When the vet arrived, she examined each cub. "Well?" Della asked when she was done.
"Those cubs can't be more than five weeks old," the vet said.
"What should we do?"
"You can send them to the zoo to stay while you figure out where they're from. You could also look for an animal sanctuary."
The phone rang and Perry answered it. He looked at his family when he hung up, "that was Paul. He said that a sanctuary in Tanzania reported three five-week-old lion cubs stolen four days ago. Unfortunately, the sanctuary can't afford to have them flown back."
"What do we do now?" Della asked.
"We take them home," Violet said.
"How?"
Perry looked at his wife, "I've chartered a private plane to Tanzania. I was hoping the doctor here could join us."
"I'll rearrange some things," she said.
"Great," Perry said, "we leave in the morning."
"Perry, just how long is that flight?" Della asked.
"Not too long. About twenty hours," he smiled at his wife. Everyone packed a few things and went to sleep. The vet had gone home to pack, but returned to stay at the house in the event there was a problem. When Della got up, she went to get the kids moving. She found the cubs each in the bed of the girl who had carried them into the house. She was startled at first, but the closer she looked, the more she realized that the cubs were just babies who needed their mother. For now, that was the girls. Della quietly took a picture of each one. She decided to have the vet help her wake them so she didn't scare the cubs. Once everyone was awake, they loaded up and headed to the airport. The girls had been giving the cubs bottles that the zoo had donated. At one point, on the plane, Della ended up cradling one and giving her the bottle.
"You know, they are awfully cute. Too bad they need to be in the wild," she smiled.
"They're so innocent right now," Perry smiled, "kind of like when the kids were little."
Della had fallen asleep with one of the cubs nuzzled up to her. Violet took a picture and smiled.
When they arrived at the sanctuary, the vet there checked the cubs over. "You all did an excellent job taking care of them," he said.
"Can we say goodbye?" Violet asked.
"Sure," he said.
The kids all said goodbye to each cub. Even Della and Perry did. "Can we watch them go back to their parents?" Maggie asked.
"Sure," he motioned for a worker to take them to the area where the family would be reunited. Of course, the humans were on the other side of a fence for their safety.
"Look," Violet said. They all saw the cubs run to their parents who appeared to be checking them out and kissing them. The cubs saw the Masons and ran towards the fence. The adult lions followed, making the adult humans nervous. "It's almost like they're telling them who we are," Violet said. The two adult lion bowed their heads.
"You know, I think they did," Della said with a smile as she put an arm around her youngest daughter. They were all sad to leave the cubs, but they knew they had to.
On the flight home, Violet decided to take her chance. "Can we get a cat?" she asked.
"I knew this was coming," Della said. Violet loved animals and had been wanting a pet for a while.
"Please, I'll take care of it."
"Me too," the others all said.
Perry looked at his wife, "cats are pretty self-sufficient."
"Alright, fine," Della said, "you can get a cat."
Della looked at her husband who smiled. "I knew you'd cave eventually," he said.
Della told the kids they had to make a list of things a cat would need. Then they had to go to the pet store to purchase everything. Meanwhile, Perry and Della were bickering again. He kept insisting she leave at five and only work a few days a week. Della was becoming frustrated. They had started fighting more at home. The kids all came up with different ways to ignore them. One night at dinner, everyone was silently sitting at the table. "This is a change," Perry said, "everyone's so quiet." No one said a thing, "Della did you pick up my dry cleaning?"
"No, I didn't."
"Why not?"
"Why not?" she stared at him as if challenging him to push the issue further.
"You've been home all day."
"Against my will."
"Are you going to start that again?"
"Perry, I feel like a prisoner in my own home. What has gotten into you? You never wanted a housewife."
"I'm not discussing this in front of the kids."
The kids decided to all leave the table. Maureen went to her room and put her headphones on while the others sat on the stairs. "Well?" Della said to her husband.
"I want a housewife now."
"Why?"
"I don't need a reason. I'm the man of this house."
"You're not the man I fell in love with."
"If you aren't up to the task..." Perry started.
Della threw her napkin on the table, "if you know what's good for you, you will find somewhere else to sleep tonight." She charged towards the stairs where she found her children. They all quickly ran to their rooms. Della locked Perry out of the bedroom. He knew he'd messed up and he knew why, but he couldn't help it. He knew he had to talk to Della, but he was afraid to.
