by Tom Watson
“Good for you, Karen,” Stick Dog said, and grinned.
“Why do you think that happens?” Karen asked. “Why does it get just out of reach right at the very last possible second? Do you know?”
Stick Dog did indeed know why. But he didn’t think now was the right time to explain it.
“Let me think about it for a little while,” Stick Dog answered. He then turned his head back to the parking lot. “This might be the Pizza Palace’s delivery car. It might even be the same delivery girl from last time. With any luck, we might be able to snatch a pizza pretty soon.”
This, as you can probably guess, grabbed all their attention immediately.
The car parked in front of the Pizza Palace. A few seconds later, someone got out of the car.
It was not the delivery girl.
It was a male human with a long neck.
Then a second person got out.
It wasn’t the delivery girl either.
It was a different female human.
“It’s not the delivery car,” Stick Dog said, and hung his head a little bit. “Or the delivery girl.”
Mutt, Poo-Poo, and Karen hung their heads a bit too.
But Stripes did not.
Do you know why?
I’ll tell you. It’s an important part of the story, after all.
Something caught Stripes’s eye.
There was a slight movement from inside the car. In the back window. Stripes saw it. Her eyes flashed open.
Stripes said just one thing.
She said it loud.
She said it with absolute joy in her voice.
She screamed, “Look who it is!”
CHAPTER 4
STICK CAT IS IN HER SPOT
“It’s Stick Cat!” Stripes screamed.
Stick Dog was startled by what Stripes yelled. He looked inside the car. And he remembered back to the time they had snatched five whole pizzas from this very place. Back then, they had discovered a kitten inside a moving van.
It all happened in Stick Dog Chases a Pizza, the third Stick Dog story. It is one of my English teacher’s favorites.
In that story, the dogs—especially Stripes—got all freaked-out and thought the kitten was trapped inside the moving van. There was this big debate about whether cats were enemies or not—and should they rescue this kitten. Then Stripes got a real good look at him and saw how cute he was.
And Stripes declared the kitten to be her soul mate. And named him Stick Cat in honor of Stick Dog.
There’s a lot more to it than that, but those are the basics you need to know for where we are in this story.
In this story, the cat inside this car did indeed resemble the kitten from back then. It was just bigger. It seemed odd to Stick Dog to see the same animal in the same place a couple of years later.
“Why would he come back?” Stick Dog whispered, more to himself than to the others. He wasn’t absolutely positive that this cat today was that cat from before.
And while Stick Dog may not know why Stick Cat was here again, you and I get to find out right now. It’s part of the story, after all.
You see, it started when Goose, the male human with the long neck, and Stick Cat got into his car that morning. They lived in the big city far away. Tiffany, the female human, and her cat, Edith, got into the car too.
And here’s what happened.
“Everybody in?” Goose asked, and looked at Tiffany in the passenger seat and Stick Cat and Edith in the back.
“Everybody’s in,” Tiffany confirmed, and reached her left hand toward Goose. He clasped her hand with his right.
Edith saw this from the backseat, rolled her eyes dramatically, and said, “Gross.”
“Okay. Off we go,” Goose said, and pulled the car out of its tight city parking spot. He thought now would be a good time to review their schedule. “It will take a few hours to reach my old hometown. We’ll stay with my parents tonight and then our wedding is tomorrow evening. After that, we’ll head to Picasso Park for the party. There will be a buffet and fireworks. But right when we get to town, we’ll stop for a bite at my favorite restaurant.”
“Sounds good,” Tiffany said. “What’s the name of it again?”
“It’s called the Pizza Palace,” Goose answered. “The best pizza I’ve ever tasted.”
“You would know. You are quite the pizza connoisseur,” Tiffany said, and squeezed his hand. “You’re quite the pizza expert.”
Edith saw this and said, “Disgusting.”
Stick Cat smiled, hopped up to the car’s back window ledge, and stared out at the big city. He had been waiting for this experience since he woke up. The idea of riding in a car thrilled him.
“Do you want to join me up here?” Stick Cat asked Edith. “You can see everything!”
“No,” Edith answered. She had found where the sun shined into the car—a warm rectangle of light on the backseat behind Goose. She had already curled up there. “I’m going to take a nap.”
She was asleep in less than a minute.
Stick Cat smiled down at her from the back window ledge and began to take in everything.
He had only seen the big city from the twenty-third floor of his apartment building. To see it now from ground level was fascinating. As they moved away from their building, Stick Cat saw the piano store at the end of their block. He glanced to the right and saw Hazel’s Bagels. There were coffee shops, bookstores, restaurants, and newsstands. He saw hundreds of people on the sidewalk. Everything looked so much bigger down here.
And the sounds.
The sounds were bigger too.
The first couple of honking horns startled Stick Cat until he got used to their volume. He heard police whistles, people talking and laughing, a train clattering, and a truck engine rumbling.
And he heard Edith snoring.
Haunk-shooo, Haunk-shooo.
Stick Cat smiled at that familiar sound.
