Carmen’s mouth fell open in amazement when Mom and Dad told her the news the next day.

“Kittens?!” she gasped.

“Come and see!” Charlie and Meg led the way to the dumbwaiter. Matilda and her kittens looked very comfortable in their warm, cozy nest.

“Oh, my goodness!” Carmen murmured. “What a funny girl you are, Matilda.” She paused for a minute. “But I’m not ready to look after six cats. . . .”

“Matilda and her kittens are welcome to stay at Pet Hotel for the next couple of weeks,” Mom told her.

“I read that the kittens’ eyes and ears will be open by then,” Charlie added.

Carmen’s face lit up. “That’s so nice of you,” she said. “It will give me time to get things ready — and to start finding them all good homes.”

“They’ll be ready to leave their mom when they’re twelve weeks old,” Charlie told her.

He gently picked up the tiny black-and-white kitten. It nestled, warm and soft, in the palm of his hand. A loving feeling washed over Charlie as the kitten pushed its head against his fingers and gave a tiny squeak.

Carmen beamed at Charlie. “Someone who knows all about kittens would make a great owner,” she said.

“You definitely need someone who knows about litter boxes and scratching posts and toys,” Charlie agreed.

“Someone like you,” Carmen added with a wink. “Sounds like I’ve found an ideal home for one lucky little black-and-white kitten! How about it, Mom and Dad?”

Charlie and Meg both looked up in surprise and held their breath.

“Of course!” Dad said, ruffling Charlie’s hair.

“Awesome!” the twins cheered under their breath, trying not to disturb the kittens.

At that moment, the doorbell rang. Mom and Dad went down to answer it, and reappeared with a teenage boy wearing a T-shirt with a picture of a guitar on the front.

Dad introduced everyone. “Anton’s here to pick up Elvis, but I thought he’d like to see Matilda and her newborn kittens first.”

Anton grinned as he peered into the dumbwaiter. “Cool!” he said. “They’re so cute!”

There was an excited “Wheep!” and Elvis swooped down the stairs, looped around Anton, and settled on his shoulder.

“You can fly again!” Anton exclaimed as the cockatiel nibbled at his ear, making happy sounds.

Elvis hopped off Anton’s shoulder onto the sill of the dumbwaiter, then strutted inside. Anton’s mouth fell open as Elvis carefully picked his way around the kittens and snuggled up among them, next to Matilda.

“He loves Matilda,” Charlie explained. “He helped us find her when she hid in here to have her kittens.”

Anton peered thoughtfully at the happy scene inside the dumbwaiter. “Carmen?” he asked slowly. “Would it be okay for me to ask my parents if I can adopt this little kitten when it’s old enough? The one with the white patch?”

“That would be wonderful!” Carmen said.

Anton grinned. “Then Elvis will have a new friend.”

Meg went to get the little cockatiel’s cage from her room.

“Thank you for taking such good care of him while I was gone,” Anton said as he carefully placed Elvis on the perch in his cage and closed the door. Mom and Dad led him downstairs.

There was an extra-loud whistle as the front door opened. “You ain’t nothing but a hound dog!” Elvis screeched before the door closed again.

“Elvis has left the building!” Dad called up the stairs. Everyone giggled.

“Hey!” Charlie said, his eyes lighting up. “How about we name the kittens after famous musicians?”

“That’s a great idea,” Carmen agreed. “We could do Ella for Ella Fitzgerald, Duke for Duke Ellington, Judy for Judy Holliday . . .”

“Dylan for Bob Dylan, and Woody for Woody Guthrie,” Saffron added eagerly. “They’re my favorites!”

Meg and Charlie looked at each other, confused. Who?

“I’ll play you some of their music later,” Saffron said with a laugh, “and tell you about the time I met Bob Dylan.”

“I like ‘Woody’ best,” Charlie declared. “That’s what I’m going to name my kitten!”

Two weeks passed quickly, and soon it was time for the cat family to go home with Carmen. Matilda and four of her kittens were already in the carrier. The kittens’ eyes had opened already!

Charlie gently picked up Woody and put him in the carrier, too. The kitten’s bright blue eyes blinked up at him.

“Good-bye for now,” Charlie said softly. “I’ll see you again when you’re old enough to leave your mom.”

“He’ll be back before you know it,” Carmen said. “I’ve found homes for the others with people on Gazebo Square, so you’ll see them all again!”

Carmen closed the carrier and carried it carefully downstairs to where Buster was waiting at the front door. She lowered the carrier so that the little puppy could say his good-byes.

“Bye!” called Meg and Charlie, waving.

“It’ll be so cool when Woody is big enough to come and live with us,” Charlie said to his sister.

“Then we’ll have a puppy and a kitten,” Meg added. “And a hotel full of animal guests! What more could anyone want?”