“I just want you to know, G, that you are so much like your mother, in so many ways. You’re headstrong, Georgina. That means you are brave and determined. And that makes me so happy and so proud.”
“Why did everything have to change?”
“Because life changes. But it doesn’t mean that we’re not still a family.”
“I know that,” Georgina says. “But it was better before.”
“In many ways, yes,” Daddy says. “But our futures our bright, G.” Daddy hugs Georgina, a tangled, snuggled hug, with Clementine and me in the mix. It feels so good.
“So, G,” Daddy says. “What are you going to build next?”
“I don’t know,” she says. “I’m still deciding.”
“So many choices. How about the Eiffel Tower?”
“No. I’m thinking of something else.”
Georgina jumps up, and I leap to the arm of the sofa. She hustles out of the room and comes back with a bucket of LEGOs.
“More LEGOs?” I say to Clementine.
“They’re taking over the world,” she says.
“Okay, G. Before you get going, let’s make dinner, then you can start on your next masterpiece.”
Georgina and Daddy go to the kitchen, and I watch them chop and slice and make things sizzle.
It still does not make any sense to me why humans want to live in two houses. It doesn’t seem right that a family is not all together in one place. I try not to think about Etta. But I can’t help it. I just wish I knew where she was. It would make me feel so much better. Just to know.
I jump up onto the back of the sofa and knead on the velvety blanket folded there. My whiskers tickle the edge of the curtains around the window. I nose my way between the lengths of fabric and twist and turn my neck, stretching and arching and trying to relax. With my eyes closed, I press my face up against the glass, like I used to do in our condo at the shelter. The sun spills around me, and the warmth of the glass spreads throughout my body.
I open my eyes and look out into the backyard, expecting to see squishy grass or an oak tree with rambling branches or maybe a squirrel traveling along the top of a fence. But there is no yard. Not like at Mommy’s. All I can see are cars, lined up, row upon row. No swing set. No bird feeder. Nothing interesting.
Past the cars, I see a fence enclosing them. What is that beyond the fence? I jolt up, snap my tail, and prick my ears forward and chirp. It’s something I recognize.
A sight for sore eyes.
A dream come true.
Of all the luck!
“Clementine! Get over here!” I yowl.
“What’s caught your fancy now?” she says.
“You’re not going to believe it!”
Clementine saunters toward me in slow motion, and I want to leap out and drag her over here. “Hurry up!”
“I’m coming. A lady must take her time if she wants to arrive in style,” she says. Clementine hops up onto the back of the sofa, and, panting softly, she takes a moment to groom her orange patch and smooth down her fluffy cheeks.
“Look out the window, will you?” I stand on my hind legs and reach up to the curtains and pull them open. “Look at it!”
“Calm down, you fluffy imp,” she says. When she spots it, she straightens up and gasps. She looks at me and is speechless. Not one sassy word. We look at each other, and finally, Clementine borrows a phrase from Mo and whispers, “Holy habitat.”
“Holy habitat is right,” I say.
“Who knew that Daddy’s house was so perfectly located?”
We both stand on our hind legs and reach our paws up onto the glass, like a couple of Xes. I’m so excited that I cannot contain myself. I yowl and yip and cackle and chirp and make every imaginable sound.
Georgina rushes over to the sofa and pulls the curtains away, revealing a clear view out the window. “What do you two see here? What is making you so excited?”
I calm myself and take a deep breath and make my very best effort to speak clearly, without any extra mews or squeaks or overly anxious chatter. “It’s the City Shelter of Care and Comfort. It’s right there!”
Chapter 26
I look into Georgina’s sparkling brown eyes and repeat slowly and clearly what I just said. “It’s the City Shelter of Care and Comfort. Right there.”
She tilts her head and squeezes her shoulders around her neck. “What are you trying to tell me?” she asks.
“I’m trying to tell you that the shelter is right there. I can go find out what happened to Etta. Maybe I can find Etta.” I twitch my whiskers, snap my tail, splay my claws and even hiss, but just for effect. “Georgina,” I say. “Please listen to me. You can take me—us—there. You can!”
