“I won’t run away again,” I said. “I promise.”
“I was wrong, too, Spencer,” Mama said. “I know how much that fool cat means to you.”
I clutched the cat carrier, daring to hope.
“After you left,” Mama said, “I applied for a waitress job at The Courtyard. I start there next Monday. I’ll get a dollar an hour more than at Little Joe’s and the tips will be better.”
“That’s great, Mama,” I said.
“I’m determined we won’t ever be so desperate again.”
“Do we still have to live with Aunt May?”
“Mr. Mills wired enough money to get the car back and to pay our back rent. Our old house was still vacant, so we’re going there.”
“Do I get to keep Foxey?”
“May says I’m out of my noggin to allow it, but yes, you can keep the cat.”
“Thanks, Mama,” I said.
Mama started the car.
I glanced over at her as she drove. She wasn’t half as angry at me as I had expected. I wondered if Mama had once counted on Dad to make her dreams come true, just as I had, and it didn’t happen for her, either. Maybe she knew how I felt. Maybe that’s why she wasn’t yelling at me.
“You look pretty today, Mama,” I said.
“Don’t try to butter me up, young man,” Mama replied. “Just because I’m glad to see you doesn’t mean you can weasel out of your chores.”
I smiled, opened the cat carrier, and stroked Foxey’s head. “We’re going home now, Foxey,” I told him. “We’re going home.”
Peg Kehret is the author of many popular novels for young readers, including Cages, Danger at the Fair, Earthquake Terror, Horror at the Haunted House, Nightmare Mountain, Sisters Long Ago, Night of Fear, The Richest Kids in Town, and Terror at the Zoo. Peg Kehret lives in Washington State with her husband.
Peg Kehret, Searching for Candlestick Park
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