Passage I

The Object of Love

[1]

[A] I was waiting at the veterinarian’s office recently with my cat when a young woman came in. After she sat down next to me, she asked if I would mind if she took her pet iguana out of its carrier. It was just a baby, she said, and it liked being held. [B]

[2]

Now, I’m not fond of iguanas. [C] They’re strange, unpredictable creatures that belong deep in a rain forest, walking on the ground or resting high in the trees, which are hidden in the canopy. Wishing to be polite, but with reluctance in my voice, I told the woman that I didn’t mind. She thanked me as she popped open the plastic carrier and pulled the iguana out, onto her lap.

[3]

I guardedly examined the animal: A dinosaur-like thing, it was the size of a cat but armored in gray-green scales, with a black-striped, whiplike tail two feet long. It had a spine with tiny spikes, and its muscular limbs ended with what resembled crinkly leather gloves drawn tightly over fine-boned human hands. When I looked more closely, I saw a tiny claw at the tip of each slender finger.

[4]

The woman began to pet the iguana under its chin, and the little dragon arched its neck and closed its eyes. The reptile’s calmness amazed me, as did the caress that was given tenderly from the woman to her pet and watched it peacefully rest. With a twinge of pity, I thought how sad it was for us to lavish so much affection on something that couldn’t love her back.

[5]

At that moment, the iguana slowly opened its eyes, which shone large and bright, from its scaly face. [D] Head slightly cocked, it regarded me, steadily and fixedly, like a judge delivering a verdict.

[6]

“Who are you,” it seemed to ask me, “to name the proper object of love?”

[7]

The veterinary assistant called for my cat, and me from the hallway that leads to the examination area. A bit unsettled, I rose and picked up my cat carrier. As I walked from the waiting room into the hall, I glanced back and saw the iguana snuggle down into the young woman’s lap, looking as content as a kitten, and close its eyes again.