"The Cats Of Stony River" by Joyce G. Reilly

[CatPat]

Carrie laughed. “Okay, I’ll fill it back up with water that doesn’t taste like kitten.” She unplugged it and took it back to the restaurant.

“Looks like someone got their own bed and food,” Saav observed.

“Woooo, nice blanket, Belle,” smiled Pook, touching it with a paw.

Belle sat up proudly. “It’s just like Bart’s.”

“I like your mouse,” Saav said, purring at a stuffed yellow mouse. “Maybe soon you can come over to our house and play with all my stuffed animals.”

“Oh, can I?”

“Sure,” said Pook. “And you can see my rock and crystals collection.”

“What’s crystals?” asked Belle.

Saav nosed toward a display of windchimes and suncatchers with quartz and amethyst accents. “See the pink and purple rock-looking things hanging on the strings?”

“Yes, those are pretty,” Belle said.

“Those are crystals, and Pook has a bunch of them in different colors,” Saav explained to the kitten.

“Wow, I’d like to see those too.”

“You will,” Saav promised her.

Pook looked over at the plates. “Dang, who ate the veggies?”

“I did,” Belle replied.

Pook and Saav looked from Belle to Bart. He shrugged.

“I keep telling her she’s a carnivore. It’s not my fault,” he defended himself.

“I like those,” Belle said. “They’re good.”

“Hmmmm. Maybe it’s something you’ll outgrow,” Saav suggested.

Carrie brought the water fountain back out. “Here we go. It’s all clean.” She plugged it back in.

Bart went over and drank out of it. “Hey, that’s good.”

Belle approached cautiously, and sipped a little. “Yeah, that’s real nice.”

Pook and Saav joined them at the fountain and tried it.

“I like that,” said Pook.

“Maybe we can talk Mom into getting us one of these,” said Saav.

The shop was open now, and Carrie pulled back the curtains and set out the sign. The cats made themselves comfortable in the windowsills, looking out at the grey morning. They heard Ralph rustling around in the restaurant next door, and kept their ears trained toward the back for his call to come get their plates.

 

[CatPat]

A well-dressed man in his early 30s, wearing a grey wool coat and carrying a briefcase came into the shop and greeted Carrie. He asked about some silver serving pieces, and Carrie led him to one of the shelves close to Bart and Belle in their window. He seemed especially interested in a fairly rare coffee and tea service, and asked Carrie about it. She began to tell him where she had found the silver service when suddenly, Bart looked alarmed, and moved away from Belle. Carrie wrinkled her nose and looked sharply at Bart. He looked daggers back at Carrie and twitched his ear toward Belle, who was still looking innocently out the window. The customer gasped.

“Good God, what is that smell?” he rasped, coughing and pulling a linen handkerchief out of his coat pocket.

“I have no idea,” Carrie said calmly. That was a kitten fart, she thought, and almost laughed out loud.

“I’ll have to look at this another time,” said the customer, as he walked out the door quickly, holding his handkerchief tightly over his nose and mouth.

“Belle!” hissed Carrie, giggling and coughing at the same time. “Can’t you do that in the back room?”

“Do what?” she asked, looking puzzled.

“Gaaahhhh,” grumbled Bart, jumping to the floor where the air was clearer. “Made my eyes water.”

The smell wafted over to Pook and Saav’s window. They jerked their heads away from the window and glared at each other.

“That wasn’t me,” choked Saav.

“Phew!” Pook coughed. “Smells like burnt broccoli.”

“Belle, try not to be gassy in the shop when we have customers, okay?” suggested Carrie. “You can be gassy in the back.”

“If you’d lay off the vegetables, you wouldn’t smell like that,” growled Bart from the floor.

“Please turn on the fan, and somebody open a window,” Saav suggested.

“Belle, sweetie, that was really rude. Try not to do that around others, okay?” said Pook.

Bart scowled. “That wasn’t so much rude as it was potentially lethal. You still got any butt fur left from that?”

Pook giggled. “It’s not the fur I’m worried about. Carrie might have to re-paint in here.”

“Re-paint? That’s the least of her worries. Wait til the Health Department and the EPA get a whiff of this. We’re talking major environmental and atmospheric impacts here,” Saav said ominously.

 

[CatPat]

“Not to mention the fines and the clean-up,” added Pook. “That’s gonna hurt.”

Belle rolled her eyes and showed her distaste for the teasing by putting her nose up at them and turning her back. “One little poot and they all come unglued,” she muttered to the window, her tail lashing.

Ralph stuck his head in from the back door. “Cats! Breakfast is – good heavens, Carrie, did something die in here?” he coughed.

