The Empty Nesters

by Brown, Carolyn

  “Don’t open it,” Luke yelled.

  But he was too late. Diana had already pulled the tape from the top and was throwing back the flaps. When he reached her, both her hands were inside the box.

  “Good God, it is a baby, isn’t it?” he gasped.

  “Not a human one, but it’s a mama cat that seems to be real tame, and she’s got three little babies that don’t even have their eyes open. We can’t leave them here, and we can’t just turn her loose on the side of the road, Luke. They’ll all be killed,” Diana whispered.

  Luke rubbed the calico cat’s head, and immediately she began to purr. “Of course we won’t leave her. I’ll carry her to the truck, but if the flaps aren’t closed, she might get spooked and run away.”

  Diana carefully pulled the tape back up over the flaps and held her hand on the top of the box as Luke took it to the truck. He placed it on the seat between them while she rounded the back end of the vehicle. The moment she was inside and the doors were closed, she opened one flap and started petting the cat.

  “It’s okay, pretty mama kitty. We’ll take care of you and your babies. Why are you turning around, Luke? Is there a shelter in Clarksville?” she asked when she realized that he was doing a three-point turn.

  “I have no idea, but I do know we’re going to need some litter, a pan to put it in, and some cat food. Maybe the kittens can stay in a dresser drawer with their mama. You rest in the truck with them while I run into the store and get what we need. We can’t leave them outside in this kind of weather. Never know from one day to the next if it’s going to be cold or if it’s going to rain. Aunt Tootsie will let us keep them in the utility room, I’m sure,” he said.

  “You think we should call and ask to be sure sure?”

  “Naw.” He grinned. “Better to ask forgiveness than permission. Could be that they’re just what she and Carmen both need right now, and they’d never know it if Tootsie said no before we even brought them in.”

  It was only a fifteen-minute drive back to the store. Luke snagged a parking place close to the entrance and was in and out in less than ten minutes. They were easily going to get home in time for Diana to fry a pan of potatoes to go with the barbecue sandwiches.

  “Everyone is going to fall in love with you,” she crooned to the cat as Luke got behind the wheel and started the engine. “How could anyone do this to such a loving animal?”

  “They’re just downright mean,” Luke answered.

  “You ever have a cat?”

  “Yes, I did. A big old yellow tomcat that ruled my house until last year. One day I found him on his favorite blanket on the sofa. I thought he was sleeping, but the vet thought he probably died of a heart attack,” Luke said. “I love cats and dogs both, but a cat is an easier pet. Dogs have to be walked, and they don’t train to a litter pan.”

  “I’m so sorry.” Diana removed her hand from the box and laid it on his shoulder. “What was his name?”

  “Bouncer. He’d actually been my father’s cat, but when Dad died, I inherited him. He was eighteen years old, so he had a long, happy life and went fast, without much, if any, pain. I like to think that he just went to sleep and never woke up.” Luke turned back to the state highway again. “If Aunt Tootsie doesn’t want her or the kittens, I’ll take them home with me.”

  And there’s another reason you should latch on to him in a hurry. He’s good with animals, and I can tell you that little kids flock around him, too. So don’t blow your chance at happiness. Diana could hear Smokey’s chuckle so clearly that it startled her.

  Carmen was bored.

  All the wood had been split. It wasn’t her day to cook, and she’d read the whole book that Tootsie had given her when they had first started on the trip. Yes, it had helped her put things in perspective and made her wish that she’d been home when Eli had arrived. The heroine in the book had put sardines in her ex-husband’s car when he came to take it away from her. Carmen would have just loved to have tucked some into Eli’s golf-club bag. Let his new pregnant woman, Kate, try to find what was stinking up her house for a week.

  She was sitting on the porch, watching the last few leaves fall from the maple tree in the front yard when the old red truck came to a stop not far from her. The back was loaded with bags of groceries, and she’d started out to help when Diana opened the door and hollered at her.

  “Come over here and take this in the house first. We found it sitting in the middle of the road.”

