“Vee the B!” they yelled in unison, throwing their arms around her waist. With their weight against her, she lost her balance and down she went. Sigh.
“Hi, boys. Now get off me and go away.” The girls helped pull the boys off Vee as they had begun wrestling over who would help Vee up.
Heather shook her head. “They love Vee so much.”
For a tackling dummy.
“My brothers are the same with me,” Esther said. “They drive me crazy, but I wouldn’t want any other brothers.”
“Yeah,” Sunny chimed in. “Just about the time I want to tell Mom to give them away—again—they do something like this.” She handed the bag to the one Vee thought was Jacob. The part in his hair seemed a little farther over than the one in Joshua’s hair. Joshua snatched it, and a tussle ensued. The bag ripped open, and a fluorescent pile of fruit-smelling gummi worms spilled into the entryway. Vee groaned. It was going to be a long night.
Jacob pointed to Sunny. “She can stay.”
Joshua pointed at Aneta. “She can stay ’Cause she’s pretty.”
They both pointed at Esther. “She has brothers. She’s cool.”
“So glad we have your permission,” Vee said.
Heather sent the boys off to play outside. “I know what you mean,” she said, tucking her blond hair behind her ears. “I grew up as the only girl with six brothers. I adore them, but not every moment.”
Vee’s mouth dropped open. Nobody had told her Heather was a survivor. Heather laughed at her expression. “We need some more bonding time, Vee. I can tell you lots of ways to handle these guys. You know why they call you Vee the B?”
“Because they don’t know many words?”
Heather laughed so hard that she had to lean against the wall. She shooed the girls into the family room that opened out onto the backyard. She indicated where they could stash their sleeping bags, pillows, stuffed animals, backpacks, and drawstring bags. “No, although they do admire that you know so many. Jacob wants to bring you to class for show and tell. Joshua came up with ‘Vee the B.’ It stands for Vee the Best.”
“Awww,” Sunny said, nudging her. “The Twin Terrors have a heart.”
The girls settled their bags, got the promise from Heather that the Terrors would not be joining them, and kicked off their shoes.
“When’s Dad coming home?” Vee asked Heather as her stepmother passed through with a load of folded clothes.
“Probably by six thirty, usually,” Heather said, cocking her head to think. “Unless, of course, he doesn’t.”
“Yeah, I know that deal.”
Heather pointed to a pad of paper by the phone. “I’ve already called Pizza Crazy. They know to make whatever you want, and they will deliver. I’ve already taken care of the tip for the driver. Fruit juice in the door of the fridge. Ice cream in the freezer. The family room is yours.” She moved away. Vee placed a hand on her arm.
She really wants us here. Given them their own spot. The Twin Terrors, in their sticky, bumpy way had made a spot for her. True, it was usually on the floor when they greeted her, but still. “Thanks, Heather.”
Her stepmother blushed. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Go ahead,” Vee said, opening her arms. “I know you want to.”
Heather squeezed her in a quick hug and left.
Rejoining the girls, Vee clasped her hands in her lap. “Okay. Pizza now or after some brainstorming?”
“I say pizza now,” Sunny said. “Pizza helps me think.”
In customary fashion, they argued over what pizza to get and finally agreed on two large pizzas, one with half everything (Sunny) and half cheese (Vee) and one with half veggies and no meat (Aneta) and half Canadian bacon and pineapple (Esther).
After Vee handed out paper and pens—watching Esther out of the corner of her eye to see if the girl would roll her eyes—she did—the girls began throwing out ideas.
Hours later they had eaten both pizzas, talked about whether Melissa Dayton-Snipp would ever return to Oakton, relived the chaos at the Cat Room and the utter coolness of Buzz becoming tame—and that Sunny’s uncle was relocating his horse ranch to Oakton and he’d promised Sunny her friends would get to ride horses. They’d argued over whether the Twin Terrors were more obnoxious than Esther and Sunny’s little brothers (no way, Sunny and Esther insisted) and agreed that Aneta’s family was the most crazy-fun. They went over every fun tidbit of their first adventure together, how they met, and laughed till they lay on the floor, sides heaving.
