by Coco Simon
My parents announced that they were going to take showers and get into their pj’s, and I did the same. Then I bounded down the stairs to have one last nighttime snuggle with the kittens. It was going to be so hard to give them up the next day, especially my mini-me, Marshmallow.
But when I reached the living room, they were nowhere to be found. Nor were they in the kitchen.
“Mami?” I called into my parents’ room. “Do you have the kitties?”
“No, mi amor. Why?”
“Um . . .”
Where could they be? I didn’t want to alarm anyone, but could they have been stolen?
Mom came out of her room with a puzzled look on her face. “Weren’t they here when we got home? Did someone leave the outside door open?” She went and checked, but everything was locked up tightly.
We looked all around downstairs and didn’t see them anywhere.
“And they weren’t in your room?” my mom asked. “You’re sure?”
“Yes, Mami.”
Then she cocked her head and turned to the stairs.
“Mami, I said they’re not up there!” But she kept walking up the stairs, and shortly I heard her knocking on Isa’s door. I followed her up. “Mami, she won’t know where they are. . . .”
But as Isabel opened the door, I could see all the kittens in her room. Tears were streaming down Isabel’s face, and she had Cinnamon in her hands.
“Isa!” said my mom. “What on earth?”
“Oh, Mami. I don’t want the kitties to go too!” wailed Isabel.
“Sierra, will you please excuse us for a minute?” asked my mom.
“Can I just grab Marshy?” I asked.
“Fine,” said my mom. She held the door while I scrambled in to grab the kitten, and then she closed the door after I left.
I took Marshmallow into my room and played with her for the next half hour. I could hear the rise and fall of my mother’s voice through Isa’s door, and the occasional burst of Isabel talking, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying.
Finally my mom came out and closed the door behind her. She looked tired and sad.
She sighed heavily and came to lean in my doorway, with her arms folded.
“Mami, I just realized. We never checked if these were boy or girl kittens!”
“Oh, right,” she said, less than enthusiastically. “We should probably know for tomorrow.” She crossed the room, lifted Marshmallow, and looked underneath him or her.
“This one’s a girl!” she said.
“I knew it! What about the others?”
My mom looked at Isabel’s door and sighed. “Can I check in the morning?”
“Sure,” I said. “I’m going to miss these little guys,” I said.
“I know, mi amor. Me too. Sleep well.”
CHAPTER TEN
SISTERS 4-EVER
It was another beautiful Sunday, and Tamiko was feeling enthusiastic about the adopt-a-thon! She texted me bright and early to say that she’d had more than two hundred likes for the adopt-a-thon, across various social media. I felt optimistic that we’d find homes for all the kitties. Then Tamiko asked: Gearing up for the big event?
I had to laugh when I read it. It’s not for seven hours! I replied.
Allie texted me too. We’ve had four calls at the shop about the adopt-a-thon!
Great, I replied. But to be honest I was feeling bittersweet about the whole thing. That night when I got home, there’d be no more kitties. No animals at all in the house. It would feel empty and sad.
I sat in the living room, letting the kittens crawl all over me, just like Isabel had done with Naga the other day. They were bigger now, and their ears had fully opened up. Their heads were still bigger than their bodies, which was cute, and their tails were the same size: skinny, skinny.
Butterscotch was playing quietly with a ball of my dad’s needlepoint yarn, and Cinnamon dive-bombed her. Then Marshmallow came along to help out, and the three of them played tug-of-war with the yarn. I didn’t see Honey nearby. She was probably resting somewhere.
My mom came in and sat with me quietly while she drank her coffee. We just giggled as the kittens did funny stuff. Then my mom picked up Butterscotch and looked underneath.
“Boy!” she said.
“Really? I can’t believe it. I would have thought he was a girl.”
“Why?” asked my mom.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess because he was kind of quiet and cuddly and not as wild as the other two?”
She bopped me on the head with her newspaper. “Silly. There are many quiet and cuddly boys. Grab Cinnamon.”
