THE CAT'S MAW

CHAPTER IX (Part 2)

BEEP-BEEEEEEEEP.

"And there's the other news, right on time."

Billy watched his unfinished plate being cleared, and his mother brush the leftovers into the garbage beneath the sink. Recognizing the sound, he limped to the bathroom to wash his hands and face. He even brushed his teeth without being asked, and used a splash of water to part his hair to the side.

 Ms. Savage waved through her window and parked on the side of the road by their driveway. She was a pretty woman with a radiant smile and bobbed, strawberry-blonde hair. The driver door concealed a sturdy frame (Billy's mother referred to her as 'womanly'), but her vehicle made the woman look tiny by comparison.

The Bookmobile was a converted motor home — or RV, as his father called it — that had been gutted, refurbished, and turned into a library on wheels. The outside had a silvery shell, with cartoon characters painted on each side. There was a unicorn with a fire-breathing dragon on one side, and a bearded pirate with a rocket ship on the other.

On the back was a bright rainbow with a pot of gold. Underneath it were the words: READING LEADS TO UNTOLD TREASURES.

"Hello there, handsome!" Ms Savage leaned out of her window and turned off the engine. "Sorry I couldn't come sooner, but I was on vacation. When your mom told me what happened? You couldn't keep me away."

Billy's father led him around the other side of the Bookmobile, checking for traffic. The boy waved at the old Thomas house, even though Enid was nowhere to be seen – he liked to think that she was still watching from behind her dusty windows.

Stanley Brahm boosted his son up through the folding door and took away his crutches. The space would be too narrow to use them, and Billy wouldn't have far to hop. There were only so many books the space could hold, and there were folding chairs to rest in. Besides, Billy liked the idea of Ms Savage bringing books to him – she was a cool lady, and her recommendations had always been good ones.

"Give a honk when he's done," his father said, smoothing a lick of hair over his exposed scalp. "We'll just be puttering around in the back."

"No worries," the woman said, helping Billy into a chair. "We've got all the time in the world for this one."

The 'we' Ms. Savage referred to was herself and her cat, Lucy. Lucy was a plump tortoiseshell that had been a fixture of the Bookmobile for as long as Billy could remember. She used to pace back and forth on the carpet, brushing against the heels of readers, hopping into laps, and mewing when she felt ignored. These days, however, you'd tend to find her curled up on one of the lower shelves like a fat, furry book that had been bound in charcoal and rust. Today was no different.

Billy looked around the cramped space, and saw Lucy open her wee green eyes in the back. Despite his calls, she didn't move from her spot on the second shelf except to raise her head and sniff the air. Her whiskers drooped, and her orange muzzle trembled as she sniffed. As she lowered her head into her black-and-brown paws, she opened her mouth and gave a faint meow.

"Getting old, poor girl," Ms Savage wiped the sweat from rosy cheeks with her t-shirt sleeve. "Happens to the best of us. Might need to visit the lady 'cross the road one of these days. These wheels just wouldn't be the same without a cat in 'em."

"I have a cat now," Billy said. "They let me have one, after the accident."

"Aren't you lucky, and in more ways than one!" she said. "Could've been worse, kiddo, the way folks tear down this road. So, when do you lose the chick-magnet?" She winked, and pointed at the boy's cast.

Billy wiggled his leg and felt a twinge of pain below his knee. "Three weeks...maybe...I think."

"Piece of cake," she beamed, snapping her fingers. "Better give you my autograph before it's too late."