The Great Cat Caper (12 page)

N
ow Vee knew what a cat condo looked like. At least for community cats. The next day, two oversized foam coolers were taped shut and a circle cut for an entrance. Then the entire cooler was wrapped in wide, outdoor tape.

Cat Woman walked into the parking lot as they emerged from the senior center, headed toward the bushes where Vee had met Buzz and collected a face full of scratches. “Nice job, girls!” she called.

C. P. had insisted on carrying one by himself and had the girls whooping by staggering back and forth, trying to see over and around the shelter. Holding her end of the white shelter with Esther on the other, Vee smiled as the older woman joined them.

“Those two shelters should be great shelters for the three that escaped and the one that got away the day we tried to trap them,” Cat Woman said.

“I feel sad they did not want to be pets,” Aneta said as they neared the bushes.

“We tried though. I guess that’s better than hauling them off to be put down. We learned a lot.” Esther sounded as though she were trying to make herself feel better.

Sunny and Aneta set down their shelter so it faced the fence but left enough room for the cats to get through the circle. “And we’re still helping them. I just wanted them all to be adopted and have a great life.”

“You’re giving them a better life than they had before,” the Cat Woman reminded them.

After placing the shelters, Aneta straightened. “Now we make cute litter boxes.” Then her smile ran wide. “And then—”

C. P. shot his fist in the air. “Disgusting organic cat treats!”

Vee noticed Mom’s Honda and Bill’s truck in the parking lot as they turned to head back into the senior center. She ran to greet them, a puzzled expression crossing her face. Was something wrong?

Frank and Nadine came out the senior center doors. “Hey, April and Bill. Thanks for coming. I know you’re both busy.”

Panic seized Vee. She looked from Mom and her stepdad to Frank and Nadine. No way could she be in trouble. The girls were working with the old people, and they were on target for the Helpful City Festival. The mayor was happy; Mrs. Sissy was happy. Why were Mom and Bill here?

“Let’s all go into the Cat Room,” Frank said.

The girls, C. P., and Cat Woman had joined Vee.

“What’s going on?” Vee heard Sunny whisper to Aneta.

“I do not know,” Aneta whispered back.

“We are definitely
not
in trouble,” Esther assured them, nudging Vee’s arm as they left the parking lot and went inside. “Are we?”

Vee immediately went to Buzz and lifted him out of his cage. He began a most reassuring buzz against her chest where she clutched him.

“Nope, nobody is in trouble,” Frank said. “Even though it would be fun to make you think you were.”

“Frank,” Nadine said in a warning voice, although she was smiling. “Don’t drag this out.”

“You’re no fun,” he grumbled then gestured to Mom, who in turn looked at Bill.

Hello? Freaking out here.

“Here’s the deal,” Bill said, putting his arm around Vee’s mom and smiling his wide smile. “We think Vee’s found a treasure in Buzz, and he needs to come home with us forever. Paws ‘N’ Claws has checked us out, and we’re okayed.” He pulled a worried face. “That is, Vee, if you want him.” The grin he flashed told everyone he was kidding.

“Want him? Oh, Buzz!” Vee choked up and looked down at the big-eyed kitten with the tufty ears. The kitten that was
now hers.

Sunny grabbed Aneta and danced with her as best they could among the tables and chairs. Esther and Cat Woman clapped. “You get a Cat Kit to take home!” Sunny said.

Mine, he’s mine. My treasure, my treasure that came out of trouble.
She didn’t know how long she stood looking into the ever-changing eyes of Buzz. Time stood still. Her slide into the bushes on a
beetle-y
day she thought would never end. The dive into the Dumpster to save Buzz, then him peeking out at her and her knowing she’d have to save him. Her hip was feeling a lot less sore, thank you very much.

She recalled way too many days where he thought all humans were evil and then that insane day
Everything Animal
turned everything upside down. Buzz’s eyes were swooping in and out of slits as he dozed. She glanced at Bill. “Good day for treasure,” she said and walked over and placed the drowsy kitten in Bill’s big hands.

Mom leaned in close. “He’s a cutie.”

