“Do you understand what I’m saying?I don’t want to have to take the kittens back, but if you and Sally can’t keep up your end of the bargain…” A car honked behind her, and she looked through the windshield to find the light was now green.
“All right, all right,” she said under her breath, glancing both ways before pulling ahead and through the intersection, their conversation done for now.
Simon drove a silent Sally home after picking up the food from the local restaurant.
“What happened?”he asked her.
“Riley said it would be fun to watch him run and skid, but he didn’t skid like she did.He just ran and ran.”
“You know you aren’t supposed to run in the studio.”
“I didn’t.Riley?—”
“Next time Riley wants to do something like that, you remind her of the rules, please.”Though he didn’t have the heart to reprimand her further.This was his fault.He should not have left them alone in the studio.He should have foregone the coffee and made sure they followed through.He was the adult in this situation.
Luckily nothing had happened to the little critter.He smiled as he thought of Dash curled up, fittingly, in a dish decorated with cats, fast asleep without a care in the world.The little imp.
They pulled up in front of the house and he said, “Once you get Dot settled, go wash your hands and set the table.They’ll be here soon.”
“Yes, Daddy.”Sally climbed out of the car looking guilty, though he knew she wasn’t to blame.He knew how headstrong Riley was and should have anticipated something might go wrong.Sarah had her hands full with that one, and, while the kittens were adapting, he would try to give her a hand if he could.
Sarah arrived only ten minutes after he did, looking very different in a blue summer dress, the hem of which was sprinkled with marigolds, some of his favorite flowers.She wore her hair back in a large clip.
Riley stood beside her with Dash when he opened the door.
“Well, what do you have to say to Simon?”asked Sarah, before they came inside.
Riley looked down at her feet and shuffled from one foot to another.
“Riley?”
“I’m sorry.I shouldn’t have let the cat out of the room.”
“Well, we both learned a lesson today.I should have been there.The room and you are my responsibility.”
“Thank you,” said Sarah.“Riley, set Dash into the pen with Dot and go wash your hands.I smell dinner.”
Riley looked up at her mother, relieved to have been forgiven, and went off to join Sally, who had finished setting the table and was now in the living room, likely hiding from his frustration.Though he rarely yelled at his daughter, she knew when he was displeased, just as he knew most of her moods.
“I’m sorry,” he said.“I won’t leave them alone in the studio again.”
“I know,” said Sarah.“And I should have warned you about Riley.She has a short attention span and doesn’t always think things through.”
“Well, I know now,” said Simon.“Would you like something to drink?”
“I’d love one of those kombuchas if you still have them.”
“I do,” he said, opening the fridge.He called the girls and sat down at the table opposite her.After passing a flurry of noodles, vegetables, and meat dishes around the table, they settled down to a discussion about cat rules: what was working, and what they needed to consider next.
“You won’t make us take them back, will you?”asked Sally.
“Not if you care for them properly.We can’t keep them if they will be unsafe, though, can we?”said Sarah.
Simon sat back and stared at her.She was serious.She would send back her kitten if Riley didn’t look after him properly.That couldn’t happen, because if it did, Sally’s heart would break.He had promised himself, the day his ex-wife Willow walked out, that he would never let another adult’s decision shatter his daughter like that again.
When the girls left the table to watch television and spend time with the kittens, he said, “I didn’t appreciate you threatening the girls.”
Sarah’s eyebrows lifted in surprise.“What do you mean?”
