Toils and Snares - Deserted Lands #0.5

CHAPTER FIVE - Part III

Maria left her bag of loot on the floor and followed his voice out the back door. James was kneeling on the floor, bending over something. Maria looked over his shoulder and saw a mama kitty in a basket with babies around her.

James sniffed and swiped his sleeve cross his face. "They're all dead except a little one. Crawled back in under the water heater." Little paw prints showed in the dust under the platform. "I'm too big."

Maria slid down and reached in. "Go get me something he'd want to eat."

"Right." James hustled out the front of the store.

"Here, kitty, kitty," Maria cooed.

Wait. She had the Laser Monster. She extricated James' keys from her jeans. Good thing the eyes were open. She wiggled the red laser in the wall between them, making sure to not point it directly at the kitten. The kitten moved forward a step. She slid backward as the kitty came forward. The kitten shoved her head into Maria's hand, seeking the warmth of her body. James was there. He set a little semi-circular plastic dish with white liquid in the bottom near the edge of the heater.

She twisted her head and whispered to James, "Milk?"

"Evaporated," James mouthed.

The cute little nose peeked out from under the heater platform, twitching. Maria flashed the laser over by the milk. When the kitty reached the dish, dipped its head, and his tongue came out; Maria felt light-headed. She'd been holding her breath.

In a few minutes the kitten had lapped up all the milk.

"More?" Maria asked.

"No. Too much will make him sick. I'll get some water." James slid the bowl toward himself and stood slowly, the kitty looked like it was going to run back under, but it didn't.

When James left the room, the kitten padded after him. Maria scooped him up. Yes, definitely a boy kitten. He squirmed a bit, but still seemed weak.

Her father and Anna stared at the kitten in her hands.

"Can I keep him, Daddy?" Maria said in her best baby girl voice.

"I found him," James said.

Anna chuckled. Maria grinned at her. What is it with kittens?

The door jingled and there stood Abi, bleary-eyed. When she spotted the kitten she squealed in delight, her small hands outstretched.

Maria hated the high-pitched sounds her little sister made, but at least this time it wasn't about something stupid. "Come meet the kitten James found."

"For me?" Abigail crowed, followed by deep coughs.

Maria glanced to James. She hated these sounds even more.

James shrugged and smiled faintly. "Of course, for you, silly. You've got to get him fat and happy."

Abi took the kitten from Maria, cradling it in her arms.

"That cat's lucky to be alive," Anna said, a happy smile creasing her face. "We better stop and get cat food. And stock up on canned goods for ourselves. There's a grocery store a few blocks away, the only big one between here and Quinault."

"Anything else we need here?" Maria asked, glancing around the store.

Her father grinned. "Reading material." He snagged a book from the shelf marked local authors.

"I think I went to school with that guy," Anna said. "Let me see that."

Her father grabbed another copy of the book and tossed it in his shopping bag. "I like the cover. I'll take this stuff out and check if Noah's still sleeping."

"Oh, no." Abi's smile fell and her eyes went wide. "I forgot. He's not. He's crying. I'm sorry."

"No worries, little one," her father said, patting her on the head as he hurried to the door. "We're ready to go."

Maria gently removed the kitty from Abi's arms and placed it in James' big hands. "I think the kitten should ride with us today, Abi." Tears welled up in Abi's eyes. "You can take care of it when we get to Kinwalt, 'kay?" She knew she should say it the right way for Abi's sake, but she couldn't help herself.

Abi sniffed and nodded.

"Good girl." Maria headed for the door.

"Shouldn't we pay?" Anna asked.

Maria rolled her eyes at James and headed for the door. "Only if you want. It's the end of the world, Anna." She shoved the jingle bell door open, not wanting to hear Anna's response. She felt the heat of her glare on her back.

James followed her out. "Is it a good idea to antagonize her?"

"No," Maria said. "But sometimes I can't help it."

"Why do you hate her so much?" James pulled open the passenger door and climbed inside.

"You want to know what the shrink figured out?"

"I want to know what you think."

"Sorry. I can't tell you." Maria turned the key and the engine started.

James looked puzzled, his brows compressed, pondering her answer.

"I can't tell you 'cause I don't know."

James nodded.

She pulled out of the parking lot following the Suburban with Anna at the wheel. "The counselor," she noted the bitterness she'd placed on the word, "says I hate her because she took my father away."

"But you said your father met Anna after the divorce."

"Yeah, but we were supposed to go to Disneyland that summer. And Dad said we didn't have the money. But the next year he went on a Mission trip around Central America with Anna for a month." Maria's face flushed. "My mom died in a car accident while they were gone."

"I'm sorry." James put his hand to her cheek. "I was always going to ask."

"No worries. Don't really want to talk about it." Maria gritted her teeth and continued her story. "They got sick after they came back. Grandpa and Grandma took care of Anna and I took care of Dad. When they got well, I didn't talk to Anna for a year. I was 13 and a little bitch. I got my period. I told dad and not her. She lost baby Jesse that year. And miscarried another one. I don't think she'll ever forgive me for surviving when her kids didn't. It's been better since Noah was born, but..."

James nodded, his eyes shared her pain.

Maria hazarded a smile at him. "Thanks. I guess it helps to talk about it."