by Patricia Fry
"Hi, guys," Holly said, joining them. "Have a good trip?"
"Yeah, with a few little bumps, is all," Savannah said.
"Oh?" Holly questioned.
"Yes. Let us get this thing parked and our camp set up and we'll tell you all about it around the campfire."
"We're going to have a campfire?" Adam asked.
"Sure," Keith said.
"And a weenie roast?" Adam asked.
"Hot dogs," Lily squealed.
"That's what our gang wants too—hot dogs," Holly said.
"Might as well get it over with," Savannah quipped.
Holly nodded. "Come on. Let's get you unpacked and set up so we can catch up with all your latest news."
"I figured I'd keep the small children and the animals out of the way while the guys get us set up," Savannah said. "Want to help me with that?"
"I'm your man…er…woman," Holly said, laughing.
****
"Beth-Beth," Savannah said, retrieving something from a tote bag as the two families relaxed at their campsite later that afternoon.
"What?" the child questioned.
"Before I forget, here's your birthday present. You just turned six, didn't you?"
Bethany smiled and stared at the package in Savannah's hand. "Yes. I had a party with my friends. We had cupcakes."
"Know what she got?" Cassie asked. Before anyone could answer, she said, "A dollhouse with all the furniture." She pouted. "I never got that for my birthday."
"Did you want one?" Keith asked.
"No," Cassie admitted, grinning.
"Can I open it?" Bethany asked.
"Of course," Savannah said.
Cassie and Lily circled the six-year-old as she tore at the wrapping paper. She opened the box and grinned. "A book," she said. "A book of cooking." She ran to her mother. "Look, Mommy, it shows how kids can cook things."
"We heard that you like to help your mom in the kitchen," Michael said.
Bethany nodded and poured over the book. "Cupcakes, Mommy," she squealed. "And candy. I can make candy!"
"There's something else in the box," Savannah prompted.
Cassie grabbed the box and began digging through the tissue paper.
"Cassie, let her open her own gift," Holly scolded.
"Measure cups!" Bethany said. "With cats on the handle. And measure spoons. Look, Mommy, now I can measure with my own measure tools."
"Yes you can," Holly said, patting the child's arm.
"I wish it was my birthday," Cassie complained.
"Do you want a cookbook?" Keith asked, grinning.
She shook her head. "No."
"Aunt Savannah and Uncle Michael sent you a present on your birthday," Holly reminded the child.
"And one for Bethany, too," Cassie complained, "even though it wasn't her birthday then."
"That's right, and that's why I brought you this," Savannah said, holding up a gift bag.
"For me?" Cassie cheered.
"One for you and one for Lily," Savannah said, handing a small bag to her own daughter.
"Me?" Lily squealed. "What is it Mommy?"
"Me, Mommy?" Teddy said, patting his chest.
"Yes, here's something for you too," she said. "Come and get it."
"A tractor!" Teddy cheered. He dug into the bag again. "Two tractors!"
"What did you get, Lily?" Keith asked.
She pulled something out of the gift bag. "A book of dolls."
"Paper dolls—two books of paper dolls. I thought you might want to share with Beth-Beth."
"Okay," Lily said, handing one of the books to her cousin.
"I got a color book and colored pencils," Cassie said. She hugged Savannah, then Michael. "Thank you. This is the kind of color book I like."
Savannah smiled. "I heard." She said to the younger girls, "You have colored pencils, too. You can color your paper dolls's clothes."
"All right!" Bethany shouted.
"Oh, Adam," Savannah said, handing him a bag. "We brought you something too."
The eleven-year-old took the bag and said quietly, "Thanks."
"Better look inside and see if you want it," Michael teased.
He did as his dad suggested, then looked up, wide-eyed. "A fish scale. Is that what it is, Dad? A fish scale?"
Michael nodded.
"Oh boy, now we don't have to guess what our fish weigh. This is awesome! Thanks Dad. Thanks Savannah."
As the children examined and shared their gifts with each other, Savannah asked, "Have you met any of our neighbors?"