  Carmen wasn’t sure she wanted to handle something they’d picked up on the road, but she recognized a cat’s paw when it shot out the hole in the side of the box. “Is it a cat? You know how much I love cats and kittens. Eli is allergic to them, so we could never have any of them in our house.” She peeked inside the flap and held back a squeal. “Just look at those kittens! Oh, Diana, this is wonderful! Look at their mama.”

  “You better go show them to Tootsie and get her approval before you start naming them.” Diana handed her the box and picked up four bags of groceries.

  Carmen held open the door and then followed her inside. “Tootsie, come and see what some evil person did with these poor babies.” She dearly loved cats. Her grandmother always had at least a dozen or more backyard cats, as she called them, and Carmen had loved them even better than her doll.

  Tootsie hopped up out of her recliner so fast that she dropped the book she’d been reading. “Who did what to a baby?”

  “Look, Tootsie.” Carmen set the box on the floor, and the mama cat hopped out and rubbed around Tootsie’s legs, purring the whole time.

  “Oh. My. Goodness. Isn’t she pretty?” Tootsie sat down on the floor, and the cat crawled up into her lap. “Did I hear you right? Someone left her in the middle of the road in that box. Were they out of their minds? That’s so cruel.”

  “They should be shot.” Carmen moved the box closer to Tootsie. “There’s three little kittens, and they don’t even have their eyes open.”

  “Bless their little baby hearts,” Tootsie crooned as she reached over with her free hand and touched each of them with a forefinger. “Well, we’ll give them a home. I’ll keep the mama cat, and y’all can each have a kitten when we get back to Sugar Run.”

  “Oh, kittens!” Joanie came down the stairs and went right over to pet the cat and then the babies. “I’d love to have one, but with the move I’ll have to pass.”

  “That’s okay,” Carmen said. “I’ll take yours. That way mine won’t be lonely.”

  “And I’ll take whatever is left.” Luke carried in the last of the food. “But if all y’all want this litter, I’ll go to the shelter and adopt one when we get back. I miss having a cat around.”

  Diana dropped down on her knees. “I’ll take one for sure. It’ll be company now that Rebecca is gone. I haven’t seen you smile like this in weeks, Carmen.”

  “I’m happy. I mean I’m really happy right now,” she said. And for the first time since the divorce papers had arrived, she really was. “I’ll sign the papers when I get home, and I’ll have a cat.” It didn’t seem like such a big deal, but for the first time since she’d married Eli, she would have something of her very own without even asking him.

  “Good.” Tootsie picked up the cat and curled it up in her arms like a baby. “Her name is Dolly because I’m reminded of the song ‘Coat of Many Colors’ when I look at her. We’re going to be great friends.”

  “And the kittens’ names? There’s a jet-black one with an orange face, and two yellow ones.” Carmen picked all three up and nuzzled them.

  “That’s for each of y’all to decide, but Dolly is mine.” Tootsie eased up on her feet and carried the cat to the recliner. “We’re going to get along just fine. Sweetheart, you better enjoy this litter because as soon as we get home and you get them weaned, you’re going to the vet for a little operation.”

  “Diana, you brought them in, so you get to choose the first one; then, if you’re serious, Luke, you can choose next, and I’ll take the cr
itter that’s left,” Carmen said.

  “I want one of the yellow ones.” Luke pointed at the squirming kittens.

  “I’ll take the other yellow one.” Diana held out her hands.

  “I’m already in love with this little black one.” Carmen handed off the other two to Luke and Diana. “Y’all can fight over how you’re going to divide them. One has white feet, and the other has a black tip on its tail.”

  “Let’s fight later.” Diana put the kitten back in the box. “Right now, I should be getting some dinner on the table and putting away the groceries.”

  “I am starving.” Luke grinned as he handed his kitten to Joanie. “You babysit, and I’ll help Diana. We’ll have dinner ready in no time.”

  Joanie leaned over and whispered to Carmen, “You really do look happy, but so does Diana. What do you think happened, other than finding a box of cats, on that little trip to town?”

  “I don’t know, but we should make her tell us later tonight, right?”

  “Let’s all meet in my room after Luke goes out to the motor home,” Tootsie said. “I hate climbing up those stairs.”

