"Hi, hello. Did you have a good day?" Makayla gushed nervously at Kim.
"I did…. How…"
Makayla didn't even let her finish. Adam just looked amused, Makayla surprised him every day, she bought the crazy into their world, the good kind and it was a great change of pace from the crazy that work delivered. They never quite knew what was going to come out of her mouth. She had certainly thrived since they'd been in the house.
"Can I have a glass of milk?" She prattled on. "I'm doing a surprise, in my room."
Kim nodded and looked curiously at Adam over her head. He just shrugged. It wasn't like she was doing something completely out of the blue. Makayla loved making surprises for anyone who came to the house. Whether it was a new dance, a play or an elaborate piece of artwork, Makayla would throw herself into it whole heartedly.
She grabbed the milk and scuttled back upstairs.
"Well that was weird?" Kim watched her disappear.
"What's the bet we have some kind of performance to sit through after dinner?" Adam opened the fridge and started pulling out what he needed to start cooking. He was getting the hang of domestic life and that they had meals planned for the week which was a change from the fly by the seat of your pants they used to live by. "You gonna have a shower while I start dinner? You kinda stink."
It was okay for him, he'd been stuck back at the District chasing up warrants all afternoon, it had been Kim and Kevin out getting dirty with the drug scum of Chicago. He had bitched and whined about it initially until they'd come back dripping with sweat.
Kim had been amused at the hastily written sign stuck to her door. 'DO Not Enterrr. Suprize beeing made' She furrowed her brow slightly at the spelling. It was one of her quirks. She hated bad spelling and had even suggested weekly spelling competitions at home because 'Adam could use some practise as well.'
She could hear her talking and singing to herself which did sound very much like they would be watching a show later on.
Kim knocked on her door when she got out of the shower and was told to wait a minute. "Dinner's ready sweetie. Come on."
Makayla suddenly opened her door a little and slipped out, talking wildly and grabbed hold of Kim's hand as they headed downstairs . "So how was school today?" Kim asked.
"Good. We did art today, we learned papier Mache. It made such a mess everywhere. Mrs Hackney was flipping out."
"Flipping out?" She chuckled, she really had picked up way too many Adam-isms.
"Said we were too messy and it was going to take her forever to clean up."
By the time dinner was finished Adam reluctantly admitted that she was acting weird. She could barely sit still, shovelled her food in so quickly they had to tell her to slow down and talked at a million miles an hour.
As soon as dinner was finished Makayla took her plate into the kitchen and was keen to get back up to her room. It was starting to become a little more alarming. Ever since the counsellor had reminded her that at any time her memories might came back she was always looking out for it, for something unusual and tonight was starting to get a little concerning.
Kim cleared the rest of the table and did the dishes while Adam showered.
Adam knocked on her door on his way up and she stuck her head out and said she was fine, and busy. "Are you taking me to bed?"
"No Kim tonight."
"Okay." She closed the door again and Adam chuckled. It was way too early to start this crap. He remembered when his sister started locking him out of her room and he didn't remember her being seven years old.
"What's up?" Kim looked at his slightly furrowed brow when he came down.
"It's, like too early for the hormone thing isn't it?' He mused.
She had no idea what he was talking about. "You know, the don't come in my room, don't talk to me, fire breathing teenage girl hormone infused bitchiness?"
"Really?"
"Kate was a freakin' nightmare." Adam moaned. "It's too early for this shit. Maybe it's the chickens? She eats too much chicken, you know hormones and stuff. Maybe she's hit puberty early because of the chickens."
Kim rolled her eyes at his histrionics. "Did you fall and hit your head on something?"
"Nope." He grabbed the remote and flopped down on the couch. "It's the chickens."
Kim knocked on her door a little later and stuck her head in when Makayla responded and asked her if she was coming down at all. "No, I'm okay."
Then she heard it.
"Ummm…." Kim stuttered.
