CHAPTER FOUR
SURPRISE—YOURSELF!—PRINCE
CHARMING SAVES A SMILE
(19th
installment, Scruggs and Samantha, by
Mary de la Pena)
We arrived Back at the front desk of
the Humane Society to check on the availability of the little brown calico
kitten Prince Charming had chosen. We found out the little kitten would be
available on Monday, the same day as Scruggs.
We were also warned that others had expressed interest in the calico
kitten and, if we wanted her—because it was first come, first served—we needed
to be at the shelter when it opened.
It was my husband’s turn to look stricken. “But we can’t be here when it opens,” he
said. “We have cases on Monday and we
have to be in court!”
“Listen, I promise I’ll be here,” I said, “I can be here on
Monday at 8:45 a.m. to get Scruggs and the kitten. You go to Rancho court and
to Chino. I’ll hit the Pomona court when I’m done here.”
“Really?” he asked.
I understood the question. It had been a long time since I
had willingly juggled any of my time for him or for the practice. Any of his
requests of me to help had been met with sour indifference at best—rage at
worst. For me to offer to appear on any
of the cases was monumental. I again
felt that faint stirring again in the center of my chest. I found myself
appreciating his willingness to indulge me, and I thought it was only right
that I should make the effort for him.
I shook my head. Was that a brick falling out of the wall of
indifference that I had erected around my heart?
“Hey,” I said, taking his hand. “I promised Scruggs I wouldn’t leave him
here. Your kitten is just an add-on to that promise.”
“Her name is Twink,” he said.
“Twink?” I asked.
“Hey, if you can name your dog
Scruggs,” he said, “I can name my kitten Twink, as in twinkle, like her eyes.”
“Okay, then. I guess Twink it is,” I said. “Oh, by the way, Baby: surprise! Our family is growing again.”
“Surprise, yourself, little one,” he said. “I knew it was just a matter of time. Our house is too quiet and I felt that we
were rattling around in it. We need these kids, and I’m glad we found them.”
Again I shook my head. Was I hearing tenderness in his
voice? Was I even allowing myself to hear the tenderness? I exhaled quickly and
took his hand. The touch was enough to steady my nerves as I relaxed into a
smile, and the tension of apprehension began to unwind from my shoulders. I was
relieved to find that the magic was still with us.
“We’re saving a life,” I said to my husband as we left the
shelter hand in hand on that Friday afternoon.
“No, dear,” he smiled, pulling me close, “we’re saving two
lives, three counting your smile. I
thought it had died forever. I am mighty
glad to see it back again.”
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