Adopting Jenny (3 page)

****

After the fourth attempt at nursing, frustration began creeping onto Mom's face. She centered herself and started the whole routine of a drop of Karo syrup on the tongue before offering the opportunity to nurse.

Penny grunted as her head snapped up. She had nodded off to sleep again. She exhaled sharply. “I'm going to bed.”

“That's a good idea,” Mom said. “Joanie, why don't you head up to bed too.”

“No,” I said too quickly, too sharply. That earned a frown from Mom. I reminded myself not to get into trouble or that would automatically relegate me to the sidelines during this little adventure. “Please, Mom, just a little longer?”

Mom opened her mouth to reply, but she was cut off by Lee. His wail strengthened with each second that Mom didn't spring to his bedside. Normally I would have been cringing at the piercing sound, but at the moment, I was relieved to have Mom's attention diverted. She wiped her hands on the towel spread across her lap and stood.

“Don't move the puppies,” she said. “Let these two stay with Jenny.”

I watched the two puppies nip at each other's ears. Heavy footsteps thudded down the stairs. Peering around the doorway, I saw Dad entering the kitchen. He hovered near the refrigerator as if he couldn't decide whether or not to get some food out or whether he wanted to come into the breakfast nook with me. I chewed my lip while I waited for him to make his choice. If he decided I was in the way, I would be in bed faster than I could blink.

This seemed to be my constant struggle with Dad. I would always be too little, too annoying, or too in the way.

The quiet of the house settled around us, and for a moment the peace made me relax. I hadn't realized how tense I had become, but since Dad had entered the room, I guess that made sense. Right now, though, it was nice to feel so calm around my father.

Out of the calm Dad said, “Have I ever told you how I met Mom?”

I glanced at him from the corner of my eye. “No,” I said. “I don't think I've ever heard your version.”

“I'm sure Mom's told you a thousand times,” Dad said, leaning his head back against the wall. “But she has no idea what she did to me that day. Totally changed my life.”

I cuddled an arm around Jenny and leaned against her soft, warm side. One of the puppies was still snuffling around her tummy, and occasionally Jenny would lean over and give it an encouraging lick. I waited for Dad to continue.

Finally he said, “I don't know if you knew this or not, but I left school at sixteen. Just dropped out. I tried to join the army, but I was too young. I got some construction jobs, but mainly I just drifted around. My folks hated that.” He paused and rubbed his chin. Then he said, “So when I was nineteen I decided to go back and finish high school.”

“That's good,” I said, mainly just to have something to say, but also because I did think it was a good decision on his part. I couldn't imagine dropping out of school and then going back when I was practically ancient.

“Yeah, but man, I was so much older, or at least I felt so much older,” Dad said. “Anyway, the day I got there my cousin told me that he had someone he wanted me to meet. We turned a corner and there she was; your mom. She was wearing her majorette uniform. Did you know she used to be a baton twirler? She led the band during every parade and performance, got to go on even before the drum majors. She was gorgeous. I don't think I was able to say two words to her during that first meeting. My cousin kept whacking me on the arm to get me to speak.”

I giggled a little. “Did Mom think you were a total goon?”

Dad chuckled. “I suppose that's possible, but I didn't care. I was totally in love from that first moment. She was so beautiful, and I felt so lucky. I kid you not, Joanie girl, from that day on we were inseparable, and honestly, I never wanted it any other way.”

I smiled up at Dad as he stroked Jenny behind the ears. The dog turned toward me, licking my forehead as I snuggled against her soft, warm side. Mom had once told me that sleeping with a dog as a pillow was the best sleep a person could get. As I drifted off to sleep I thought about how much I agreed with her.

The next thing I knew, Jenny's generous sides rolled as she let out a low growl. I sat up and blinked, trying to clear the crust out of my eyes. Jenny was glaring up at Kaye, who seemed to be moving her food. I scratched Jenny behind the ears and she quieted down.

Kaye huffed out a big breath. “She's sure a cranky dog.”

Dad chuckled and leaned down to stroke Jenny's food. “I don't think she was growling at you,” he said nodding toward the doorway to the breakfast nook.

