Sandy and Raoul hiked through the woods; Raoul scanned the landscape with his flashlight and called Lars's name. He didn't know why Lars would be here, but he had already checked the mall, the pier, and the Ortega movie theater; he was running out of places to look. Sandy was still distressed about Lars's disappearance, though she wasn't sobbing nearly as hard anymore. Raoul paused as he caught sight of a strange silhoulette.
"I see something on that ridge," he hissed. "It looks like something big."
Sandy whimpered, thinking it was a wild animal that had gotten to Lars. Raoul instructed his wife to stay while he investigated. He crept closer to whatever it was lurking on the ridge. The first thing he found was a gray skiing cap. Then he spotted the sleeping form of Lars, curled on his side with a kitten nestled against his stomach.
"SANDY!" he bellowed. "I found Lars!"
Lars groggily lifted his head as his mother came running. Before he knew what was happening, she was hugging him tightly, crying tears of joy. When she was through hugging him, she pinched his ear a little harder than she normally did.
"Don't you ever do that again!" Sandy spat. "Do you understand me, Lars Felix Rodriguez?"
Lars hung his head, trying to look ashamed.
"Si, Mama."
Sandy smiled lovingly at her son, who was holding Tessy. She sighed, then muttered, "All right. You can keep the cat."
"I can?" Lars cried happily.
"Yes."
"Muchas gracias, Mama."
Raoul picked up the blanket and Lars's backpack and the trio walked back to the clearing Raoul had parked the car in.
"Mom, how come you hug Twister but you don't hug me?" Lars asked after a moment.
"Well, I suppose it's because....Maurice doesn't seem to mind as much as you do. I hope you didn't run away because I don't hug you enough."
"No," Lars said heavily. Now that he thought about it, the reason he'd run away was pretty lame. "I thought no one cared about me. You always yell at me, Dad's always at work, and Twister's always with Rocket or his girlfriend."
"We all love you very much," Sandy assured him.