by Patricia Fry
Adam looked over at the clump of grass in front of the cat. “I don’t know—maybe something’s hiding in the weeds.”
Suddenly, the cat leaped high into the air and landed on a clump. He began pawing at the grass and rolling around in it.
“What is that he has?” Michael asked.
Adam walked over closer to the cat, looked down. “It’s just a piece of paper. That’s all.” He reached over and took it from Rags. “See?” He held it up to show Savannah and Michael, who both laughed upon seeing Rags stretching and pawing in an attempt to take his “catch” away from Adam.
“Wait!” Michael shouted.
Adam turned quickly, a somber look on his face. “What?” he asked as if he’d been caught doing something wrong.
“It’s okay, son. I just want to get a look at Rags’s treasure. Savannah,” he said after studying the slip of paper briefly. “This looks like it was torn from that piece of paper with the note on it. Take a look at it.” He held it up for her to see.
“Gamble Pet Supply,” she read out loud. “Well, I’ll be. And you think this could be the missing piece from that note?”
“Yes. Call Craig, will you? And then we’d better get going to work.” Michael looked over where Adam sat on the grass, Rags right next to him, both staring back at him—as if waiting to get the treasure back.
“Adam, do you want to go to work with us or help over at Aunt Maggie’s and Max’s place this morning?”
“Can Lexie go with us to work?”
“Sure.”
“Then I want to go with you guys.”
“Cool.”
Chapter Four
“It’s a perfect match,” Craig announced that evening when he called. “So you found it in the backyard?” he asked Savannah.
“Yes. Well, the cat found it.”
Craig chuckled. “Oh yes, the cat.” He then asked, “How do you suppose it ended up back there? Weren’t your cars parked in front of the house?”
“Yes. But remember, we had that big wind.”
“Yeah, right.”
“So what happens now, Craig? Can you arrest him? Is it enough evidence?”
“Well, I’d like to have a match on that car you saw the day they tried to take your dog. There’s nothin’ registered to Gamble matching that description. We can certainly bring him in for questioning about the vandalism and see if we can put him at the scene of the crime.” He paused for a moment and then said, “We’ll keep you posted, guys.”
“Sure. Thanks, Craig.”
Savannah rejoined Michael and Adam, who were going over one of Adam’s school lessons. She smiled when she saw Buffy curled up next to the boy. He had a pencil in one hand and was gently petting the little Himalayan-mix cat with the other. “I still can’t believe they give so much homework in third grade,” she said.
“Yes, times have changed, haven’t they?” Michael looked up at Savannah. “Everything cool with Craig?”
“Yes, it was a match and there will be some questioning,” she said trying to relay the message to Michael without alerting Adam to any potential problems. “How much more homework do you two have?”
“After this page, no more!” Adam announced.
“Then after this page, how about we have a birthday party for your dad?”
***
“Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you…”
“Open my present. Open my present,” Adam begged jumping up and down.
“Okay,” Michael said with a wink in Savannah’s direction. He then looked over at Adam. “Who wrapped this present, anyway?”
“I did!” the boy said excitedly. He glanced at Savannah, and added, “Well, I did most of it.”
Savannah reached out and smoothed his hair. “You sure did, Adam. And you did a great job.”
“I’ll say,” Michael agreed. “I never saw such a creative wrapping. Just look at all this tape.” He smiled over at Adam. “Good job, buddy.” He started to rip into the package and then looked up again. “Gonna need some help here.”
“Okay, I can help,” Adam said as he began tearing into the wrapping.
“What is this?” Michael asked enthusiastically.
“It’s a beanbag game. I…er…Savannah and I made it for you.”
“You made this?” Michael asked.
“Yes, I colored on the beanbags and filled them with beans.” He looked at Savannah. “Savannah helped me sew them.”
“This is great. I really like it.” Michael looked up at Adam. “So the point of the game is to toss the beanbags, is that right?”
Adam reached over and pulled a folded piece of cloth from the wrapping that still lay across Michael’s lap. “Yes,” he said. He unfolded the cloth and pointed to the circles, squares and triangles with numbers inside. “You throw the beanbags and get points!”