After several blocks, Goose turned the car left. Stick Cat had to squint against the bright sunlight, which now hit the back window due to the car’s new direction. He was just getting used to it when he felt a tap on his right shoulder.
It was Edith.
“Excuse me,” she said.
“Oh, hi,” responded Stick Cat. “I thought you were asleep. You should see all—”
But Stick Cat couldn’t finish his sentence. Edith had more to say.
“You’re in my spot.”
“Pardon?”
“You’re in my spot.”
“I don’t think so, Edith,” Stick Cat said. “You were down on the seat. I started off here in the back window. I haven’t moved. Maybe you were dreaming.”
“I wasn’t dreaming,” Edith replied, and raised one eyebrow. “I was in the sun.”
“Right,” Stick Cat said. “And the sun was down there on the seat behind Goose.”
“‘Was,’ Stick Cat. ‘Was,’” Edith said. “Now it’s up here. My spot was in the sun. Currently the sun is up here. So this is my spot now.”
Stick Cat just stared at her. He didn’t know what to say.
“So?” asked Edith.
“Yes?”
“Are you going to move or what?”
“Can’t you just join me?” Stick Cat asked. “There’s plenty of room. I’ll scoot over some to this side—and you can have that side.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Why not?”
“I like to spread out.”
Stick Cat glanced quickly out the window. He was missing all the city’s amazing sights and sounds.
“No problem,” he said, and hopped down to the seat behind Tiffany.
Edith jumped up to the center of the window ledge, curled up into a tight ball again, and closed her eyes.
Stick Cat stood on his back paws, pressed his front paws against the side window for balance, and took in the city sights again.
For three minutes.
And then Goose turned left.
And Stick Cat felt the warm sunlight on his back paws.
He knew what was coming.
“Stick Cat,” Edith said. “You’re in my spot again.”
He moved to the opposite side, assumed a similar position, and stared out the window again.
Stick Cat saw more shops—restaurants, bookstores, cafés, and furniture stores. There were orange cones and barrels and flashing yellow lights close to the car. He heard heavy truck noises and the slamming pulse of a jackhammer getting closer and closer.
“Uh-oh. Construction,” Goose said from the front seat. “Looks like a detour.”
Stick Cat felt the car turn right and, after a minute or so, turn right again.
He felt something else too. He felt the warmth of the sun hit his face. He squeezed his eyes shut.
Stick Cat did not squeeze his eyes shut because the sun was so bright. He had quickly gotten used to that. No, Stick Cat squeezed his eyes shut in anticipation.
Edith tapped his back. She said, “You’re doing it again.”
Stick Cat turned his head toward Edith.
“I really wish you would stop moving yourself into the sunlight,” she said, and sighed heavily. “It’s pretty annoying.”
“I’m not,” Stick Cat said as calmly as he could. “The sunlight is moving to me when Goose turns the car.”
“I think I know what’s really going on here,” Edith said. You could tell that she doubted Stick Cat’s explanation. She had her own theory. “I think somebody here just always needs to be in the spotlight. That’s what I think.”
Now, you might think this conversation would frustrate Stick Cat—or even make him angry.
But you would be wrong.
He enjoyed Edith’s peculiar brand of logic. Only his best friend could come up with such ideas. She was special that way.
“The sunlight is all yours,” Stick Cat said. He hopped up to his original position on the back window ledge.
Edith settled into her original—and sunlit—position again too.
And, thankfully, Goose did not turn the car again for a very long time.
Stick Cat watched as the big city got smaller and smaller—until it was completely out of sight. He heard—and felt—the rhythmic bumps of a highway. It lulled him to sleep.
And he didn’t wake up until the car stopped in a parking lot in Goose’s hometown.
It was the Pizza Palace parking lot.
Stick Cat woke up when Goose and Tiffany exited the car and shut the doors. He stretched the sleepiness from his body, arched his back, and looked out the window.
Stick Cat couldn’t believe his eyes.
Five dogs were gathered by a guardrail across the parking lot.
And they were staring right at him.
CHAPTER 5
STRIPES AND HER SOUL MATE
“It’s Stick Cat!” Stripes repeated even louder. She hopped up and down and pointed toward the car. She was totally excited.
“Who?” asked Poo-Poo.
“Stick Cat!” Stripes screamed.
“Shh,” Stick Dog said. He didn’t want them detected before they had a chance to get some pizza.
“Stick Cat!” Stripes screamed again—at a slightly lower volume. “My soul mate! From a long time ago!”
Stick Dog tilted his head and stared into that car window with greater intent—and concentration. It only took him a few seconds to erase any doubt about the cat’s identity.
“It does look like him,” Stick Dog confirmed. “I think you might be right, Stripes.”
“It doesn’t look like him at all,” Karen disagreed. “We saw a kitten in that big moving truck back then. This one is a cat.”
Mutt and Poo-Poo agreed, nodding at Karen’s idea. Even Stripes hesitated for a moment to consider.
“What?” Stick Dog asked. He had heard Karen clearly. He just didn’t quite understand what she said.
“The animal we saw a couple of years ago was little, Stick Dog,” Karen explained. “A kitten.”
