Cats of a Feather

by Patricia Fry

  “Oh Savannah, this sounds intriguing. I can’t wait to meet you and Rags. In fact, how about if we set up an appointment now? I’d like to do that, if you can.”

  “Sure, how about Tuesday or Wednesday? If you want to come for a couple of days, you can stay here,” Savannah invited.

  “Oh no, I don’t want to put you out.”

  “Really, Chris, we have a large house. There’s plenty of room. And we may have a lot to talk about.”

  “Okay then, Savannah. Let me get back to you.”

  “Great. Thank you, Chris. I really appreciate your enthusiasm for my little folly.”

  “Hey, you have no idea. This sounds like a project of a lifetime.” Chris chuckled. “As you can imagine, my world is kind of dull and confining. I love the idea of getting out of the lab and experiencing the more personal aspect of my work.”

  Savannah ended the call and sat in contemplation for a few moments, when Gladys joined her in the dining room with Teddy. She asked, “Okay if he wears this jumpsuit?”

  Savannah smiled at her son. “Teddy, you’re wearing your little mechanic’s uniform. How cute.” She said to her mother, “It finally fits him, I see.”

  “Yes,” Gladys said. “Lily wants him to wear it in case we come across any cars that need fixing.”

  “Cute,” Savannah said. “And is she wearing her purple skirt?” Gladys rolled her eyes. “Yes, with her unicorn shirt, dolphin leggings, and her Ugg boots.”

  “Sounds…um…like some sort of fashion statement. Maybe she’s in training to be a rock star.” Savannah looked at the clock and exclaimed, “Hey, I’d better get cleaned up. Bri will be here soon.”

  “Aren’t we going in your car?” Gladys asked. “The kids’ car seats are in your car.”

  “Yes. Bri had something to do in town this morning and thought it would be more convenient to meet us here than to drive back home.”

  “Oh,” Gladys said. She grinned at her daughter, “So what are you going to wear? Your Wonder Woman costume, maybe your fringed cowgirl vest?”

  Bemused, Savannah asked, “What is this—dress up day? Will you be in costume?”

  “Sure,” Gladys teased. “I’ll be parading as a grandmother.”

  “Oh, okay. Yeah, I guess you do have your grandmother style going on.” She winked. “Except when you’re with Karl. Then you become a…”

  “Never mind,” Gladys warned.

  Savannah spoke more gently. “So how is Karl? The arrest and those apparently false accusations must be hard on him.”

  Gladys nodded. “I just wish I knew what was going on. This not knowing is really difficult, and I’m afraid it will create a rift between us.”

  “Well, it sounds like he doesn’t know much about what’s happening either,” Savannah offered.

  Gladys took a deep breath. “I’m not sure that’s the whole truth.”

  Savannah studied her mother for a moment, then said, “Well, it could be that he simply doesn’t want you involved in the mess, Mom. He’s being considerate.”

  “But is that how friends behave with each other?” Gladys complained. “I want to help, but he’s not letting me in so I can be of some support or help.”

  After considering what her mother had said, Savannah glanced at her watch, then jumped to her feet. “Hey, I’d better go get ready.”

  “Mommy, can I choose your clothes?” Lily asked, scooting out from her little table where she’d been coloring.

  Savannah glanced at her mother, who was grinning. “Um…” she stalled. “Yeah, I guess.” When she realized Gladys was snickering, she said, “Hey, look, Grammy’s still in her robe; she probably needs help deciding what to wear to the park.”

  Lily looked at her grandmother, then took Savannah’s hand. “I’ll help you first, then Grammy.” She pointed at Gladys. “Wait for me, Grammy. I be right back.”

  Gladys sputtered, “Uh…well…I....” She took a deep breath. “Oh, what the heck. Sure.” She tilted her head in Teddy’s direction. “What’s he doing?” “He’s putting tools in his pockets,” Lily said. “He needs tools so he can fix cars. See, that’s his car-worker suit.”

  “Mechanics uniform,” Savannah corrected.

  “Botanics unicorn?” Lily asked, walking from the room with her mother.

  ****

  “Hi, Bri,” Savannah said, opening the door to her sister a while later and hugging her.