"Don't be mad." Makayla was sitting on the bed with a very guilty look on her face. "I found it today, outside, down near the back shed and I bought it inside and put it in my room because it was cold." Makayla was cuddling a kitten. "I'm sorry." Makayla burst into tears. "It was scared and lonely. I called her Gabby."
Kim couldn't believe she was looking at the tiniest black kitten. It was shivering and was mewling weakly. "Makayla. Where is it's Mom?"
"It was all alone, I called for her Mom and she was alone and I think she ran away because she was scared. I swear, I promise. I saved her. I gave her some milk. Can I keep her?"
Kim picked it up gently. It looked a little rough, it's eyes were weeping and it felt skinny. Not that Kim had much of an idea about kittens and it looked young, perhaps too young to be without it's mother. "I think we need to take it to a vet."
Neither of them had heard Adam come upstairs. "Hey" He saw the door open and stuck his head in. "…..what the hell is that?"
"It's Gabby, she's lost her Mom." Makayla's little voice wobbled with emotion. "I saved her, she was scared and alone and I saved her."
Suddenly it clicked with Kim and all the air left her lungs. She looked at the kitten and at Makayla and her heart broke. "We need to take it to the Vet."
"I can come?"
"Whoa, wait up." Adam put his hand on Kim's arm. "Tonight?"
"Yes, right now." The way Kim responded was final and Adam knew better than arguing. The last thing they needed was a kitten. "And no Makayla it's late, Adam will take it to the Vets."
"I want to go too? Please?"
"It's too late, you've got school tomorrow and we don't know how long it's going to take."
"I love her."
"I know you do."
Kim suggested that Adam get something to wrap the kitten in to keep it warm and find an after hours Vet. "This is insane." He muttered as he did as he was told. They'd never even talked about getting a pet and certainly a cat wasn't on his list of preferred pets. "Why couldn't it just be the chicken?"
"Please I want to come, she loves me. I need to come." Makayla sobbed.
"Let her come Kim." Adam was such a pushover.
Makayla squealed and was already scrambling for her shoes. Kim had concerns though as she ushered Adam downstairs, still holding the kitten herself even though Makayla had given them the shoe box she had already made a bed for the kitten with one of her scarf's as a lining.
"Adam, what if things don't go well?"
Adam just shrugged. "She's gonna learn one way or the other. That's life, if I come home without the kitten that's just as bad. She's already attached to it."
"You know why she called it Gabby?"
He shook his head.
"It was her mother's name." Kim whispered desperately. "And she's talking about it running away because it was scared and that she had to save it. Adam this kitten needs to survive. We need to keep it."
He exhaled slowly and squeezed Kim's arm and reached for his phone. "Okay, let me find a Vet."
Watching Kim as he scrolled through his phone trying to find the closest open Vet he knew it was a lost cause, she was already in love with the little baby, like her daughter was. Once Makayla joined them it was all over. They were now a family of four. He had the feeling that even if this little one didn't make it, they'd have another one within days.
Both Kim and Makayla sat in the back seat with the kitten. "Be careful Adam." Makayla chastised him when he braked suddenly when the car in front of him didn't indicate before slowing down to turn. "Drive slowly. Gabby is scared."
The damn cat was scared because it had Makayla two inches from its face for the past three hours. His biggest concern was the Vet was going to say that it was too young and sick to be saved. Then he'd have two broken hearted girls on his hands.
But they didn't.
It was actually pretty sweet watching the Vet talk to Makayla about the kitten who was happy to tell her all about where she found her, how she kept her warm and gave her some milk.
"Well that's very kind of you. This is one lucky little kitten." She beckoned Makayla closer. "And she's a very lucky little lady."
"Oh. It's a girl? I knew it was a girl, that's why I called her Gabby."
"Of course."
They walked out of there $600 poorer with specialised food and formula, because it was too young to have regular food and it was underweight for it's age. The Vet was guessing it was about five weeks old. It needed to be wormed and had drops for an eye infection and a flea treatment. They also had a new cat carrier, bed, and little toy cat to cuddle up too.
