A Very Meowy Christmas

by Patricia Fry

  “The cat?” Savannah was a little confused by the abrupt swerve in the conversation.

  “Yeah,” Max said. “I took him to the clinic and had Michael check him over.”

  “No, he didn’t tell me,” Savannah said.

  Max continued, “Well, while I was checking on the cat, I thought I heard something outside. I figured it was those raccoons that visit once in a while. They can be noisy. I looked around the yard, but I didn’t see anything until this morning.”

  “What happened this morning?” Savannah asked.

  “I found footprints all around that storage room out back.”

  “The one the former owners used to rent out as an apartment?” Savannah asked.

  “Yes. And things were moved around.”

  “Yeah. That could have been raccoons,” Savannah said.

  “I don’t think so,” Max countered. “It rained a little last night and the prints left in the mud this morning were definitely human.” He chuckled. “…unless Lily’s putting her daddy’s shoes on the neighborhood raccoons.”

  Savannah laughed, then asked, “Was anything missing?”

  “Not that I’m aware of,” Max said. “Everything seemed to be there, just sort of out of place, you know.”

  “Well, I’ll have Michael look around here and see if anything’s been disturbed. I’m going out to feed the horses in a few minutes. I’ll check the tack room. But I doubt we were visited because Lexie usually barks when something or someone’s outside after dark.”

  “Okay. Well, let me know if you see anything unusual,” Max requested. “Otherwise, I guess I’ll just chalk this up to someone wanting to get in out of the Northern California rain.”

  “Yes, that could be it,” Savannah agreed. “But yeah, I’ll let you know. Hey, what do you hear from Auntie and Mom?”

  He laughed. “Oh those two sound like a couple of college students on spring break.”

  “College students?” she questioned.

  “Yeah. The things they’re getting into…”

  “What?” Savannah asked, amused.

  “Oh, they had a spa day with your Aunt Rose and one of the nieces. They rode a wild ride at some amusement park with the great-nieces and -nephews.” He chuckled. “I couldn’t believe Gladys would accept the dare. And I guess she had a good time, too.”

  “Mom?” Savannah yelped.

  “Yeah, and they’re going to spend a day doing beach clean-up with that new cousin Janet—the one your mom found online last year. I guess some of the younger kids are going to help. Didn’t Maggie send you the selfie she took of the two of them signing up for that?”

  “No,” Savannah said. “I’ve only received a couple of pictures of cousins and their families. Mom has texted a couple of times to ask about Teddy and Lily—and to request more pictures of them to show around. Oh, she did say something about taking an aerial silk lesson—only she wanted to be in the hammock class. Did they do that?”

  “I think that’s today,” Max said. “They’re attending a fish dinner on the beach this evening. Savannah, I don’t know if those two will ever come home. They’re just having so much fun. Maggie said one of her nieces challenged her to some sort of wine pong.”

  “Wine pong?”

  “It’s a drinking game like beer pong only you use glasses of wine.” He chuckled. “And someone introduced your mother to Jell-O shooters. She liked it so much she asked for a second one.”

  “Oh my. How will we ever tame those senior delinquents?” Savannah asked, laughing.

  Max laughed as well. “Do you mean your mother hasn’t been keeping you updated?”

  “No. I imagine she’s afraid she’ll lose her position here with the children if I find out she’s running so wild.” She then said, “Well, Max, if you get lonely, come over and visit. In fact, why don’t you have dinner with us tonight? I’m making spaghetti and meatballs. Lily loves sghetti.”

  “Hey, that sounds good. Count me in.”

  “Great—say, six? And Max, let me know if you need any help with the shelter cats.”

  “Okay, but I think between me and the volunteers, we have things pretty much under control. See you later,” he said before ending the call.

  “What’s funny?” Michael asked, putting on his jacket. “I heard you laughing.”

  “Mom and Auntie. Max said they’re acting like college students on spring break. They’re trying all sorts of new things.”

  “Really? Are they staying out of trouble?”

  “One can only hope. I think the only trouble my aunt has ever been in has to do with cats. So as long as they don’t happen upon a serious cat abuse or neglect situation, they probably won’t wind up in handcuffs.” She faced him. “Oh, Max is coming for dinner.”

