Phoebe's Story: Part Two

Part 5

Cady had an ok day at school. People were nice enough, but she still preferred homeschooling. Getting off the bus at the end of the day, she jobs the two and a half blocks home to get some pent up energy out. With the perpetually warm weather and summer vacation being barely two months away, she's been much more energetic as of late. Pretty normal around this time of year, really. 

She dumps her bag on the floor immediately after coming through the door. "Cady? I don't know what Gemma let you girls get way with but we don't just leave stuff on the floor here." Robert pulls his wheelchair out from the kitchen table where he'd been working on a puzzle. "Oh, sorry." Is all Cady can think to say. She hasn't had much experience with the disabled. "Where's Grandma?"

"In here!" Came the reply from the living room. The way the furniture is arranged made it hard to notice Ellen in her armchair, a new crochet project in her lap. "Hey, can you get your sister? I gotta figure out where I put the darn carrier." Ellen gets up and starts putting away her yarn. "What are the clips for?"

"I got sick of my yarn tangling. The clips keep the colors separate." Cady has no knowledge of crochet, so she just nods and heads for the stairs.

Cady is about to open the bedroom door, but remembers to knock just in time. After an incident when they were six she was always sure to knock. Phoebe yells for her to enter.  "Hey Phoebe. Ready to... What the heck are you doing?" Phoebe is leaning over her iPad, blocking Cady's view of the screen. "Had to put it on the charger before I lost my high score." 

"Uh-huh. Just get changed." She doesn't believe her, but decides to let it go. 

A change of clothes and a car ride later they finally arrived at the animal shelter. The cat section was open and spacious. Climbing structures and cat condos of every imaginable shape and size were placed haphazardly around the space. "See any you like?" Ellen asks. "That's not how it works, Grandma. You have to let the animal choose you." 

"Mom told us it makes for a stronger connection." Cady chimes in. After that the two explore the room, letting cats come up to them at their digression. After a while two small cats come up to them. A grey calico starts playing with the strings on Cady's hoodie. A fluffy black one hops right onto Phoebe's shoulder. "Can we get them both?" The girls ask at the  exact same time. Ellen gives the shelter worker a look. It says "what did I get myself into?"