~ Jack Sparrow ~

You want to hear a sad story?

My kids were aching for a pet.  Someone to love.  Someone to love them.  Someone to play with.

My Captain was adamantly against any four-legged critters in the house because of the added workload to him and me.  That didn’t leave a lot left for pet choices.

I bought a fish.  I figured if the kids could show they were responsible taking care of a fish, My Captain might relent.

I didn’t want one that took a lot of trouble and Goldfish are boring as all get out.  So I bought a Beta fish.

He has coal black lined eyes and immediately reminded me of Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean.  I bought him a treasure chest to play with.  It seemed fitting.

The kids loved him.  They would rush home after school and talk to him and watch him.  And he pretty much just….

looked at them.

Sometimes he would charge them at the side of the bowl, but most of the time he just looked at them like, “What are YOU looking at?”

He’s really kind of a jerk.

We ended up adopting some feral kittens our neighbor John was trying to find homes for.  Not because the kids impressed My Captain with their ability to care for Jack Sparrow, but because once he held the wee little kittens in his hands, he couldn’t say no.

I wish I had thought about that strategy before I’d bought Jack.

I’m pretty much the only one who cleans his bowl, who feeds him, and who says, “Mornin’ Jack” every day to him as I pass him.

And he just looks at me.

Menacingly.

I believe if he had fingers he would flip me the bird.  Actually, I’m not entirely sure he’s NOT doing that with his little paddle/wing thingys.  He always looks at me with disgust.   I can never please him…it’s too much pressure.    It reminds me of so many of my failed relationships in college.  He’s like the ghost of relationships-past.

I never knew a fish could carry so much drama.

Isn’t that a sad story?