  “Good. What are we having?” Michael asked.

  “Spaghetti and meatballs.”

  “Oh, sghetti? Good,” he said. “So Max called to tell on your mom?”

  Savannah shook her head. “No. He called to ask if we had any prowlers last night. Four-legged or two-legged. He thinks someone might have slept in his storage room.”

  “Storage room?” Michael repeated.

  “You know, that secret room that the original owners used to rent out. Remember, we found it when we were helping them look for some escaped kittens?”

  Michael nodded. “Yeah, I remember that. So he thinks someone broke in?”

  “Maybe,” Savannah said, “although I don’t know if it was locked. He asked if we had any evidence of prowlers here. I’ll look around when I go out to feed.”

  Michael glanced out the window. “It looks cold out there. How about if I feed this morning and you stay inside with the kids? I’ll look around for footprints.”

  Savannah smiled. “That would be great. And would you look the horses over and make sure they’re okay?”

  He pushed his jacket collar up, pulled on a beanie, and opened the kitchen door. “Sure will,” Michael said, quickly leaving the house.

  Minutes later, Savannah’s phone chimed. “A text from Daddy,” she said to the kids.

  “I want to see,” Lily chirped.

  “See? See?” Teddy said, squeezing in next to his sister.

  “No picture, punkins.” She smiled. “Daddy just says the horses are okay and he loves us.”

  “No picture?” Lily asked, trying to see the phone screen. “Can I look at your pictures, Mommy?”

  “How about this?” Savannah said, placing her phone on the buffet. “Let’s get your play phone. You have pictures on there.”

  “No pictures of me,” Lily whined. “…just Dora and Cinderella and Ariel and Goofy…”

  “Hey,” Savannah said, changing the subject, “what do you want to wear today? You and I are going shopping, remember? But first, we’re taking Teddy to Barbara’s day care.” Teddy looked at her and started to babble excitedly. “Yes, you’re going to Barbara’s to play with Rosemary and the other girls and boys. Mommy needs to get a good start on our Christmas shopping because we’ll be busy vacationing with Peter and Rochelle and their new little boy, Simon, next week.”

  “A baby?” Lily asked.

  “No. Simon’s a big boy like Adam. He came to live with Peter and Rochelle.”

  “Why?”

  “Well, he didn’t have a home, so they gave him a home. Now they’re a family like we are.” When that seemed to satisfy Lily, Savannah led both children down the hallway to get them cleaned up for their day.

  ****

  “Hi,” Savannah greeted when Jenna opened the door at Barbara’s day care about an hour later. “Just bringing you another little bundle of energy.”

  “Good,” Jenna said, acknowledging Teddy, who refused to look at her. “Not ready to visit, huh? That’s okay. We can take it slow while you get used to things.” She added in a singsong manner, “Your friend Rosemary’s here.”

  “Where?” Lily asked, looking around. She saw Rosemary, and quickly walked across the room to where the two-year-old
was struggling with a doll’s dress. “Want me to put that on her for you?” Lily asked.

  “She keeps taking it off,” explained Jenna’s son, Bradley, who was about the same age as Lily.

  “That’s okay,” Barbara said. “She’s getting practice dressing and undressing the doll.”

  “But she can’t put it back on,” Bradley complained. “She can only take it off.”

  “That’s okay, too,” Barbara soothed. She asked Lily, “Can you put that on the doll for Rosemary? Then she will show you how well she can take it off.”

  “Okay,” Lily said, squirming out of her coat and dropping it on the floor. When Rosemary continued to clutch the doll tightly, Lily leaned closer and said, “Let me put the dress on the doll, okay?”

  At the same time, Barbara approached Savannah and spoke to Teddy. “Want to come with me and play with that big truck over there?”

  Teddy stared at the toy for a second, then pushed to be released from Savannah’s arms, saying, “Truck.”

  Savannah watched the toddler run across the room with Barbara. She smiled, then focused again on Jenna. “How are you? Haven’t seen you in a while. Still studying law?”

