Page 30 of Rock Chick Bonus Tracks

He jogged to Vance, stepped right in, circled in on himself in Vance’s lap, and he got to work purring.

Vance’s strong fingers sifted through Boo’s fur.

“She’s gonna be okay,” Vance whispered.

Boo had no idea what that meant, but he wasn’t all fired up about the tone, so he concentrated harder on purring.

Vance kept stroking him. “She’s gonna be all right.”

It’d take a lot of work purring to get Vance sorted out to finally get up and get Boo some food.

He broke it up just like Primary did (known amongst the humans as “Jules”).

So when Vance put it down, it was perfect.

But Boo didn’t eat it.

He sat on the toilet while Vance took a shower.

He sat in the hall and watched Vance put on clothes.

And he sat in the kitchen and watched Vance leave out the back door.

He still didn’t go eat.

No.

He didn’t.

It would come to be his and Vance’s secret. He’d have some kibble so he could keep his strength up (purring took a lot out of you, and so, he would find, did waiting).

But until she came home, he wasn’t hungry.

He was in the kitty carrier in the back seat.

So, okay, they set him up in the middle so he could see a little of them and a lot of the front of the moving machine, and that was better than being in the seat and having nothing to look at but the back of another seat.

And she was with them.

Finally.

It had beenforever.

But this was intolerable.

“Meow!” he shared his thoughts.

She turned and looked around the seat at him.

“It’s okay, Boo.”

He had no clue what she was saying (other than knowing his name was Boo), but considering she didn’t end it by reaching out and releasing him from this prison, he shouted, “Meeeeeeeoooow!”

“We’re going to be at the cabin soon,” she promised.

He didn’t know what that meant either, and shestilldid not free him from his unearned incarceration, so he told her exactly how he felt about that.

“Meow. Meow. Meowmeowmeow.Meow!”

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