“But that was a couple of years ago.”
“Correct,” Karen said.
“So this could be that same animal.”
“I think you might be a little confused, Stick Dog,” Karen said. She then slowed down her words as she spoke. She apparently thought this would help him understand. “Back then . . . it was little. . . . This animal today . . . is big. Little things . . . are different . . . than big things.”
Stick Dog understood now. Well, he understood what Karen didn’t understand—if that makes sense.
He smiled at her.
“I get what you’re saying, but—” he began to say.
Karen interrupted him. “Did my slowing down help?”
“Umm, sure. Yeah. Thanks for that,” replied Stick Dog.
“No problem.”
“Listen,” Stick Dog said. “What we saw back then was indeed smaller. It was a kitten. But it’s been two years or more since that night. I think the kitten has grown into a cat during that time. And this cat looks really similar to that kitten. Same color. Same features. You know, just bigger. And we’re even seeing him in the same place. I think this human must really like this restaurant or something.”
“Kittens grow into cats?” asked Karen.
“That’s right,” Stick Dog said. “And I think Stripes is right. I think this is Stick Cat.”
“If kittens turn into cats,” Karen pondered, “then what do puppies turn into?”
Stick Dog turned to Karen. He was trying to think of how to answer—but he didn’t have to. That’s because right then Stripes did something that none of the other dogs expected.
Something sudden.
Something risky.
Now, with absolutely no doubt that it was Stick Cat inside the car, Stripes leaped over the guardrail and sprinted toward the car.
“My soul mate!” she screamed with sheer delight.
“Stripes! No!” Stick Dog yelled.
But he was too late.
“Stay here!” Stick Dog said urgently to Poo-Poo, Mutt, and Karen.
And Stick Dog took off.
CHAPTER 6
SHH!
Stripes got to the car in eight seconds.
“It’s me!” she yelled at Stick Cat inside the car. “Your soul mate!”
Stick Cat saw her. Their eyes met. And when they did, Stripes yelped and began jumping, turning, and twisting with glee.
Stick Dog came up from behind Stripes in the parking lot.
“Stripes, calm down,” Stick Dog pleaded. “And quiet down. Please. Someone is going to see us!”
Stripes stopped jumping, turning, and twisting. But she still shook and jittered.
“I’m just SO excited, Stick Dog!” she exclaimed. “I never thought I’d see him again. And here he is! Right in front of me! And he’s still so cute! Do you think he remembers me? Do you? Hunh?!”
“You’re not easy to forget, that’s for sure,” Stick Dog said. “I bet he remembers you.”
“I think so too!”
That’s when Edith popped herself up to the window next to Stick Cat.
“Look!” yelped Stripes. She started twisting and turning all over again. “He got married! That must be his wife!”
“I guess it could be.”
Stripes began to wave frantically. “Do you see me? Do you see me?! I’m right here!”
Stick Cat saw her.
And waved back.
Stripes saw this.
And went nuts.
She sprang up on her back legs, flung herself high in the air, and waved her front paws frantically over her head.
“He remembers me!” she screamed. “He remembers me!!”
Then Edith waved.
“His wife likes me!!” Stripes screamed—and jumped even higher.
This had become too much for Stick Dog.
Way too much.
When Stripes landed on the pavement between frenzied jumps, he put his paws on her shoulders to keep her on the ground.
“I know it’s exciting,” he said to Stripes. He held her still the best he could. “But you have to calm down.”
Stripes broke free from Stick Dog’s grip—and flung herself at the window. She was suspended and pressed up against the glass for a single second. She tried to smile at Stick Cat—they were separated by less than an inch of glass. With her face pressed against the window like that, her smile didn’t look much like a smile.
Then several things happened at once.
Edith shrieked and jerked away from the window.
Stripes’s eyes met Stick Cat’s eyes.
Stripes lost her momentary grip and slid down the side of the car.
And Goose and Tiffany came out of the Pizza Palace. They each had a big square pizza box.
Stick Dog saw all these things occur almost simultaneously. He pulled Stripes around the side to the back of the car where the trunk was. He heard the humans come closer.
And he heard what they said.
“It’s a good thing we called ahead,” the male human with the long neck said. “I forgot that they close early on Thursday nights.”
The female laughed a little. “I can’t believe this pizza is so important to you. Is it really that good?”
“The Pizza Palace is the best,” he confirmed. “The absolute best. And wait until you try Rocky’s ribs at our wedding buffet tomorrow night at Picasso Park. They’re the best too!”
Stick Dog gently put a paw over Stripes’s mouth and looked around the back corner of the car. He saw the man open the door for the female human.
“Shh!” Stick Dog whispered to Stripes as softly as he could. His heart began to race and flutter. “Be as quiet as you can.”
The man asked, “Should I put the pizzas in the trunk, Tiffany?”
That’s where Stick Dog and Stripes were—by the trunk.
They couldn’t run; Stick Dog knew that. The parking lot was a big open, flat space. They would be seen for sure. He had no idea what might happen if they were seen. The humans could try to catch them or call the police or the dogcatcher.