Esther was the first to recall their purpose for the sleepover. “Guys, we have to get to work.”
“So we keep freaking out that we don’t have anything,” Sunny said, shifting onto her side and propping her head up with her right arm. “What if we write down what we do know so far? A wild list.” The girls began to chatter; Vee had to scribble messily to keep up.
A Wild List
We, the S.A.V.E. Squad, do hereby know this:
1. We are saving cats.
2. Buzz is the best former Dumpster cat (that was Vee’s).
3. Cats eat.
4. Cats use a litter box.
5. Cats like Esther’s earrings.
6. Cats have really cool eyes and whiskers.
7. Adoptable cats like to be petted.
8. We want great people to adopt great cats.
The girls read over Vee’s shoulder where she sat cross-legged on the floor. Sunny jumped up and did a little dance. “Nice job, Vee!” she said, collapsing back next to the girls. “We all talked at once, and you got a list.”
“But what good is it?” Vee stared at the list. It was so random. You couldn’t make events from stuff like this.
“I like the Buzz part,” Aneta said thoughtfully. “Do you think your mom and dad would let you adopt Buzz?”
Vee had been trying not to think about that all evening. His little tufty face showed up in her mind.
“There are patterns,” Esther said suddenly. “Connections, as my math teacher says.”
Eww. Why ruin a fun time with math? Vee wrinkled her nose. “Where?”
The stocky girl moved to her hands and knees and lifted one arm to point at Vee’s list. “See? Take ‘cats eat’ for starters. What do cats eat?”
“Food,” Vee said. “I don’t get it.”
“Keep going.” Esther didn’t appear rattled with Vee’s dismissal.
“Cat food,” Aneta said, her brow furrowed. “And …” Her brow cleared. “Cat treats!”
Throwing up her arms like a referee indicating a touchdown, Esther beamed. “Right! So if we are saving cats and cats eat,”—she plucked the pen out of Vee’s hand, apologizing as she did so—“what can we sell at the Great Cat Caper that’s special?”
Aneta clapped her hands together. “Cat treats! We can make cat treats!”
Remembering Aneta’s two experiences with cooking, Vee wasn’t so sure, but Esther was. “Yes! There’s our first activity. But, Aneta, remember you need someone to help you ’Cause you’re not so great yet with cooking.”
“The Fam will help me,” Aneta said with confidence, settling back happily. Vee knew they would. The Fam never missed one of Aneta’s activities. Must be nice. No, she told herself sternly. Dad apologized; drop it.
“I’ll go next,” Esther said, moving the pen down until it came across the bit about cats and Esther’s earrings. “If Momma Cat was drawn to my earrings, what if we make cat toys that dangle and maybe some with feathers? We can sell them.”
“And give everyone who adopts a cat a cat toy!” Sunny snapped her fingers. “Esther, you’re brilliant.”
Vee thought she got it. Her eyes scanned the list. Cats eat, use a litter box, like to play with dangling things, and we want to save cats. Pattern: what a cat needs if they are saved. She began tentatively. “If they adopt a cat, we give them a …” Ideas began to jolt around her brain. “Cat Kit or Kitty Kit. It will have a cute litter box—”
“Are there cute litte
r boxes?” wondered Esther.
“Ours will be!” Sunny said, shushing her.
“And litter to get started—the kind Cat Woman said, nonclumping, whatever that is.” Vee felt a thrill run through her. Patterns! Connections! This was like math? She wished she had Esther’s math teacher.
“Oh, I get it!” Sunny was spinning again, this time around the family room. “The Cat Kit will also include a cat toy and a cat treat.”
“And then we can sell the Cat Kit to people who want to give it to people as a present or for themselves!” Esther was with it now, writing down what each of them had said as quickly as she could. “My math teacher will freak when she hears our patterns and connections.” She paused, pen in midair. “I wonder if she’ll give me extra credit?”
“Oh, yayness! They can buy the Cat Kit and donate it to Paws ‘N’ Claws or the city animal shelter!” Sunny said.
