Hector's Restraining Order

 

Marianne's children thought she was crazy to sell her Victorian house in a good Cambridge, Massachusetts neighborhood to move to France.

It would be crazy to not do it, she thought. Her life to this point had been fine until her husband died six months before. Their marriage had been okay. He was a professor at Harvard, she had taught English as a second language in the Cambridge schools. They had raised Steven now 25 and Nancy now 23. Both kids were doing all right for their ages.

Marianne had loved France since she had been an exchange student outside Paris. Many summers the family had vacationed in France. She had dreamed of living in a French village and if not now, when?

She found a small house that fit her needs perfectly. Because she spoke French functionally, she went out to know the butcher, the baker, and there was a candlestick maker.

She introduced herself to her neighbors. Her next door neighbor Odile was a widow like herself. They became friends, sharing meals, movies and marche trips. Odile and many other people warned Marianne about Sophie, her neighbor to the right. 

Marianne would see Sophie in her garden or hiding behind a curtain and wave. Sophie would turn away.

The day Sophie appeared at her door, Marianne thought there might be a break through. Instead Sophie handed her two bills: one for 460 Euros to replace cement. Sophie said Marianne's cat Hector had ruined the new cement by leaving paw prints. The second bill was for 150 Euros to replace a duvet she complained Hector had peed on.

Marianne had intended to get a dog, a small one. When she went to the SPA (Animal Rescue Center) she had to walk by cages of cats to get to the dog wing.

Hector had been at the door of his cage. Marianne claimed he had hypnotized her into taking him home. His first hour he inspected his new home, declared that he would stay, decided which chair would be his rather than the bed she had bought him.

Hector also refused to use his kitty litter, preferring her garden near the rose bushes.

"Ignore Sophie. She can't prove it's Hector," Odile said.

Marianne did until she was served with a restraining order in Hector's name and a subpoena to appear at the French equivalent of small claims court.

"Fight it," Odile said.

"I will. I have no intention to sell my home over this," Marianne declared. 

Odile's brother was a lawyer and he went with Marianne to court. Hector was there in a cat carrier which rested on the Judge's desk. 

The judge spoke to the cat in a soft tone, a good sign according to Marianne's lawyer.

The Judge did a lot of eye rolling as Sophie's lawyer presented his case which included photos of the pawed cement and a wet duvet. "I'm sorry we couldn't bring the smell," Sophie testified.

Marianne's lawyer asked how Sophie knew it was Hector. She produced a small tuft of black fur. The judge held the fur near the cat carrier. It was slightly lighter than Hector's.

"Let me interrupt," the Judge said. "Did you get a DNA sample?"

"How could I? I would have nothing to compare it too."

 "Did you get a cast of the paw prints?" Marianne's lawyer asked.

"I've the photo," Sophie said.

"It's a small photo. No way can we compare it to Hector's paws."

The Judge declared Hector innocent because of insufficient proof.

The lawyer and Marianne celebrated over lunch at the bistro three doors down from the court. Over the weekend, he invited Marianne to a movie that they had discussed wanting to see.

The rest is history, as Marianne and the lawyer said on their third anniversary. 

Note: based on a true story. Names (including Hector's have been changed.)