ALL IN ONCE UPON A TIME

Once upon a time…

Such an invitation to write

And find characters ready to play

Who do we have here?

A cat, a dog, a mouse, an elephant

And an ice cream parlour...

The cat, Miss Miaou, loves to dress up

The dog, Max, her faithful follower and protector,

Met Arroth the mouse and her friend Gino

On the sidewalk across Molly’s, the ice cream parlour

Gino also loves to dress up, mostly as a magician

So when Miss Miaou showed up with her sequin dress

Gino held his tusk high to show his appreciation

Without realizing that in doing so,

He had wiped the chocolate-mango ice cream waffle

Max was about to bite into

Max growled his disgust at Gino’s lack of style

Expecting that Miss Miaou would chastise the pachyderm

Wrong! She didn’t even notice what had happened

The feline was struck by Gino’s rugged charm

Arroth, introduced herself, trying to pacify the dog

Max grunted, intrigued by her glowing whiskers

And intense eyes

Such a bunch of eccentrics they all are!, he thought

Without realizing that he, himself, was quite a number

With his pirate eye and powder blue bow tie.

Arroth told him that although Gino was a great magician

He lost some trunk muscle control because he just came out

Of the dentist who removed two… canine teeth.

Poor fellow, thought Max, his dog teeth!

But wait a minute diminutive Grandma mouse

You look like a shrewd actress giving a performance

I don’t buy your story; this looks more like a cover-up

For your friend’s E-phantormones

I’m still hungry and wan’t my waffle; I want compensation

Yummm

Hey, you big non-curly tailed schmoozer

Stop harassing Miss Miaou and replace my waffle

Or else...

Miss Miaou was baffled by her friend’s bad manners

Max, she said, hide your canines and say hi to Gino

Instead of acting like nincompoop

Yeah right, Max thought, why don’t you ask that Gino guy

To show you his non-existent canines instead!

Gino, being a mature and somewhat dignified male

Studied the angry malamut carefully

Realizing that the semi-blind would-be oger

Was not only resentful, but also quite jealous

Of the attention Miss Miaou was paying to himself

While getting no compassion from her for his loss

Having perfected their approach together several times

Gino winked a signal at Grandma Arroth that meant

Take the mut to the parlour and offer him two waffles

With whatever topping he desires.

But this time, Arroth was tired of the old trick

And ignored the wink

She wanted a new script, a more substantial role

So she took the situation in her own hands

Gino, she said, this nice gentleman is offended with reason

Why don’t you take him to the parlour and make amends

While I go shopping with Miss Miaou

I’m sure she can show me the best designers in town

For a costume that will highlight my whiskers appropriately

I’ll wear it on our next visit to your grand-children.

Grand-children asked Miss Miaou? How many Mr. Gino?

Oh, said Arroth, he has 22 from his first marriage

Seventeen from his second and 3 from his current wife.

He is such a doting grandpa, which is likely why he lost his canines

He eats half of all the candies he gives the grand-children

Frankly, he isn’t very careful with his diabetes either

But, but, but… said Gino, taken by surprise. This is not…

Miss Miaou who already had some hopes for a new romance

Started wondering about the true potential of that relationship

She was on a diet most of the time

And wasn’t particularly fond of children.

Humm, she thought, I have no prejudice against aging

But I wonder how old he really is. What if his magic failed?

Gino wanted to say “But I’m only 102”

But all that could come out was “But, but, but…”

His speech was getting more and more slurred

And his gums were hurting

Max knowing his friend well was now smiling, all teeth showing

Grandma Arroth seemed more sympatico by the minute

So he asked for her e-mail planning to send her the URL

Of his favourite cheese factory and a pair of tickets

To his most recent play “Aging is becoming”

He didn’t know yet that she would love to hear

About his career as a writer

Uplifted, he superbly offered Gino his dentist’s business card

Miss Miaou didn’t particularly like Arroth

But could never resist an opportunity to shop and show off

Even in front of a mouse; and what an easy way to drop Gino

So off they went

Arroth was proud of herself for having saved her family’s honour

Unbeknownst to Gino, she is his current wife’s sister-in-law

And she was already salivating at the prospect of visiting

The cheese factory website and a potentially getting a role

In Max’s next drama

Relief!, thought Max, one less shopping spree for me

And forget the waffle, I want to keep my teeth

Why don’t I get rid of the patch and bow tie

And go to the park to write another story