Our cat, Charlie, peeked around one corner. Jenny growled again as Charlie edged further into the room, headed straight for Kaye's lap. Charlie stopped for a moment beside Dad to nuzzle his legs before she continued on. Her sleek, white fur was dotted with patches of orange and black, and one of her ears was nicked from some long-ago cat fight. As she settled onto Kaye, Charlie's purr became deafening.

“That cat is so loud,” I said, sounding grumpier than I intended.

Dad laughed again. Maybe my brain was still sleep addled because I could not remember any time in my twelve years that Dad had been so… jovial. That sounded like the right word. It had been on a spelling list sometime in the past year. And if I remembered the meaning correctly, Dad seemed quite jovial tonight. I had to squelch the sudden urge to run to my dictionary and thesaurus. Maybe another word would fit better.

Kaye scratched Charlie under the chin. “Do you remember Sugar?”

“Ew,” I said. “That cat was awful.”

“Sugar wasn't awful,” Dad said. “She was… well, honestly she was an outdoor cat that Mom wanted as an indoor cat. And I don't think Sugar ever got the memo.”

When I thought about it, I could see that Dad had a point. Mom and Dad had Sugar before I was born, so I just grew up thinking the cat was sort of evil. I'd never considered that maybe the cat was just unhappy with her life circumstances. I remembered when she would scratch at the bedroom windows in the middle of the night. She had probably been trying to break out of her prison. And now that I thought about it, she did spend an awful lot of time in the windowsill staring outside.

A whole new level of compassion erupted inside of me as I congratulated myself on my grown up revelations about Sugar.

“Remember how we got Charlie?” Kaye asked.

****

Two years earlier…

“Mom, Sugar's gone,” Penny said, her voice slightly frantic. “I think Duke ate her.”

Mom laughed. “Duke didn't eat Sugar. I'm sure the cat's just in the basement. Go check again.”

Penny
's eyes widened
,
but
she
didn't say anything. Instead she turned and hurried toward the basement. Penny was the only one who even liked that dumb
cat, but I followed her anyway. The basement smelled as musty and dank as always, but even before we hit the bottom step I knew Sugar wasn't down there. The silence echoed through the rafters and bounced off the washing machine. Dad's punching bag swung in the corner, pushed by an invisible hand. I shuddered. I hated this basement.

“Sugar?” Penny called, her voice quiet and tentative. She stepped off the stairs onto the hard cement floor that Dad had laid himself. She peered into the dimness. “Joanie, can you turn the light on for me?”

Biting my lip, I tried to hop from the bottom step to the first carpet remnant. There was nothing worse than the cold from the floor seeping through my socks.
I missed by about a foot and landed on the concrete. Immediately
,
I felt the familiar chills. They bothered me because Kaye had told me that meant a ghost was nearby, touching me. The thought forced me to move lightning
-
fast to the carpet.

I grabbed the string for the pull of the hanging exposed light bulb, which flickered before coming on. The glow illuminated the area by the washer. Penny had drifted further away toward the dark r
ecesses of Dad's workout area.

“Th
e cat isn't down here,” I said.

Penny ignored me and kept searching. She grunted as she moved Dad's barbell out of the way. I rolled my eyes. Even though Penny was two years older than me, sometimes she was just plain dumb. I mean, come on, if the cat was hiding behind the weights,
we would see her.
Sugar was a big cat. The thing weighed at least three hundred pounds. And that didn't
even include her Dracula fangs.

Finally Penny had exhausted her search options on the far side of the basement. She slumped back over to me. When she got into the light, I was surp
rised to see tears in her eyes.

“Why are you so upset?” I asked. “Sugar's mean.”

“Yeah, but if we don't have Sugar we won't have a cat,” Penny replied. She sniffled and swiped at her eyes.

I chewed
my lip
while I thought about that. Then I shrugged. “Yeah, but we could get another one. A nicer one.”

Penny shook her head. Her short brown bob falling into her eyes. “You just don't get it, Joanie,” she said. “Dad won't let us get another cat. He only let Mom have Sugar because Mom wanted Sugar.”

“Huh?”

