“Not if they’re unfit,” Gaby added. “I wish my mom were here. We could adopt her, you know?”
“Don’t worry, Gaby.” Alma put her arms around Gaby’s shoulder. “We’ll talk to Dr. V.”
Gaby felt tears well up in her eyes. If only she had enough money. If only her mom were here. She could ask her dad, but she knew what he’d say. He’d rant about how they barely have enough money to cover their bills. There was no money for a cat. She was pretty sure the City Harvest Center didn’t hand out cat food.
The wind rustled the big tree in front of her house. Gaby watched the branches sway. If Feather was stuck in that tree — no matter how high she was — Gaby was certain she could save her. But this was different — and she felt helpless.
It had been a week since they were last at the shelter. Even though Gaby and Alma had sent Dr. V. an e-mail about Feather’s owners, Gaby was nervous that Dr. V. would be forced to release Feather to them. As soon as the bus parked, she ran to the clinic to see Feather.
“As far as I know the owners still want her,” said Daisy. She took Feather out of her cage and passed her to Gaby. “But they haven’t come back.”
Gaby held Feather close and gazed into her perfect emerald eyes. “I hope they never do.”
Daisy ruffled Gaby’s hair. “C’mon, we’ve got lots of pictures to take today for our website.”
The girls were split into two groups. With Daisy’s help, one team took cat pictures inside. Dr. Villalobos, Mrs. Kohler, Alma, and Gaby were part of a second team to snap photos of the dogs outside. As the dogs were brought out of the shelter one by one, Gaby’s job was to brush them to ensure they looked picture-perfect. Despite Atticus trying to eat the brush and Puck trotting up to the camera to give it a good slobbery lick, the photo session ran smoothly until Spike charged out of his cage like a bull.
Gaby rushed to catch him, but when he saw a toy bone lying in the grass, he clamped it between his teeth and ran off.
“Stop him!” Gaby screamed. The girls scampered around the lawn. Two girls tried to trap him by the oak tree, but just as they made a dive to the left, he swerved right and scurried off with the bone still in his mouth. The girls tumbled onto the grass.
Spike skidded to a stop by the fence at the farthest edge of the shelter’s backyard. He sank to the grass and gnawed on the bone like it was a slab of barbeque ribs. Alma moved in with the camera.
“Now this will be a great picture,” she said. “Sweet little Spike, my sweet little Spikey.” His ears perked up as he watched Alma creep closer. Suddenly he barked, sprang up, and raced to the opposite side of the lawn where Gaby was ready … or so she thought.
As one girl lunged for him, Spike sped past and veered toward Gaby. All she saw was a blur of black and white. She squatted and dived.
“I got him!” Gaby rolled onto her back with Spike in her arms. He dropped the bone and smothered her face with licks until she didn’t think she could breathe. Alma rushed over, snapped a quick picture, and whisked him away.
“Gaby, the dog tackler!” Dr. Villalobos held out his hand and helped her to her feet. Snowflake, an older white cat, was draped around his neck.
“Nice scarf, Dr. V.,” she quipped.
Dr. V. chuckled and stroked Snowflake’s tail. Even though Snowflake had free-roaming rights, which meant she didn’t need a cage because she had the whole shelter, she preferred to sit atop people’s shoulders and wrap herself around their necks. In the shelter world, “free-roaming” was the highest honor and reserved for only the best-behaved cats or dogs. It was an honor, Gaby was sure, that crazy Spike would never enjoy. She brushed grass from her sweater and pants.
“Any word from Feather’s owners?”
“I just got off the phone with them, actually.” Dr. V. frowned. Gaby’s heart stopped. “They say they’ll come for Feather tomorrow. And if I don’t hand her over, they’ll file a lawsuit.” Across the yard, a girl yelled for Dr. V. “I’ll be right there, Rachel,” he said. “I’m sorry, Gaby.” He started to walk away.
“Let them sue!” Gaby hollered behind him. He turned back to her. “I’ll tell the judge what I heard them say,” Gaby said. “I’m not afraid.”
“They work for one of the biggest law firms in town.”
“But the shelter reserves the right to refuse. It says so on the website.”
