by Patricia Fry
“Really? Not with Gray Boy—I mean, Rags—right?” Marilyn asked.
“Yes, always with Rags. In fact, I’m just recovering from the trauma of someone catnapping him.” She chuckled. “And our new cat, a rescue from a hoarding situation, helped locate him. She stowed away in my tote bag and we didn’t know it until it was too late to take her back home. She actually helped us find Rags.”
“Oh my gosh, Savannah. That’s crazy. I can’t wait to read your book.”
“And I can’t wait to meet with you and hear more about Rags when you knew him as a kitten. I’m thinking about coming down your way later in the week—Wednesday or Thursday. Will you be available?” Savannah asked.
“I’ll make myself available. Yes. Let me know what days you’ll be here.” “I will,” Savannah said. “And I’d love it if you could arrange for me to see Angel and maybe talk to the sister.”
“Better than that, I might be able to get you in to see Jeannie,” Marilyn said.
“So you think I could see her in the jail?” Savannah asked. “Yes,” Marilyn said. “I’m on her visitor list. It’s a minimum-security facility and I should be able to get you in, especially since you’re writing a book that may include her. That is, if you want to.” “Absolutely. Thank you. Yes, see what you can do.”
“And I should tell you, Savannah,” Marilyn added, “there were more than just Rags and the three girls in that litter. Jeanie and Drew managed to sell two of the kittens.”
“Oh,” Savannah said, “there were six kittens?”
“Yes, they sold the two males that looked a lot like the dam. Drew and Jeannie had people waiting in the wings for those that looked like Angel. She’s a beauty.” She spoke more quietly, “I think Drew sold those cats as purebreds, which is one reason why he didn’t want anyone to know about the ugly ducklings in that litter.” She laughed at her quip.
“What happened to the two little females that had the ragdoll features and coloring?” Savannah asked.
“Well, I don’t exactly understand it all, but there was evidently a flaw that was a red flag to anyone who knows the ragdoll breed. The little males, I guess didn’t have it, but the females were obviously not purebred ragdolls, so that’s how we ended up with them along with the calico and Gray Boy. I remember Jeannie bringing those kittens to us in hopes that they would be placed really quickly before…”
“Well, bless her for saving those kittens,” Savannah said. “Do you really think her husband would have…”
“I don’t know,” Marilyn said, “but as I understand it, he was more concerned for his reputation and for future kitten sales than for those beautiful, healthy kittens.”
“Sheesh,” Savannah muttered.
“Yeah,” Marilyn said. “So you may want to speak with Jeannie. I don’t know what Drew might do if he found out you have one of those off-breed kittens from that litter.”
Just then Savannah saw Michael walk past the office with Teddy in his arms. She followed them into the living room, where Teddy scrambled to get down and play with his train set. Michael kissed the toddler, then walked into the kitchen to get the boy something to drink. Suddenly Teddy let out a howl. “Uh-oh,” Savannah said into the phone. “Hey, Marilyn, I’d better let you get back to the cats. I see that I have a situation here.”
“Oh, with Gray Boy—I mean, Rags?” Marilyn asked.
“Actually, yes, he seems to be holding my son hostage.” “Huh?” Marilyn questioned.
Savannah chuckled. “Well, our two-year-old is trying to push his train, and Rags is sitting on the tracks and won’t let him pass.” When Teddy tried to nudge Rags off the tracks, she said, “Gotta go. I’ll talk to you soon.” Smiling, she pocketed her phone, picked up Rags, and cradled him, cooing, “What do you think you’re doing? You’re blocking traffic. Don’t you know the train must get through? There’s precious cargo on there.”
Michael chuckled when he crept into the room with Teddy’s sippy cup and heard Savannah say, “See, Rags, there are kitty-cats and cows and your stuffed penguin on that train.”
“What did Rags do, hijack the cattle car?” Michael asked.
“Yeah,” she said. “I think he was trying to hold it up. Teddy ran into him several times, but he still didn’t move.”
Michael shook his head. “He marches to his own drummer, doesn’t he?”
“Rags?” she said, laughing. She kissed the cat’s cheek. “Oh, he has a whole orchestra behind him.”
