Now, Stick Dog and his friends were in the gazebo at the top of the hill. And the humans and the cats were at the bottom of the hill. The fireworks continued to explode high in the sky. Stick Dog knew they were safe.
What he didn’t know was that Edith was about to play a trick on Stick Cat. And that trick would jeopardize the dogs’ entire mission.
Here’s what happened.
Stick Cat stared into the sky with absolute wonder. His whole life—well, the part of his life he could mostly remember—had been spent on the twenty-third floor of a tall apartment building in the big city.
He loved to sit on the windowsill and stare out at the city. It was always so busy with sights and sounds. Flashing signs lit up everywhere. Traffic moved, slowed, and paused, and then moved again like a living thing. Sunlight flashed and reflected against thousands of windows on dozens of buildings.
But there was one thing he didn’t see much of from that windowsill perch.
The sky.
Although he could see patches of sky here and there between skyscrapers, factories, and apartment towers, he had never seen the sky’s great expanse.
But he did now. He saw black sky in every direction. He saw the silver sliver of the moon. And every thirty seconds one of those amazing explosions of colorful light would splash across that blackness, fade away, and reveal the darkness again.
“It’s amazing, isn’t it?” Stick Cat said to Edith.
“What’s that?” Edith mumbled.
“It’s amazing, don’t you think?” Stick Cat repeated. “The sky, the stars, the colors, everything.”
“I was sleeping,” Edith sighed, and yawned.
“Sorry.”
“There’s nothing like a nap after a huge meal,” Edith said. She didn’t seem annoyed. It appeared as if this catnap had refreshed her a bit. She pushed herself up and arched her back to stretch. “I love a good snooze with a full tummy.”
Stick Cat smiled.
“There’s only one thing that would make this evening even better,” Edith commented.
“Mm-hmm?” Stick Cat semi-answered. Honestly, he was only half listening to his best friend. He focused mainly on the sky and the fireworks.
Edith noticed that he wasn’t giving her his full attention.
She huffed and then said, “I said, there’s only one thing that would make this evening even better.”
Stick Cat heard that huff. He had heard it before. And he knew what it meant. He turned and, this time, focused intently on Edith.
“What is it?” he asked politely. “What would make this better?”
“An after-dinner treat,” Edith answered.
Stick Cat nodded. “I suppose it would.”
“Like maybe another one of those barbecue ribs,” Edith suggested. She pushed her back legs out one at a time as if she was about to get moving.
“That would be good. You’re right,” Stick Cat concurred. He had enjoyed those ribs just as much as Edith. They were absolutely delicious.
Edith looked at Stick Cat. The left side of her mouth curled up a millimeter or two, showing the hint of a smile. But Stick Cat didn’t notice.
Edith asked, “Would you like another one of those barbecue ribs right now?”
“Sure.”
“Great,” Edith said, and plopped back down to the grass. “Get me one too when you’re there.”
“What?!”
“Get me one when you go.”
Stick Cat quickly understood what she had done to him.
“You want me to get you another rib?”
“Oh, I would never ask you to do that. I would never ask you to make a special trip just for me,” Edith replied while she curled herself into a more comfortable position. “But since you’re going anyway, sure. I’ll take another rib.”
Stick Cat shook his head and smiled. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
“Great,” Edith said, and closed her eyes. “Wake me up when you get back.”
Stick Cat started up that hill toward the gazebo. On the way he shook his head again, smiled, and said to himself, “Only Edith.”
When Stick Cat got to the top of that hill, he stopped at the edge of the gazebo.
He didn’t go any farther.
And he didn’t get Edith another barbecue rib.
He stopped and stared at five dogs on top of the buffet table. They were all eating ribs. They were the same five dogs from the Pizza Palace parking lot.
“They were definitely hungry,” Stick Cat whispered. “I knew it.”
He decided right then not to bring another rib to Edith. He would tell her they were gone. He wanted those five hungry dogs to have them all.
Stick Cat slowly backed down the hill.