“Belle has a little gas,” said Carrie, turning red.

“Goodness! THAT came from that little…I didn’t think she was big enough to smell like that! What are you feeding her?”

“Yeah, and dynamite comes in small packages, too,” griped Bart in a whisper to Carrie.
.
“Apparently she likes vegetables, especially broccoli,” Carrie shrugged.

“Ahh. Okay. Well, cats, when you can breathe again, your plates are ready. Come and get it.” With that, he went back to his restaurant.

“Appetite or no, it’s gotta smell better over there,” said Bart, heading for the back. “C’mon, Belle, chowtime.”

“It’s not chowtime in her case,” said Pook, climbing down from the windowsill. “It’s refueling.”

“Or reloading,” giggled Saav, following Pook.

Belle glowered at them, and followed them out, looking forward to her goodies.

Carrie turned on the ceiling fan and opened the front door to air out the shop while the cats ate, and stepped out on the sidewalk for a few minutes. Alone on the sidewalk, she laughed to herself. That silver coffee and tea service was fairly rare and very expensive.

The four-hundred dollar fart, she thought. There’s got to be a song in that!

But that shocked, disbelieving look on the customer’s face had been absolutely priceless, and she laughed again. I bet he thought it was me!

In the back of the kitchen, the cats and kitten gathered at their plates in the corner. There was a nice chunk of broccoli on Belle’s plate.

“Don’t get near that,” whispered Bart with a growl.

“Spare us, please,” said Saav.

“Be a sport, Belle,” Pook suggested.

She lashed her little kitten tail, stuck out her tiny kitten tongue at them, and dove into the broccoli first.

 

[CatPat]

End of Chapter Two.

This is very much fun of reading this again!

Love,
~Cat

 

[CatPat]

Chapter 3 – Cats on the Internet

The four cats draped themselves lazily around the shop after lunch, too stuffed to move. They watched a few customers come and go, the three older cats kept a wary eye on the kitten, and Carrie kept the ceiling fan on. Belle was sound asleep after another feast, snoring on her windowsill next to Bart, and everything seemed normal.

“Carrie, can I use your computer?” Pook asked suddenly. Saav shot an alarmed look at her, and Bart’s eyes widened as he sat up.

Carrie stared at her. “You’re kidding, right? You know how to use a computer? C’mon! No way!”

“No, really, both Saav and I know how to use one. Can we show Bart and Belle how to use it?” Pook told her. “It’s really not hard.”

Belle jerked awake at the sound of her name and listened, fascinated as usual.

“How did you learn to use a computer?” asked Carrie.

“Mom taught us how to read, then she taught us how to use her desktop computer so we could download our own books and read them,” Saav explained. “We just went from there and learned how to do all kinds of stuff.”

“You cats know how to read, too?” Carrie asked, amazed. “Oh. I guess you’d have to, to be able to use a computer.”

“Yes,” all three older cats nodded.

“I can read a little, but I’m still learning,” said Belle. “I want to see how that computer works.”

“Saav and I have online journals, private diaries, and we are in a couple of animal rights political forums. Bart and Belle will love it,” said Pook. “There’s a whole lot to do out there.”

“You’re in animal rights forums? Online journals?” Carrie was amazed. “What else do you do?”

“We even have our own forum for sentient cats. So far it’s just us in there, but we started it in case we found others like us,” replied Pook.

“We write poetry on it and sometimes post it in a poetry group,” Saav added. “Pook’s working on a book; a picture book about us, and we’re both taking online courses through the community college. We have a private family forum with Mom for stuff about our family, too.”

“Wow,” said Bart. “You can actually go to school on that thing? I didn’t know that.”

 

[CatPat]

“What are you taking?” asked Carrie.

“Saav’s taking creative writing, and I’m in a web design class,” Pook replied.

“I want to take classes,” said Bart.

Pook looked at him. “Um, well, Bart, it costs money to enroll and get the books and stuff. You’d have to talk to Carrie about that, because these courses aren’t free. You also can’t take the final exam. They don’t allow cats in the classroom, and we have to be careful. We’ll never get our degrees.”

“But we’ll have the knowledge, Pook, up here,” said Saav tilting her head at her sister. “That’s what matters.”

“Oh,” said Bart. “I didn’t know it cost money. I don’t have any.”

“I do,” said Carrie. “If you and Belle want to take online courses and get an education, by all means, go for it.”

“School! Oh, I could learn everything in the world!” exclaimed Belle, her little blue kitten eyes shining.