The girls fell backward. Vee thought of Buzz. I’m buying him a Cat Kit. I hope it comes with him to my house to live!
“I need a drink after all that work,” Sunny said.
The girls trooped into the kitchen and put vanilla ice cream into tall glasses of orange juice.
“Yum,” Sunny said.
As they sat around the table, Vee dashed back for the list. “Okay, so we’ve got a few things left.”
“Read what’s left,” Esther ordered, pointing at Vee with a drippy straw.
What’s left:
1. Cats have really cool eyes and whiskers.
2. Adoptable cats like to be petted.
3. We want great people to adopt great cats.
“Easy, peasy,” Sunny said, after sucking up the very last drop from what she named a Van-orange Float. “A Petting Palace.”
“Palace?” Aneta wasn’t sure of the word.
“A decorated place where a volunteer sits and lets other people pet the cats. Paws ‘N’ Claws Animal buddies will bring over their adoptable cats. We’ll put them on princess pillows.”
“The people?” Aneta still looked confused.
The girls busted out laughing.
“No, the cats will be on princess pillows. They’ll all be washed and brushed. We’ll get them neato-ba-deeto collars.” Sunny was up and pacing.
“Neeto-ba-deeto?” Now Aneta was really lost. She sat back in her chair.
“Where?” Esther was practical.
“In the Cat Room, of course.” Sunny’s gaze searched the ceiling. “It will be magnificent.”
If people were able to sit and love on the cats, they might think about what it would mean to adopt one. Vee already knew! “Wait!” She held up her hand. “Remember how much trouble we got into because we didn’t learn about what it took to tame Dumpster cats?”
The other girls nodded.
“So maybe we should do something so people who come to the Great Cat Caper learn how to take care of cats before they adopt one.”
“Yeah,” Sunny said. “They won’t have the Cat Woman or Frank and Nadine like we did.”
Esther shot her hand in the air. “That’s me! I can do a PowerPoint that’s really cool. As Computer Coordinator, I learned how to do all that stuff. Plus I’ll write a brochure.” She shot a look at Vee. “Unless you want to write it?”
“No way, that would be great,” Vee said.
“I’ll take pictures,” Sunny said, dumping over her empty glass. “The camera Uncle Dave gave me! Oh, yayness and oh, the catness of cats.”
Vee heard a rustling, slithering sound from the family room. A moment later, two raspy voices hissed from the doorway. “You should paint cats!” Then the twins scurried away, snickering and snorting.
“They are so weird,” Vee said by way of apology. She yawned and looked at the kitchen clock. Nearly midnight.
“No, very good.” Aneta shook her head. “We will paint cat faces on people at the Helpful City Festival. That will make people ask them, ‘Why is your face painted?’ And they will say, ‘We want to help save cats.’” She leaned back and skittered her gaze from Sunny to Esther to Vee.
“Yayness,” Sunny agreed, yawning.
“It could happen.” Esther covered a gigantic yawn.
“What you said,” Vee said, leading the way to their sleeping bags.
As she fell asleep listening to Sunny, Aneta, and Esther say their prayers together and ask God to bless just about everyone on the planet, Vee envied them their spot. God seemed to like them. Sunday, as soon as she got home, she’d start in on Bill and Mom about Buzz and his spot. She fell asleep with a smile, seeing striped gray kittens with big eyes, black nose smudges, and tufty ears dancing around wearing oven mitts.
Chapter 22
From Spot to Place
Saturday, Heather took the girls to a movie the Twin Terrors disdained as a “girl movie.” Then it was piles of spaghetti for dinner and playing soccer in the backyard with Dad and the Twin Terrors, who unbelievably behaved themselves and did not kick a ball into anyone’s head.
The next morning, after Mrs. Martin picked up Sunny, Aneta, and Esther to return them home, Vee ducked into the shower before the Twin Terrors could submerge it with water, dressed, and headed to the kitchen where Heather was removing a breakfast casserole. It was their Sunday tradition. It smelled heavenly—Vee grinned at her Sunday comparison—and it was devoured quickly. Then they were on their way to church.