It would need to come back in a couple of days to be weighed again and to make sure it was starting to thrive. It was clear that up to now that it was just surviving.
"Can Gabby sleep in my room?" Makayla knelt up at the table as Adam set the carrier down. The little thing was cowering in the back corner of the carrier having mewled all the way home which made Makayla cry and that set Kim off. It had spiralled out of control and he seemed to be the only sensible one in the house.
Opening the door he let Makayla get her out, she was so gentle and sweet with the little thing. Kim reminded her not to kiss her or let her lick her face. They would all need to be wormed now as they did think it was likely she had worms. Gabby had a rough start to life but had fallen on her feet.
"No I don't think so. You are not having a litter box in your bedroom. She doesn't even know how to use it yet." They had some tips from the Vet on how to handle that and teach Gabby how to use her litter box and should pick it up pretty quickly.
"But she will get cold."
"She won't, she's got a warm blanket and remember the Vet said to heat up a sock full of rice and put it in Gabby's bed so she will be fine." Adam was pretty firm. He was pretty sure that even Kim would have it in bed with her if she could.
Adam also was sent down into the backyard to make sure there wasn't a mother looking for her lost baby or if there were any others lurking around. He made it very clear if there was they were not keeping them.
He did find another kitten that unfortunately hadn't survived and he quickly buried it.
Kim had taken Gabby up when Makayla went to bed and let her have a cuddle before she went to sleep while Adam set up the laundry ready for its newest resident. It was best that it had a small enclosed space to help it feel safe and secure. Letting it have free reign of the house wasn't ideal so they had learned and it needed to build its confidence. It would also stay in there while they were at work and school, at least until it was a little bigger and stronger. They had let Makayla mix up some food and watched Gabby eat a little bit and drink her special milk and both Kim and Makayla had sat crossed legged on the floor and watched her lick at her food.
The Vet had been wonderful and they loved the way she spoke directly to Makayla and made her feel special and involved in the little girl's care.
"You know this is crazy right?" He found Kim on the couch with Gabby asleep on her lap. It should be playing more than it was but the Vet explained that it was weak and undernourished so would take a few days to build up its strength.
"Totally." She didn't even look up as Adam sat beside her. "But how cute is she?" She was pure black except for the tip of one ear which was white and one white spot on his belly.
"Yeah she's cute. This is good for Makayla right? That's why we are now cat parents?"
Kim handed her over, Adam had yet to have a cuddle. He lifted her up in one hand, which Gabby barely filled. "You've landed on your very little paws, my little lady." This cat didn't know how lucky she was. "This house is a palace for all my Queens."
"So?" Kim leant into Adam and watched Gabby attempt to play with his fingers. "I wasn't expecting that from Makayla. I mean about her mother."
"Are you worried?"
Kim chewed her bottom lip. "A little, more about is this some of her memories coming back? Like what does she remember from that day? What do we do?"
"What we are doing? What we always planned to do moving here, giving her good memories to protect her from the bad. This little lady will be a good memory. I remember my first dog when I was a kid, I loved that thing. Some of my best days were spent with Fido."
"Fido?" Kim giggled. "You called your dog Fido?"
"I did. He was the ugliest mutt but would follow me around everywhere. I was heartbroken when he died." Adam smiled a little at his memories. His mother hated the dog and he slept outside most of the time but when he was here, at his Dad's house, Fido slept on his bed. Kim liked how happy he looked as he talked about his dog and she hoped that Mak would be the same. "Sometimes we can't plan where life will take us, just gotta go with the flow."
"So I am learning." Kim stroked the little kitten. "You are already smitten aren't you?"
"Yep. Not the only one though."
Kim chuckled. "If you'd asked me the strangest thing that would happen today, having Makayla randomly adopt a kitten wouldn't even cross my mind."
"Some days I feel like we've barely got even the tiniest grip on reality."
"It's good though?" Kim rested her head on his shoulder. "I love our family."
"Life in the 'burbs, huh?"