  Gladys also embraced her younger daughter. “So glad you could come out and play.”

  “Me too,” Brianna said. She looked more closely at her mother. “I’ve never seen you wear that, have I?”

  Gladys glanced at Savannah before responding. “Maybe not in a long time.”

  Brianna grimaced. “Where’d you get it?”

  “I think you gave it to me one Christmas,” Gladys said.

  Brianna stepped back and studied the blouse. “Really? I wonder why I did that.”

  “Maybe you were mad at her that year,” Savannah joked.

  “Funny,” Brianna snarked. “Well, I guess I thought it would look good on you, but gads, it’s really rather hideous. Mom, don’t feel that you have to wear it for me. In fact, why don’t you go change?” She laughed. “I obviously made a mistake when I bought it for you.”

  “I can’t,” Gladys said, quietly.

  “Huh?” Brianna questioned. “You can’t what?”

  “I can’t change,” Gladys explained.

  “Why?” Brianna asked. “Is it glued on you?”

  Savannah burst out laughing. “No. It’s part of the girl pact.”

  “What?” Brianna questioned. “What girl pact?”

  “Ask Lily,” Savannah suggested, giggling.

  Brianna looked down at the child. “What are they talking about?”

  “I picked out Grammy’s clothes and Mommy’s,” Lily boasted.

  Brianna looked Savannah up and down and started laughing, then pinched a piece of her blouse fabric. “I wasn’t going to say anything, because even when you’re wearing something dreadful, you can pull it off with your damn tall stature and skinny frame.”

  Savannah looked down at herself. “It’s dreadful?”

  “On me or Mom, it would be for sure,” Brianna explained. “It’s only semi-dreadful on you.” She studied the pattern. “I mean, what is that—black crows in flight against a red sky?” She studied Savannah’s red and black pin-striped capris and asked, “Lily, you dressed your mommy?”

  Lily nodded. “And me and Teddy.”

  Brianna picked up the toddler. “Well, I have to say you did a good job with your brother and I love your outfit, but poor Mommy and Grammy.”

  Savannah snickered.

  “What’s so funny?” Brianna asked.

  Savannah laughed uncontrollably for a moment, then said, “Well, part of the girl pact is that we’re stopping at your house on the way to the mall so Lily can pick out something for you to wear.”

  “Yes, Auntie Bri,” Lily chirped.

  “Oh, no,” Brianna said, taking a few steps back. She shook her head. “No. I’m perfectly happy with what I’m wearing.”

  Lily grasped Brianna’s arm and jumped up and down. “Please, Auntie. Please, Auntie.”

  Brianna thought for a moment, relaxed, and said, “Actually, that doesn’t scare me. I don’t own anything I wouldn’t be happy to wear. Okay, girlfriend, let’s go redress Auntie Bri.” She took Lily’s hand, “Want to ride with me?”

  “Can I, Mommy?” Lily asked.

  “Okay,” Savannah said. “Let me get your car seat.”

  “We’re just going across town,” Brianna complained as they walked out the front door. “She doesn’t need a baby seat.”

  “Oh yes she does,” Savannah insisted. She strapped Teddy into his seat, then removed Lily’s seat and secured it in Brianna’s car.

  “When can I ride in the front seat?” Lily whined. “I’m big enough.”

  Savannah kissed her daughter on the cheek and smiled before clos
ing Brianna’s car door.

  ****

  “You live here?” Lily asked, as Brianna helped her out of the car minutes later. “Dr. Bud lives here. This is Dr. Bud’s house,” the child insisted.

  “Auntie Bri’s going to marry Dr. Bud,” Savannah explained, joining them with Teddy and Gladys. “She lives here too.” She looked at her sister. “Haven’t we come here with the children since you moved in, what, a year ago?” “I guess not. Or if you have, she just didn’t know I lived here,” Brianna said.

  Lily pointed across the yard. “Aunt Bri, who’s that?”

  “That’s Dr. Bud’s grandmother, Oma,” Brianna said. “You met her when you were smaller. Maybe you don’t remember. Want to go talk to Oma? She likes children.”

  Lily stared at the woman and asked, “Who picked her clothes?”