“Elvis, you are looking at that building, aren’t you?” she says.
“YESSSSSS!” I yowl.
“That’s the shelter, Elvis.”
“I know,” I say. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you.”
Daddy walks over. “You know that Clementine came from the shelter, too, G. She was awfully sad-looking. But I loved her immediately. And I brought her home to your mother.”
My eyes find Clementine’s, and she looks as hopeful as I feel.
“I know, Daddy. And that’s where Mommy got Elvis. I think he is excited about seeing it.”
“He certainly is making an awful racket. I think he’s a bit out of sorts being here at the apartment. He might be scared, too.”
“No,” I say. “Georgina is right. I’m not scared. I just need to get to the shelter.” I stand on my hind legs and reach out for Georgina. She takes me into her arms and snuggles me.
I look down at Clementine. “Why can’t they understand what I’m saying?”
“Because humans are flawed. I’ve told you this a thousand times.” Clementine headbutts Daddy in the arm and mews loudly.
“Old girl. What’s the matter? Do you not like it here?” Daddy says.
“I love it here,” Clementine says. “I wanted to come live here with you when you moved.”
“You’ll feel better in the morning, Clementine,” Daddy says. “These two need some time to adjust, G. It’s all overwhelming.”
Georgina’s breath warms my neck as she speaks. “Elvis, I know you’re excited. I wish you could tell me what you need.”
“I am telling you,” I say. “I’m trying my best.”
“Daddy,” Georgina says. “Something important is happening with Elvis and Clementine. Something we need to figure out.”
“They’re just unsettled. Let’s call it a night. Tomorrow, things will be clear. We have a big day, too. All these LEGOs will magically transform into something spectacular.”
“Okay,” Georgina says. She lifts me to her face and looks right in my eyes. “I love you, Elvis. I love you, too, Clementine. We’ll figure this out tomorrow. I promise.”
Chapter 27
I stare out the window at the shelter until the sky is so dark that I can’t see anything. I’m going to find a way to get there. It’s going to happen. And Clementine, I don’t know . . . she needs to go there, too. For some reason. That’s good enough for me.
My hope is mixed with frustration because I don’t know how to tell Georgina. It’s impossible to talk to her. Humans don’t listen. I know this to be true. I’ve studied the alphabet. I know the whole thing! Well, mostly. But it’s not doing me any good.
I’m all itchy. I can’t stop twitching.
Daddy moves Clementine and me off the sofa and sets us on the floor. He takes all the cushions off and pulls on a handle that I didn’t even know was there. And right before my eyes, the sofa turns into a bed. Georgina and Daddy arrange the sheets and blankets, and Georgina crawls under the covers. I hop onto the newly transformed sofa and nestle in at her feet. Clementine hops up there, too, and Daddy kisses us all good night.
Clementine takes some time to lick and preen. I pull on that place between my toes that always gives me trouble.
After a while, slow, soft
breaths come perfectly timed from Georgina’s open mouth. Her chest rises and falls and provides the soothing rhythm that I love. In the meantime, I yank a bit of matted fur out from between the toes of my healing paw. I lick the tops of my paws and brush the damp fur over my eyes and ears. There’s a spot on the back of my head that I can’t reach. I stretch and contort but I can’t clean the out-of-reach spot.
Suddenly, Clementine is there. She preens and cleans and cares for the places that I cannot get. It is truly unexpected.
“Thank you,” I say, surprised.
“It’s the maternal instinct,” she says.
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“I mean, a mother just knows what needs to be done,” she says.
“Whose mother? Is this a guessing game?”
“Me,” she says.
“What do you mean, you?” I say. “Are you somebody’s mother?”
“You’re not the only one who has been separated from their family.”
Clementine? A mother?
I stare in shock at Clementine, who diverts her eyes and groans. I don’t even know what to say. But a few words fall out of my mouth. “That’s why you want to go to the shelter. To find your kittens?”