"Yes," Holly said, "a few of them." She motioned to the left. "That couple both teach school in Phoenix. They come up here every late spring or summer to cool off and get away from the crowds." She pointed. "Across the way are the Babcocks. They came over from Colorado to connect with their parents, who live in Nevada. And there are a couple of families with children on the other side. Beth-Beth played with one of the little boys earlier down by the water."
"By herself?" Savannah asked, glancing at the lake.
Holly shook her head. "No. His mother and I walked down with them."
"We floated boats," Bethany said. "I got all wet."
Savannah tickled the child. "Fun!"
Keith nudged Adam. "Ready to do some fishing?"
"Yes," the boy said. "I have a new pole."
"Is it a good one?" Keith asked.
Michael quipped, "We'll soon find out. Are they fishing along the shore or from boats?"
"Both," Keith said. "I think we'll do better with a boat, don't you?"
"Probably," Michael agreed. When he saw a woman approaching from behind Keith, he greeted, "Hello."
Holly turned. "Hi, Tammy. Come meet our family. Savannah and Michael Ivey, this is Tammy Babcock. She and her gang are on the knoll over there in that fancy RV."
"Nice," Michael said, scanning the area.
"That's sure a big tent," Tammy said, motioning with her head.
"We opted for the luxury home for our large group," Michael said, chuckling.
"How many of you are there?" Tammy asked.
"In our tent," Michael said, "seven, counting the animals."
Tammy stared at Keith, then at Michael. "Yup, you certainly are twins." She frowned. "But what did you say your last name is? You have different last names, don't you?" Tammy studied Keith. "Let's see, you're Keith Pettit, right?" She looked at Michael. "And you?"
"Michael Ivey." He grimaced. "Yeah, we didn't have the advantage of growing up together."
"Oh," Tammy moaned. "That's awful. Were you aware of each other at all?"
Keith shook his head. "Not until we met what—two years ago?"
"Something like that," Michael said. "Actually closer to three."
"That's a sad story," Tammy bemoaned.
"With a happy ending," Holly added, cheerfully.
"Well yeah." Tammy looked at Savannah, then Holly. "You two could be sisters."
The two women grinned at each other, and Savannah said, "That's what we've been told."
"Now that's really interesting how twins, who never knew each other, happened to marry the same kind of women—or at least women who certainly resemble each other." She asked, "You two weren't adopted, were you?"
"No," Savannah said, chuckling.
"Hey, is that a cat?" Tammy asked. "Where'd he come from? Is there a feral cat colony around here? No wait, that one's wearing a harness. Who does he belong to, do you know?"
"He's our cat," Savannah said, running her hand over him. "This is Rags."
"Our camp cat," Adam said.
Tammy glanced at the boy, then asked, "You travel with a cat? That's unique."
"I'm not sure how unique it is anymore," Savannah said. "For us it's not, and we know other people who travel with cats. One of them even does extreme sports with a cat."
"Crazy," Tammy said. "Hey, actually I read about a cat once who did some rather peculiar things. I believe he was leash-trained and didn't mind riding in the ca
r and things like that. He was obviously more doglike than cat-like." She tilted her head. "I think his name was Rags too." She looked at Savannah. "Wait. Ivey. Savannah Ivey. You're the author!" Tammy kneeled next to Rags and began petting him. "Oh my gosh, I can't believe this. This is that Rags? The one in the book?"
Savannah nodded.
"She's working on another book about him, aren't you, Savannah?" Holly asked.
"Yes. A sequel to his meowmoirs."
"Meowmoirs," Tammy said. "That title cracked me up. My neighbor gave me the book after she'd read it. I really enjoyed it." She looked Rags in the eyes. "You are one interesting cat. I've had cats all my life, but none of them ever behaved like Rags does." She looked at Savannah. "Or did you just make up all that stuff? Is it actually fiction? I can't imagine a cat doing things like that."
Savannah raised her right hand. "I swear it's the truth and the whole truth."
Tammy laughed. "Well, he sure is something. How cool that I got to meet him. Hey, can I take a picture with him?"
"Sure," Savannah said. "Want me to take a picture of you with him?"