“Follow me here, Joanie. Dad pretty much lets Mom have whatever animal she wants because Mom has him wrapped around her little finger. If we ask Dad for a new cat, he'll just say no. That it's too much mess, too expensive or whatever.” Penny opened the washing machine and peeked in. No cat.

When her words finally sank in, I felt a flash of sadness. Sure, I didn't like Sugar much, but it was nice to have a cat curled up at the end of my bed. I'd miss that. And hearing Sugar purr had been a nice way to fall asleep.

“We'll find her,” I said, more to make myself fee
l better.

Penny eyed me. “Yeah? How?”

I shook my head. “I don't know. We could…
we could hang up posters around the neighborhood or something. Maybe Mom has a picture we could use.”

Penny brightened. “That's not a bad idea. I wonder if Mom would let us offer a
reward.
”

We ran up the stairs without turning off the basement light. Penny obviously forgot in her excitement
.
I remembered
,
but there was no way I was heading back down there.

When I got to the kitchen
,
Penny was
telling Mom about my idea; the idea that
she kept referring to as her own idea. Annoyed
,
I kicked the edge of the counter
,
only to winc
e since I wasn't wearing shoes.

“I think there are some photos of the animals in the bin in the hutch,” Mom said. “Use any of the ones of Sugar that you want. Just leave one or two.”

Penny started for the dining room when she stopped and looked at me. “You get the construction paper and the markers. I'll get the photo box
.
Meet me in the dining room.”

I wrinkled my nose at her retreating form. If there was anything I hated more than the basement, it was being bossed around by my sisters. Sometimes I hated being the youngest. Not only did I have to listen to Mom and Dad, but I also had to listen to Kaye and Penny.

Still
,
being included in a project as cool as this one was enough to make me hurry to our art cabinet and pull out the supplies Penny had requested plus a few others I thought might be useful. Penny was poring over the pictures of Sug
ar when I sat down next to her.

“When did we take so many pictures of the cat?” I asked.

Penny pushed a pile of photos toward me while ignoring my question. “Pick five of these.”

I sorted through the stack until I had found five pictures that seemed to show Sugar in the best possible light. I held up one of my rejected pictures that featured Sugar with her teeth bared glaring at Pepper when the dog
had first come to live with us.

“She's such a great cat,” I said
sarcastically
. “Are we really sure we want to find her?”

“We've been over this,” Penny replied. Then she stopped talking to me. I watched as she glued and wrote and arranged. When she was done she glanced at me and said, “You can come with me while I hang them up.”

The posters were
attached
to telephone poles in no time. As Penny tacked the last one up
,
she clapped her hands together.

“Now we just wait,” she said. “Someone is sure to bring her home by tomorrow. I mean, she couldn't have gotten far, right?”

A week later
,
no one had called.

We were all beginning to think the worst, especially Penny
,
when the doorbell rang one Saturday afternoon. Dad went to answer it, but Mom beat him to it
.
I peeped around the corner to see a nice older woman holding a white cat with orange and brown spots. For a moment my heart surged because it looked just like Sugar…except this cat was smaller. A lot smaller. My heart sank.

Then Mom said, “Well, hello sweetheart. We've all been missing you.
”

I watched in mild shock as Mom lifted the cat from the other woman's arms and cuddled it. Surely if I could tell that the cat wasn't Sugar, so could Mom. Instead
,
she thanked the woman and called to show Dad. When he got to the door
,
I could tell from the look on his face that he knew this cat wasn't ours, but something in Mom's look kept him silent. After he thanked the woman, they shut the door and had a low conversation not meant for my ears.

Then Mom called us all to the living room to introduce us to our new cat. She was beautiful and the first thing she did was nuzzle each of us and lick our hands with her sandpaper rough pink tongue. Her purr sounded like a motorboat.

“And I think Penny should name her,” Mom said, “because of all the work she
put
into finding Sugar.”

“But, Mom, why are we keeping a cat that isn't even ours?” Kaye asked while scratching under the new cat's chin.

Mom grinned. “This cat is just nicer, don't you think?”

I glanced at Dad to see what he thought of this…
deception. He was just gazing at Mom with his usual dopey expression. That meant this new cat got to stay.