Celebrations With Jake and Joe

by Roger W Buenger

  “It’s good to be home, baby,” he told her as he leaned his head back and rested his right hand on her side. Joe enjoyed his touch and purred in assent. Henry closed his eyes and let his mind drift. His thoughts traveled to Millie and what his next move was going to be. Elizabeth had given him the advice and insight that he had sought. Now it was time to put that expertise into practice. A picnic? Hmmm. Yes, that could be very nice. He pondered how to approach her with the idea and ways to make it a most memorable day. Joe’s purrs became softer as she slid into a deep slumber at his side. Henry’s breathing eased and his eyes closed as he too gently dozed. All felt right at Oak Forest and the future, like the late afternoon sunshine, was bright.

  Chapter 9

  Breaking News

  Henry sat at his usual place at the island and sipped from his coffee cup while browsing through the Monday morning edition of the Lewis Gazette. His eyes were scanning the printed words before him, but he wasn’t truly comprehending the stories that were found there. His mind was occupied elsewhere. It was nearly 9:00 a.m. and Millie would be arriving soon. Though he was quite anxious to see her, he was also feeling a little apprehensive too. Last evening, he had resolved to invite her to join him for a picnic, and he was not about to back down from it now. It was to be a real date and the thought of it was exciting as well as a tad unnerving. He hoped that his overture of romance would be well-received but was readying himself for all possible outcomes. Plan for the best but be prepared for the worst had long been a favorite saying of his Uncle Ed’s, and it echoed in Henry’s ears this morning. However, no matter the outcome, he was not going to let fear hold him back any longer. His heart had fully healed, and he was finally ready now to share it again with someone.

  The sound of the side door opening announced that Millie had arrived. Hearing her, Joe rose from her resting place on the bottom step and raced to greet her. All right, it’s time to step up, Henry thought to himself with firm resolve. As soon as she was settled in, he would ask her the all-important question. The door closed, and he could hear Millie greeting Joe affectionately in the next room.

  “Well, hey there Henry!” she declared as she entered the kitchen. “How was your weekend?”

  “Hello, there young lady! It was outstanding. We had one helluva good time,” Henry replied warmly while readying himself to pivot the conversation to the topic that now dominated his thoughts.

  “Oh, that’s wonderful!” she remarked as she moved past and headed to the hall tree to put down her purse. “I was sure hoping you fellas were having a good time.”

  “Thanks! Yeah, we really did. The coin show was excellent, and we had a couple of top-notch steak dinners too,” he declared recalling the fine meals he had enjoyed at The Ranch with George.

  “That’s sure good to hear! Say, did you see the note I left you? Man, do I have some crazy good news for you!” she proclaimed with glee as she passed by him on the way to the cabinet for a coffee cup.

  “Yep, I got it. I tried to call a couple of times just after four, but no one answered. I guessed you were out. I planned on trying again later, but I dozed off in my chair. When I finally woke up it was nearly ten, and I figured maybe it was too late then and it could wait. You know, you really ought to get a machine.” Henry was referring to Millie’s lack of an answering machine. She had long held that no one of any importance ever called her anyway and, therefore, it was a luxury item that she didn’t need. She loved to say that if someone really needs to talk to me they’ll call back. Right on cue, Millie took the opportunity to play that same old song again.

  “Nah, nobody ever calls my place anyway,” she said as she poured herself a cup of hot coffee. “Besides, if someone really needs to talk to me, they’ll call back.” Her familiar refrain brought a slight smile to Henry’s face.

  “Yeah, well this nobody tried to call you,” he protested playfully. “Tell me something, if you aren’t there to answer the phone yourself and don’t have a machine to leave a message on, then exactly how do you know that nobody ever calls you?”

  Millie chuckled as she turned to the island with the coffee pot in hand. She raised her eyebrows to him, and he nodded affirmatively. After she had refilled his nearly empty cup, she returned the pot to the warmer.