  “Every chance I get,” Jenna said. “How are you? I hear you’ve been gone a lot and now your mom’s off vacationing. They’re getting some nice weather down south, aren’t they?”

  “Yes, from the few pictures she’s sent, it seems to be sunny all the time. And it sounds like they’re having a blast.”

  “I’ll bet you miss her,” Jenna said.

  Savannah nodded. “Oh, my gosh, every minute. She’s an absolute jewel. I swear the kids are more well-behaved for her than they are for me.” She grinned. “But she needed this get away, and I’m glad she’s having such a good time.” She glanced around. “Is Alicia here today?”

  “She will be any time,” Jenna said. “We’re expecting a couple of new little girls this morning—one- and two-year-old sisters, so Mom was pretty sure we’d need extra help. Usually we trade off days, but there are times when we all need to be here.”

  “Doesn’t your dad help out some?”

  Jenna nodded. “Yes, sometimes. And Mom has hired another helper—a nursing student who wants to work with children. Tiffany seems to be a natural.”

  “Great. It’s not easy to find good help—at least that’s what I hear from Iris over at the Kaiser Inn. She really treasures a good employee when she finds one.”

  “I’m sure she does,” Jenna said. When she heard something, she looked out the window. “Oh, here come Alicia and Crissy.”

  “It’s a cold one,” Alicia said as she ushered her daughter inside. “Savannah,” she chirped, hugging her, “good to see you.”

  “You too,” Savannah said. She smiled down at Crissy. “Look at what a big girl you are.”

  Crissy held up four fingers, announcing, “I’m four.”

  “I’m four!” Lily shouted from across the room. “I had my birthday. Now I’m four.”

  “Wow, Lily,” Alicia remarked, “you’re a big girl, too.” She pointed. “And look at your brother. Hi, Teddy. Looks like you’ve found your comfort zone with that monster truck.” She walked toward him. “Want to take off your jacket and stay for a while?” She asked Savannah, “You’re leaving him, right?”

  Savannah nodded.

  “So when are the rest of the kids showing up?” Alicia asked, removing Teddy’s jacket and placing it on a shelf marked with his name.

  Barbara looked up from where she now sat feeding an infant. “In about thirty minutes.”

  “Okay,” she said smiling at her sister and her mother. “I guess we’ll be ready.”

  “Alicia,” Savannah said quietly, “can I talk to you for a minute?”

  “Of course.”

  Savannah made sure Teddy and Lily were still engaged in play, then suggested, “Maybe in another room?”

  “Sure,” Alicia said, leading her into the kitchen. “It’s warm in here, why don’t you take off your coat? Want a cup of tea?”

  “Oh, I won’t be staying that long,” Savannah said, removing her coat. I just want to show you something.” She reached into her purse. “I found this blowing around, actually toward me as I walked up here from where I parked the other day.” She chuckled. “Michael laughs at me, but I have a habit of picking up trash—I mean if it’s not too icky or anything. So I grabbed it and stuffed it into my purse. But before I could throw it away, Rags dug it out of there.” She cringed, thinking of how odd that must sound. “It’s a letter and I thought it might be addressed to you.” She laid it on the table in front of Alicia.

  “Oh,” Alicia said, easing down into a chair. “Yeah, I saw that. Someone left it on my windshield, and I did throw it away. I don’t know what it means, but it kind of scared me and I just wanted to get rid of it as fast as I could.” She winced. “I think I just tossed it in the backseat to deal with later. Crissy must have kicked it out or something.”

  “I’m sorry,” Savannah said, sitting down across from Alicia. “Here I am bringing it back to you like a boomerang.” She picked it up. “I’ll just put it in the trash can then.” She frowned at Alicia. “But you say it scared you? I wondered if it was some kind of threat.”

  Alicia shook her head. “I hope not. I don’t know who this is or what they’re referring to. It could be a case of mistaken identity. I mean, there are a lot of women in this town named Mary. And as you know, that’s no longer my name.”