"I'll just take a selfie. Thanks, anyway." After taking the picture, Tammy stood up. "I'd better get back. Dave wants to walk down and watch the boats come in with their fish loads. I'll see you later. Nice meeting you."
"Whew!" Savannah said, after Tammy had walked away. "She could wear out a person mighty quick. Where does she get all that energy?"
"Good question," Holly said. She looked at the men, who were deep in conversation. "Hey, you should know there's been a problem with theft here in the campground, and we're being asked to keep our coolers inside our tents—don't leave anything out like towels, clothes, cooking utensils. One couple down the way said someone took their cook stove. Mainly, though, it's food that's going missing—a bag of marshmallows, a box of cereal, steaks…"
"Really?" Savannah said. "Do they think it's bears? Are there bears around here?"
"Could be, I guess. I don't think anyone's seen it or him or her. Whoever or whatever is taking stuff is pretty sneaky. They seem to come into camp when everyone's asleep."
Michael and Keith tuned into the women's conversation, and Keith said, "Sounds like something Rags would do."
"Not this time," Savannah said. "He wasn't here when that stuff went missing, and he won't be taking things now that we are here, either."
"And you know this because?" Michael teased.
"Because he'll be under wraps at all times," Savannah insisted.
Michael snickered.
Savannah slapped at him and insisted, "Stop it. He'll be a good boy. He's been a good boy so far."
"What did he do that was so good?" Keith asked, grinning.
"Yeah," Holly said, "Adam was going to tell us about something he did on the way here, right, Adam?"
The boy nodded. "He found a deer and Dad didn't have to…"
"…give him any medication," Michael said, jumping in quickly.
Adam looked at Michael, then said, "Dad hit him with the car."
"The deer?" Keith asked.
"Daddy made the car go crazy and my baby Alana fell on the floor," Lily said, pouting.
"And the deer lived to tell the story?" Keith asked.
Michael nodded.
"Rags found the deer so Dad could see if he was okay or if…" Adam started.
"…if he needed treatment," Michael interjected.
"Rags found the deer?" Keith asked.
"He sure did," Michael said, running his hand over the cat.
"Why not Lexie?" Holly asked amused.
"I'm afraid when it comes to tracking, Rags is more skilled than Lexie is. She's a bit frivolous and doesn't seem to have the capacity to stay on track. She might catch a scent, but she doesn't follow it all that well."
"That's the Afghan in her," Keith said. "Even though they were bred to hunt, some of them are a little silly—clown-like. Yes, frivolous." He laughed. "So you took Rags to track the deer and make sure he was okay?"
"Yes," Adam said, "and Rags found him pretty fast, didn't he, Dad?"
Before Michael could speak, Lily said, "He found that lady's dog collar."
"And inadvertently, the dog," Savannah added.
"So the dog wasn't in the collar?" Keith asked.
Lily shook her head. "Rags found the collar and Daddy and Adam found the note. Mommy called the number and the lady brought Millie home."
"Oh!" Holly said, more than a little confused.
Savannah ran her hand over Lily's hair and said, "That's exactly right."
Keith laughed. "I guess you had to be there."
"Adam, do you want to make a critter circle?" Cassie asked. "Lily, you and Bethany can help."
Lily looked up at her cousin. "What's that?"
"It's where you make a circle in the dirt and put food in there. You do it at night. When you get up in the morning you look in the circle at the footprints—you know, like paw prints."
"What kind of food?" Adam asked.
"It depends on what animals you want to attract," Keith suggested. "Bear food, raccoon food, gopher food, fish food…"
"Uncle Keith," Adam complained.
But Keith wasn't finished teasing the children. "Hey, maybe that's how we'll catch our limit of fish. We can put worms in the circle and the fish will squirm up here to get them."
"What if they squirm back down to the ocean?" Bethany asked.
Adam laughed. "That's not the ocean, Bethany. It's a lake."
"Oh," she said. "It's big like the ocean."
"We're from Colorado, remember?" Keith said. "Our girls can't tell the difference between a puddle and an ocean."
"Dad," Cassie whined.
Just then Savannah heard a voice behind her ask, "Is that your cat?"