  “Deal,” Carmen said softly, and then raised her voice. “There were about four mama cats in my granny’s barn when I was growing up. They always had a couple of litters a year, and I loved them. I’d spend hours in the barn naming them and playing with them when we went to see her for holidays.”

  “So this brings back memories?” Tootsie asked.

  “Yes, but what it does even more is help bring me closure where Eli is concerned. He’s got his new woman and a baby on the way. I’ve got a cat that I could never have before because of his allergy. Actually, I think he just didn’t like cats, and what he said went in our house. Now I can do whatever I damn well please. Kate can have the job of upsetting him now,” Carmen said.

  “Congratulations,” Diana called from the kitchen. “You’ve gone through all the stages if you’ve got even a little closure.”

  “If I’m honest,” Carmen said, “I’m still harboring some—no, not some—a hell of a lot of anger.”

  Diana stuck her head around the door. “That, too, will pass with time. Trust me.”

  Carmen checked to see if she was holding a male or female and then kissed her kitten on the nose. “It’s a girl, and her name is Sugar.”

  “Why’d you name a black cat Sugar?” Joanie asked.

  “Because that song from Sugarland called ‘Stay’ has been on my mind all week. I’ve been begging Eli to stay with me and work this out, but now, like the song says, I’m telling him to stay where he is and not come back to me. The song has been good for my soul, so her name is Sugar.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Sunday dinner was finished, and everyone had retired to the living room to hug up to the blaze in the fireplace. They had wakened to the first hard freeze and a slow, steady drizzling rain, so Luke had started a fire. Tootsie had in mind for them to go to church over in Manchester that morning, but because the weather was so bad, she’d changed her mind.

  Joanie stared into the blaze and thought about Zoe that afternoon. Had her daughter gone to services that morning? Was she able to do any type of volunteer work where she was now, like she’d done at their little church in Sugar Run?

  When her phone rang, it took a minute for her to realize that the ringtone meant it was coming from Zoe. She squealed loud enough that she startled Luke, who was sitting on the floor with his back against a hassock.

  “It’s Zoe! She’s calling,” Joanie yelped.

  “Well, then, answer the thing. She won’t have but a minute or two at the most for this first call. There’s a pad and pen on the table there,” Tootsie said.

  “Hello, darlin’. You’re on speaker with Tootsie, Carmen, Diana, and Luke. How are you?”

  “I’m fine, Mama. It’s tough, and I only get a minute to give you my address with this first call. Got a pen ready? Who is Luke?” Zoe asked.

  “Luke is Tootsie’s nephew who drove us up here to north Texas in Tootsie’s motor home. I have a pen now.”

  Zoe rattled it off, and Joanie read it back to her. “I’ve got ten more seconds. I miss you, Mama. Next week, we get to talk longer. I want letters, but I’m absolutely not allowed to receive anything to eat, and that’s a hard rule. I’ve got to hear more about you on a trip then. Bye, now. I love you.”

  “Love you, baby girl.” Joanie barely got the words in before the call ended, and she hugged the phone to her chest. “I got to hear her voice. I’m going up to my room to write her a long letter.”

  “Going to tell her about the move?” Tootsie asked.

  “I think I just might. That way when she calls again, we can talk about it,” Joanie answered. “Are you missing the army wives’ support group back at home, Carmen?”

  “Hell, no,” Carmen answered with a shiver. “I couldn’t stand all that sympathy right now. I’m glad we’re gone for a while. Besides, we have each other, and we hardly ever go to those support meetings anyway.”

  Carmen’s phone rang, and like Joanie, she put it on speaker. Natalie’s voice broke just slightly when she heard everyone yell her name, but she gave her mother her address, told her that she loved her, and told her no candy, cookies, or anything to eat. Letters were all she could have.

  “It’s a shame that we don’t even need to be told that, isn’t it?” Carmen said. “All of us are military, so we’ve heard the stories of what happens when a mama or granny sends food. I remember when Eli called me the first time in basic training. I wanted to send him a box of his favorite cookies. When he got home, he told me exactly what happened to a kid whose mama sent candy. I’m glad we know those things.”