  “I’m sure sorry I missed your calls. I guess that was when I was at choir practice. We were…” Almost as if she had been abruptly given some sort of mild electrical shock, she looked up at him with a surprised look. “Oh my gosh!” she exclaimed. “I still haven’t told you the big news!” Her last few words were excited and slightly exaggerated.

  Henry was intrigued by her sudden shift in demeanor and curious to hear what had her so worked up. At the same time, he could not help but notice that she looked quite fetching this morning. He had seen her on thousands of mornings over the years, but now she somehow looked different to him. While hearing her news was certainly of interest, he was reminded that he had an awful lot that he was anxious to talk to her about too.

  “Well, believe it or not, Mr. Engel, you are going to be a granddad!” she exclaimed. Henry heard the words, but they did not add up. Considering he didn’t have any children, this seemed like some sort of far-fetched joke, and he couldn’t see the humor in it.

  “Huh? A what? What the heck are you talking about?”

  “A granddaddy!” she repeated with a glowing grin. “Joe is going to be a momma!”

  Henry looked at Millie as if she had just sprouted a second head. He didn’t understand what could possibly be funny about such a preposterous statement but was attempting to discern why she was telling him this. For her part, Joe was completely unfazed by the announcement. She sat calmly by the French doors intently watching a small beetle that was traveling doggedly across the patio.

  “What’s the punch line, Millie? I just don’t get it. Why is this funny?”

  Millie was now becoming as confused as Henry seemed to be. “No, no Henry, I’m not joking. I took Joe into Doc Miller’s on Thursday like we said, and she checked her out. Doc says she’s just fine for a pregnant kitty.” Henry’s eyebrows jumped. “I know! I just about fell over too,” she added noting Henry’s obvious shock and disbelief at the news.

  “But how?” Henry asked incredulously.

  “Well, you see Henry, when a boy kitty loves a girl kitty then they…” she teased.

  “No, not that!” he fired back. “I mean when? How? I don’t understand how on earth that this could have happened?”

  “Well, Doc Miller said that she must’ve found herself a boyfriend in the neighborhood.”

  “No fooling? I suppose that does explain why she was so anxious to get outside all of the time,” he reasoned aloud. Millie nodded her head in agreement as she took a sip of coffee from her cup and allowed Henry to digest everything.

  “I mean, I guess I never really even thought about whether or not she’d been fixed. I just figured if she was inside and around here all of the time it wasn’t an issue. Hell, I’ve never even seen another cat around. Have you?” he asked.

  “Nope. That part sure is a mystery. On the other hand, when a girl falls in love, I suppose she finds a way,” she quipped as she looked over at Joe.

  “Wow, kittens… What do you know about that? Well… Congratulations, Momma!” Henry declared as he too turned his eyes toward Joe, who was still single-mindedly locked in on the slow but persistent beetle.

  “So, what now?” Henry asked returning his focus to Millie.

  “Well, Doc Miller says she can feel them in there. She figures she’s just about four weeks along right now based on how she’s been acting and her size and all.”

  “But she’s so tiny. How’s she going to have babies?”

  “She said she’ll do just fine. Nature always seems to find a way. When it gets closer, she can take an x-ray if we want and see how many there are. She’ll also decide if she’s gonna need a C-section or not.”

  “Good Lord, five minutes ago I’m reading the morning
paper and sipping on my coffee, and now I’m thinking about C-sections,” Henry gasped.

  “Aww, don’t you worry none, Henry. I’ve got this.” She put her cup down on the counter and walked over to Joe. As she knelt down and picked up the little cat, she continued: “It’ll all work itself out. She’s gonna be just fine. Besides, after it’s all over we’re gonna have us some baby kittens to play with!” Millie gently rubbed Joe’s neck and ears as the feline quickly forgot all about the traveling insect that she had just been observing. Though Henry was still reeling a bit, Millie was unflappable. She appeared gleeful and untroubled. Having given birth herself, she was at ease and excited about Joe’s impending motherhood. It was a feeling that only a woman who has gone through it personally can comprehend. Her exuberance and confidence buoyed a previously unsteady Henry.

