Page 40 of Homecoming

“What’s got him all hyped up?” Digby frowns as a worried-looking Noah stands at the back door.

“Hey… so… can I have a word with you?”

“Sure, go ahead but I’m gonna eat while you talk—I’mstarvin’. What’sgoin’down?”

“No, I mean a word with you outside. You need to come outside and see something.”

“What is it?” Digby frowns as he shovels the muffin into his mouth, spilling eggs onto the table.

“Well… we might have a problem.”

“No. Uh-uh. No, no more problems. I’m takin’ a day off fromdealin’with problems. And if it’s about the hyenas—yeah, I know and they’re going. So nope, like I said, it’s a problem free day.”

“Yeah, well… I still think you should come outside. It’s about Luka.”

“Luka?What the fuck?Wait, why didn’t you say that? Is he alright? Is he hurt?” Zak stands as QT enters from the hallway and quietly goes to the refrigerator, where he takes out a bottle of juice. Filling a glass with orange, he frowns, watching the scene in front of him and suddenly, he’s consumed by their worried looks.

“No, he’s fine. It’s just he… well, Luka foundsomething, and now he wants to keep it. I’m not sure you’re going to like it.”

“Oh God, please tell me it’s not another damn butterfly? Just say it’s okay… Man, that boy wants to keepeverythin’as a damn pet.”

“No, it’s not a butterfly—or a bug or a rock or… any other inanimate object. This time it’s a… well, just come and see for yourself. Luka, buddy… come show daddy what you found.” Noah calls to him and the small boy appears at the door with a tiny bundle of fur curled in his arms.

There’s a sudden and very loud screech as both Bud and Oz leap from their seats.

“What the fuck is that?” Zak frowns as he questions Noah in concern. “Is that a…a…” he stutters.

“…a cat? Yeah, it is. Well, actually, it’s a kitten. Looks to be only a couple of days old.”

“What the fu—” Digby snarls. “And you let Lukas pick it up? Are youfuckin’crazy? He could get all kinds of diseases fromsomethin’like that.”

“He found it. I didn’t really have any choice. He just came to me with it.”

“Okay uh, so… Luka baby, you need to put that thing down. Go on, give it… give it to Uncle Noah and he’ll get rid of it outside. Put it down, there’s a good boy. Luka, it’s dirty. You need to go wash your hands.”

“Oh my God…” Bud pulls his sleeve over his nose, “it stinks. Digby, get that thing out of here. Man, do I hate those smelly critters so much.”

“Daddy, keep?” Luka smiles as his blue eyes plead with Digby.

“Uh… no baby. No, you can’t keep it. It’s uh… it’s not a pet. I mean, we don’t keep cats as pets in the house. Just put it down there on the floor and Uncle Noah will dispose of it.”

“Dispose of it?” QT steps forward, his brow creased with concern. “No… y-you c-can’t, it’s just a b-baby.”

“QT, shut the hell up. Noah can put it back where they found it. Anyway, its mom is probablylookin’for it.” Zak snarls, placing a hand against QT’s chest, pushing him away from the cat.

“Actually,” Noah shakes his head and places his hands to cover Luka’s ears, “its mom is dead. I buried her.”

“Oh geez. Now what the hell are we supposed to do with it?” Zak watches as Noah and QT bring Luka inside and sitting him up on the stool, he holds the kitten firmly in his lap.

Helena smiles as she takes a bottle of Kat’s expressed milk from the fridge and pours a small amount into a dish. Dipping her fingers, she dribbles droplets of milk into the kitten’s mouth and encourages her to drink from the saucer. “It hungry.”

“Wait. Helena, you can’t give him that! That’s Kat’s milk for the pup. You can’t give wolf milk to a damn cat. Noah, take it outside. It’s gotta go. We can’t have it in the house. Besides, you can’t let Darius see it because hefreakin’well detests cats.” Digby turns and watches the way Luka nurses the kitten in his arms, kissing it. “Hey baby… Daddy’s real sorry, but thatthinghas gotta go. We can’t keep it. How about we get cleaned up and we’ll go get you a proper pet? How about… I know… a goldfish. You know how much you wanted a fish, like the one in the movie? The orange oneor… how about one like the blue one? Yeah, like that one in the movie? Yeah, that would be much more fun than this smellyol’cat.”

“Shark!”

“Uh no… No, not a shark, maybe a small blue fish. But first put the kitty cat down and go wash your hands. Once you do that, we’ll go to the petstore,but please just put that thing down. Noah, take the damn cat and get rid of it.”

“But can’t he keep it? Would it really be so bad?” Noah frowns.

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