me.

Evening had set in, and I could be found on the sofa with Cindee curled up next me and Rapi stretched out on the back of the furniture, looking down at his brown sugar.  Boop, sadly, had been unceremoniously banned from the sofa and lay on the floor, also gazing up at Cindee. 

It was still early in the pandemic and Simone had to cancel her vacation to visit her family in her native Brazil.  Simone was on the phone talking with her sister, relaying the tumultuous events of the day.  Cindee had taken an interest in the conversation at the sound of her name, but I think she also recognized the melancholy in her Mommy’s voice.

Cindee looked up at me expectantly, wanting me to do something to make her Mommy feel better. 

“Mommy is saudades,” I told her. 

Cindee pulled closer to me, almost as if she had forgotten for a moment that she was not a lap dog.  I explained to her that Mommy was feeling such deep homesickness that words could not describe it.

My not-so-little chocolate lab-pitty mix plopped down on her butt and looked deeply into my eyes, then shifted them to Simone, and finally hopped down onto the floor long enough to scoop Boop up into her mouth and bring him up to the sofa to cuddle with.

I believe she understands me.  I know she understood what I meant about saudade.  Somehow, this dog that has endured so much has such a fantastic heart and soul.  I often find myself thinking that I wish I could forgive so easily, that I could love so profoundly. 

At that moment, with those thoughts still bouncing around in my brain, the leaves stir on a tree out on the front lawn and just like that, Cindee is barking and growling at the wind, Rapi is on the table eager to find out what his bestie see’s and before you know it, two more cats and another dog are all crowded around the window trying to figure out how to stop the breeze from blowing … but that my friends is another story!