The Cat of Christmas Past (10 page)

“That’s amazing,” the woman whispered. “How did you do that?”

“I didn’t do anything. Ebenezer did it all by himself.”

“I want to adopt that cat,” the woman announced.

“I’m sorry,” I apologized, “he isn’t one of my cats. He belongs to a friend of mine. I’m only keeping him for a short time.”

“Oh, that’s too bad.” The woman looked disappointed, and given the circumstances, I couldn’t blame her.

“If you want to bring your son back tomorrow I’ll have Ebenezer here. Maybe we can work together to help your son choose another cat. I’ll bring in some of my most kickback kitties.”

“It’s worth a try. His fear of animals seemed to have appeared instantly overnight; maybe he can get over it just as abruptly.”

“We can let your son play with Ebenezer a little while longer. We really aren’t supposed to have the cats in the coffee bar, but hopefully no one will complain. We should move him before the ferry docks and the crowd comes in, though.”

The child continued to play with Ebenezer until we saw the ferry on the horizon. The mom casually told the child it was time to leave but that they could come back the next day if he wanted. He smiled, said okay, and left without a fuss.

I picked up Ebenezer and looked him in the eye. “You really are a magical cat, aren’t you?”

The cat didn’t answer, but he did start to purr. Loudly. I cuddled him to my chest and scratched him behind the ear. He really was a sweetie. I was willing to bet he provided a lot of companionship for Balthazar Pottage despite the fact that the old man pretended not to care about him one way or the other.

I took Ebenezer to the cat lounge and then headed into the back room to let Alex know that the arrival of Santa to the bookstore was less than a half hour away, so he might want to get ready. He’d already donned the suit but was having problems with the white wig and long beard. I volunteered to help him.

“Hold still,” I said as I tied his long dark hair back in a band so it wouldn’t show beneath the wig.

“I’m trying to, but that tickles.”

“Don’t be a baby. I’m just brushing your hair. There.” I stood back to admire my handiwork. “I think I’ve got everything tucked up. Now for the wig.”

“I hope it isn’t going to be itchy,” Alex complained.

“It won’t be itchy,” I promised, even though I had no idea if it would be or not. “We’ll need to smooth back your bangs or they’ll show.”

Alex used his hand to smooth back the hair from his forehead.

“Interesting birthmark.”

Alex had a red mark shaped like a heart on his forehead just above his left eye.

“Hence the long hair,” he said.

“I don’t know,” I countered as I adjusted the wig so it was straight. “I kind of like it. It’s got a sexy vibe to it. If I were you, I’d cut my hair and wear it proudly.”

“Are you flirting with me?” Alex’s eyes twinkled, which let me know he was just messing with me, but I couldn’t help but turn just a tad red.

“I’m most certainly not flirting with you. I have a boyfriend.”

“I know; I’m just teasing. I’ve always hated that birthmark, so I’ve always worn my hair long to cover it up. Luckily, I have thick hair that actually looks good long.”

“Well, I like it, and I think other girls would too. I wasn’t kidding about cutting your bangs. They look good the way they are, but I think you’d look good with your hair short as well. Are you ready?” I asked when the beard was in place.

“As I’ll ever be. Let’s hope we don’t have any pants wetters in the crowd.”

I laughed. “Yeah, let’s hope.”

“Are you sure about this?” Cody asked me that evening as he held up a bright green sweater. Cody wanted to buy Christmas gifts for my family and had asked me to go shopping with him to help him pick out the items I felt my relatives would like best.

“Cassie will love it.”

“But I thought she was into the whole black and white thing.”

“She was. She’s over it. Now it’s loud and bright all the time.”

Cody shrugged. “If you say so.”

I began sorting through the sweaters to see if I could find something a bit less trendy for Siobhan, while Cody added Cassie’s sweater to his basket. If we had time maybe I’d look for something for my mom and my other siblings. I was usually a lot more on the ball, but this year I’d barely even started my shopping. Still, it was fun shopping with Cody, although the heater in the store was turned up to something just short of inferno.

“Maybe we should walk down to the sporting goods store to look for something for Aiden and Danny,” I suggested.

“Hot in that thick turtleneck?”

“I feel almost charbroiled.”

Cody looked toward the cash registers in the front of the store. I followed his gaze. The lines were endless, as was to be expected a week before Christmas.

“Why don’t you go ahead and get some fresh air? I’ll pay for the stuff we picked out and meet you outside the store.”

I could feel a trail of sweat trickling down my back. “Thanks. I think I’ll do that. This sweater is great for the walking-around part but not so great for the actual shopping part of our outing. Maybe I should go home to change before we go to dinner. It’s likely to be warm in the restaurant.”

“We can do whatever you’d like,” Cody assured me.

I pushed my way through the crowd as I made my way toward the exit, which wasn’t an easy feat. The place was packed. The bookstore had been busy as well, but not nearly as much as the shops in town. Coffee Cat Books closed at five on Friday, but I couldn’t help but wonder if we might want to stay open later during the holidays. It was a little late to change things this year, but it would be something to keep in mind for next year.