  “Ok then, I guess we’re going to be grandparents!” he declared. His inclusion of Millie in the statement and the fashion in which he did so were not lost on her.

  “We sure are!” she beamed with a wink as she and Joe moved beside him at the island.

  Henry reached over and patted Joe lightly a couple of times. She wasn’t precisely certain what she had done to warrant such lavish attention, but she was sure that it was deserved in some way and relished their affection.

  “All right then, what’s next?” he asked.

  “Well, let’s see. Doc Miller said she is supposed to be eating kitten food from now on to get plenty of vitamins and nutrients for the babies. I stopped at the store on Friday and picked some up, so it’s already switched out.”

  Henry nodded approvingly.

  “She said that she expects that Joe ought to perk up now and start gaining some weight.”

  “I think she already seems better than she did last week,” he offered.

  “Yeah, I do too.”

  “Do we have any idea when all of these kittens will arrive?”

  “Around 63-69 days out she’ll be ready to have them, but Doc says Siamese cats sometimes can go a couple days longer. She’s figuring they’ll be here sometime in early June.”

  Henry considered the calendar while Joe purred vigorously and snuggled against Millie’s chest.

  “Doc Miller also said that she might be extra lovey-dovey these days. Guess she hit that one on the head, huh?”

  Henry laughed. “Yeah, I’d say so.”

  He rose from his chair to take his customary morning stroll around the grounds. Sensing it was time for their daily inspection of things, Joe wiggled to get down from Millie’s arms. Seeing what was happening, Millie was reminded of one further instruction that she had received regarding the expectant mother.

  “Oh and by the way, she’s gotta stay indoors from now on,” Millie said as she lowered the cat to the floor.

  “Oh, no kidding?” Henry complained. Joe meowed twice, seemingly in protest as well as if she too understood the doctor’s orders.

  “I’m sorry, kiddo,” he apologized to the little cat as she looked wistfully up at him. He glanced out the kitchen window and could see dark clouds gathering, indicating that a spring rain shower was possible. “I don’t expect I’ll be outside too long though,” he consoled her.

  Before he could make a move for the door, the telephone rang, causing him to pause to see who was calling. Millie was nearest to the phone, and she picked it up and handed it to him.

  “Hello,” he said into the handset.

  “Hi there, Henry,” George greeted him.

  “Hey partner, what’s going on this morning?”

  “I just got a call from our friend. Do you have a minute?” George asked, referring to the investigator Henry had hired to track down Millie’s son.

  “Yeah, sure, I’ve got that coin book,” Henry answered without hesitation. “Let me get to my office and look that up for you.” He immediately headed to the next room as Millie went about her business without suspicion. Realizing that he was no longer going outside, Joe decided to follow him and see what was going on.

  “Gotcha, she’s right there,” George whispered in acknowledgment of Henry’s meaning.

  “Yeah, that’s right, gimme a second,” Henry directed as he passed through the family room.

  Once he had reached his office, and Joe had scooted inside with him, Henry closed both doors and took a seat in his chair. He switched on the desk lamp as the growing darkness outside made the room too gloomy for his taste.

  “Ok pal, sorry, she was right on top of me. What did Johnston have to say?”

  “Well, he’s got it honed down to two guys. Two guys named Edward James that are the right age, and both were adopted in Georgia. One was born in Atlanta and the other in Athens.”

  “Millie told me she was staying with her grandmother in Atlanta when she had the baby. That’s gotta be him. Tell Carl to run him down and get me the full bio on the guy.” Henry leaned back in his chair, quite pleased with himself. Though he had proceeded without her consent, he was certain that she would be happy to find her son and discover what kind of man he had become. After having witnessed her reaction to Joe’s unexpected motherhood, he was certain that to finally be able to see her own child again would be a tremendous gift to give her. Now, the only concern was to find out if, in fact, Edward James fit the desired narrative. Either way, Henry felt confident about how he had played the cards. If Edward was anything but a model citizen, Henry would be able to shield Millie from it. There was no downside to this deal, as far as he could tell. However, though Henry had always been an astute businessman, he was less skilled and experienced in matters of the heart. He could not see the pitfall that potentially awaited him.