Saav and Pook smiled at Belle. “Just about, Belle. Unlimited learning and education, if you want it. You can visit other countries and learn all about different people and cultures and animals, anything you want,” Saav encouraged her.

“Where do you start with school?” asked Bart. “Kindergarten?”

“Hmmm. Mom put us through a test to see how much we knew, and from that, it was easy to see where we needed to start,” said Saav. “Belle might want to start at the beginning. We’ll have to see what you know first, Bart.”

“Carrie, if you let us use it, we’ll show you our papers and stuff stored online in our homework help forum,” said Pook. “We have folders there for free online storage. Saves space on the hard drive.”

“We’ll show you everything we do,” Saav added. “There’s nothing bad or dangerous on there that would give us away, really.”

Carrie looked at the cats, thinking.

“We won’t break it or crash it,” Pook promised. “It’s just that we’re bored, Bart got all the mice and rats, and we’re too stuffed to play hard. If I try to run now, I’ll barf.”

“It would give them something else to do at night when you aren’t here. We use Mom’s desktop all the time, and never messed it up,” added Saav.

Carrie looked at them warily, and frowned at her brand-new, custom-built desktop computer behind the counter. That thing cost a bundle, and she needed it for her business. Preferably intact. She sighed, and looked at the curious, eager little faces.

 

[CatPat]

I gotta see this, she thought with an inner smile.

“Okay. I want to see how you operate it and what you do on it too. Go ahead. But be careful! Don’t claw up the keyboard or get fur in it, okay? And for God’s sake, no hairballs!”

“Thanks!” smiled Pook, and all the cats ran and gathered around the computer.

“Carrie, you got Internet on this thing?” Saav asked, powering it up by shoving a paw against the power button on the tower. Bart watched with interest, and Belle quivered with excitement.

“Yep. Just click on Internet Explorer on the desktop,” she replied.

“Are you on DSL or dial-up?” asked Pook.

“DSL,” said Carrie.

“Hmmm,” Saav murmured, looking at the desktop. “Nice!”

“This’ll be a breeze,” smiled Pook, and pawed the keyboard. Bart watched Pook’s every move and tucked them into his memory. Carrie watched, and in just a moment, they were listening to a classical music program streamed in from the local public radio station site. It was Pook’s and Saav’s favorite thing to listen to as they worked on their various little projects at home.

Pook told them about the station’s programs, and they went on to show them the news sites, animal rights forums, and ebook sites.

“Isn’t that Mozart?” asked Carrie.

Pook nodded. “Tomorrow’s Bartok.”

Carrie was awestruck as the two bounced around the Internet. Truth really is stranger than fiction, she thought. No one would believe this in a million years.

“Are you getting all this, Bart?” she asked.

“Yes, that looks pretty easy. And I’ve watched you, too, so I think I can do this,” he replied. “I pick up on stuff pretty quickly.”

“I don’t,” Belle said sadly, her ears drooping.

“But you’re just little, and this is the first time you’ve been in front of a computer. Bart’s had five months of watching Carrie, and we’ve been using computers since we were tiny. Don’t worry, you’ll pick it up in no time,” Saav assured the kitten, licking her head until her little ears perked back up again.

“Carrie, do you have messenger?” asked Pook.

“Um…I guess the answer to that is ‘not yet’?” she replied, smiling.

“Would it be a problem to leave this on for Bart and Belle at night so we can talk on messenger? Belle has a lot to learn, and Bart may need a little help,” said Saav.

 

[CatPat]

“Not at all. I can leave it on for you. I’ll just need it a little during the day for the books and maybe looking for something a customer wants.”

“Thanks,” said Bart. “What’s messenger? We talk on it?”

“Sort of, you just type messages back and forth instead of speaking,” said Pook, “but first you need an email address.”

“Oh my,” laughed Carrie. “I suppose you two have an email address?”

“Of course we do,” replied Saav, looking at her as if two cats having email addresses were the most common things in the world.

“Okay, I gotta ask. What is it?” she asked, picking up her pen and tablet. “I’ll send you some jokes I get in my email sometimes.”

“Mine is SaavSweetness,” said Saav. “Pook’s is PreciousPook.”

“Oh, those are cute….at this here?” Carrie pointed to the messenger site.

“Yes. Send us something and we’ll add you to our contacts,” said Pook.

“Okay, I’ll do that tonight.” She wrote them down.

“Okay, Bart, I got the email site open. What name do you want?” asked Saav.

“Hmmm. Something with Bart in it,” he said.

They thought about it.

“How about HandsomeBart?” suggested Carrie.

“Hmmm. Give that a whack, Saav,” nodded Pook.