I scooped up Cinnamon just as Isa was coming down the stairs, sleepily rubbing her eyes. I handed the cat to my mom, and she peeked underneath.
“A girl!”
“What? Really?” said Isabel in surprise. “I thought she was a boy!”
“Why?” asked my mom again.
Isa shrugged, just as I had. “I guess because she was so physical and adventurous and brave.”
My mom smacked her palm to her forehead like my dad always did. “I’ve raised a couple of sexists! How did it happen? There’s no saying that boys or girls have to be a certain way! Open your minds, girls! Your personality is not determined by your gender!”
We were quiet. We knew she was right.
“And it shouldn’t matter at all if someone is male or female. Anyone can do or be anything they like! There’s nothing predetermining you or holding you back!” Mom said.
Isabel spoke up. “Genetics do play a part.”
“Yes, of course. And so does environment. Nature and nurture. But please don’t live by old-fashioned rules. Listen, if I did, I wouldn’t be a vet. And Dad wouldn’t needlepoint! And our lives would be that much worse for it. Right?”
Isabel and I nodded guiltily.
“Be open-minded, girls. Promise me.”
“Okay, okay. They’re just kittens!” I said.
She swatted me again. “You know that’s not what we’re talking about. Now go get dressed for church.”
As Isa and I trudged up to our rooms, Isabel shook her head. “I can’t believe Cinnamon’s a girl!”
“Are you going to come help with the adopt-a-thon?” I hadn’t wanted to ask, because I knew Isabel would say no and it would hurt my feelings.
And sure enough, she declined. “I have to work on my science project,” she said, not meeting my eye. “I’m going over to Raven’s.”
“Okay . . .” I turned to walk away. “Well, you could always come if you finish. Bring Raven. Everyone likes her.”
“Thanks,” said Isabel. “I won’t. But thanks anyway.”
After church and a quick brunch, Isabel hugged and kissed all the kittens and Honey, their mama, and wiped a tear from her eye as she said good-bye. Then she took off to go to Raven’s, and I got ready to go to work. My parents would swing by the clinic for a bit—their renovation was almost done—and then come home, pack up the kittens, and meet me at Molly’s at two forty-five.
Tamiko and Allie were already at work when I arrived at twelve forty. I was proud of myself for being early again, even though Allie hadn’t requested it. I thought I could figure out this on-time stuff sooner or later.
Tamiko had the stacks of fact sheets about the cats all ready to go. There was only one problem. We hadn’t filled out whether the kittens were boys or girls.
Allie frowned at me. “People will want to know if they’re adopting a male or a female.”
I sighed. “Get me a pen.”
I sat and filled in the info about the kittens on their sheets.
Meanwhile, Tamiko was prepping the ingredients for her cat sundaes. She cut piles and piles of Nilla wafers, then sorted the M&M’s into blues and reds and put them in separate containers. Then she refilled the squeeze bottle of chocolate sauce, wiped the drips from the side, and set it neatly next to her workstation.
Allie and I replaced two tubs of ice cream that were low
and wiped all the tabletops. This was our slow time, but we knew it would soon pick up. We were all nervous and excited for the kittens to arrive and had high hopes for the adopt-a-thon.
By three thirty we were in full swing! We had a long line out the door of people waiting to order. My biceps ached from scooping ice cream; Allie’s fingers flew over the keypad of the cash register, ringing sale after sale; and Tamiko—who usually spent half her time chatting with the customers—barely said a word, she was so busy creating her specialty sundaes (cat-themed, unicorn-themed, and more).
Outside, my parents sat at a table with the cats and the flyers, surrounded by posters. I watched out of the corner of my eye as people stopped by to chat, and many of them played with the kitties. My parents had brought a clipboard with adoption forms from the clinic, but I didn’t see anyone filling anything out. Part of me was thrilled—yay! We’d have the kitties at home again that night!—and part of me was sad and hurt—didn’t anyone want our kitties? I thought they’d be gone in a flash.
At four o’clock it was time for me to take a break. The line had shrunk a bit, and Mrs. Shear came out from the back to relieve us.
