The Little Devil
Submitted by Diane LeCrone

I had the privilege of working for Father Holloway as his Administrative Assistant at St. James Episcopal School for seven years. During that time, we nearly always had a cat in residence, most often rescued from the busy street out front. When a new orphan would appear, the previous School Cat would most likely become part of Father and Jackie's household, which lead to them having quite a feline population at home.

One morning Father brought a somewhat wild cat into his office, who seemed to adore Father, but wasn't too sure about me, so Father kept the cat in his office with the door shut. The outer office, where my desk was located, was in an area which also served as the teachers' lounge. The teachers had not yet heard that Father had rescued another cat, especially a wild cat.

That particular afternoon, as several teachers, including Father's wife, Jackie, sat on the couch eating lunch or grading papers, I entered Father's office to have him sign some forms, closing the door behind me so the cat would not escape. As I leaned over Father's desk, the wild cat took offense at my approaching his rescuer and clawed at me, drawing blood. As I exited his office with a scowl on my face complaining, "That little devil scratched me" and trying to blot the blood off my chest, the shocked looks on the faces of the teachers, especially Jackie, made me remember they were unaware anyone but Father was in that office......