“That’s a nice one,” Bart purred at Carrie.

“Got it! Okay, now Belle,” said Saav, finishing up the account for Bart.

“How about VegetaBelle?” smiled Carrie. They shared a laugh, and even Belle joined in.

“StinkerBelle,” giggled Pook. “Just kidding, Belle!”

Belle laughed again and swatted playfully at Pook.

Carrie petted the kitten. “How about BeautyBelle?” she said.

“Oooooo,” smiled Belle, preening.

“Very nice,” nodded Bart. Saav pawed it in.

Within just a minute, both accounts had been created, and the instant messaging program was downloading into the computer under Bart’s email address.

Carrie looked at Pook, still amazed at Pook’s and Saav’s knowledge. What else did they know about? Who had taught them to speak before they found the humans? Where had they gotten their talents, and how did she wind up with two more cats who apparently had the same unusual traits?

 

[CatPat]

Why her? Was she chosen by some higher power for this or did the cats just know who was safe to approach?

The answer might scare her, so she put those thoughts out of her mind until she felt eyes on her. She looked up and saw Bart and Belle looking at her intently. She felt a chill. Could they read her thoughts too? Did they know how they actually frightened her sometimes? In spite of that, though, could they tell she loved them dearly…almost more than her beloved dogs, even more than she could ever tell them? Bart and Belle simply sat there, gazing at her as if in understanding, as if something unsaid had passed between them with perfect acceptance.

“Aha! Gotta love DSL,” Pook said triumphantly. “It’s installing. Once it’s installed, I’ll show you how it works. It’s not hard.”

“Okay,” said Bart.

Belle turned shining, happy blue eyes on her and purred so loudly she shook the desk. The kitten loved to learn new things, and so far, she was discovering one wonder after another in her new home. She couldn’t wait to learn enough to start using the computer by herself.

Pook and Saav started Bart and Belle’s contact list with their own address, and sent themselves an invitation they would accept when they got home later on.

“What time do you usually get on the computer?” asked Bart.

“Usually between ten and eleven at night, after Mom goes to sleep. A little later on weekends, usually around eleven, since she stays up a little later then,” replied Pook.

Bart nodded. “Okay, we’ll look for you around then. This is going to be fun!”

“Yeah, it is,” said Pook. “We’ll send you pictures of us and where we live and stuff, too.”

“Pictures of your forever home?” Belle asked hopefully.

“Yes. And of the dog and our stuff, and our Mom and family, and anything you like,” Saav replied.

Carrie smiled. “I need to get something out of the back and get to work,” she said, giving Belle a kiss. “Have fun.”

While Carrie busied herself with some rearranging and vacuuming, the cats typed and clicked away on her computer. After quite a while, Carrie got curious, and came over to see what else they were doing.

“What’s this down here?” Carrie asked, pointing to the taskbar.

Pook brought it up. “It’s a collection of Edgar Allan Poe’s works for Bart we’re downloading so he can read it later.”

“Oh. And this?” She pointed again.

 

[CatPat]

“That’s a real easy, beginner’s series of spelling, vocabulary and math lessons for Belle,” Saav answered. “We put a whole load of ebook sites on their favorites list here, along with the animal rights sites, news, weather, radio stations, and educational stuff.”

“That’s neat,” said Carrie, and pointed to another one. “That?”

“Um…” Pook swallowed, but brought it up. “We’re joining a cat-owners group.”

She stared at Pook. “But you’re a cat!”

“Exactly,” nodded Pook. “These people need all the help they can get. We thought we’d join in and help them understand cats.”

Carrie gasped. “No. Absolutely not! If they find out, you could be –“

“Carrie,” Pook broke in loudly. “Listen. We know about the Internet predators and the sickos and the weirdos, okay? We really do. We never put personal stuff or give any indication that we are anything but a couple of older ladies who love animals.”

“Mom taught us all about that,” Saav interjected hastily, before Carrie could say anything. “She didn’t allow us to have our online journals or our forum or let us join anything until we understood that, and she checks on us regularly with a special program only she can get into and use. Honest. You can ask her. You can check on what we all do here, Mom can show you how.”

“Besides, look at this.” Saav scooted Pook away from the keyboard and pawed at it quickly. “Here’s my profile, the only personal info on me on the net.”

Everything was undisclosed except the required fields, which were drastically altered. The picture was that of a peaceful meadow full of birds, rabbits, and butterflies, and gave their location as Georgia. It gave a very vague impression of a 60-some-year-old retired librarian who had two cats and loved animals.