“I see you decided to escape the heat as well,” Angel Haven said to me as she exited the store shortly after I did.

“It has to be ninety degrees in there,” I said to my pregnant friend after hugging her hello.

“I really don’t know why they have the heat up so high. It seems like a total waste of energy, for one thing. For another, I’m going to bet we aren’t the only ones to decide to leave before we were done shopping. I bet the store is actually losing a lot of money.”

I glanced toward the front door, where a Salvation Army volunteer was chatting with two women who also were complaining about the heat. It seemed Angel had a point. There most likely were patrons who would have shopped longer if the temperature inside the store had been more agreeable.

“I noticed Mrs. Jasper is working the counter,” I commented. “It seems that poor old dear is cold even when it’s ninety degrees. Chances are she’s the one who set the thermostat. Is Jesse still inside?”

“Yeah, he’s paying for the stuff we picked out. I had no idea how much it was going to cost to outfit a baby. All I can say is that I’m so grateful to you for convincing Mr. Pottage to change his mind about tearing down the apartment building. You’re a true hero. The building is old and run down, but it’s home.” Angel rubbed her big belly in a circular motion.

“I haven’t convinced him yet,” I clarified. “I’m trying, but it’s still a long shot.”

Angel pushed her hands into her back. “I know it’s not a done deal,” Angel said, “but you’re so good at persuading people to do stuff. I’m sure you’ll figure out a way. I don’t know what we’re going to do if we have to move. Where will we go? Before you got the old man to delay the evictions I was seriously beginning to fear I was going to have to have my baby in someone’s barn, just like in the Christmas story.”

I took Angel’s arm and moved her to the side as two boys on bikes went barreling down the sidewalk. “I can’t promise what Mr. Pottage will do in the long run, but I’ll try my very hardest to convince him to find a solution that will allow the tenants to stay. I’m working on a project for him that seems to be going nowhere, so prayers would be appreciated.”

“You’ve got it.” Angel hugged me again. “And thank you. I know you’ll try your hardest.”

Suddenly, I felt burdened with a huge responsibility. Twelve families were counting on me to do the impossible. Oh, no, I hadn’t bitten off more than I could chew. I was running out of leads, but I still had a few people to talk to, so maybe something would pop soon.

“I ran into Destiny at the doctor’s office yesterday.” Angel changed the subject. She’d probably noticed the panic on my face. “Did you know we’re due on the same date?”

“No, I didn’t realize.”

“Chances are we won’t actually deliver on the same day, but I thought it was cool that the possibility existed. She’s having a boy and I’m having a girl. Maybe they’ll share the hospital nursery, grow up friends, fall in love, and have babies of their own.”

I laughed. “Boy, you like to jump ahead.”

Angel smiled. “Everyone loves a love story.”

I almost mentioned that Destiny was most likely going to give her baby up for adoption, but I wasn’t sure she wanted anyone to know what she was considering.

“Even their names go together,” Angel added.

“Names?”

“I’m naming my baby Jordan and she’s naming hers James. James and Jordan; how cute is that?”

I hadn’t been aware that Destiny had picked out a name. Maybe she was leaning toward keeping the baby after all. She certainly had been putting off signing the paperwork the adoption agency had given her.

“We’re all set,” Cody said as he came out of the store with Jesse beside him.

“It was good talking to you.” I hugged Angel one last time, then looked at Jesse. “Text me when the baby comes.”

“I will. It won’t be long now.”

Jesse put his arm around his wife and they walked away together. They looked so happy. If it were me having a baby I’d probably be more terrified than excited.

“I can’t believe Angel is going to be a mother,” I commented. “She’s the same age I am.”

“Twenty-six isn’t really all that young to have a baby,” Cody pointed out.

“Yeah, I guess not. It just seems so strange that the girls I grew up with are all getting married and having families. Tara and I are the last two in the group we hung out with in high school who are still single and childless.”

“I guess it must be different for guys. Of the ten or so guys Danny and I hung out with the most in school only one is married and we’re two years older than you.”

I frowned. “I guess you have a point. Angel is twenty-six, but Jesse is thirty-two, and my friend Reina just married a man who was thirty-five last summer.”

“Does it bother you?” Cody asked.

“Does what bother me?”

“That all your friends are getting married.”

I thought about it. “No, not really. I think Tara is starting to think about having a family, but I feel like I’m still trying to figure out my life. I know I’ll want a family one day, but at this point I’m happy with the way things are.” I looked at Cody. “How about you? Is your biological clock ticking?” I teased.

Cody looked me in the eye. “Maybe a little.”

Maybe a little? What did he mean by that? Was Cody ready to settle down and have babies? I knew I wasn’t, so I decided I wasn’t going to ask a question I might now want to hear the answer to.