“Go on outside, girls, and get some fresh air. Also, get an update on the adoptions!”
There were still a lot of people milling around the cat table, eating ice cream. Tamiko and Allie and I scoped it out, eavesdropping and watching.
There was a young couple considering Honey, who had nestled into the woman’s arms and fallen fast asleep in the sunshine. They looked pretty set on her. I was super-happy that a family wanted a grown cat; I’d worried that no one would. And then there was a family playing with Marshmallow, which made my heart pinch in a way that really surprised me. They looked nice enough, but was their daughter a little too rough with the kitten? Was their son disinterested? I felt very critical as I watched them. As we were standing there, a mom with a young son who was holding Butterscotch came over to the table.
“We’d like to take this one, please,” said the lady. She seemed very nice, and the little boy was enchanted by the cat. He held him so carefully, and the expression on his face was so joyful that it actually brought tears to my eyes.
I nudged Allie. “So cute,” I whispered.
“That’s my kitty!” joked Allie.
“I know. And that one’s mine,” I said, gesturing at Marshmallow.
“And that one’s mine,” said a voice behind me.
“Isa! I thought you weren’t coming!” I said, spinning around. Isabel stood there with Raven, who was smiling and saying hi to Tamiko.
“We needed a break from our science projects, and I thought ice cream was a good idea.”
I squeezed her shoulder. “Come inside. What can I get you?”
We entered the shop, and I showed Isa and Raven around and explained all our specials. Tamiko and Allie washed up and hopped behind the counter.
Isa ordered another snake sundae—with a smirk—and Raven ordered a peppermint shake.
“Coming right up!” said Tamiko.
I wiped the tables and counters and refilled the straw and napkin dispensers while Isa and Raven chatted with my friends. I was so happy that they had come. It felt good.
Once Isa and Raven had their ice cream, Tamiko and Allie shooed us all outside, saying with a wink that I could supervise outside and pick up any trash, but they knew that I just needed some more time with the cats and with my sister.
A really cute boy had arrived with his mom and was standing chatting with my parents. He was a little taller than I was and had huge sea-green eyes with the thickest, longest eyelashes I’d ever seen on a boy. I listened in to hear what they were saying.
“Yes, they’ve all been adopted. I’m so sorry,” my mom was saying. “But the shelter van will be here next Sunday, and I know for a fact that they have a whole passel of kittens, because we just referred someone to them last week.”
Wait. What? All the cats have been adopted?
I felt panicky—I needed a chance to say good-bye! I looked around and saw that the couple with Honey had already left—and taken her with them! Oh no!
“Isa! Did you hear that?” I said frantically.
Isa was also looking aghast. She nodded. “OMG. This is really the end.” She set her spoon back into her ice cream dish, too stunned to keep eating.
“Let’s say good-bye to them all again, okay?” I said.
Isabel nodded.
First we went to the little boy holding Butterscotch and asked if we could say good-bye. He agreed, and Isa and I each took a turn holding Scotchy and whispering into his ear.
Then we held Cinnamon one last time before her new family came back to pick her up. My dad had Marshy on his lap, so we scooped her up and snuggled her. I was choked up as I gave her one last kiss on her fluffy white head and handed her back to my dad.
“Who adopted her?” I asked.
“A nice family with two girls,” said my dad. “They’re getting here later.”
“And Cinnamon?” asked Isabel.
“The same family!” said my mom.
“So the sisters will stay together?” I asked.
My mom smiled. “Yup.”
I looked at Isa. “Well, that’s a silver lining anyway.”
“Yes, it would be so sad if the sisters were separated,” Isabel said.
“Sisters for life,” I whispered. Isabel looked at me for a moment and then gave me a small smile.
She knocked her knuckles against mine. “Team P,” she said quietly.
As my parents chatted with the remaining people about cat care and their clinic, Allie’s friend Colin from her new school arrived, as did Amber and MacKenzie.
“Are we too late?” asked MacKenzie.