“Here’s mine,” Pook said, and Saav moved aside while Pook located hers. It was almost exactly the same as Saav’s, but the picture was different. Pook had chosen a view of Stonehenge at twilight, and she looked like a postal clerk in her late 50s in Maryland with a dog and a cat.

“See?” said Saav. “Mom did everything but choose the pictures for us. We’ll be safe, really. You can check.”

“I see. That’s pretty good,” Carrie admitted.

“I’m not letting anyone know, either, Carrie,” agreed Bart. “I know a little about bad people and so does Belle. We won’t give so much as a whisker away.”

Carrie sighed, then looked at Belle.

 

[CatPat]

“I don’t even know how to use it yet,” said Belle. “So I’ll just let you and Bart decide when I can have a…a whatever that is.”

The cats were silent, letting Carrie think.

“You’ll keep your word to keep yourselves safe?” she said finally. “Because if you blow it, not only are you in danger, but we people are too.”

“I understand that, Carrie,” said Bart. “I’ll make sure Belle learns too.”

“We promise, and we’ll help Bart keep safe,” promised Saav. Pook nodded seriously.

She shrugged. “Okay. I’ll hold you to it. All of you.”

Bart nuzzled her hand, and she petted him, looked at the screen, hearing Mozart playing softly in the background from the stream-in, and looked at the cats in front of her, still in awe and some fear. “You girls sure have learned a lot.”

Saav sort of shrugged. “We still have lots to learn, but we’re getting there.”

They spent the afternoon’s remaining hours looking up other sites for Bart and Belle, interrupted by a call to snacks from Ralph and by the occasional customer. The cats had to revert to non-sentient felines when anyone came in, and they did it quite well by flopping on the desk and having a wash when the door opened. Carrie felt bad that they had to do that, but she was proud of them, for it fooled everyone.

“Sorry you have to do that,” she told the cats after a customer left after taking nearly an hour to select a silver lamp and a vase.

“Gaaaahhhh, I thought she’d never leave,” Pook said, yawning.

“Me too. Thought she was going to spend the rest of the day here. Why do humans take so long to make up their minds?” asked Bart.

Carrie shrugged. “I have no idea, Bart. I wish I knew. But you watch – I told her to pick that one with the burgundy shade, but she picked the one with the pastel blue shade. She’ll be back tomorrow to exchange it.”

“How can you tell?” asked Saav, looking up.

“She said her living room was in bolder, richer colors, not pastels. That shade is going to look completely wrong. She’d have done better with that one with the deep beige shade. But pastel blue? Ick!” she explained.

“Are they the same price?” asked Pook.

“Close enough, I’ll let her swap them. Builds good relationships with customers, and encourages them to come back.”

Bart smiled. “And it pays the bills.”

“What’s a bill?” asked Belle.

 

[CatPat]

Pook sighed and turned to the computer. “Those, Belle, are something we cats are very lucky not to have. Look here, I’ll show you…”

Bart was sound asleep in the windowsill and Belle was preening in front of a mirror a couple of days later when suddenly Pook and Saav bolted through the cat door and flew into the shop, whooping and hollering. Bart jumped straight up, and Belle was so startled she instantly fluffed up. Carrie was at the counter looking at a catalog, and jumped slightly at the "pop" of the cat door.

"We're getting a laptop!" exclaimed Pook, her pretty green eyes glowing with anticipation. Saav jumped up on the counter.

"Can we borrow your DSL line for a little while?" Saav asked Carrie. "It takes forever to download that service pack on dial-up, and all the laptop needs is that. The anti-virus is already installed and everything."

"Sure, little one," Carrie smiled, reaching for the cable behind her tower. She unplugged it and drew the cable over the counter. "Where's the laptop?"

"Mom's bringing it in," said Pook, nuzzling little Belle and licking the kitten's ear.

Saav hopped over to Bart's windowsill and purred against him. He gave her a whisker-kiss.

"I missed you girls yesterday," he smiled.

"We missed seeing you too, but it was cool talking to you on the messenger," said Pook.

“I saw that,” said Carrie. “All three of you are very good spellers.”

“Thank you,” smiled Saav. “Belle will do well, too.”

Belle's eyes lit up. "I'm learning real fast! Bart says with a little more work, I'll be able to type on messenger and do my own posts! The computer is fun!"

Bart's chest swelled with pride in the little kitten, and he nodded. "She's doing really well. She's learning everything just as fast as I can teach it, and she found a homework help group on one of those educational sites you girls added.”

“Great!” purred Pook.

"Hi everybody," called Joyce as she came in, carrying a small, older laptop and power cord.

"Hey there," Carrie smiled. "Here, set that right up here and I'll connect you."

