Chapter 2 – Bass
As Sergio and I got to know each other, we realized that we have a lot in common. Both of our humans tend to work a lot, and it's not uncommon for them to smell of death. We both love to eat. And one of our favorite pastimes is falling asleep in the sun…or under my heat lamp as the case may be. It turns out that his human is really smart too and he actually listens to her, so we can have some pretty deep conversations; I once tried to discuss an Oxford study about ducks liking water with Jo Friday, but all she wanted to know was where the ducks were so she could chase them. Now don't get me wrong, I like Jo Friday, but we have almost nothing to talk about that we're both passionate about besides our love for our humans and sleeping. Although, Jo does like playing with me in my pool more than Sergio does.
I love when Sergio comes to visit; it can be pretty lonely with Maura gone all day. It's nice to have someone to eat next to. One day, Serg even knocked some prickly pear pads off the counter when I mentioned I was hungry. What a great pal! And napping with him is amazing. He's great at sleeping, and when he curls next to me, he is really warm; it's like he's a fuzzy blanket or pillow depending on where he falls asleep.
I had never had anyone to play with before. Sergio really likes to ride around on my shell; he says he likes the texture. I heard Frankie refer to it as a 'piggy back' ride, although I'm not really sure what a 'piggy' is. But no matter what it is, it is really nice to have someone willing to go wherever I go and at the pace that I go; Jo tends to get a bit impatient when she has to wait for me. And Sergio can be very talkative; he once went on a twenty minute rant about how he already has a fur coat, he does not need a sweater, let alone a sweater with little mice on it. He also finds hats humiliating. But he can be very complex. He once told me that before they moved here, JJ and Henry, two of Emily's friends, would visit him frequently and that Henry had a tendency to pull his tail, but that he didn't mind since Henry was little and cute and never meant to hurt him but just forgot that he wasn't supposed to do it. Knowing that he wasn't above scratching Emily when she upsets him, or at least threatening to scratch her since I'm not sure how often he actually follows up on the threat, his gentleness towards Henry surprised me.
It hasn't all been good times. For some reason, Angela took a long time to warm up to Sergio; for weeks, she would try to catch him any time he came to visit. It really put a hamper on our relationship. She particularly hated it when he would wait for her to open the door to get the paper to run in; she didn't seem to mind him coming in through the window as much, but I think that might be because she didn't always realize that he was inside right away. He even tried to befriend her by bringing her a gift of a mouse, but for some reason she just started screaming. Sometimes I just don't understand humans; after all, it was dead so it wasn't like it was going to bite her or anything. His next attempt with a vole had the same result, even with her yelling about mice; he decided that that was the last time he would deign her with his catch, especially since she didn't even realize that it was a vole, which, according to Serg, are harder to catch. Luckily, she finally started accepting that he was going to be around, with or without Emily. I actually think one of her main issues with Serg was Emily, which is ridiculous because she's amazing, makes Maura happy, and she brings me treats.
The first time that Jo Friday met Sergio was another disaster. It resulted in Jo chasing Sergio all over the house, which did nothing to endear him to Angela, and only ended when Sergio was cornered on a bookshelf; it took a swipe to her nose and a stern talking to from me before she finally let Sergio off the shelf. It wasn't until Jo sat listening to us discussing the differences between turtles and tortoises, and later compared mice and voles, that she calmed down and really started accepting Sergio. Although, Jo does get pretty annoyed by his cocky attitude at times; Serg actually prefers Jo to call him Archduke Sergio Felinus Prentiss, which she does sometimes do to humor him. Luckily, Serg's cockiness has eased up a bit. He finally stopped elevating his rank once he reached the title of archduke; when I first met him, I wouldn't have been surprised if he invented a rank above emperor.
I never thought I would have a friend who wasn't Maura; even her old friend Jane couldn't be bothered to remember that I AM NOT A TURTLE…thank goodness that Emily considers my feelings and doesn't throw around terminologies without care. Would Jane have appreciated it if I called her an ape? No. No, she would not. I love when Emily comes over, especially since when she's over, Serg is usually over too. She makes Maura happy and she likes to give me treats; she was actually the one who had brought over the prickly pear that Serg knocked off the counter for me, and sometimes she brings me hibiscus leaves.
I'm so glad that they moved here. I can't imagine not having Sergio in my life, and Maura has never been happier. Neither Maura nor I could have asked for better friends.