She turned quickly and looked around for Rags. She relaxed when she saw him at the end of his leash sprawled out on a beach towel under Holly's lounge chair. "Yes," she said, facing the man.
"Well, we'd appreciate it if you'd keep him on that tether there. He's a menace. Who takes a cat camping, anyway?" he cranked.
Savannah sat up and shaded her eyes to get a better look at the man. At the same time, Michael frowned. "What do you think he's done, pal? I mean, we just got here and he hasn't been off leash."
"Don't give me that," the man huffed. "We found the damage when we returned just now, and this is the only cat I've seen around here."
"What damage?" Savannah asked.
"Now that I know where you are, you'll get the bill. He scratched the heck out of our tent flap, probably trying to get in there after our chicken."
"You have a chicken in your tent?" Keith asked.
The man smirked. "Fried chicken, man. What do you think, that I'm an idiot?"
Michael and Keith exchanged looks, and Michael said, "Look, I don't know what happened over at your camp, but I can assure you that this cat didn't have anything to do with it. He's been on the leash since we got here about ninety minutes or so ago."
The man glanced around. "Yeah, well, maybe the kids took him for a walk and he did it then. What's your name?" he asked, poising a pen against a small tablet. "I want to know where to send the bill."
Michael stood up and walked toward the man. "The name's Michael Ivey. We live in Hammond, California, and I tell you this cat did not visit your camp or any other camp in this park." He glanced around. "Which one's yours, by the way? We'll keep an eye out over there when you're away in case someone or an animal bothers anything. What's your name, by the way?"
"Jeff. The wife and I are down the way there in the blue tent."
"Okay, Jeff. Thank you for your cordial visit. I hope you have a good time while you're here."
Jeff looked at Michael, glanced around at the others, and stared one more time at Rags before walking away.
Michael peered down at Rags, and shook his head before sitting down. "He doesn't even do anything and he gets into trouble."
The others chuckled at the irony.
****
"Can me and Cassie take Rags and Lexie for a walk?" Adam asked the following morning as the women prepared breakfast and the men cleaned up around the camp.
"Cassie and I," Savannah corrected.
"That's what I said," Adam countered.
She grinned at him. "Sure." She gestured and suggested, "Walk that way. I'd rather you stay away from that campsite over there."
"Where that cranky man stays?" Cassie asked.
Savannah nodded. She called after the children as they trotted off with the dog and the cat, "Eggs and bacon will be ready in about ten minutes. Check your watch, Adam."
"Hon," Michael said, "where's Teddy's red truck?"
Savannah looked around. "I don't know. He was playing with it over in that dirt pile last night." She frowned. "Did I forget to bring it in when we went to bed?" She asked the younger girls, who were having a pretend tea party, "Lily, have you seen Teddy's red truck? You didn't take it to your tent last night did you, Beth-Beth?"
"No," Lily said.
Bethany shook her head. Suddenly she jumped to her feet. "The critter circle!" she shouted. "Did anybody look in the critter circle?"
She clasped Lily's hand and the two youngsters ran toward where they'd left food for the nighttime visitors.
Keith wandered after them. "What did you girls find?" he asked. "Did we have a critter visit?"
"No," Bethany said disappointed. "A person visit. Look, Daddy, there's a shoe design."
"Yeah," Lily grumbled, "a big shoe."
"Well dang," Keith looked more closely and invited the girls to join him. "Check this out," he said. "There are tiny critter prints on the shoe print."
"Yeah," Bethany squealed. She spoke in a squeaky voice, "A tiny mouse?"
"A mouse. How cute," Lily said. She called out, "Mommy, we got a mouse print."
"Or it could be a chipmunk," Keith said. "Or a small skunk."
"Ewww," Lily and Bethany said in unison.
"Do you smell anything?" Keith asked.
The girls shook their head.
"Then maybe a squirrel or a …"
"I like chipmunks," Lily said. She then asked, "What's that?"
Keith and Bethany looked where Lily pointed outside the circle where they'd sprinkled bits of dry cat food and graham cracker crumbs. Bethany recoiled. "A lion!" she said wide-eyed.
