11: Welcome to the Family (Along the Way, Chapter 4 - Mrs. D's Place)

We were all dozing on the couch, Harry and Van curling their growing bodies - apparently they had both inherited my dad's height gene - into Darren and me, when a tiny squeak roused me from my stupor...no...it couldn't be...

I closed my eyes again, and then Van asked, "Mom? Did you hear that?"

By then all four of us were now fully awake. As a group we went to the door of the cabin and peered out. Sitting on the stoop was a white and black kitten meowing and staring back at us with an expression that clearly said, "Aren't you going to let me in?"

Harry did and she sauntered in to sit by my desk. She looked us all over from head to toe, and then slowly approached Darren who crouched down to let her sniff his hand. My husband grinned at me, and I said, "You must have done this before," with a matching smile.

He nodded, not looking away from the kitten, and replied, "Kids and animals, Rhi."

Harry started, "Mom? Can we..."

"Keep her? You bet, honey."

The kitten was now leaning into Darren's hand and purring rather loudly considering how small she was. An image of Megan flashed through my mind, which I took as a sign that we were doing the right thing.

Harry and Van stood up to join their father, but I stopped them with a hand on each of their arms. "Not too fast, boys," I cautioned. "We don't know how skittish she is and we don't want to scare her." Nodding, they moved in slow motion to sit on the floor.

Rather than being startled, however, the kitten took turns approaching my three guys to sniff their hands and accept gentle petting. I pulled some emergency rations out of my desk drawer and dumped a teaspoonful of tuna onto a paper plate. I was sure she would love it, but since we didn't know what or how much she had been eating, I didn't want her to gorge and get sick.

The kitten obviously smelled the food because she was suddenly rubbing against my leg. She nibbled delicately at her dinner, finishing quickly and then taking a bath as we all watched with broad grins. Her cuteness was off the charts as she licked her paws then rubbed them behind her ears.

"She looks like a cow," Van commented, which made Harry snort.

"You know, she does, sweetie. Like a tiny Holstein cow," I replied.

Darren quietly observed, "She needs a name. Anyone have a suggestion?"

"Spot?" I asked.

"Funny, Rhi...no, something more original like...Domino?"

"Dad! She's not a pizza!" Van scolded.

"Winnie-the-Mooh," Harry declared with a satisfied smile. "Her name should be Winnie-the-Mooh!"

We all turned to stare at Harry. "That's...brilliant!" I exclaimed.

By that time, Winnie had made her way into Van's lap, curling into a circle and letting out a huge yawn. Our younger son picked her up and scratched under her chin until her eyes drooped to half mast.

"Welcome to the family, Winnie," he whispered, cradling her in his arms, humming to her until she fell asleep.