Usually when Vee attended church with her dad and his family, she dozed off and awoke only when the minister said a word more loudly than the rest of his words. Today, however, the music was upbeat and she found herself clapping along.
The Twin Terrors departed for Sunday school. Heather offered Vee the sixth-grade class, but she shook her head. Walk into a room where everyone would look at her? No thanks. So she sat between Dad and Heather’s citrusy perfume and got comfortable, notebook and pen at the ready. Great thinking time for a plan to convince Mom and Bill that Buzz needed a spot, and Vee needed a spot, and the kitten and the girl could have their spot together in Bill’s house. Technically, Mom and Bill’s house. Neither of those sounded right anymore. Our house? She tried on the phrase as the minister began his sermon.
Our house. Wow. She forgot her list and stared ahead unseeing. It fit. When had it become our house? Mom worked too much, Bill was a bad cook and a nut case, and Vee—Vee knew what stuff had been going on inside her. Yet. Our house.
“Today is a great day for treasure.” The minister’s words finally penetrated Vee’s thoughts. She glanced up. The guy sounded like Bill’s every morning greeting. Were they related? No, this guy was short and bald. “Today’s treasure is brought to you courtesy of the sixth-grade Sunday school class.”
Vee counted a dozen kids her age who stepped up onto the stage. Eight stood in a line. The other four stood behind them. All of them carried cardboard squares with lettering. A murmur and a chuckle ran through the congregation. A boy with bangs covering his eyes stepped in front.
“So,” he said, his face flushing scarlet. “We wanted to explain why God is our Treasure—kid school—not, like, adult old school. So, like first, we had to get ideas. Then we argued ’Cause none of us had the same ideas and nobody would agree.”
This provoked an outright chuckle in the room. Vee leaned forward, smiling. They sounded like the S.A.V.E. Squad.
“So we had to think what was more important, who had the ideas or getting good stuff for explaining treasure.” He bobbed his head. “Dude, here we go. Hope it works.”
The first person in line held up a sign. A kid popped out below and held out the explanation of the letter. Moments later, Vee was scribbling madly in her notebook, lifting her head up and down to keep up with the demonstration. The last kid had to dart after more letters than the others to finish the acrostic. He grinned at the audience as he popped in and out. They laughed. So did Vee as she scrawled the letters to the side in big print and the ideas next to it.
T ruth is, dude, life
R equires
E veryone to have
/>
A special spot
S afe
U nder God’s Love,
R egardless of
E veryday trouble
Treasure. She was sure she’d seen it in Buzz from the first time she saw him walking the Dumpster. When she’d named him, he’d become her treasure. She chewed the inside of her lip as the last song was sung. Her special spot. Hadn’t she been looking for that ever since her parents married other people?
She thought of the connections and patterns the Squad had used to come up with kickin’ ideas for the Great Cat Caper. Now her brain was clicking with a new pattern. What if God could be the special spot…? That kid with the long bangs would be able to tell her if she was right. As soon as the minister dismissed the congregation, she climbed over Dad’s knees and marched up to the boy.
Chapter 23
C.P.?
We’ve still got a lot to do,” Vee said Monday after school when the girls gathered at The Sweet Stuff. The Helpful City Festival started Friday. And the retest. Gulp. Early Friday morning.
Aneta’s gram had given her money for The Sweet Stuff. Everybody wanted to give them money. Her gram probably didn’t know how often the girls had been to The Sweet Stuff lately. Not for me to tell, she thought with a grin, licking her cone.
To Do:
1. Community cat shelters
2. Cat toys
3. Ask Mom and Bill to adopt Buzz
4. Cute litter boxes
5. Petting Palace
6. Ask Mom and Bill to adopt Buzz
While they ate ice cream cones, Vee talked excitedly about the long-bangs boy, the treasure bit from yesterday, and how weird it was to be thinking now of God as treasure, her special place in Him, and wanting to see treasure around her. Sunny, Esther, and Aneta didn’t think it was weird. That’s why they were all the S.A.V.E. Squad, Vee thought with satisfaction. They thought alike even when they didn’t.
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