  Diana nodded, and her phone rang. It was the same message and the same short phone call, but she was beaming when the call ended. Just hearing the girls’ voices was better than expensive presents on Christmas morning.

  Tootsie held out a notepad and pen. “Give me those addresses so I can write them down. I’m going to get a letter ready for all three of them. Did y’all file a temporary address change before we left Sugar Run?”

  They all nodded.

  “Then if they send a letter home before they get this address, it’ll get forwarded.” Tootsie eased up out of her recliner and headed to her bedroom. One by one the other three headed upstairs, with Joanie bringing up the rear.

  “What about you, Luke?” Joanie stopped halfway up the stairs and looked toward him.

  “The sofa is all mine now. I’m having a Sunday-afternoon nap.” He yawned as he stretched out on the empty sofa.

  “Secrets,” Joanie whispered as she followed them to the second floor.

  “What’s that?” Diana whispered.

  “We’ve all got secrets that we need to tell our daughters, but we’d rather tell them to their faces, not in letters.” Joanie stopped at the door of her bedroom.

  “I don’t have a secret,” Diana said.

  “Oh, yes, you do. It’s a secret if you don’t want to tell Rebecca about Luke,” Carmen told her. “Hey, I got away without stationery or even a notebook. Either one of y’all got extra?”

  “I got you covered. I brought two spiral notebooks,” Joanie said. “I figure that the girls won’t care if the letters are on fancy paper or not. I’ll bring one over to your room. And about that secret of yours, Diana. It goes beyond not telling Rebecca about Luke.”

  “Oh, yeah?” Diana raised an eyebrow.

  “Yep,” Carmen said. “I’d be willing to bet that you and Luke discussed something other than cats on your trip yesterday. We were going to have a talk about it in Tootsie’s room last night, but we played dominoes so late that she put it off until tonight. Tootsie says that we should have started a weekly meeting among us four as soon as we got here. I guess it’s never too late.” She shrugged. “Anyway, tonight she says that we’re all to be in her room as soon as Luke goes to the motor home.”

  “Y’all are crazy.” Diana smiled. “We talk all the time.”


  “Maybe so, but we’ve all still got a secret to tell our girls, and I’m telling Zoe all about mine in a letter, but we’re going to discuss everything tonight, and I do mean everything.” Joanie went to the armoire in her room, took a notebook from the shelf, and took it back out to Carmen. “You need a pen?”

  Carmen grimaced. “I sure wasn’t very well prepared, was I?”

  Diana whipped one out from the messy bun on top of her hair. “Here you go. It’s done its job holding up my hair. Now it can take care of your letter to Natalie.”

  “I’m tempted to tell her about the divorce right now,” Carmen sighed.

  Diana gave her a quick hug. “Don’t give in to it. She doesn’t need to hear that news until she’s through basic.”

  “Diana’s right,” Joanie said. “And while we’re writing, I’m going to send something to Rebecca and Natalie, too. I remember Brett saying that letters from home meant so much.”

  “Let’s all do that. We can tell them about the trip, the kittens, the storm, and all kinds of things.” Diana went into her room but left the door open.

  “Don’t forget the meeting tonight,” Joanie called out in a loud whisper.

  Sitting cross-legged in the middle of her bed, Joanie realized that other than signing birthday cards or leaving a note stuck to the refrigerator door, she’d never written to her daughter. Should she be silly or serious?

  Finally, she decided to go for what was in her heart. She put the pen to the paper and wrote: My Dearest Zoe, I miss you so, so much. From there the story fell into place as she told her about the trip and the family reunion. She didn’t mention the divorce or the fact that Diana was attracted to Luke. She did tell her that Luke was Smokey’s nephew and that from the early pictures in the Scrap house, he looked a lot like Smokey did as a young man. When she wrote Love, Mama at the end of the fifteenth page, an hour and a half had passed. When Zoe got the letter, she’d know all about Brett getting out of the service. She wished her two friends could share their stories as easily as she’d done, but that wasn’t possible.