  “Ok Henry, good deal. I’ll call him back as soon as we hang up. Say, while I have you, how is Millie doing today?”

  Henry was caught off guard by his friend’s reference to Millie. It was clearly an attempt to reopen the conversation they had engaged in on Saturday night over dinner. It also reminded Henry that he had a bone to pick with George about Mary’s daughter Elizabeth. George had conveniently neglected to tell him about the apparently close relationship he had maintained over the years with the Anderson family. However, rather than open that can of worms now and be forced to delve into a deep and drawn-out conversation, Henry opted to keep this hand close to his vest. News of his meeting with Elizabeth and the subsequent discussion he had with her about his love life could wait until another time.

  “She’s fine, George,” he replied with disinterest. He was his best friend and his closest confidant, but for now, Henry preferred to pursue Millie privately without the added pressure of George’s scrutiny. There would be ample time for that later.

  Sensing that Henry was in no mood to be prodded today, George decided to simply let the matter drop. The two men spent the next half hour conversing about their weekend and rehashing favorite moments and coins. Suddenly, Henry recalled that he had breaking news to share.

  “Hey, guess what? You won’t believe this, but Joe is going to have kittens!” he proclaimed proudly. He was now past his anxiety about it and felt genuinely excited.

  “No fooling?! How the heck did she manage that? Immaculate conception?”

  “You got me; somehow she found a pal to play with.”

  “Maybe she could give you a few pointers,” George jabbed.

  “Ha! Very funny. Don’t start that up again.”

  “Just teasing.” Not wanting to antagonize Henry, George retreated as quickly as he had attacked. “So, where are you going with all of these kittens? Are you going to keep them all?”

  Henry hadn’t even had time to consider such things, and suddenly his initial trepidation was returning.

  “You know, great question; I have no idea. No, surely not. I don’t need a house full of cats over here.”

  “Well, there’s plenty of time to figure it out. Hell, I might even be willing to take one off of your hands,” George hinted.

  “Seriously?”

  “Yeah, I’ve been thinking about getting a
dog or a cat or something. This house can get a little quiet sometimes,” he explained.

  “I get it. If you want one or all of them, George, you’re first in line,” Henry joked.

  “How about you pencil me in for one for now, and we’ll see how it goes?” George laughed. “You know, it’ll be nice to have a little company around here. Besides, my grandkids will love it.”

  “Ok, I’ll clear it with Millie but I’d say you’re locked in.”

  Henry’s words only reinforced to both of them just how intertwined he and Millie truly were. Realizing that he had an urgent matter of his own to attend to, Henry concluded his call with George and strolled back to the kitchen in search of a partner for a picnic.

  Chapter 10

  It’s a Date!

  Upon entering the kitchen, Henry was disappointed to discover that Millie was nowhere in sight. He quickly concluded that she must have gone to the second floor on a mission to collect dirty laundry or perhaps to inspect the cleanliness of his bathroom.

  “Hey Millie!” he called upstairs as he lifted his right foot onto the bottom step.

  “Yes Henry?” an immediate reply came from the laundry room to his left.

  “Oh, you’re in there?” he said as he turned in surprise.

  “Yeah, did you need something?” Millie asked as she walked into the kitchen from the next room.

  “Umm, well… as a matter of fact, I do need something.”

  “Ok,” she acknowledged as she stepped toward him.

  However, now that the critical moment was at hand, he was starting to feel just a little off-balance again. Joe was unfazed by the events transpiring before her and strolled casually from the family room to a comfortable spot on the second step of the staircase. There, she took up a post from which she could keep an eye on things while giving herself a meticulous bath.