****
“How’s the research coming along?” Michael asked later that afternoon as he and Savannah sat together on the porch swing watching their children play.
“Great. I’m actually making headway that I didn’t expect so soon. I’m really pleased.” She faced him. “Oh, that cat-DNA specialist that Janice put me in touch with is flying up to stay with us for a few days. She wants to meet Rags and I want to pick her brain.”
“When?” he asked.
“She’ll be here Tuesday and Wednesday. Is that okay?” “Yeah, I guess,” he said.
She grinned at him. “Are you pouting?”
“No. It’s just that we’ve been so busy.” He took her hand. “I miss you. I mean, how long’s it been since we’ve had a date night?”
She smiled. “How sweet. I miss you too.”
“No you don’t,” he challenged. “You’re the one off having fun.”
“Fun?” she countered. “You think it was fun chasing all over San Francisco’s waterfront trying to find Rags, frightened to death that something awful had happened to him?”
“I guess not, but it just seems like either you’re gone or busy or we’re surrounded by people. I guess I’m a little jealous,” he admitted.
She squeezed his hand. “I miss our date nights, too. Shall we plan one?” More coyly, she cooed, “I’m available tomorrow night.”
“Monday?” he griped. “What’s open on a Monday night? The best restaurants are closed on Monday.”
“Oh, I don’t think that’s true. Let’s do some research. I’m sure we can find a good one that’s open.” Nuzzling him, she said, “Even if it’s a bad one we’ll enjoy the evening together—just us.” She sat up straighter. “Hey, what if you leave the clinic early tomorrow? We can drive to the coast and eat at a restaurant on the beach. I’ve been yearning to be near the ocean.” She snuggled against him. “The days are longer, so we could enjoy the beautiful drive. The weather’s nice. We can sit outside and watch the waves as we eat.” She kissed him softly on the neck. “I say, you’re awfully persuasive there. You’ve about twisted my arm right off.” He chuckled. “Now if only we can keep your mom home long enough to take care of our children.”
“If Mom can’t do it, there’s always Bri or Auntie. We’ll work that out,” she soothed. “Helena loves to spend time with the kids. Oh, and Colbi and Damon owe us. We helped Iris with Rosemary when Colbi and Damon took that little anniversary trip.”
“Okay, so it’s a date?”
She kissed him. “It’s a date.”
He whispered in her ear. “Will you wear your little black dress?”
“Sure, if you don’t think I’ll be overdressed.”
He pulled back and looked at her. “Speaking of being overdressed. What is that you’re wearing? I don’t think I’ve ever seen that on you. Did you buy it at the mall today?”
She grinned. “So you think I’m overdressed?”
He scrutinized her outfit, saying, “That isn’t exactly what I’d call it.”
“Well, compliments or complaints go to Miss Lily Couturiere.”
“Huh?” he asked, confused.
“Lily dressed everyone today. She found this in the back of my closet and insisted I wear it.” Savannah giggled. “We even made her choose something for Bri from her closet—for punishment, actually.”
“You punished Lily? Bri wore some of Lily’s clothes?”
“No. It was punishment for Bri because she made fun of Mom and me.” Savannah laughed so hard
she couldn’t speak for a moment. “After Lily chose Bri’s outfit—you know, from Bri’s closet, boy, was she ever sorry she’d made fun of us.” She spoke more quietly, “Don’t tell Lily, but Bri looked sillier than either Mom or me.”
He looked her up and down. “Hard to imagine.” He chuckled. “I’ll bet you won’t do that again—I mean, let Lily pick out your clothes.”
Savannah huffed, “You got that right.”
****
“Thanks, Mom, for taking care of things here this evening,” Savannah said late the next day.
“Oh, honey, think nothing of it. I’m pleased that you and Michael are getting out for a little you time. It’s a very important part of a marriage. Children can distract a couple from the romance in their relationship.” She put her hands on Savannah’s arm. “You kids have a great time and don’t worry about a thing.”
“Thank you. I’m looking forward to it.” She heard a car drive in and said giddily, “Here comes my prince charming.”