“You are a smart one,” she says. “But yes, that is why.”
I hesitate for a moment, then I ask, “How many kittens did you have?”
“Four.”
“What happened to them?”
“My hope is that they were adopted into nice families. That they are happy and healthy. That’s all a mother wants for her children.”
“Are they all together?”
“Most likely not. But I guess you know about that.”
I drop my head, but I can’t stop flicking my tail.
“When they found us, they took my kittens from me—I couldn’t care for them. I was too weak.” Clementine hides her face. “They were adopted. Like you, Elvis. But it took several weeks before I could be brought out of the back room. I was worn out and sick. It seemed like no one would want me.”
It all makes perfect sense now. “That’s why you were part of the Second Chance Club, right?”
“Yes. But Daddy found me and brought me home to Mommy. He gave me to her. I’m hers, and she was supposed to love me. Daddy wanted her to love me. He thought that new love would fix things for everyone. It didn’t work. And he moved out.”
“I know Mommy loves you, Clementine. Of course she loves you,” I say.
“The plan didn’t work. You can’t force love.” Clementine sinks deeper into the bed covers. “I wanted to live with Daddy. But the apartment rules. We’re not even supposed to be here now.”
“Clementine. We’re going to find a way to the shelter. I’m going to find out where Etta is, and you’re going to find your kittens.” I know this is true. I feel it in my heart.
Clementine stands and yowls a sad, low yowl. “You don’t understand, Elvis. My kittens aren’t kittens anymore. It’s not realistic to think that I’ll ever see them again. It’s just the way the world is.”
I feel Clementine’s emptiness inside myself. “Clementine, sit back down.” I gently nudge her. To my surprise, she does what I say and curls up next to me. She tucks her paws under her head and closes her eyes.
I nuzzle Clementine’s side and scoot in close. I wrap my tail around her body. I take a deep breath and release the contents of my lungs. Slowly, Clementine’s rumble begins. The vibration calms us both. Even yesterday, I could not have guessed that it would be like this.
As I lie next to Clementine, I picture her kittens. Four kittens. I wonder what they look like. Was one of them a calico like me? Was one of them gray with white paws like Etta? Does one of them have a little orange patch like their mother? Do they like to pretend to be Xes?
I know that I must find a way to get us both to the shelter to find answers. I must try. It’s a matter of life and death.
Suddenly, an idea strikes me with tremendous force. Like a 180-mile-per-hour wind. Or a 6.9 magnitude earthquake. It hits me with the power of a New York City skyscraper!
“Wake up, Clementine,” I say. “Wake up!”
Clementine lifts her head. “What is it now, Elvis. Can’t you see I’ve had enough? Can’t you see I’m tired of all of this?”
“I know,” I say. “But I have a plan.”
Chapter 28
I pop up and jump down to the floor. “Come on, Clementine. Trust me on this one!”
“I don’t want to leave my nest.”
“Just wake up and get down here. But don’t make too much noise. We don’t want to wake Georgina or Daddy.”
“Sheesh! You’re so demanding.” Clementine tumbles down to the floor and slinks over to me. “What do you have up your sleeve, you fluffy imp?”
“Fluffy imp is your way of telling me I’m special. Admit it!”
“Yeah, yeah! So what? Now, out with it!”
“Georgina’s LEGOs, Clementine,” I say. “I don’t know why it took me so long to figure this out.”
“What about the LEGOs? Don’t tell me you’re going to build the Eiffel Tower as a gift to the humans.”
“The Eiffel Tower. Please. You and I are going to build the City Shelter of Care and Comfort.”
Every bit of me twitches, flicks, and snaps. I spy the bucket of LEGOs and pounce, tipping it over and spilling the shiny bricks all around me.
“You’re out of your mind,” Clementine says. “We are not mousy rats like Mo. Our toes are not nimble, Elvis. You will be disappointed.”
