Page 57 of Soldier's Chrismas Hope
“They’re going to poop in there,” he said, peering into it worriedly. “But it’s smaller than horse poop.”
“Muchsmaller,” Nora reassured him. “And we’ll clean it out a few times each day, so it won’t smell bad.”
“That’s how cats go to the bathroom,” Pixie said.
“Yes,” Nora agreed. “That’s just how housecats do it.”
By the time River had grilled cheese sandwiches ready to put in the pan and leftover soup warming up on the stove, Nora was helping Pixie feed formula to one of the kittens.
“Oh,” Pixie breathed as the little one latched on and really took her meal.
“Me next,” John-John said. “Me, me, me.”
“Okay,” Nora told him. “This might be the only meal they have to take from the bottle. Once they know this is their food, we can probably show them how to take it out of a little bowl.”
River watched as John-John got in her lap and held a kitten while she used the syringe bottle to slowly feed it. John-John seemed very content that he was part of the process.
The kittens all ate hungrily, and River felt a sense of relief. It went without saying that even though the kittens seemed healthy now, there were no guarantees.
Please let all of them make it,he prayed.
After the kittens had all eaten, they all curled around each other to sleep, giving everyone plenty of time to get washed up again and enjoy a hot lunch.
“So good,” Pixie moaned with her mouth full.
“We missed breakfast,” John-John said accusingly.
“Well, we had granola bars in the car on the way to see the vet,” Nora reminded him.
“A granola bar is not a meal,” Pixie said in a fancy grown-up voice and the three of them giggled.
“I say that to them sometimes,” Nora told River with ashy smile. “They like to have granola bars for breakfast, but I’m a big believer in eggs and oatmeal.”
“You really are a girl after my own heart,” River told her, and then cleared his throat, immediately wishing he hadn’t said it.
But she beamed at him, and he wanted nothing more than to just wrap her up in his arms like a kitten in a blanket, and never let her go.
After lunch, they decided to bring the crate of sleeping kittens into the living room so they could work on decorating the tree.
“Farmer Bear’s cookies are baking while he does his tree,” John-John said, frowning.
“Yes,” Nora said. “But Farmer Bear didn’t also rescue five baby kittens that day.”
John-John cheered right up at that.
Since River only had the lights and shiny balls he had picked up at the store, decorating the tree didn’t take too long.
“It’s beautiful,” Pixie sighed, looking at the colorful lights among the branches.
“Wait until it gets dark out,” Nora told her. “When Christmas lights are glowing in a dim room, it’s the prettiest sight in the whole world.”
From where he stood, River thought that was debatable. He felt like he was already looking at the prettiest sight in the world.
“Now, we have another hour or two before we have to start dinner,” River told the kids. “Should we watch a Christmas movie, or start some sugar cookies?”
“Cookies,” they both sang out.
Before long, the whole house smelled incredible, the rich vanilla aroma mixing with the scent of pine needles.
