Chapter 4

"FUBAR, FUBAR, FUBAR!" Damn, Damn, Damn! Damn those fricking cats. How the hell did I forget about them in my 'great plan'? I was pissed at myself, and my tone made that obvious.

We had just spent two hours in traffic. We left Union Station, going north on I-5 to the US-99 cutoff, to get to Bakersfield. Now one hundred and twenty five miles behind us, the cats were likely stuck in the garage. They had hidden with the house full of people last night. I remember them coming into the garage, as I at the safe. I had simply not given them another thought when I walked back into the house and locked the door.

I needed time to think about what I had to do to rescue them. The chorus of hungry ladies, who needed to stop for both relief and food, was a more immediate problem, however. The cats were two hours away and would have to wait. I headed off US-99 at White Avenue, just inside Bakersfield, and found a Denny's.

We unloaded and headed in. There was a mad dash to be the first to be relieved. After that, we were seated and the waitress took our orders. The ladies finally asked what I was so upset about earlier. It seems they had not seen the cats, so they were at a loss about my comments.

Then of course, there was a chorus of:

"You can't just leave them there."

"They're going to die in there without food and water."

"We have to go back and save them."

Having heard from them what I was thinking myself, I simply stated.

"Ladies, I just saved the six of you. I will get the cats saved. But at the moment, our needs are more immediate. Let's eat, and I will think how to save them."

The food arrived, and while it was typical Denny's fare, it was much better than the fast-food places that dot most of Bakersfield. While we were eating the ladies were speaking among themselves. They wanted to know more about me, and appointed Connie to ask.

"Master, can you tell us about yourself."

"Yes, slave Connie, Do you want to know from when I was born or is the last three years enough."

"I don't know, Master? Can we take a vote to see?" Then there was the snicker. I made a note to be more direct if I were to avoid that snicker in the future.

"No, slave Connie. It will be just the last few years, then."

Given that we were in a large corner booth away from others, I told them my story. How I had been the diligent husband, father, and all around fun guy. The "bestest Dad", was how my youngest had called me, and told all of her friends. Then the accident, the feeling of being lost, the deep anger, the hopelessness and the fears that made sleeping nearly impossible. I told of how I chased the extended family away, then how my friends slowly drifted away. Finally, all of my cares about the future were adrift, too. My current life had been reduced to living in a museum to my old life, with the bonus of two cats that didn't come near me. It was difficult to talk about, but I made it through all of it.

"Hot Damn! That's how I'll save the cats."

The ladies looked at me, as if I were nuts. I had just told them my sad life's story, and now I had figured a way to save the cats.

"Well ladies, that was how my life was, right up to where Connie walked into it. From there you know the rest."

"Master, that is such a sad story. But how is telling us that going to save the cats?"

"Slave Connie, there is a widow 'Jill' across the street who has a daughter. She was my youngest daughter's best friend. I have her number, and they can care for the cats."

"Master, since we have all eaten maybe the cats should be eating, also? Please see that they are taken care of. It would make us all so happy."

"Okay, I'll get a disposable cell phone and call her. Then I want all of you to call your parents on that cell phone. Right now, I will be taking all of your phones. I want to make sure they're not used. Remember, these people want all of you, just like we spoke of this morning. We have gone through all of this to have you disappear. I don't know how extensive their ability to track you is, but I don't want to give them any help in finding us, either."

"Yes, Master, and thank you," they chorused, as all of their cell phones were set on the table.

"Thank me?"

"Yes, Master. You just referred to the-girls-and-you, as 'us'. We are a part of you and your life, now. Thank you for that."

I had done that. We were now 'us'. For the first time in a longtime, I felt good about, there being an "US."

I placed Julie in charge of keeping the phones until I could lock them away. We headed over to get some gas, drinks, and the disposable cell phone. I had the ladies call their parents, to tell them they how they were. They were to say that they would be out of cell range for a training seminar.

After they all finished, I dug through my wallet and found Jill's cell phone number. She answered on the third ring. I explained what I needed, after answering her seemingly never-ending questions about my overnight guests. Plus, she emphasized that I was now in her debt for this little favor.

She let me off the hook, and told me that they had wanted to adopt the cats from me, anyway. They knew that I only kept the cats, because the girls' attachment to them, and that I didn't really like them. Andi, Jill's daughter, wanted them to be hers, as a way to remember her friend. She was afraid to ask me, though, since I was so sad.

I thanked her, and told her where the key was for the door for the garage, and the food was in there also. I told her I would see her when I got back.

I chuckled to myself at the surprise Jill would find in the garage. The kids thought the cats needed to be eating some fancy 'science diet' type cat food. Now they wouldn't eat anything but that. And eat they did. I had gotten tired of going out to get their special food all the time, so I'd bought fifteen bags of it last time. That was two hundred and twenty five pounds. I do recall that I had been drinking a bit when I ordered it from the store, but they had delivered it the next day.

Well, with the cats taken care of, and us all relieved and restored, we had just one quick stop to make. We stopped at the grocery store here, to get the dry goods for the next week. The milk, eggs, juice and meat we would get, once we were closer to our destination. I pulled out my bag, and fished out some additional cash.

It was a good that I had rented a ten-passenger van. With the luggage and the food, there would have some serious space problems with anything smaller.

The seven of us broke into three teams, and got everything quickly. It worked fairly well, as each team picked what they liked to eat. We were done and the van packed, in less than an hour. We would sort through what we had, once we were at the safe house.

Knowing that it would be dark if we didn't get moving, I turned us onto Route 41 about an hour and a half later. I stopped in Oakhurst, for dinner at Erna's Elderberry House. It's an elegant place that offers premium food, and a superb atmosphere, at a reasonable price ... given my newfound wealth. I had taken the family here on our way home from Yosemite. I admit that I choked a bit the first time when I got the check for dinner. Never the less, it became a regular event to stop there after Yosemite. Those pleasant memories of Erna's for dinner, made me want to share them for "US."