C. P.’s voice broke up the sweet scene. “So when do we get to make the cat treats?”

“Let me get this straight,” Mom said, rubbing her face as the three of them sat around the kitchen island for dinner. “You want me to sign a permission slip to have a lock-in sleepover at the
senior center
?” She took a swallow of ice water. “With old people and
cats
?”

“Seniors, Mom,” Vee said. “Not old people.
Really.
“

“That would be worth recording,” Bill said, helping himself to another slice of real pizza—as in not potato pizza—that Mom had brought home. She’d announced she was done working killer hours and they might as well get used to having her around more. Bill and Vee had cheered.

Vee explained. “Cat Woman, I mean
Gladys
, says the senior citizens liked working with us. There are cots used for disaster preparedness that we’ll use.”

“Makes sense.” Bill wiped his mouth with a napkin. “Your whole project has been like a disaster preparedness project.”

Vee slugged him in the arm. After fortifying herself with a few bites of pizza, she delivered her strongest point for signing the permission slip. “And you guys won’t have to wake up early to take me to the senior center.”

Bill grabbed the permission slip from his wife. “Sold.” He signed with a flourish. “Don’t get into trouble.”

“With senior citizens?” Vee reached for her ice water. “There’s as much a chance of that as us ever seeing Flick the cat again.”

Mom and Bill and Vee laughed, Vee the hardest.

That evening, over beetling math homework, Vee looked at the first problem, Buzz buzzing in her lap.

Pattern? Vee began to smile.

I
don’t think it’s going to happen,” C. P. said Thursday, holding up yet another attempt to make cute litter pans. He had daubed white shoe polish in dots over a litter pan he’d spray painted black. “Still looks like a painted litter pan.” The girls, C. P., and their senior helpers had been trying to come up with “cute” litter pans for more than two hours.

“I think you’re right. A litter pan is just a litter pan. You can’t dress it up,” Esther concurred. She turned to the helpers and the Squadders. “Agreed?”

Vee raised one of Buzz’s paws. “Buzz says yes! It’s just a litter pan.” Little Buzz had completely trapped Mom and Bill under his little velvety paw from the moment he became part of the family. Mom drank her morning coffee with him in her lap. Bill sang crazy songs to Buzz while the kitten waited for him outside the shower. Since Bill went in so early, he got out early from work and so had delivered Buzz to Vee at the senior center in Buzz’s own Squad-decorated cardboard carrier. Maybe the little kitten was getting used to it, even though he blew out of there each time, shook himself, and gave everyone the stink eye before washing himself.

She pulled her notebook out of her back pocket and crossed “cute” off the list, pushing Buzz away. He thought all pens were a Feather Freakie and must be attacked. She surveyed their list.

“May I speak with you privately, Gladys?” Mrs. Sissy entered the room and motioned to the Cat Woman, whom the girls just couldn’t seem to remember to call by her real name. The two women left the room. Mrs. Sissy no longer glared at them, but she had yet to smile.

“What’s that all about?” Sunny wondered as she packed up the painting supplies. “Can we use any of these for the face painting on Friday and Saturday?”

“Shoe polish and spray paint?” Esther looked shocked.

Sunny shrugged. “Oh, probably not, huh?”

“I hope Cat Woman is not in trouble,” Aneta said, stacking the cute and uncute litter pans. They would leave the supplies in the Cat Room so the pickleball club could put the Cat Kits together tomorrow.

Cutting it close.
Vee thought of her list. The Helpful City Festival began at noon tomorrow. She would wake up early and take the retest. It would seem weird not to see Math Man anymore. A very good weird. By Monday she would know if she would get to stay in the Accelerated Learning Center or not.

“We’re still short someone to run the Petting Palace,” she said, looking at the remaining item. “Aneta is selling the cat treats and toys. C. P. will run around telling everyone about the treats. He’s obsessed with them. Esther is helping the senior center with their computer presentations of Oakton’s history as a helpful city. Sunny is helping that retired art teacher paint cat faces on kids. I’m going to be in the Cat Room directing people to the adoption counselors. So who’s going to run the Petting Palace?”

“I would love to,” Mrs. Sissy said as she and Cat Woman reentered the room. Vee joined the girls with an astounded expression.
That
was not expected. Vee would have expected Mrs. Sissy to say she knew they wouldn’t be organized enough for opening day.

But what the Cat Woman said next was even more unexpected.