Gladys smiled. When Michael entered the house, she said, “I hope you brought the glass slipper.” “Huh?” he asked.
“Oh, she’s being facetious,” Savannah explained.
Michael winked at Gladys. He kissed Savannah, then stepped back and took a good look at her. “You’re gorgeous.”
She smiled demurely. “Thank you. What are you wearing?”
“What do you want me to wear?”
“Your slacks or your jeans and your blue shirt—definitely your blue shirt,” Savannah said.
“Okay, let me wash away the smell of animals and medicine, and we’ll be off.” Michael glanced outside. “Did you take care of the horses already?”
“Darn,” she said, “I guess I was premature in getting dressed.” She craned to look outside. “Hey, Antonio’s still out there working, isn’t he?”
“Yeah, I saw him when I came in,” Michael confirmed.
Savannah walked toward the door. “I’ll ask if he’ll feed this afternoon.”
“Perfect,” Michael said over his shoulder as he headed down the hallway.
“Antonio,” Savannah called minutes later from the porch, “would you feed the horses before you leave?”
“Yes.” He chuckled. “You don’t want to go out there in your good clothes? Those horses can be messy.”
“That’s right. Thank you.” She walked back inside, then decided to handle another task. She removed a large paper bag from the pantry and took it out to the car where she began filling it with the children’s toys, half-eaten cookies, empty juice boxes, a hair scrunchy, and a few other things she was surprised to find there.
Before Savannah was finished she heard a small voice call out, “Mommy, what are you doing?”
“I’m cleaning your toys out of the car,” Savannah said.
“My dolly’s hair brush? My white shoe?” Lily asked.
“Yes, I found both of those.” Savannah glanced up at her daughter. “Close the door, honey, before one of the cats gets out. I’m coming back in just a minute. Close the door, now.”
Savannah smiled when she heard Lily say, “Hurry, Mommy. I need my baby Alana’s brush.”
“Coming,” she called. But first, she opened the front car door and emptied the small trash compartment. She wiped the dash with a napkin she’d found. When she was satisfied that their chariot was fit for date night, she closed the car doors and returned to the house.
****
“What a good idea,” Savannah said as the couple traveled along one of their favorite routes several minutes later. “I’m glad you took the back roads; it’s so pretty along here. I can’t wait to see the ocean. I haven’t spent much time at the ocean since…”
“You were on the waterfront of San Francisco looking for Rags just last week,” Michael reminded her.
“Oh, I don’t count that. I didn’t have a moment to relax and enjoy the view. No, this is way different. I’m really looking forward to hearing the ocean waves and the sea birds, smelling the salty water, and feeling the ocean spray.” She shivered. “I’m so happy right now, Michael. Thank you for the wonderful idea.” She ran her hand over the back of his neck.
He smiled and winked at her.
Suddenly she gasped and withdrew from him.
“What was that?” he asked, swerving the car.
“Raaags,” they both said together when the large cat pushed his way between them and sat down on the console.
“Oh no,” Michael carped. “Savannah, I hope you didn’t plan this as some sort of surprise for me, because I can tell you it sure is a surprise, but not a good one.”
“No,” she insisted. “I had nothing to do with it. Oh, my gosh, Rags, how in the world…” She took a deep breath and let it out. “I can’t imagine how he did this. Darn it anyway.” She slumped in her seat and whined, “Oh, Michael, shall we just take him back home and eat at the diner?”
He thought for a moment, glanced at her a couple of times as he drove, then at the cat. “No,” he insisted. “We’re not going to let him ruin our evening.”
“Then what?” she asked.
“I haven’t figured that out yet,” Michael admitted, “but we’ll find a way. Believe me, we’ll find a way to have a nice time even with this most unwelcome tagalong.” He shook his head slowly. “Unbelievable.”
Savannah sat quietly for a moment then said, “Lily opened the door…”
“You’re going to blame our daughter?” he asked. “Savannah, we’re the parents.”
“Well, I’m just saying, I imagine he scooted past her. I was cleaning out the car. He could have sneaked into the car without me noticing him. Oh, Rags,” she said to the cat, “does it ever end with you? When will you stop running our lives.”