“Believe me, Gaby. I wouldn’t turn Feather over to them if I didn’t think they could win. Even if they didn’t win … going to court isn’t cheap. The shelter would suffer. You did the right thing in telling me everything you heard. Don’t forget that.” He walked away.
Gaby bit down on her lip. She looked around the yard. Daisy was inside helping some girls with the cat photos. Everyone else, including Dr. Villalobos and Mrs. Kohler, was outside.
“Why so serious?” Alma was suddenly in front of her holding Spike.
“My book bag … I need it … It’s in the office,” Gaby stammered. “I had an idea for Spike’s profile. I need my notebook.” She marched past Alma.
Alma shouted behind her, “You go, girl! I can’t wait to read it!”
Gaby hated lying to Alma, but she had to do something. Like her mom had told her over and over, “Animales depend on us to take care of them.” If she was going to save Feather, now was her chance.
After grabbing her book bag from the office, Gaby poked her head into the clinic.
“Hello?” She crept in and closed the door behind her.
Through the walls, Gaby could hear voices from the cat room. The girls were telling the cats to “smile for the camera.” Good luck with that, Gaby thought. She found a towel on the counter, stuffed it into her book bag, and tiptoed to the cages. Feather was asleep. “It’s okay, sweet Feather,” Gaby whispered. “I’m here to save you.”
Gaby unlatched Feather’s cage. Suddenly the cat from the cage below Feather’s reached out and snagged her. “My sweater!” Gaby gasped. Most days, she left her sweater on the bus, as all the girls did, but today she had been in too much of a rush to see Feather and had forgotten. As Gaby stepped back, the cat’s claws tightened on her sweater, ripping out strands of dark blue threads. The cat wailed. Its claws were tangled. “No, don’t cry, kitty. It’s okay.”
Gaby looked back toward the door and hoped no one came in to see what all the noise was about. After some tugging, she freed the cat’s claws from her sweater, but the damage was done. Her only good sweater was wrecked. Worse, the poor cat was nursing its paw.
“I’m so sorry,” Gaby said softly. On the floor was an opened sack of dry cat food. She scooped some out and passed it to the cat. “There you go. This will make it all better.” The cat stopped licking its paw and ate the food.
Gaby reached into Feather’s cage and took gentle hold of her by the back of the neck. Feather’s green eyes opened slightly and then closed. She was grateful that Feather was napping. She lowered Feather into her book bag and zipped it, leaving a slight opening for air to get through. She stuffed both her pockets with dry cat food until they bulged. Gaby strapped the book bag on her back and had her hand on the doorknob ready to leave when she realized Mrs. Kohler was on the other side of the door calling for the girls to gather their things.
Gaby put her ear against the clinic door and waited. She could go out the other door, but that led outside. She didn’t want to risk anyone seeing her leave the clinic. Finally, Mrs. Kohler’s voice trailed off. Gaby opened the door just enough to peek. All was clear. She closed it behind her and joined the girls in the parking lot waiting to board the bus.
Alma waved her over. “Gaby, your sweater! What happened?”
Gaby winced and patted down the loose threads. “Yeah …” she stalled. “The craziest thing, it snagged on my notebook.”
“The hazards of being a shelter scribe.” Alma shrugged.
“Yeah, exactly.” Gaby pulled tight on her book bag straps. She hoped Feather was still asleep. If this was going to work, she needed to keep Feather as quiet as poss
ible. Alma would be the real challenge. If Gaby was hiding something, it would be a matter of seconds before Alma figured it out.
“Oh hey, I have to ask Carly something. I’ll see you on the bus.” She left Alma standing there, looking wounded.
On the bus, even though Alma had saved Gaby a window seat next to her, Gaby took the empty seat behind her. Again, Alma looked hurt. Gaby wished she could erase Alma’s pout, but she knew she couldn’t involve her right now. Once she got Feather settled, safely away from the shelter, she’d tell her everything. She’d understand.
Gaby sat the book bag on her lap and peeked inside. Feather still slept.
“Everything there?” Alma kneeled backward on the seat in front of Gaby and smiled down at her. Gaby clutched the book bag shut.
“Alma, you know I don’t want to see you sitting that way on the bus,” Mrs. Kohler reminded her from the front of the bus. “Please take your proper seat.”
