The Year the Cat Saved Christmas - a novella (5 page)

And she was right. Their landlords Claire and
Eddie Zimmerman treated them like the children they'd never had.
They remembered Jill's and David's birthdays, invited them over for
Thanksgiving dinner, and provided shoulders to lean on. David would
never do anything to disappoint them. He'd saved the twenty dollars
by skipping lunches and two haircuts because putting a smile on
Jill's face was worth a couple hunger pangs any day.

After all she'd given up for him, it was the
least he could do.

He walked the length of Main Street, first
one side and then the other. Even the all-night drug store was shut
tight as a drum. The lights in the pet shop were still on but
somehow he didn't think Jill would welcome an iguana into the
family with open arms.

One day when they had a house of their own,
the big house of his dreams, they'd go to a shelter and take in as
many dogs and cats and parakeets as the place had, but that day was
still a long way off.

A brisk wind was blowing the snow straight
into his eyes. It was the kind of wind that whistled up your
sleeves and down the collar of your jacket and made it feel twice
as cold as it really was. Someday they'd have two cars, both of
them brand spanking new with heaters that could keep you warm in
the coldest weather, and stereo speakers and--

"Yowch!" His feet slid out from under him and
he sailed up into the air and landed butt first on the pavement.
His backpack skidded to a stop a few feet away. He scrambled to his
feet and brushed the snow off his pants, wishing he'd worn
snowshoes instead of Reeboks. He bent down to retrieve his backpack
when he made his mistake and glanced at the pet shop window..

One lone kitten slept peacefully on a bed of
shredded newspaper. He curled up into a little ball of fluff with
his head resting on a knot of Christmas red yarn. Talk about
tugging on the old consumer heartstrings. One adorable kitten
asleep in the window was all you needed to lure customers in by the
carload.

But why would they need to lure customers in
at nine o'clock on Christmas Eve when everyone with a brain was
home decorating the tree?

The kitten opened one sleepy eye and looked
straight at David.

Oh no you don't
, he thought.
You've
got the wrong guy. We can't afford to keep you in kibble.

The kitten yawned then washed a tiny paw with
its little pink tongue.

David didn't even like cats and he was
smiling ear to ear as he watched the fluffy creature toddle over to
get a sip of water from the dish in the corner.

He supposed it wouldn't hurt to go in and
take a closer look. He knew all about these bait-and-switch
techniques. Consumer affairs reporters gave it a lot of play during
the holidays. He'd express an interest in the kitten on display and
they'd tell him the kitten in question had just been sold to John
Doe but wouldn't David love to see the purebred Himalayan with the
special $1000 price tag. But that was okay. At least he'd know the
little guy had a home.

"We're closing in five minutes," a cheery
female voice greeted him. "If you think you know what you
want--"

"That kitten in the window," he said as a
round-faced little woman popped out of the back room. "I suppose
he's spoken for."

Her smile broadened. "Sebastian?" she said.
"You like our sweet boy?"

"He's pretty cute," David acknowledged. "I
imagine he's going to make some little kid's Christmas."
Okay,
lady. Now tell me about the Himalayan with my name on it...

"How I wish that were true," the saleswoman
said with a sigh. "All of his litter mates sold but Sebastian
hasn't had much luck."

"You're kidding." She was shooting his
theories all to hell.

"You see," she lowered her voice, "Sebastian
has a bit of a personality problem."

"A kitten with a personality problem?"

She nodded. "Sebastian hates people. It's his
only flaw."

"How old is he?"

"Nine weeks today."

"Nine weeks old and he's already decided the
whole human race isn't fit to use his litter box?"

"I'm afraid that's the size of it. I'm the
only one he'll allow to handle him and then only after he lodges a
loud and angry protest."

He glanced from the saleswoman to the kitten
and back again. "Let me see him, please."

She reached into the window for Sebastian
then yelped and jumped back. "You little--" She caught herself and
flashed a sunny smile in David's direction. "That dickens has one
heck of a temper." She grabbed the cat then thrust him, squawking
and scratching, toward David.

