Angel in My Pocket by Ilene Cooper

Author:Ilene Cooper
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

XIII

Joe heard Gene get up in the morning and had to stop himself from jumping out of bed to go with him to the hospital. The last thing he wanted to do was spend the morning trying to find a cat who could be anywhere, an endeavor that could well prove futile. He had to try, though. He didn’t want even to think about telling Luisa that Gato was gone.

When Joe heard the kettle whistle, he pulled a sweatshirt over his pajamas and went out into the kitchen. Gene had his coat on, ready to go, but he was standing at the counter drinking a cup of hastily made coffee.

“Joe, I wasn’t sure if I should wake you. You got to sleep so late.”

“Yeah, I didn’t sleep too well.” It was the truth.

“Why don’t you go back to bed? There’s no point in going to the hospital. Your mother will be home this afternoon.”

Joe felt guilty, but wasn’t that what he’d been hoping Gene would say? “Ah, maybe I will do that.”

Gene clapped Joe on the shoulder. “You rest. Last night was hard on everybody.”

Then Joe noticed something on the counter, partially hidden by the milk Gene had used to whiten his coffee. Gene followed Joe’s gaze. Picking up the Persian cat Joe had carved, he said, “Your mom asked especially for me to bring this cat. She said it’s her good luck charm.”

Joe couldn’t have felt worse if Gene had grabbed knife from the kitchen drawer and stabbed him in the heart.

“By the way,” Gene said, “where’s Gato? I haven’t seen him all morning.”

“Uh, sometimes, he sleeps late. In my closet.”

To Joe’s relief, Gene seemed to accept that answer. He took a final swig of his coffee and put the Persian in his pocket, then pulled out this cell phone. “I’m going to leave this for you, in case I have to get in touch. Oh and, Joe, would you mind straightening up a little? Maybe change the sheets on your mother’s bed? I want to get going.”

Any other day, this would have been the kind of request that would have made Joe bristle, but now he was thrilled to have something he could actually do to make his mother’s homecoming better. As soon as Gene left, Joe madly cleaned the house, so he could begin his search as soon as possible. That was maybe one good thing about living in such a small space. It didn’t take much time to make the apartment look presentable.

Throwing on yesterday’s clothes, Joe dressed and went outside to look for Gato. At least it was a nice day. Chilly, but the rain had ended and there was no wind to make the day feel colder than it was. Walking down the back stairs, though, a wave of hopelessness washed over Joe. Where to begin?

The easiest place to start, he decided, was to look around the rear of the apartment and the alley. Softly calling Gato’s name, Joe checked out the basement area and then methodically searched around the neighboring apartment buildings.

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