  “But could this be from someone you knew growing up? You were Mary for most of your life.” Before Alicia could respond, Savannah asked, “So this was just a one-time thing? You haven’t received anything else from this RJ person?” When she saw the look on Alicia’s face, she said, “Oh no. Another note? What did it say?” She caught herself and blurted, “I’m sorry, Alicia. Forgive me. It’s not my business and I don’t mean to pry.”

  “No, it’s not that, Savannah,” Alicia insisted. “I need someone to talk to about this. I sure don’t want to worry my parents or my sister after what they’ve been through with me. If you have a minute, I’d like to tell you what I know.”

  Just then, Jenna called out, “The new children are here.” She stood in the kitchen doorway and shivered gleefully. “Oh, they’re so cute. Come look at them waddling up the walkway in their winter coats like two little penguins,” she said, quickly trotting back toward the front door.

  “Mommy,” Lily cried when she saw Savannah in the kitchen with Alicia, “I couldn’t find you.”

  Savannah stood and lifted the child into her arms. “I’m sorry, honey-bun. I was just visiting.” She looked at Alicia. “What’s your schedule like tomorrow? Do you have time for coffee in the morning or tea in the afternoon?”

  Alicia waved her hand in front of her face. “Oh, that’s all right, you don’t have to go out of your way for me. You have a busy life. I’ll figure it out.”

  Savannah faced Alicia. “Hey, I’m never too busy to help you out with something important and this sounds important. Can I expect you at my house at nine thirty tomorrow morning? I’d really like to help if I can—even if it’s just to be a sounding board.”

  “Okay,” Alicia whispered, quickly putting on her welcoming persona to greet the new family. “Aren’t they cuties?” she gushed, walking toward the two small sisters.

  Jenna made the introductions: “This is Emma and Lila. Want to take your coats off, guys, and play with the toys? We have a lot of toys here you can play with.”

  Savannah picked up Lily’s coat and put it on her. While slipping into her own coat, Savannah looked in Teddy’s direction and saw that he was playing with another boy. She made eye contact with Barbara who motioned for her to leave without disturbing the child. Savannah nodded, took Lily’s hand, and started out the door.

  Alicia stepped out with her and said quietly, “I’ll see you tomorrow at nine thirty.”

  “Perfect,” Savannah agreed.

  Alicia hugged her, and quickly returned
to the house leaving Savannah staring after her. Oh dear, it sure appears that Alicia’s concerned about something. Yes, that note has her worried. I just wonder what and who is behind it.

  ****

  “So did you shop till you dropped today?” Michael asked, watching Savannah set the table for dinner that evening.

  “Pretty much,” she said, “but I’m mostly, almost close to being all finished.”

  “Mostly, almost close?” he questioned, picking Teddy up and putting him on his lap.

  “Yeah, I crossed everything off my list today, so I’m actually finished, unless I get another idea for someone.” She faced him. “And we’ll both go shopping for the children.”

  “Sounds good.” He snuggled with their son, saying, “Hmmm. I wonder what fun toy Santa will bring for Teddy and me.”

  Savannah smirked playfully at him and shook her head. When she heard a knock at the door, she called, “Come in, Max!”

  “Hi,” he greeted, stepping inside and removing his hooded jacket.

  Michael approached with Teddy in his arms and took the jacket, asking, “How’re things at the cattery, Max?”

  “Good,” he said, focusing on Teddy. “And how’re you doing this evening, big boy?” He made a fist and invited, “Fist bump?”

  Everyone laughed when the toddler pushed his tiny fist into Max’s.

  “How’s the target cat doing?” Michael asked once the two men were seated.

  Max laughed. “Target, that’s a good name for him. He’s healing up nicely, actually. Like you said, he’s lucky the pellets weren’t too deep.”

  “Yeah,” Michael said, “he’s lean—built sort of like a cheetah. If he has the same running ability, that’s probably what saved him from a worse outcome.”

  “Thank heavens for lousy shots,” Max said. He muttered, “Damn pellet guns.”

  “Where’d he come from?” Savannah asked.

  “Out near old man Jergen’s place.”

  “Oh,” she moaned. “The cat was probably stalking his chicken coop. He has a lot of chickens out there, doesn’t he?”