“Cool. This is super, Adam. I’m going to enjoy playing this game…a lot.” He grinned over at his son. “Wanna play now?”
“Sure.”
Savannah stood. “Why don’t you boys go play in the living room while I dish up some cake and ice cream.”
“Okaayyyy,” Adam said, racing off toward the living room.
What a great kid, Savannah thought as she watched him scamper off with his father. And to think that we’ve only known him for six months. I’m so glad his mother decided to tell Michael he had a son. And for her to bring him to our wedding; it just made our day that much more special. It’s obvious that he was hungry to meet his real dad and Michael has been thrilled to get to know the boy. I love that Adam and I get along so well, too. We have great fun together. And the relationship is so easy between us.
She cut three pieces of cake and began scooping the rainbow sherbet onto the plates. I can’t wait to give Michael my birthday gift. Michael is going to be so pleased. If only this awful problem with Pete Gamble would blow over and we can go on with our wonderful life together.
“Who wants cake and ice cream?” Savannah asked as she entered the living room.
Adam jumped up from his spot on the floor next to Lexie. “I do! I do!” And then he said, “Hey, Savannah, I beat Dad. I had 175 points and he only had 70. That makes me the winner, huh, Dad?”
“It sure does, son. You’re the best, my man.” Michael’s smile widened as he offered knuckles to his son.
After a few minutes, Adam asked, “Are you finished with your cake, Dad?”
“Almost, why?”
He leaned across Michael’s knee. “Wanna play my beanbag game again?”
“Your beanbag game?”
Adam blushed. “I mean your beanbag game. Want to, Dad, huh?”
“Sure do,” Michael said taking his last bite.
“I’ll get it ready.” In a few seconds, Adam asked, “Hey Dad, where’s the other beanbag?”
“Well, it should be around here somewhere. Have you looked under the furniture? You chucked one under the sofa a while ago.”
“I got it out. I found just one beanbag. We’re missing one.”
“Adam,” Savannah said, “do you know where Rags’s stash is?”
“Um, his toy box? Yeah.”
“His toy box. Yes, that’s a good name for it. I’ll just bet if you go look, you’ll find your beanbag in his toy box.”
“Oh Rags…” he scolded as he dashed up the staircase. Within a few moments, Adam could be heard hollering, “Here it is!” He rounded the top of the staircase and started down the stairs. “Rags took it when we weren’t looking. It was right up there in his toy box.”
Everyone laughed. Adam walked over and handed Michael the beanbag, and then he looked up at Savannah, a slight frown on his face. “Why does he do that? Why does he take things that aren’t his? Tiger doesn’t do that.”
Savannah stared into the boy’s blue eyes. “That’s a good question, Adam. Not very many cats do. Walter doesn’t. Buffy doesn’t. I don’t think any of Uncle Max’s and Aunt Maggie’s kitties do it. There are just a very few cats in the whole
world who take things that don’t belong to them and hide them like Rags does.” She leaned into Adam as if she was sharing a secret—her eyes glistened with intrigue. “Maybe…just maybe now…he’s the ancestor of a cat that belonged to a pirate hundreds of years ago. It could be,” she said, exaggerating her facial expressions, “that the pirate taught his cat to steal jewelry and gold coins from the wealthy people in the village. Just imagine Rags’s great-great-great grandfather cat wearing an eye patch and carrying a loot bag.”
Michael didn’t even try to conceal the kick he was getting out of watching Adam, who was fully entranced by Savannah’s story.
The boy’s eyes were big as saucers. “Do you think he had a hook paw and a wooden leg?” Adam looked over at Rags, who had just entered the room. The cat spotted him and walked up to rub on his legs. The boy petted the cat affectionately. “How would you like to have a hook paw, Rags, and a patch over your eye?” He covered one of the cat’s eyes with the beanbag he still held in his hand.
Michael piped up, “It could be that Rags just thinks certain things are way cool, like the beanbags you made, and he wants one.”
