Six Cats A Slayin'

We finished our coffee, and Diesel and I took Melba up to see the kittens. After half an hour with them, Melba looked like she was ready to adopt all of them. She seemed particularly taken with Ramses. He easily claimed first place in the personality stakes among the five, but the adorability factor stood consistently high. By the time we left the kittens, I think Melba had already begun planning for adoption.

“Until we know where they came from,” I reminded her, “I can’t give them away. I don’t imagine the child will be able to keep any of them, frankly, given the situation, but things could change.”

“I know,” Melba said, “but I’m an optimist.” She gave me a quick hug, and Diesel a rub on the head, at the front door. We watched until she was in her car, and then I stepped back inside and shut the door.

I checked my watch. About three-quarters of an hour before Sean and Frank were due to arrive. Diesel and I spent a few minutes in the living room, watching Haskell and Stewart. They had the mesh on both segments now, and Haskell had begun work on the door. They were making such rapid progress, I knew it wouldn’t be long before we could bring the kittens back downstairs.

Diesel stayed with them to supervise, and I went upstairs to retrieve my book. I had been in a historical-mystery mood lately, and I was revisiting an old friend, Ellis Peters’s medieval monk, Brother Cadfael. I had already reread the first five in the series and was now midway through the sixth, and perhaps my favorite, The Virgin in the Ice.

Back in the den, I settled down with the book. When Sean and Frank arrived, I was deeply immersed in twelfth-century England. I would have preferred not to have been interrupted because I was near the end, so it was with considerable reluctance that I put down the book to go over the design plan one more time with Sean and Frank.

“Everything is in the garage,” I told them after I had once more assured Frank I liked his design. “Are you sure you don’t need me?”

“We can handle it, Dad.” Sean looked tired, but I knew better than to comment on that. Other than asking how Alex and Rosie were doing this morning, I didn’t inquire further.

Frank, after a quick sideways glance at Sean, said, “Laura and little Charlie have gone over there to visit while we’re working here. Laura’s going to help Alex catch up on laundry and a few things like that.”

I nodded. “Sounds like a good plan.”

Sean looked away. I gathered from his body language and his silence that he hadn’t made any further headway in getting Alex to agree about hiring a nanny. I felt bad for Sean and Alex, and I prayed that this wasn’t going to cause significant harm to their relationship. Surely Alex would see sense before much longer; otherwise she was going to end up in the hospital.

“I’ll be in the den if you need me.” I left them to get on with it and went back to my book.

Frank found me in the den two hours later, sound asleep on the couch. Once I’d finished the book, I had thought about getting the next one in the series. The couch had felt too comfortable, though, and before long I had dozed off.

Frank grinned as I sat up and blinked at him. “Sorry to disturb you, Charlie, but I want you to have a look at everything before Sean and I pack up and go home.”

“I didn’t mean to nap this long. I’m glad you woke me up. I don’t know why I was so sleepy.” I yawned and got off the couch.

As we passed by the living room, I stuck my head in to see that, while I napped, Haskell and Stewart had finished. There was no sign of them downstairs, and the kittens were now installed in their new corral. They were sleeping, and Diesel kept watch nearby. He chirped softly when he saw me, then went back to his vigil.

I followed Frank outside, and he led me to the street to get the full view. While we waited, Sean flipped the switch to turn on the lights. The effect wasn’t the same, of course, in broad daylight, but I could see that the lights would be beautiful at night. Frank had created a simple forest scene with a few trees topped by stars and the words Merry Christmas strung across them. One star was larger than the rest, and I took it to be the North Star. The lights were set along the wall between the second and third floors.

They had also strung lights over the shrubbery, and I imagined that, in the dark of night, they would twinkle like stardust. Overall a simple but attractive effect, nothing overpowering, unlike what some of my neighbors chose to do.

I turned to Frank and smiled. “Perfect.”

He looked relieved. “You said you wanted simple, not extravagant.”

“That’s what you’ve provided,” I said. “Tasteful and lovely. Thank you.”

“My pleasure, Charlie,” he said. “Now, I’d better pack my tools so I can get Sean back to Alex. He’s really worried about her.”

“I am, too,” I said. “I’ve talked to her, but until she’s willing to accept help, I’m not sure what else anyone can do.” We started for the garage, where Sean stood waiting for us.