Alma made a sour face and sat down. Just then, Feather meowed.
Gaby’s heart stopped. All the girls giggled and looked around. Gaby put the book bag on the floor of the bus and dug into her pockets for cat food.
“Was that a cat?” a girl asked.
Feather cried out again. All the girls giggled and peeked under their seats. Gaby clutched the morsels of cat food in her hand. She had to find a way to quiet Feather.
“It was just me!” Gaby said nervously. A couple of girls crowded into the seat across the aisle from her.
“It sounded so real!” a girl said. “Do it again.”
Gaby produced a soft, drawn-out meow. It sounded nothing like Feather.
“No, no, it was better the first time. Do it the way you did it before.”
“Yeah, how did you do that?”
“Do it again.”
Suddenly, there was a bark. All the girls exploded in laughter. It was Alma.
“What is going on back there?” Mrs. Kohler exclaimed.
“Woof! Woof!” Alma turned around and barked some more.
Soon all the girls were barking, howling, and meowing back at one another until the bus was as loud as the shelter. When Gaby thought no one was watching, she dipped her hand into the bag and fed Feather from her palm. She looked up. Alma was watching her. She glanced from the book bag to Gaby, shook her head slowly, and sat back down without a word.
When the bus parked at St. Ann’s, Gaby and Alma were the first off. The parking lot was empty. School had let out fifteen minutes ago. Alma’s mother waved from her car. Gaby slid into the backseat, while Alma took the front.
“Hi, Mrs. Gomez,” Gaby said. She pulled off her backpack and rested it on the floor.
“Hey, sweetheart! You girls got everything?”
“Yes,” Gaby answered.
“And more,” Alma added. Gaby froze. Was Alma going to tell on her? She wouldn’t dare! Would she?
Gaby smiled at Alma through the passenger mirror, but Alma ignored her. If it wasn’t for Alma, Gaby was sure that right now she’d be in Sister Joan’s office, also known as the “dungeon,” trying to explain how a cat got into her book bag. Gaby unzipped the bag to give Feather some air.
Suddenly, Feather’s paw shot out from the bag and batted around as if it wanted to smack some sense into Gaby. It worked.
Gaby blinked. Was there really a cat — a full-grown cat — in her book bag? The evidence was there in the navy blue shreds of her sweater. Suddenly, she felt hot all over. She pulled off her torn cardigan. How was she going to take care of Feather? How was she going to keep her hidden from her father? How was she going to fix her sweater?
Feather was still reaching out of the bag, swiping at the air. Luckily, Alma’s mom was singing along to a popular song. If Feather meowed, she wouldn’t notice. Feather dropped her paw back down. The bag bulged east and west, north and south as Feather moved. After a few seconds, it seemed like the cat had finally settled down. Gaby relaxed against the backseat. Soon Feather popped her paw out again like she wanted a high five. Gaby giggled and tapped it. The paw sunk back down. After a few minutes it was back up. It was their game all the way home.
Since it was Friday, Gaby was staying at Alma’s house. Friday was Gaby’s favorite night of the week, because every Friday at Alma’s house was Mexican-food-and-a-movie night. Alma’s mom made the best enchiladas and Alma’s father had a secret recipe for guacamole that she craved.
When they reached the house, the girls went straight up to Alma’s room. Alma locked the bedroom door behind them.
“I cannot believe you smuggled that cat from the shelter, Gaby!” Alma was pacing the room. “That’s just all kinds of wrong! What were you thinking?”
Gaby let Feather out of her book bag and onto her twin bed. Feather gazed around the room and pawed Gaby’s pillow. Gaby sat on the edge of bed. “I had no choice.”
Alma paused and raised an eyebrow. “No choice?” She shook her head. “Maybe I should have let you get busted on the bus. It’s obvious our friendship means nothing to you.”
Gaby looked up, shocked. “But that’s not true. That’s why I didn’t tell you my plan. I didn’t want you to get in trouble if Feather was discovered.”
“No, instead you lied to me, Gaby. Best friends don’t keep secrets or lie to each other.” Alma folded her arms across her chest. “Especially if catnapping is involved.”
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. “Girls, what movie do you want Dad to pick up?” Alma’s mom wiggled the doorknob. “Hey, why’s the door locked?”