“You missed meeting the mama cat,” I said. “The kittens are still here, but they’ve all been adopted.”
While Colin busied himself arranging photos of me on his phone, Allie, Tamiko, my parents, Mrs. Shear, and the kittens for the school paper, Isabel and Raven hung out with Amber and MacKenzie. Amber was updating Isa on Gizmo, and her stories were making Isabel laugh. I was happy to see Isabel cheering up, though I still felt hollow inside at the loss of Marshmallow.
Soon it was time to wrap it all up. The cute boy—Amir—promised he’d be back the following Sunday, which made my stomach feel woozy in a happy way. My parents sorted out the paperwork for everyone. And Tamiko, Allie, and I popped back inside for a final cleanup. I saw Isabel and Raven helping to move the table and chairs back inside and packing up the posters and flyers while my parents said good-bye to Mrs. Shear.
Then I said my good-byes to Allie and Tamiko and headed outside to say good-bye to Raven, who was getting into her mom’s car.
Finally it was just the four of us outside: me, Isa, my mom, and my dad. My dad had the kitten box with Marshmallow and Cinnamon in it, and he was getting ready to put the towel over it.
“When is the family with the two girls coming back to pick them up?” I asked, looking at the time on my phone. “Do we have to wait?”
“I hope not! I have to get home and finish up my science project for tomorrow,” said Isabel.
“They’re already here,” said my dad.
I looked around but couldn’t see anyone. Confused, I said, “Where?”
“Right here!” laughed my mom.
I looked at my dad. He had a huge grin on his face.
“Wait . . . ,” I said.
“What?” asked Isabel. It was taking her a tiny bit longer to process, but I knew what my parents meant.
“Mami, are they . . . are we keeping them?”
My mom nodded, beaming. “Yup. One for each of you!”
“Whaaaat!” Isa and I screamed at the same time. We threw our arms around each other and started jumping up and down. Tamiko and Allie came running out of the shop, wondering what was going on and why we were celebrating.
“What’s happening?” asked Tamiko.
“We’re keeping Marshmallow and
Cinnamon!” I cried, tears streaming down my face.
“OMG!” Allie threw her arms around me and hugged me tightly. “You finally got a pet!”
“Awesome!” said Tamiko.
“Oh, Mami! I can’t believe it!” I hugged my mom and then my dad, who still had the kitten box in his arms.
“Thank you both so much!” said Isa.
“But why?” I asked. “Why now?”
My parents looked at each other. “Let’s discuss it on the way home,” Mom said. “These kitties need a break.”
We said good-bye again to my friends and hopped into the car, which was parked up the street.
Isa and I buckled our seat belts. Then we took our kitties and snuggled them next to our cheeks at the exact same time, in the exact same way. We were both so happy.
My parents, who had turned to watch us from the front, laughed. “Once a twin, always a twin,” said my mom.
“So why did you suddenly decide we could have pets?” I asked.
“Yeah,” said Isabel. “Why?”
My dad cleared his throat. “First of all, we felt that if we had created a home where people had to sneak around to get what they wanted”—he looked meaningfully at Isabel, who ducked her head—“then maybe we were being too strict. Then we had the kittens, and you both took great care of them.”
“Even going so far as to take them to work with you,” chided my mom.
“Which was a bad idea,” added my dad, “but at least it showed us how seriously you took the responsibility. And how much you wanted them to have good homes.”
“As did Isa’s excellent care of Naga,” Mom continued.
“Then, when Isabel no longer wanted Naga . . . ” My dad trailed off.
I whipped my head to the side to look at Isabel. “So you really didn’t want her in the end? It wasn’t just that she was too much work?”
Isabel shook her head sadly. “It just wasn’t me, having a snake. I mean, she was a cool snake and everything, but she wasn’t really the kind of pet I wanted. Plus, the kittens were so much more fun to play with, especially when other people were over. They’re just a happier kind of pet.”
“I thought Naga was cool,” I offered.
Isa shrugged. “Totally. But then there was the frozen mouse aspect. . . .”