"Thanks, Carrie. Mind if I leave it here to download and pick it up this afternoon with the girls?" Joyce asked.

 

[CatPat]

"No problem. This is a cute little laptop. Where'd you find it?"

"At a computer show in South Carolina back about five years ago. I just got a new one. This one’s ancient and a little slow, but dependable and stable. I dragged it out and set it all up for the girls...I guess you heard about the cat group thing," Joyce said.

"They did that here, on mine," laughed Carrie. "They were bored and too stuffed to play."

"Yeah, they told me. So, I guess it's time they had their own. And, also, a laptop is a lot easier on their paws, and it doesn’t take two of them to make it work. They’re into so much, now, anyway with their classes and their forums and projects…this will be better for them.”

Carrie eyed Bart and Belle. If Joyce thought Pook and Saav were safe on their own, she felt she could think the same of Bart and Belle. Their messenger conversation yesterday had included several tips on Internet safety which Bart had carefully copied and kept in a folder he created. "Hmmm. You’re sure they’re safe on their own computer?”

“Absolutely. I can check on them on this too,” Joyce replied, tapping the laptop. “And I did. It was never necessary, but I’ll be more than happy to install the program and show you how it works.”

Bart pricked up his ears. Belle's eyes got wide, and the two traded a hopeful look. Their own would be nice, since they had just discovered the ultimate joy of collecting pictures of beautiful cats, both domestic and wild. Belle was saving pictures of nearly everything she was curious about, from other cities around the world to space shuttles, and Carrie had found all of these on her computer and teased them about using up all her hard drive space. Bart had taken a test to determine his level of education so far, and was now in a home-school curriculum equivalent to about the eighth grade. Belle was sticking with her primary-grades curriculum and working very hard at her lessons.

“That’s a neat idea,” Carrie admitted. “And you say it’s easier for them?”

Joyce nodded. “The touchpad mouse is much better for their paws. Also, it doesn’t take both of them to make it work.”

“I never thought about that,” Carrie said, looking at the laptop.

“Paw-friendly,” smiled Joyce. “Go check out Justin’s stuff at Computer Shack. That’s where I got my new one.”

Justin O’Brien owned half of the only full-service computer store in the town, and he, Carrie, and Joyce were good friends.

"I'll run over there at lunch. Thanks."

 

[CatPat]

"Hey, thanks for letting me do this here. What a timesaver!" Joyce gave her friend a hug and checked her watch. "Well, I better run to work. See you this afternoon. Be good, girls."

She breezed out the door, and Carrie looked over at the little laptop, then at Bart. He, too, was looking at the girls' new (used) computer in the same way she had seen him look back longingly at the bucket of dead mice the first day she saw him. She knew he wouldn't ask for one; he never asked for anything. The kitten might be another story; then Carrie saw Belle start to say something, but was cut short by a very sharp look and quick hiss from Bart.

She sighed and smiled, looking at the keys rubbed shiny from use and the stray little cat hairs on the keyboard. One very well-loved and much-used computer, it was. Pook and Saav looked at it proudly.

"All ours," said Saav a little dreamily. “Our very own, just our stuff there.”

Pook sighed, smiling. “Wow.”

"Carrie?" said Bart.

"Yes?"

"Can Pook and Saav come over on Wednesday nights and hook up to our DSL? We all want to be in the cat group chatroom at the same time," Bart asked.

"Sure, I think I have a network hub thingy down here where I can hook up to three computers into," she said, stooping to look behind the desk at the tangle of wires, cables, and boxes. She found it, and made a mental note to pick up an extra DSL cable. No, she thought, getting up, make that two DSL cables. Damn, I know pets are an expense, but…

Carrie smiled at herself. "Yep, I found it. I'll get an extra cable or two also."

"Thank you, Carrie," said Pook.

"Yes, thank you," Saav echoed with a smile.

"Thanks! That will be fun," said Bart. Belle watched, her little blue kitten eyes dancing with delight. Now she would see her new friends a little more. She purred thunderously.

Saav giggled. “Wonder if those humans in that chat room will ever figure out they’re talking to real cats?”

“Don’t you dare – “ began Carrie ominously.

Pook laughed and poked Carrie with a soft paw. “Don’t worry. We promised, remember?”

“Promise to be even more careful there, okay? Live chat rooms can be, you know…” asked Carrie.

 

[CatPat]

“Dangerous,” Pook finished for her.

“We promise,” said Bart. The other three nodded.

“Okay, kitties. I just don’t want anything bad to happen to you.”