She hates the poor little guy
, David
thought as he took the kitten from her. No wonder the kitten was so
unhappy. "Hey, boy." He scratched the kitten behind the right ear
and was rewarded with a cross between a growl and a purr

"I don't believe it," the saleswoman said.
"He likes you." She crooked a finger toward the kitten. "Sweet
Sebastian--"

Sebastian's hiss was loud enough to peel
paint.

"It's pretty clear he doesn't like you,"
David said as the kitten nudged his finger for another scratch.

She looked at her watch. "It's nine o'clock,"
she said. "If there's nothing I can do for you, you can put
Sebastian back so I can close up."

"You're going to leave him in the
window?"

She nodded.

"But you're closed tomorrow."

"He has food and water."

"It's Christmas."

"Sebastian doesn't know that."

"But you do."

She fixed him with an icy stare. "If you're
so concerned with his welfare, why don't you take him? God knows,
nobody else is likely to."

Five minutes later he was the proud owner of
a nine-week-old Maine coon cat with attitude. That Grinch of a
saleswoman refused to lend him a blanket to keep the kitten warm so
David yanked off his scarf and lined his backpack with it then
settled Sebastian down for the cold walk home. No hissing. No
scratching. No fuss. The kitten nestled in as if he belonged
there.

"You picked one hell of a time to develop a
personality," David said as he cradled the bundle close to his
chest and started walking home. He'd slip the backpack on just
before he reached the apartment. "If you'd played your cards right,
you could've been a doctor's cat."

Sebastian yawned and closed his eyes. David
could almost swear he saw the kitten smile.

#

Jill threw herself into his arms the moment
he came through the front door.

"I was so worried about you!" She peppered
his face with kisses. "It's almost ten o'clock! Where have you
been?"

He grabbed her hands and kissed them.
"Vanilla?" he asked, laughing.

"The last batch of Christmas cookies is in
the oven. We may be poor, but our gifts are the best in town."

He nuzzled against the side of her neck and
she sighed and leaned into him, all warmth and softness.

"I'm full of snow," he said. "I'm melting all
over you."

"I don't care." Her blue eyes twinkled with
mischief. "I--" She tilted her head to the left. "What was
that?"

He had the feeling his own eyes were
twinkling with mischief too. "What was what?"

"That noise." She frowned. "Listen! It sounds
like a tiny outboard motor."

"I don't hear anything," he said, although
the sound was getting louder by the second.

"David, it sounds like it's coming from
you."

"I'm battery-operated," he said, unable to
hold back his grin. "Did I forget to tell you that?"

"I'm serious." She grabbed for the zipper on
his parka. "What are you hiding?"

"Nothing," he said, all wide-eyed innocence.
"Why do you think I'm hiding something?"

She wouldn't be deterred. She tugged at his
jacket and finally he had to come clean.

"Close your eyes," he said. "I have a
surprise."

Her face was aglow. "I love surprises."

"You may not love this one."

"You know I love everything you do."

"You may change your mind after tonight."
Just because Sebastian seemed to think he was palatable, it didn't
mean Jill would pass muster.

"You're making me crazy! What is it?"

"Close your eyes," he said again, "and you'll
find out." He watched as she squeezed her eyes shut then slid off
the backpack. "You can open your eyes now."

She did. "Where is it?"

He handed her the backpack.

"David!" She sounded disappointed. "I don't
want your backpack."

"Open it."

Her brows slid together and he knew her
temper was beginning to boil. Leave it to Sebastian to save the
day. He picked that moment to wake up and poke his head out to see
what was going on.

Jill let out a shriek of pure delight. "Oh,
David!" She scooped up Sebastian and cradled him against her chest.
"A kitten!"

"You're kidding," David said, afraid to
inspect the backpack post-Sebastian. "Where did he come from?"

"He's beautiful," she crooned, kissing the
top of the kitten's head. "Look at those muttonchops and that
fluffy striped tail! Does he have a name?"

"Sebastian."

"Sebastian?" She grinned. "I think it suits
him."