  Brianna giggled. “Oma did. That’s the way Oma dresses, in long skirts and puffy blouses.”

  “Like a gypsy,” Gladys said. When the others looked at her, she explained, “That’s reminiscent of the gypsy costumes we girls wore for Halloween when I was a child.”

  “Is she going to trick-or-treat?” Lily asked.

  Brianna laughed. “No. No one’s going trick-or-treating.” She looked at her mother, then Savannah. “Although I guess you two are certainly dressed for it.” When Savannah started to protest, Brianna invited, “Come on, Ms. Lily-Fashion Diva. Let’s go pick out my outfit.”

  “Can I come in and see Frankie and Snowball?” Savannah asked. “I haven’t seen them in a while.”

  “Sure,” Brianna said. “Come on, Mom.”

  Lily looked up at Savannah. “Who’s Frankie and Snowball?”

  “Kitty-cats. You used to play with Frankie when he was a kitten. I guess you were too young to remember.” She asked her sister. “How are they?”

  “Great.” Brianna led the others toward a small house on the property and pointed beyond it. “That’s where we’ll build our home. For our wedding, we’ll lay fake grass and put some potted plants around and arbors with roses, but that’s the lot where we’re going to build our dream house.”

  “How big?” Savannah asked. “What style? Ranch?”

  “Sort of a cross between ranch and colonial. It’ll be three bedrooms and two baths, with a farm kitchen like yours. I can’t wait to get back into a great kitchen where I’ll be inspired.”

  Savannah chuckled. “When you start having kids you’ll be inspired to cook because you have to.”

  Brianna glanced at her sister, then led her and the others into her house.

  “Hi, Snowball,” Savannah said when she saw a cat staring at her from the back of a sofa. “Or are you Frankie?”

  “They’re both snow-white, aren’t they?” Gladys asked.

  “Yes,” Brianna said. “That’s Snowball. Frankie’s probably in his bed around the corner there.” She took Lily’s hand. “Let’s go, fashionista.” She said to the others, “See you all in a few.”

  “Don’t count on it,” Savannah said. “It took her fifteen minutes to dress me.”

  Brianna looked Savannah up and down. “Yeah, that’s probably because you were protesting.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe you’re going out in public like that.”

  “Just wait until you see how she dresses you,” Savannah called after her.

  Ten minutes later Lily appeared in the living room. Gladys looked up from where she and Teddy were playing with Frankie and asked, “Where’s your auntie?”

  “She’s coming,” Lily said. “Come on, Auntie!” the child called. She ran into the hall and walked out holding Brianna by the hand.

  “If any of you laugh, I’ll…” Brianna said.

  Savannah tried to keep a straight face. “You’ll what?” she asked. “I thought you didn’t have anything you’d be embarrassed to wear.”

  “Well, she found something, didn’t she?” Brianna cranked. “She seems to have a knack.”

  “I think that’s cute on you, Bri,” Gladys said.

  Savannah chuckled. “You’re the mom; you have to say that.” She tweaked one of Brianna’s sleeves. “Very…um…how should I say this…”

  “Never mind,” Brianna said, sulking.

  “Hey, you got a shot at my outfit. I’m not going to miss the opportunity,” Savannah asserted.

  Brianna slumped. “All right. It’s awful, risqué, in poor taste, but I couldn’t talk her out of it.” She looked at the other women and suggested, “I have an idea. Why don’t we just stay in today? The kids can play with the cats. We can go outside and visit the horses and chickens. You kids would like that, right?”

  “Oh, no,” Savannah insisted. “That’s not the way the game’s played.”

  Brianna pouted. “You’re mean. You’re still the mean sister.”

  “Now, girls,” Gladys said. “Let’s get our shopping done, then go to the park and have some fun, shall we?” She chuckled. “You can bet we won’t be in any danger today. No one’s going to bother us.”

  “Unless it’s a homeless person with poor taste wanting to buy our clothes off our back,” Brianna grumbled.

  “That’s the idea,” Gladys said. “Let’s have a sense of humor about this. Look at Lily. She’s proud of her handiwork. She might grow up to be a fashion designer. You don’t want to discourage her from following her passion, do you?”