Carrie was confident about taking them at their words, for they had not gone back on any of their promises to her.

The shop was opening now, and Carrie pulled back the curtains and set out the 'Open' sign. It was 9:00 and Ralph was already next door in his beloved kitchen, rattling pans and getting ready for the usual lunch crowd.

Bart, Belle, Pook, and Saav had come to love this little routine. Soon Ralph would call for them, and plates overflowing with warm leftovers from last night would be waiting. Then there would be a wash-up and a nap, and all-out playtime til lunchtime. Sometimes Carrie brought her lunch and sometimes she went out, but she always shared with them after she was done. The afternoon would be spent between the computer, snacks, and customers. Tomorrow the routine would be a little disturbed; at 10:30, Belle had her first appointment with the vet, but it wouldn't take long. She wasn't looking forward to it, but the older cats assured her that it would keep her healthy and would help her live a long, long time. And she'd be back within an hour or so, and she knew they'd all be waiting for her.

Ralph poked his head in the back door. "Cats! Bart! Belle! Girls! Come and get it! Morning, Carrie, how are you?"

The cats shot out the cat door and flew toward the restaurant's kitchen.

"Great, Ralph, and you?" she smiled.

"It's another wonderful day! Good to be a part of it," he grinned, and returned to his kitchen. Carrie smiled. Ralph's positive attitude and genuine love of life was contagious...and real. She looked over at the little laptop, smiling again. She would certainly be paying Justin a visit today.

A little while later, four stuffed cats dragged through the cat door.

"Did you get enough to eat, guys?" she asked.

Bart looked up at her from a chair, yawned, and belched loudly. "Yes," he smiled, winking at her.

Carrie laughed. Such a typical male, she thought. Bart grinned, and went back to his wash. She tried to imagine all the cats in that group's chatroom and smothered a laugh. She wondered what they were doing in that group. Were they posting messages? What were they saying to the other members? What kind of flea shampoo or cat litter did they recommend?

"You know, if you had the messenger at home, we could all talk at night before you go to bed," said Bart.

Carrie looked at him. "I never thought of that."

 

[PrincessFiona60]

I was rolling on the floor with the kitten poots...Django has the same problem and can empty the room. Still loving this story and I want to know when Joyce gets it set on Amazon so I can buy a copy, Authors need the recognition (and should be paid for their efforts), I will be writing a glorious review and recommendation.

 

[CatPat]

"You're home a lot at night alone," Pook pointed out. Belle looked at Carrie sadly. She didn't know that.

"That's true," she said thoughtfully.

Bart saw the look in the kitten's eyes. "Carrie's husband is a consulting engineer, and he's often away from home, out of town. That's why Carrie bought this shop. It gives her something fun to do, keeps her busy, and she makes a living at it," he explained. "Right now he's on a job, and she only sees him one weekend a month."

"Oh," said Belle, feeling a little better, but still concerned that Carrie spent so much time alone.

"I have a computer at home. I'll do that, and I can say good-night and even good-morning to you guys. That's a neat idea, Bart. Usually after I walk the dogs and get a bite and clean up a little, it's either TV or a book. This will add a little variety to the routine."

A customer came in, a lovely but icy and haughty tall bleached-blond woman carrying a little yapping poodle. Instantly the cats fluffed up and Bart and Pook hissed.

She saw the cats. So did the dog. The dog went into a frenzy of barking, trying desperately to get out of the woman's arms.

"Get those damn cats out of here!" she shouted. "They're upsetting my poor little Peachie."

Carrie raised an eyebrow. "Get the damn dog out of here. It's upsetting Bart, Belle, Pook and Saav."

"What did you just say to me?" the woman demanded, stepping toward Carrie.

Carrie repeated herself loudly over the barking and hissing.

The woman looked like she had just been slapped. "No one talks to me like that!"

"I just did," Carrie smiled politely. "Twice."

Furious, the woman stormed out, her face beet-red. "You haven't heard the last from me!" she shouted over her shoulder from the doorway.

"Thanks for the warning," replied Carrie, making a face.

The cats settled down, angry.

"Why do people act like that?" asked Belle.

"I don't know. Sometimes people think the world turns around them," said Carrie.

"Had a lot of nerve bringing in that dog and demanding we get out, we live here," Bart muttered unhappily.

"That too," nodded Carrie.

 

[CatPat]

"We saw a bumper sticker about people like that once," said Pook. "It said, 'The more I see of people, the more I like my pets.'"

The other cats laughed. Carrie smiled and sighed. "That's how I feel sometimes," she said.

Saav, looking for a diversion away from that upsetting scene, looked at their new (used) laptop. "Is that done yet?"

