Despite not really minding fireworks all these years – in fact, he once moved up the stairs to get a better view through the hallway window – Louis Catorze took exception to the ones that he heard on 5th November.
These days, our social media feeds fill up with firework precautionary advice from as early as the start of October, and I have always been grateful for the fact that we have never had to bother. In fact, we don’t even keep Catorze indoors when there are fireworks, because being imprisoned distresses him far more than the noise. (And, even if we did keep him in, he would only use his Cloak of Invisibility to sneak out.)
On 5th November, however, one particularly loud set of blasts at The Back sent him scuttling off to the living room, thoroughly unimpressed. Not long after that, the same happened at The Front so he scarpered to The Back again. Luckily he didn’t spend the whole evening cowering in fear; in fact, he had an otherwise perfectly pleasant evening. But he’s never been scared before. And, on that day, for a short while, he was.
I hope this isn’t something that will deteriorate with age. Assuming the little sod makes it to the next Diwali / Hallowe’en /Bonfire Night / whatever other tenuous occasion people might choose to light fireworks randomly in the street, I don’t want him to be afraid.
So, next year, just in case, I will consult our dear friend Spotify for some banging classical tunes and stock up on Feliway. May my poor old boy never feel fearful again, not even for a second.
For more Catorzian capers, please visit http://louiscatorze.com
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