The Kitchen Mistress by Kathleen Shoop

Author:Kathleen Shoop [Shoop, Kathleen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kathleen Shoop

I took the kitten from Tommy, its fur sprouting from between my fingers. The tiny male rolled up, tense, and he mewled when my fingers probed his belly too hard. I brushed his cheeks. “Okay, sweet boy, let’s take a look.” I grabbed a towel from the countertop, laid it on the table, and put the cat down.

I glanced at Tommy and saw his worried face. “He’s little, Tommy. Shouldn’t get attached.”

“Too late. Pearl thinks she’s its mother. She’s at work, and with him getting worse, I figured I better do something.”

I could see that he not only cared about the cat but about Pearl as well.

“All right. Let me think.”

He nodded.

“Since you have him here, let’s try something different than the tea. Hold him while I get this ready.”

I stretched to the top shelf and pulled down a glass jar of powdered slippery elm bark. I measured some into a pan, added milk, and stoked the fire. “Once this is just the right thickness, I’ll add some honey. It will coat his belly, and the milk will give him some nutrition to help with the weakness.”

I stirred the concoction, making figure eights in the pan.

“Thank you, Katherine,” Tommy said.

I looked over my shoulder at him as he cradled the kitten.

Once it was ready, I fished a baby spoon out of a drawer, and Tommy squeezed the corners of the kitten’s jaws to open them. I drizzled a bit of the porridge into his mouth and watched as the taste registered on his tongue. His tongue moved a bit, and Tommy released his jaw.

We let him fully swallow and then we tried another four drops.

I sat in the chair across from Tommy. “Let’s wait a few minutes, and we’ll try another bit.”

Tommy shifted in his chair, and I noticed him flinch as he did.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

He shook his head. I stood and took the cat from him. “What is it?”

He sighed and pressed his side. “Just my ribs, I think.”

I got closer to him and pulled up his shirt. His skin was marbled with purple, black, and shots of pale peach where his normal skin color poked through. “Oh my god, Tommy.”

He pushed his shirt down. “I’m all right.”

“I don’t think so.” I went to the shelves and pulled down a jar that held slippery elm bark that hadn’t been dried and powdered yet.

I rinsed the porridge pan and added fresh water and the bark until it boiled and curdled to make a thick poultice. “What happened to you?”

“Disagreement is all. Nothing but a little fight at the saloon.”

“Over what?” I applied it to his side and wrapped him with a dry towel and went back to feeding the kitten the porridge.

Part of me didn’t want to mention to Tommy that I’d noticed he smelled boozy. “Business. Nothing I want to talk about, Katherine. Please. Just let it go for now.”

I stared at him for a moment. I thought of all the things I wanted to keep to myself.

“Like your midday bath,” he said, smiling.

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