“I feel a lot better now that I’m out of that oven of a store,” I said as we walked toward the car. “I think what I have on will be fine for dinner. Maybe after we eat we can go up to Lookout Point to see the lights.”

“That sounds nice. One of my fondest memories is of the Christmas when I was sixteen and you were fourteen and you had just had a huge fight with Siobhan, so I took you up to the Lookout in my dad’s car.”

I stopped walking and turned to look at Cody. “Really?”

“Yeah. It was my one big chance to play the knight in shining armor. You came to my house looking for Danny but he’d already left, so I took you up to look at the lights and we talked for hours.”

I remembered every minute of that magical night, but I’d had no idea Cody remembered it too. We hadn’t been dating and he certainly wasn’t interested in me in a romantic way then. I’m sure all I was to him at that point was his best friend’s pesky little sister.

“You really did help me put things in perspective that night. I went home and made up with Siobhan and we had a wonderful Christmas. I’m pretty sure I never even thanked you.”

“You can thank me later tonight.” Cody winked.

I smiled. “I might just do that.”

I took Cody’s hand as we continued down the street. I had always enjoyed coming downtown with my parents when I was a child to look at all the beautifully decorated windows. In a way, walking along Main Street so close to Christmas made me feel like a kid again.

I glanced at Cody. He looked so handsome in his forest green sweater. His thick dark hair was just a little long, causing it to brush his crew-neck collar. He smiled at me and suddenly I was no longer feeling like a kid. Maybe we should just skip dinner. Pick up takeout. Go back to my place so I could make good on my promise to thank him for that long-ago Christmas.

“Remind me to pick up a gift for Mr. Parsons while we are out,” Cody asked, interrupting my daydream. “I thought I’d give it to him on Christmas Eve before everyone shows up for our dinner.”

“By the way, I hope you don’t mind, but I decided to invite Maggie and Marley to our Christmas Eve dinner. I realize we’ll see them both on Christmas, but they didn’t have any other plans for Christmas Eve and I thought they’d fit right in.”

“That’s fine,” Cody answered. “I invited Father Kilian and Sister Mary as well. He has Mass at five, but he said he should be able to make it by seven, so I thought we’d just serve appetizers and then eat the main meal when he arrives.”

“That sounds nice,” I said as I mentally adjusted my menu to include appetizers and accommodate two more diners. “Maybe we should invite Pete Baxter. He’s usually alone for the holiday and that would make an even dozen.”

Pete Baxter was the local postmaster.

“That’s a good idea,” Cody agreed.

When we got to the car, Cody put the bags in the trunk while I checked my texts. There was one from Tara, asking me to call her. She ended the text in 911, so I did just that.

“What’s up?” I asked when Tara answered on the first ring.

“It’s Destiny. She’s in the hospital. She slipped on the ice and fell.”

“Oh, God. Is she okay?”

“She seems fine.”

“And the baby?”

“They’re doing some tests. Destiny is hysterical. I could really use some backup. I wanted to call her mom, but she refused to let me.”

“Cody and I are on our way.” I turned to him as I ended the call. “Destiny is in the hospital. We need to go there now.”

Cody turned the key in the ignition. “Is she okay?” he asked as he pulled out into traffic.

“I don’t know. I hope so.”

Cody and I rode in silence as we made our way to the hospital. I was saying prayers the whole way and I was willing to bet Cody was doing the same.

“How is she?” I asked as soon as I rushed through the ER entrance to find Tara pacing in the waiting area. Cody had gone to find a parking space.

“I’m not sure. When we first arrived Destiny was completely hysterical. They had to give her something to calm her down. The doctor is in with her now.”

I hugged Tara. I could see that she was a bundle of nerves.

“The whole time we were driving over here she kept yelling at me not to let her baby die. I’m not sure how I held it together enough to get her here, but now that she’s in the doctor’s capable hands I feel like I might pass out. Or throw up. Or both.”

“Let’s sit down.” I took Tara’s arm and led her to a sofa. “Cody, can you find us some water?” I asked as soon as he came in.

Tara began to cry. “She was having sharp pains in her abdomen. It totally freaked her out. It totally freaked me out.”

I took a deep breath and squeezed Tara’s hand. I prayed that both Destiny and her baby would be okay. I felt so helpless and I knew Tara did too.

“Maybe we
should
call her mom,” I suggested.

“She said not to. I told you, I wanted to, but she made me promise.”

“She’s a minor,” I pointed out.

“Yeah, I know. She told the doctor she was eighteen. He’s new and doesn’t know her, and there was so much confusion when we came in that he didn’t argue, but eventually things are going to calm down and they’ll ask us to fill out additional paperwork. I guess we should call her mother.”

“I’ll do it,” I volunteered. “That way you’ve kept your promise. You just sit here and take some deep breaths until the dizziness passes.”

I watched the nurse behind the counter as she answered her phone and then hurried through the double doors. I had a feeling it was going to be a long night.