  Brianna glared playfully at her niece. “Okay, if you two can stand the humiliation, so can I. Let’s go.”

  ****

  The women and the children were eating lunch at the park nearly two hours later when Savannah’s phone rang. “It’s Chris,” she muttered, standing up. “I’ll be right back.” Into the phone she said, “Hi, Chris. Did you get a copy of the book?”

  “I sure did, and I’m still laughing.”

  “You read it already?” Savannah asked.

  “Parts of it,” Chris said. “I just wanted to let you know I’m definitely in. I must meet your amazing cat.”

  Savannah chuckled. “Yes, he can be amazing, but he can also be a pill.”

  “It comes with the territory, Savannah. Don’t you think so? A cat who’s as smart as he seems to be is probably going to find himself in trouble occasionally.”

  “I guess,” Savannah said. “So, you’re interested in my project? That’s exciting.”

  “Absolutely. I was once a forensic scientist, you know. I got tired of chasing down clues to catch bad people. I just wanted to spend more time with my cat and my grandchild, so I took a part-time job conducting feline DNA searches. These are mostly for clients interested in learning if their cats have a genetic predisposition to any diseases, or who wanted to discover the cat’s breeding background. That’s about all the swab test can tell us at this point, although we also know more about cat color—you know, predicting the color of kittens, defining the possible color patterns of the sire and dam of orphaned kittens, and so forth.”

  “That’s interesting stuff,” Savannah said. “In fact, that kind of study may help us to determine who Rags’s father is and possibly where Rags got his large personality, right?”

  “Yes, to a degree,” Chris said. She hesitated. “You’ve done some research, haven’t you?” “Well, I’m a licensed veterinarian…”

  Chris interrupted. “I thought that was your husband. I think Janice told me he’s her cats’ veterinarian.”

  “Yes, he’s a practicing veterinarian. I’m currently taking a break while I stay at home with our children and manage our menagerie of animals.”

  “All cats?” Chris asked.

  “Cats, a dog, and horses,” Savannah explained.

  “Nice mix.”

  “So why cat DNA?” Savannah asked. “I mean, it seems like that branch of science is a wide field with a lot of aspects and opportunities. Why cats?”

  “Oh,” Chris said, “cats and me, we go way back. One of my passions is research, which I guess isn’t so unusual for a scientist type, right?” Chris continued, “I’m also fascinated with all
aspects of cats, and I’ve written quite a few papers and articles on cat genetics and behavior.”

  “So you’re a specialist not only in the scientific aspect of cats, but in their very essence.”

  Chris chuckled. “That’s one way to put it, I guess. I do love the research, and there seems to be no end to the study. Just when you think you have an aspect of the cat figured out, they display another facet of themselves. But hey, I’m super interested in what you’re doing and I have some time on my hands. I’m no longer tied down. My daughter’s raising her own child now. She used to live with me, but she has finally found a worthwhile man, and I’m pretty much free to do what I want. My cat crossed over the rainbow bridge at the age of eighteen last year. If you need a travel buddy on this journey of yours, I’m your gal. I’m a grandmother, yes, but my daughter got herself preggo when she was sixteen—I was only thirty-eight at the time—so I’m a young grandmother as grandmothers go. I just turned forty-two, and I still have the energy to keep up with someone like you. What are you, thirty?”

  “Well, it sounds like you got an early start,” Savannah said. “I got a kind of late start. I’m thirty-eight. Yes, perhaps we can team up. So do you want to plan a trip up this way?”

  “Sure do,” Chris said. “You mentioned Tuesday or Wednesday. I checked, and I can get a flight into Hammond Tuesday afternoon.”

  “Super. What time can I pick you up?”

  “Oh, are you sure?” Chris asked.

  “Of course,” Savannah said.

  “Well then, around two thirty.”

  Savannah ended the call and stared down at her phone for a moment. “Unbelievable,” she muttered, returning to the playground where Gladys and Brianna entertained the children.

  “What’s unbelievable?” Gladys asked.

  “Did you win the lottery?” Brianna asked.

  “Maybe,” Savannah said. “I sure seem to have hit the jackpot so far in my latest project.”

  “What do you mean?” Gladys asked. “You just started it today, didn’t you?”