“Do you mean ruining our lives?” he asked, grinning.
“Michael,” Savannah scolded. She leaned back against the headrest. “So, what are we going to do?” “We’ll forget that he’s with us.” He reached for her hand and massaged it. When Rags pawed at his hand, he nodded toward the backseat and joked, “Go get your own girl. Go on, now.”
Savannah chuckled. She looked around and suggested, “Maybe I can strap him into Teddy’s car seat.”
“Hey, that’s a good idea,” Michael said.
“Really? Do you think it would work?” she asked.
“I don’t know; let’s try it. Didn’t I see a piece of rope back there?”
“Yes,” Savannah said, retrieving it. “I need to return this to Sandy. She let me borrow it for Rags when we rode together a few weeks ago.” She lifted the cat onto her lap and fashioned a harness for him. “There,” she said. “I think that will work. Can you pull over someplace so I can get back there and fasten him in?”
It didn’t take long for Michael to find a suitable turnout. He parked the car and said, “Okay, work your magic. I suppose we’ll need to stop at a pet store and buy him yet another harness and leash. We can eat on a patio that allows pets. Most do, these days, don’t they?”
“Let’s hope so. Or we can get a to-go order and have a picnic at one of the beach parks.”
He looked sympathetically at her. “In your beautiful black dress?”
She shrugged. “It’s washable.”
“Okay,” he said, somewhat reluctantly. “Let’s see if we can secure him somehow, so we can enjoy peace the rest of the way to the seashore.”
A few minutes later, Savannah said, “I think I have it figured out. We should be able to buckle him in with this strap. She looked around. “Okay, Rags, we’re ready for you. Where are you, Rags? Where’d he go? He was right here supervising.”
Michael sighed deeply. “Is he in the back there, or under one of the seats?”
After looking everywhere inside the car and frantically checking under the car, in the engine compartment, and among nearby shrubbery, Savannah began to panic. She spun in place. “I can’t believe this, Michael. How does he do it?” She glanced across the terrain. “Where in the heck did he go?”
<
br /> Michael shook his head. “Beats me. If I knew his deepest secrets I’d bottle them and probably become a billionaire. Rags!” he called. “Rags, come on, boy. We’re hungry.”
“Rags!” Savannah shouted. “Kitty-kitty.” Exasperated, she said, “I guess I don’t have any treats with me, but there could be some on the floorboards. I’ll dig around.” She opened one of the back doors. “Here are a couple. Rags, I have treats!” she called. “Darn it, he probably won’t respond because I don’t have a treat bag to shake. It’s the sound of the packaging that gets his attention.” She began to panic. “Michael, what could have happened? Did someone see him wandering around and pick him up? Wait,” she said. “There’s a house over there.”
“Are you sure that’s a house?” Michael asked. “It looks more like a shack. But yeah, there are some cars parked around it. I’ll go see if he made his way over there.” He shook his head slowly again and muttered to himself, “Darned cat. If there’s any way he can ruin a nice day he’s going to do it. Rags!” he shouted, a little angrily. “Rags!” he called as he approached the building.
“What do ya want?” a man yelled through a broken window in the ramshackle structure.
“I’m looking for a cat,” Michael said. “He’s grey and white—a large cat. He walked away from us, and…”
“There ain’t no cats around here,” the man said, “live ones, that is. When did ya lose him? I shot at one last night. Missed, dang it.”
Michael frowned at the man, then said, “Our cat got away from us just now. May I come onto your property and look for him? He’s pretty important to us.”
“No,” came a voice from the other side of a new luxury car.
“Clark, I thought you was out lookin’ fer a job,” the first man said. “What er ya doin’ out there? Holy crap! Where’d that car come from? Have I seen that car before?” “Sure you have, Pop. It’s been here all along. You just don’t remember, that’s all.”
“Are ya fixin’ to bury it?” the older man asked.
“Bury it?” Clark questioned. He looked down at the pickax in his hands, tossed it aside, and said, “No. I was just going to put this away.” He pointed at Michael. “Who’s he, Pop?”