Adam knelt down next to Rags, his demeanor now serious. He showed the cat the beanbag. “Rags, these are Dad’s beanbags, not yours. They go to Dad’s game. Now you leave them alone.” Suddenly, his face brightened and he turned to Savannah. “Hey Savannah, maybe we could make a beanbag for Rags.”
“Well now that’s a nice idea. I think we should do that. How about tomorrow before church? But now, I think you’d better get ready for bed.”
“Awwww, already? But Dad was gonna play me another game of beanbag,” he whined.
“Yeah,” Michael whined.
“You two are something else,” she said. “Okay, one more game and then how about a story and off to bed.”
“Okay.” Adam looked over at Savannah. “Would you tell me more stories about Rags great-great…great grandfather?”
“Sure, kiddo.”
***
“Hey this is the church where I first saw you guys,” Adam said, looking out the car window as they pulled into the parking lot.
“It sure is, buddy,” Savannah said. “We come here sometimes on Sundays and we thought maybe you’d like to come here with us today before we drive you home.”
“You mean to my other home. I have two homes. My home with my mom and other dad and my home with you and my real dad.”
“That’s right. You are one lucky boy.” Michael reached back and gave him knuckles.
Adam opted to sit in the pew with his dad and stepmom rather than join the other children for youth Sunday school. After the services, the threesome walked out to the foyer toward the refreshment table, when they heard a familiar voice say, “Hi Thavanna. Hi Dr. Mike. Hi Adam.”
Savannah turned. “Charlotte, Reba, good morning. How are you ladies?”
Charlotte smiled shyly at the greeting and stared over at Adam.
“Nice sermon, wasn’t it?” Reba said. She leaned toward Savannah saying, “I think Pastor was speaking to me today.”
“Oh no,” Savannah said with a chuckle, “that message was for me.”
Michael leaned into the conversation. “It was for all of us.” He smiled. “A universal message.”
Adam reached over and pulled on his dad’s shirt sleeve. “Hey Dad, can Charlotte and I go get a cookie?”
“Oh, you already spotted the cookies, did you? Sure, if it’s okay with her mom. Just stay right out there on the patio.”
“Can you come with me?” he asked Charlotte.
The girl looked over at her mom. Reba smiled and nodded.
“Yeth,” she said.
Adam took hold of her hand. “Okay, come on.”
Savannah and Michael watched the children rush toward the refreshment table. At the same time, Reba turned and spoke to an elderly gentleman who was walking toward her.
“They let dog killers inside the church?”
“What?” Michael turned around quickly to see who the angry voice belonged to. There, standing in front of him was a pudgy, well-dressed woman in her mid-seventies. She stared intently at Michael with dark, deep-set eyes. She hissed, “You killed my son’s dog, you miserable excuse for a veterinarian.” She glanced over at Savannah, scowled, and then turned and walked away.
“What’s wrong?” Reba asked as she returned to where the Iveys stood. “Has something happened?”
“Reba, do you know who that woman in the blue coat is?” Michael asked.
“That’s Mrs. Gamble.” She looked up at Michael. “Was she rude to you? Don’t pay her no mind. She’s always unhappy about something. She often has an insulting remark to make about someone’s child. She has been rather cruel to Charlotte a time or two. What did she say to you, anyway?”
Michael and Savannah glanced at one another. He responded, “Oh nothing. Nothing of any importance.” All he had on his mind now was gathering up his little family and leaving. “Adam; where’s Adam?” He excused himself, took Savannah’s hand, and led her toward the patio. He scanned the area quickly. When he didn’t see the children, he started to panic. “Where is he?” he asked, his eyes darting back and forth.
“I hear him,” Savannah said. “Sounds like he and Charlotte are having fun just on the other side of that table. Michael rushed over and saw the two of them sitting on a rock wall eating cookies and sipping punch.
“Hi, Dad,” Adam called out when he spotted Michael and Savannah. He began to giggle. “Hey Dad, you shoulda seen it. A lizard just took a bite of Charlotte’s cookie.”