Carrie looked at the screen. "Yep, all finished. You want to try it?"

"Oh boy!" exclaimed Pook, and all three cats and the kitten took off to gather around it on the counter. Saav rebooted it, and the operating system came up.

"Wooooooooo!" squealed Saav. The laptop, with its touchpad mouse, was very much easier for them, and the screen was bright and the colors were vivid.

"Let's check our emails," suggested Pook.

"Okay," said Saav, pawing in the password.

"Hey, you know, after we check our emails, you can go find a screensaver with cats on it and download it for your new computer," Bart pointed out.

Pook looked up at Carrie, and she nodded.

"Go ahead, cats," she smiled. "I won't need my computer for a while.”

Pook purred at her and smiled back. "Thanks, Carrie."

"In fact...." Carrie looked at her watch. "I have an errand I need to run real quick. I'm just going to close the shop for a few minutes and bug out. You guys want anything?"

"Yes, please," said Bart suddenly.

"Sure, my man. What can I bring you?"

"Yourself back safely. I didn't like that woman who was in here earlier, and she did threaten you. Be careful," he said, looking at her levelly.

Something about his tone and his concern gave her a shiver. Does he know something I don’t know? She was afraid of the answer to that question.

"I will, Bart. I promise," Carrie reassured him. She swung her coat on and collected her purse, pulling the curtains to and putting the 'Be back soon' sign up in the door before locking it securely behind her.

Carrie walked into the local computer store, and found one of the two owners at the counter putting up some blank discs in a display case.

“Hi, Justin,” she greeted him. He turned around.

“Hello, Carrie, how are you?” he asked.

She sighed. “I’m fine, but I need a little help.”

“Okay. What can I help you with?”

 

[CatPat]

“I need a good laptop for my….business,” she stammered. Oh my God, I almost said ‘my cats!’ she thought.

“New or used?” he asked.

“Just a good used one,” she replied.

“Hmmm. What will you be doing on it?”

“Probably storing a lot of web pages and pictures, information on suppliers and dealers, that kind of thing. I’m starting to do a little more out-of-store consulting and I need something…portable,” she lied. I am so bad at this! I almost said ‘paw-friendly!’ she thought.

“I see. Carrie, are you okay?” he asked her suddenly.

“Oh, sure, I’m fine. I just decided to take a different step here and I’m just hoping it’ll work the way I hope it will,” she said with a smile, hoping like mad she sounded convincing. Justin knew her fairly well, as he had built and installed both her computers and had often accompanied her and Joyce to movies and plays. Justin could always be counted on to be there for them.

“I guess that would make you nervous. I was nervous as hell when I opened this place and went from a repair business to a full store.” He patted her shoulder. “Don’t worry, Carrie, you’ll do fine. Just like your shop is a tremendous success, this new venture will be, too. Have faith in yourself.”

He just made her feel worse, for he was truly trying to help her and she had lied to him. But she knew why she was doing it.

Carrie smiled. “I appreciate that. I guess major changes can be just a little daunting at times.” At least that wasn’t a lie; it made her feel a little less guilty.

“They can be. But the good news is I can help with this. I just refurbished a really good one that I think will do just what you want it to, and if you like it, I’ll give you fifteen percent off plus your small-business discount. Over here.”

He showed her to the shelves of laptops, and handed her one of them, explaining its features. He told her about the others, but he was right; the one he had shown her first would suit her – or Bart’s and Belle’s – needs quite well. She decided on it, and asked about the DSL cables.
“Carrie, if you want to really be portable, wireless is the way to go, and you won’t be tripping over cables all over the place. If you go out of town, take a DSL cable just in case, but lots of hotels are wireless now,” Justin suggested.

Carrie remembered Pook and Saav and the chat nights too. “Oh. That too is a possibility, being away. How do I do that?”

He explained what she needed, and it seemed simple enough. “I’ll come by in a few minutes and install it for you – free,” he offered.

 

[CatPat]

“Great! Okay. Can I get an extra wireless card? I can carry a spare in my purse or something just in case I lose the one.”

“Sure. Whatever you’d like. Anything else you need? Got blank discs on sale – buy one pack, get a pack free, and jump drives are twenty-five percent off. Your business discount applies to the sale items too.”

She picked up everything she needed, and was quite pleased with the price after her discounts. Justin, like the other shopowners in Stony River, treated his customers well, and promised to come by the shop to install the router as soon as his partner arrived.

“Should be about fifteen minutes or so,” he told her.

“I really appreciate this, Justin. Thanks,” she replied. “See you in a few.”