Sebastian did too. He meowed once, loudly,
then started to purr again, a loud and happy hum of pure
pleasure.

"So you like him?"

"I love him," she said. "But I thought you
said we shouldn't get a pet until we're settled in a house."

He told her about the pet shop.

"That's so cruel!" Her eyes glittered with
angry tears. "How could she even think about leaving a sweet little
kitten alone in the store on Christmas?"

It occurred to him suddenly that the little
lady in the pet shop might have scammed him royally but Sebastian
looked up at him and damned if it didn't seem like he winked.

"It's official," Jill said, hugging them
both. "Now we're really a family."

#

"David." Jill's voice, sharp with curiosity,
brought him back to the present.

"What's the matter with you? Jake Malloy is
waving us over."

"I saw him," David said, lying through his
teeth. "I was about to pull into his driveway when you said
that."

She shot him a look but said nothing. The
marriage might be over but she was still his wife.

Jake was standing near the mailbox. He was
one of the neighborhood's nosier residents, the kind of guy who
would poke around in your garbage, given half the chance.

David whirred down the driver's side
window.

"So what's up?" he asked.

"I hear you're looking for Samson," Jake
said.

"Sebastian," David corrected him.

"The fat cat, right?"

"That's the one. You seen him?"

Jake nodded, eyeing Jill with open curiosity.
David could see the wheels of gossip turning.

"By the Zimmermans' house," Jake said, still
eyeing Jill. "He was standing in the foot of the driveway, eating
something."

"Sounds like Sebastian to me. Thanks for
letting us know."

Jake poked his head into the car. "I thought
that was you, Jill."

She peered around David and smiled. "Good to
see you, Jake. Merry Christmas."

"Yeah, Merry Christmas" said Jake in his
usual gracious manner. "So what's the story?"

Jill's smile flickered. "Excuse me?"

"The story," Jake repeated, eyeing David in
the same curious way. "Looks to me like the divorce is off."

"Can we get going?" David asked. "If we're
going to nab Sebastian, we'd better move before he takes off
again."

Jake looked from Jill to David. "Been a long
time since I saw the two of you together."

David couldn't bite back his anger. "Take a
good look, Malloy, because it's going to be your last."

He gunned the engine and pulled out of the
driveway.

"That was a rotten thing to say, David." Jill
shot him a withering glance.

"He had it coming."

"He made an observation."

"A stupid observation."

"You didn't have to bite his head off."

"He's lucky I didn't push him into a snow
bank."

"What is your problem?" she demanded. "He was
only trying to help us find Sebastian. Assuming you even give a
damn."

He started to tell her that he had been
thinking about Sebastian, about the little kitten with the big
attitude that had helped them take their first step toward being a
family, but then he thought better of it. After tomorrow they
wouldn't be a family any more.

It would all be ancient history.

Chapter Four

Claire Zimmerman peered at Jill and David
through her storm door for a moment, then a huge smile spread
across her face. "This is the best Christmas present I could
possibly have!" The elderly woman flung open the door and motioned
them inside. "When did it happen? I want all the details, every
single one of them."

Jill exchanged glances with David. "Claire,"
she said carefully, stepping into the warm foyer, "I'm afraid
you're jumping to conclusions."

Claire's round face didn't lose a glimmer of
happiness. "Of course I'm jumping to conclusions--and what better
conclusion could I possibly jump to when the two of you show up on
my doorstep on Christmas Eve?"

Jill found herself wishing the floor would
open up and swallow her whole. Claire Zimmerman was the last person
she wanted to disappoint. "Claire, please--"

"Eddie!" Claire called up the stairs. "Come
down here this instant! I have a wonderful surprise for you."

"Say something," Jill hissed to David. He
gave her the deer-in-the-headlights stare she'd first seen when he
coached her in the delivery room.

Eddie lumbered down the stairs, all
two-hundred-fifty pounds of him poured into a Santa Claus suit
complete with fluffy white beard. "Ho! Ho! Ho!" he bellowed,
patting his unpadded belly with gusto. "Best Santa Claus in town
six years running."