***
“What a super weekend,” Savannah said as she and Michael drove home after delivering Adam to his mom and stepdad.
Michael reached for his wife’s hand, looked over at her with a smile, and said, “It sure was. It sure was.” He laughed a little. “I got a kick out of your conversation with Adam about Charlotte. It was cute when he asked you why she talks funny.”
“Yeah, he said, ‘she talks like a little kid, but she’s a big kid.’” Savannah laughed.
“I thought you handled his question very well. He understood when you explained she has Down syndrome, since his little sister also has it.”
“But Rose isn’t saying words yet. Reba told me once that many people with Down syndrome have speech impediments because of the way their tongue is formed or the way they use their tongues.”
“Interesting. I didn’t know that.”
The couple drove in silence for a while, each with their own thoughts, when Michael glanced over at Savannah briefly and asked, “How do you think the new girl, Alyce, will work out?”
“Oh, seems okay. Too early to tell, really,” Savannah said. “She’s been with us for…what…four days?”
“As long as she does a good job of disinfecting pens and keeps our offices and waiting room clean, I’m happy,” Michael said.
“Well, yes, but you want her to fit in with our office family, too,” Savannah reminded him. “And it appears as though she’s getting along with Bud and the gals in back okay. Scarlett seems okay with her, too, as far as I can tell.”
Michael took a swig of water and set the bottle back down in the cup holder. “It’s hard to replace someone like Cindy. She’s a good worker and knows her job.”
“She sure does. I’ll miss her.” Savannah sat quietly for a moment and then said, “It’s really odd how Alyce came to us, don’t you think? I mean we’d been interviewing for several weeks and had so few applicants. And then to have this girl just show up out of the blue when we were so close to making a decision…it seems almost too fortuitous.”
“Yeah, it was odd the way it happened. But she lucked out—came in at the right time with what seem to be the right credentials.”
***
The next morning as they prepared for work, Michael asked Savannah, “By the way, honey, do you think we should take the cats to the clinic this morning?”
“What?” Savannah asked, switching off the
blow dryer.
“I think we should take the cats to the clinic.”
She spun toward Michael. “Why? Are they sick?”
“No, but the termite people are coming today, remember?”
“Oh that’s right.” She faced the mirror again and looked at Michael’s reflection. “I thought they worked without chemicals.”
“Yes, but they’ll be all over this house, in the attic, under the house, in all the rooms.” “Yeah, I guess we’d better not leave the cats here. What about Lexie?”
“We’ll take her, too. The staff likes it when she comes to work.”
“They sure do. Everyone spoils her with treats.”
“You finish doing that foo-foo stuff you do to yourself and I’ll go get the carriers ready and feed the gang. What do you want for breakfast?”
“I’ll just fix a bowl of oatmeal and fruit. Want me to cook you some eggs?”
“No. I’m going to have one of those muffins you made.”
***
“I feel kind of bad leaving the kitties behind tonight,” Savannah said as she climbed into bed next to Michael. “But you’re probably right, they’ll be fine. They all seemed relaxed and contented in that big pen. How smart of you to build that community pen at the clinic—sort of reminiscent of Max’s outdoor runs for his rescued cats.”
Michael smiled. “Yeah, that’s where I got the idea. They did have fun playing in that kitty playhouse didn’t they, with all of the different levels and cubby holes to zip in and out of?”
“And Buffy was in her element with the hidey places,” Savannah said, snuggling close to her husband, her head on his outstretched arm. “She likes to just observe from a safe place. Yeah, they’ll be okay tonight. But I miss them.”
“You were with them all day.”
She rolled toward him. “Not the same; I was working. Only got to see them a couple of times.” She laid her head back and looked up at the ceiling. “They seem to like the placement of that pen, too—lots of activity, people coming and going. Good location. You did remember to close off the outside area, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” Michael said. “I secured the kitty door. They’re tucked in for the night. And Lexie has us all to herself. She seems to be enjoying that luxury, doesn’t she?” Michael looked over at the dog, who was lying stretched out at the foot of their bed.