“I’m through now,” Hannah told him, glancing over at Sally’s bakers rack. “I don’t have to do anything else until we do the Caramel Pecan Rolls tomorrow morning.”
“Good! Why don’t you get settled in your room and then we can go back to my house, feed the cats and play with them a little, and come back in time to stake out a big table in the bar for all of us?” Norman suggested.
“Sounds good to me,” Hannah agreed. “What time is Mother going to get here, Doc?”
“Any minute now. Stephanie isn’t coming by today because she’s got a late city council meeting.”
“When Delores gets here, we can ask her about the cats,” Norman said just as the door opened and Delores walked in.
“Hi! Sally said you were all in here.” She turned to Hannah. “You were talking about the cats when I came in . . . they’re all right, aren’t they?”
“They’re fine, Mother, but I’m out here this week. Sally’s pastry chef had a family emergency and I’m taking his place,” Hannah hurried to explain. “Sally offered to let me stay out here, but Norman and I need to find someone to keep the cats for the week.”
A smile spread over Delores’s face. “Doc and I will keep them,” she said quickly, and then she glanced at Doc. “That’s all right with you, isn’t it, dear?”
“That’s fine with me,” Doc agreed.
“Oh, good!” Delores said, and then she frowned slightly. “Both of you are staying out here?”
“Yes, but we’ll have separate rooms,” Hannah reassured her. “I checked with Sally and she’s got an extra room for Norman. There’s enough gossip about us around town already, and Sally’s going to make it clear that Norman and I have separate rooms.”
“That’s good, dear,” Delores said quickly. “I think all this speculation about the two of you is ridiculous. You and Norman are adults, and people should have the courtesy to mind their own business and let you make your own decisions about your living arrangements!”
Hannah bit back a smile, remembering the shock she’d felt when she’d spotted her mother’s car at Doc’s house in the middle of the night. She’d never told anyone about that, not even Andrea or Michelle, and she probably never would.
“You’re right, Mother,” Hannah said. “And you won’t have to do any damage control for us. I checked with Sally and she’s going to make it clear to anyone who asks that Norman and I have separate rooms.”
“Good. That might stop some tongues from wagging, unless. . .” Delores stopped speaking and looked a little worried. “They’re not connecting rooms, are they?”
“No, Mother. Sally told me that Norman’s room is down the hall from mine.”
“Oh, good. That’ll help.” Delores turned to Norman. “Will you bring the cats over to us tonight? Doc and I are going to try Dick’s appetizers and then we’ll go straight home and get things ready.”
“Yes, but we’ll bring everything you need, Delores,” Norman promised.
“That’s nice, dear, but I think I probably have everything. I have their favorite food and water bowls, and I picked up some beds at the pet store. And of course I have treats. I bought the fish-shaped, salmon-flavored ones that Moishe loves, and the little triangular ones that Cuddles likes. And I have cat food, the same kind you feed them at home.”
Norman smiled. “That was good of you, Delores.”
“Thank you, but that’s not all. The cats really like to stay in the office with me when I work, and I bought one set of kitty beds for there and another set for our bedroom.”
“Do you really think they’ll actually sleep in pet beds, Lori?” Doc asked her.
Delores laughed. “Of course not, but the pet store had a two-for sale and I thought it was worth a try.”
“Are those all those packages I unloaded from your trunk, Lori?” Doc asked her.
“Yes, but only part of them. I remembered how Moishe always crowds you off your pillow, so I bought two more goose-down pillows at CostMart, one for Moishe and one for Cuddles.”
“But Cuddles never tries to get my pillow,” Doc reminded her.
“I know, but it’s not fair to get one for Moishe and leave Cuddles out in the cold. It could hurt her feelings.”
Hannah exchanged amused glances with Norman. “What else did you buy, Mother?”
“Only a few more things. They had cat tuna and cat salmon at the pet store, but I noticed that you usually give them regular salmon and regular tuna. I picked those up at the grocery store, along with a couple packages of frozen shrimp.”
“It sounds like you had a cat shopping spree,” Norman said.
“Oh, that’s not all!” Delores began to smile. “I ordered a couple of things online too.”
“Like what?” Hannah asked, having trouble keeping a straight face.
“Not much, dear,” Delores said, and then she looked slightly embarrassed.
Doc laughed. “I have a feeling this is going to be good! Out with it, Lori!”
Delores sighed. “All right. Well . . . I know it’s probably silly, but I ordered this floppy fish toy for them to play with. And then I saw a little box where a mouse popped out of a series of holes and ducks down again, and I got that, too. They’ll probably ignore those, but they came yesterday and they look very cute. And I can hardly wait to try everything out!”
“Anything else?” Norman asked, grinning at Delores.
“Just one thing, and I probably wasted money on that. I got one of those new litter boxes that cleans itself. I’m not entirely sure how it works, but it came with instructions and Doc’s really good at figuring out things like that.”
“Thank you, dear,” Doc said sweetly, but Hannah could hear the laughter in his voice.
“Well, you are!” Delores declared, flashing him an ingratiating smile. “I never would have figured out the new microwave without you. It’s very complicated.”
“How about other cat toys, Mother?” Hannah asked. “I always get stuck buying something new when I go to the pet store.”
“You’re right,” Delores admitted. “I did forget a couple of things.”
“Like what?” Doc asked her.
“Like . . . kitty sweaters to wear if it’s cold. And new collars, nice ones with a light-up feature so we can see where they are in the garden in the dark. And a few of the little mice that Moishe likes and a couple of yarn balls for Cuddles. She likes to chase balls when Doc throws them. And I got a squeaking squirrel for the garden.”
“A squeaking squirrel?” Doc asked. “Are you talking about a toy that squeaks if they bite it?”
Delores shook her head. “Heavens no! I wouldn’t get them something like that because it might teach them to bite and then the ladybugs in the garden wouldn’t be safe. The squeaking squirrel has a remote control and I thought I’d hide it behind a bush in the garden. Then we could use the remote to make it squeak and let the cats hunt for it.”
Norman turned to Hannah. “Your mother is going to spoil our fur kids, Hannah.”
“I know,” Hannah said, giving a fake sigh. “But there really isn’t anything we can do about it, Norman. That’s what all grandparents do!”
Chapter Five