“Clementine, this is the simplest building ever constructed. It’s not made from nine bundled tubes. It’s not a pyramid. There’s no art deco designs to deal with. And it doesn’t have matching towers. It’s only three levels, made with red bricks and Old Glory flying at the top. How hard can it be?”
I dig through the LEGOs scattered on the floor. I push them all around, separating out the red ones. There aren’t that many, but that’s okay, because there are enough to make a small replica of the shelter. “Clementine, see if you can find something that looks like a flag. For the top.”
“But why are we doing this?” she asks.
“Because it’s our common ground. We’re doing it for Etta. We’re doing it for your kittens. We’re doing it because we have resilience and fortitude and we are never giving up.”
I look Clementine directly in the eye. Without a hint of sarcasm or negativity, she nods at me. “I’ll find a flag,” she says.
There is no doubt that building the replica is challenging. The model, the style, the structure is the easy part. Handling the slippery bricks is the hard part. I carry the red pieces in my mouth and place them in the center of the floor. I have no idea how I’m going to snap them all together. For now, I just push them into the shape of a square, three rows on each side, like the three floors of the shelter.
Clementine, in the meantime, hops up onto the kitchen counter. “Hey, look at this,” she says, pushing a mug toward the edge, where it teeters like Laverne’s fishbowl. “It’s filled with colorful flaggy-looking things. They look like umbrellas for hamsters. Fashion accessories for Mo! I’ll send it all down to you.”
“No! Clementine, you’re going to—”
CRASH!
The mug falls on the floor, breaks into pieces, and sends the flaggy-looking hamster umbrellas scattering.
“Shhhhhh!” I say, trying to whisper. But it’s too late. Georgina is awake and standing in front of me. She doesn’t speak. She just sits down next to me and stares. I press my head into the palm of her hand and lick at her fingertips. Georgina, I’m counting on you.
Georgina picks up two red bricks, one in each hand. She flips them around between her thumbs and forefingers. She looks at the arrangement on the floor. She looks at me. Then SNAP! She presses two together. Then she does it again with two more. SNAP! Then two more. SNAP. I don’t know a more beautiful sound. Soon Georgina is on her hands and knees snapping bricks together faster than I’v
e ever seen.
I look at Clementine, who holds a blue-and-red umbrella flag in her mouth. “Itsh for zzhe top,” she says.
I circle around Georgina, headbutting her leg, her hip, her arms. So grateful. So proud. So full of . . . I don’t know what I’m full of, but it feels right.
We work together. I nod and nudge and Georgina snaps and snaps, and in no time at all, the shelter replica is done. It is small. Much smaller than the other structures that had taken days and weeks to complete. But there is no doubt in my mind that it is the City Shelter of Care and Comfort.
Georgina motions for Clementine to bring over the flag. I smile at Clementine, who drops the flag into Georgina’s hand and comes to sit next to me. With wide eyes and a lump in my throat, I watch Georgina wedge the flag between two bricks on the top of the structure. Then the three of us admire what we’ve created.
Georgina lifts me into one arm and Clementine into the other and whispers, “I know what you want, Elvis. We’ll go in the morning.”
Georgina carries us both back to the bed-in-a-sofa. I sit on the back of it and look out at the moonlit sky. The shelter is a silhouette with a glow around it. “Thank you, Georgina,” I say. “I love you.”
I look at Clementine, and I am surprised at what I feel. “I love you, too, Clementine.”
Chapter 29
I wake early and jump up onto the back of the sofa to check and make sure the shelter is still there.
Then I jump to the floor and over to the replica. It wasn’t a dream. We built it!
Georgina and Clementine soon join me on the floor, and when Daddy comes in, he sits, too.
“Wow, G. Someone was busy last night,” he says. “Do I know this structure?”
“Daddy, it’s the City Shelter of Care and Comfort,” Georgina says. “We built it.”
“Yes, you did,” Daddy says.
“We’re going to the shelter today, Daddy,” Georgina says. “Elvis and Clementine, they want to go. And we have to take them.”
Elvis and the World As It Stands Page 10