“What are we going to do?” Gaby whispered. She picked Feather up from the bed.
“I don’t know …” Alma looked around wildly, then grabbed Feather from her and put the cat into the closet. It’d have to do for now.
Alma opened the door. “Hey, Mom! Sorry about that. What were you saying?”
Her mom looked around the room. “Everything okay?” She had already changed out of her work clothes and was wearing jeans and a sweatshirt.
Gaby watched the closet door. She hoped Feather wouldn’t start meowing or scratching at it.
“Everything’s fine. What were you saying about a movie?”
“Um, what movie do you want your dad to pick up?”
Alma tapped her lips with a single finger. “I’m thinking something like Catwoman, maybe? What do you think, Gaby? We’ve never seen that.”
All Gaby could muster was a quick shake of her head.
“How about The Cat in the Hat?” Alma continued.
“Seen it already.” Gaby narrowed her eyes at Alma. What was she doing?
“What’s this sudden obsession with cats, Alma?” her mom asked.
“Maybe you should ask Gaby.”
Gaby swallowed hard. “Cats are fascinating creatures … and we have a lot to learn from them. Like how to stretch properly and stuff. That’s all.”
“Okay, a cat movie it is.” Her mom turned to leave, but stopped in the doorway. “I’ll be making yummy enchiladas if you want to come down and help.”
As soon as Alma shut the bedroom door, Gaby pulled Feather from the closet. She held her close to her chest. “Sorry, Feather. Was it dark inside there?”
“No, but it’s dark in your book bag.”
“Look, Alma. I couldn’t let those awful people take her.”
Alma looked long and hard at Gaby. “What did Dr. V. say?”
Gaby kissed Feather on her head. “He said there was nothing he could do.”
“That doesn’t sound like Dr. V.” Alma shook her head.
“He said they threatened to sue him. He had no choice. I had no choice. I had to save her.”
“Do you know what this means? After Mrs. Kohler finds out what you did, your Furry Friends days are over.”
“How will she find out? Feather will stay with me,” Gaby said. “Those people don’t deserve her. They named her Malbec. That’s crazy!”
“True …” Alma let the word stretch out. “Still, your dad is going to freak. He doesn’t exact
ly like cats and dogs.”
“I’ve already figured it out. I’ll keep her hidden in the basement during the week, and on weekends we can keep her up here. Once my mom comes back, my dad will move out and everything will be good again. It will be my mom, Feather, and me.”
“No way, José! If you want to keep Feather here, you have to tell my parents. I’m not going to lie or sneak around.”
“They’ll tell my dad or take Feather back to the shelter.” Gaby was on the verge of tears. “Besides, it won’t be long. My mom will be home in a month or so. She just has to get more money.”
“She told you she’s coming home in a month?”
“Of course! We talked the other day.” Gaby bit down on her lip. That wasn’t exactly the truth. The truth was she didn’t know when her mom would have enough money to make the trip home. She didn’t exactly have a set timeline.
“Are you sure she’s coming back, Gaby? It’s been three months already.”
“Actually, it’s been three months, two weeks, and four days.” Gaby scowled.
Both girls were silent. Feather meowed. Gaby held her tighter.
“My mom is coming home,” Gaby finally said. She grabbed her book bag and put Feather back inside. “Sorry, Feather. Just a little while longer.”
“What are you doing?”
“I’m going home.” Gaby wished she could stop the sneaking around, but it was too late now. It made her angry that Alma didn’t back her up more.
“But it’s Friday night, Gaby. You’re supposed to be with us on weekends.”
“I want to go home.”
“This is your home on weekends.”
“No. It’s not. I’d rather move to Honduras than ever have this place be my home.” Gaby grabbed her bag and walked out. Alma gasped.
“Gaby!” Alma yelled after her. Gaby stormed down the stairs and out the front door.
At home, Gaby poured Feather a small bowl of milk, but Feather didn’t touch it. She sat on the kitchen floor, looked around, and meowed. “You don’t want milk? You want food?” Gaby put the leftover dry cat food from her pocket into a bowl. Feather twitched her nose at it. “Not hungry? What do you want?” Feather meowed some more. “A tour?”
Gaby, Lost and Found Page 6