| |
Invitations
CASSIE DIDN’T HAVE time to fret over her friends once she got home, though.
“She’s in labor,” her mom said. She pulled Cassie over to the couch. Baby Blue had secured herself behind it. Annette was already crouched there, staring into the crevice between the couch and the wall.
“Your sister’s been there for an hour,” Mrs. Jones whispered, giving Cassie a conspiratorial smile. “Your cake’s in the oven. Help me get it out. Annette will tell us if anything changes with the cat.”
“Okay,” Cassie said, her mind returning to her impending party.
She helped her mom remove the cake from the oven, closing her eyes to breathe in the warm strawberry aroma.
“So who’s coming?” Mrs. Jones asked. She set the cake on the counter. Cassie knew it would cool over night, and tomorrow her mom would ice it. Just in time for the party.
If there was a party.
She pushed the thought away, but the dark heaviness in her chest remained. “Just Riley, I think. Danelle never gives me an answer.”
Her mom tsked and gave her a sideways glance. “You think? Hasn’t Riley said yes?”
“Yeah, she did, but. . . .” Cassie’s voice trailed off. Then she shook herself. Riley wouldn’t let her down. “Yeah, she’s coming.”
Mrs. Jones narrowed her eyes. “What’s going on?”
Cassie didn’t want to admit this to her mom. It made it sound as if everyone liked Mikaela more than her. Maybe they did. “Well, Mikaela’s having a party tomorrow night. She invited Riley. I think Riley wants to go.”
Her mom folded her arms and pursed her lips. “But Riley knows you can only have two people, right? And that she’s one of them?”
“Yeah, yeah, she knows.” Cassie played with the edge of a fraying rag. “She’ll come.”
“One person, then.” Her mom shrugged. “It’ll be fun. We’ll rent a movie and get some pizza.”
Cassie smiled back, but she knew it was weak. Every time she thought about her party, her stomach twisted in knots. And not the excited kind.
Annette let out a shriek from the living room. “You guys! There’s a kitten!”
Cassie ran back to the couch, her mom right behind her. Emily and Scott also ran over.
Baby Blue licked the small black bundle huddled beneath her. The tiny thing threw its head back and let out a little mew.
“Oh!” Cassie said. “It’s so cute!”
“Give her space,” Mrs. Jones said, pulling the children back. “There are more kittens in there. This is a private moment for cats.”
Cassie went into the dining room and put together her clarinet. She practiced for a minute, and then went back to check on the cat. Still just one black kitten, his face tucked into Baby Blue’s belly. Cassie returned to her clarinet.
A little while later, Emily came in. “Where’s Mom?”
“I don’t know. I’m practicing.”
“How long does it take for the other kittens to get here? There’s still only one.”
“I’m sure she’s fine,” Cassie said. But she wasn’t sure. She put down her clarinet and wandered with Emily down the hall to her parents’ room.
“Mom?” Emily said. “Shouldn’t there be more kittens by now?”
Her mom frowned over the towels she folded on her bed. “There’s still only one?”
Cassie nodded. “Yeah.”
Mrs. Jones went back to the living room, and the girls followed. They stared behind the couch at Baby Blue for a long while before Mrs. Jones straightened.
“I better make sure everything’s all right. Cassie, help your dad get dinner ready and don’t wait up for me. We might be late.”
Cassie heard the undercurrent of tension in her mother’s voice. “Is something wrong with Baby Blue?”
“Get me a box for the cat and her kitten. I’ll take them both to the doctor.”
Cassie blinked back tears as she got a cardboard box and lined it with a towel. It seemed wrong somehow to be packing up Baby Blue and her brand new baby. This should be a happy moment. The two cats belonged here, at their house. Not in the sterile clinic of a vet somewhere.
“What’s going to happen to her?” Emily asked, coming to help pack down the towel.
“Nothing. They might have to do a C-section to get the kittens out.” Cassie kept her voice calm. No reason to freak Emily out, also.
“What’s a C-section?”
“Where they cut you open to get your baby.”
“What?” Emily gasped. She wrapped her arms around her navel. “But that will kill her!”
“No, silly. It’s very safe. She’ll be fine.” At least, Cassie hoped so. She crossed her mental fingers.
