I remember two things from my sophomore year English class—how my teacher would take off his shoes and teach in his rainbow colored toe socks, and the unit on Romeo and Juliet. While I never understood how toe socks could be comfortable, I did enjoy quoting Shakespeare when appropriate in my everyday life. (Yes, I’m a nerd.) One of my favorites has always been, “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”
Never did I imagine that quote could be used to describe a scenario involving a deer.
His name is Henry, if you ask Lisa. Bernadine refers to him as Elvis. Christine insists he’s called Pontouf. Whatever he goes by, this particular albino buck knows who to go to for attention and food. He hangs out by Lisa’s deck and she tosses him apples and other scraps. She tells a story of the time she tossed the remains of an apple outside, not realizing Henry was standing there, and she accidently hit him on the head! Christine proudly boasts that she once fed Pontouf a piece of bread from her mouth; she even provided photographic evidence.
Deer themselves are not a rarity on Isle au Haut. They run rampant. I used to find deer adorable and sweet, but a year out here as me cursing them on a regular basis. They destroy everyone’s gardens and jump out into the middle of our (one) road like they own the place. I’m surprised there aren’t more accidents. But there is something about this particular albino buck that softens my heart a little.
As I opened the door to leave Lisa’s knitting group late last night, I found myself face-to-face with Henry/Elvis/Pontouf. He was so close to the deck that I could have reached out and touched his face. Instead of my usual grunting routine about deer being rats with hooves, I just stood there and looked at him. Henry/Elvis/Pontouf was gazing at Lisa’s door almost thoughtfully or pensively. I watched as Christine came outside exclaiming, “Pontouf! Baby! I haven’t seen you in so long! I was worried you were dead!”
And when Lisa came outside and began tossing apples onto the lawn, my heart melted. I swear if that buck’s face didn’t brighten at the sight of her. Logically I know he was just eager for food. But I like to think that this particular deer has a knack for finding and befriending the loveliest people on the island. If anyone is in the market for friends, Lisa, Christine and Bernadine are the three you would want.
I wonder what name he prefers.