An Island Christmas Read Online Free PDF Page B

hurt him?” Jilly asked.
    “No,” Tim told her. “He’ll be anesthetized. It’s a normal procedure for male cats, to keep them from chasing female cats and spraying the furniture to mark their territory. We can probably arrange for it to be done today. It’s a quiet time for the hospital. You can go off and buy the stuff you need for a cat—litter box, food—and come back tomorrow morning to pick him up. Then all you have to do is check his incision occasionally to be sure he’s not messing with it.”
    While they were talking, the cat was nuzzling Jilly and purring so loudly the humans could scarcely hear themselves talk. Clearly he was happy in the warmth of her arms.
    “Oh, George, let’s do it!”
    Tim told them: “There are some forms you have to fill out and fees you have to pay. The vet will also be giving him a general checkup. You can ask at the front desk how much all this will cost.”
    “Can you tell us what kind of food he should eat?” Jillyasked. “Is there anything we can buy that would make him happy? For example, that round bed in his cage, would he like one of those at home?”
    “We’ve got a pamphlet for you to study,” Tim said. “You can find it at the front desk.”
    “Let’s get the process started,” George said.
    Tim turned off the overhead light and opened the door to leave the room. He turned back. “You can’t take the cat into the reception room unless he’s in a carrying case. That’s another thing you’ll have to buy.”
    “I’ll stay with him here,” Jilly said, “while George does the paperwork.”
    “You can’t,” Tim told her. “You have to put him back in the cage.” When he saw Jilly’s expression, for the first time his own expression softened. “Sorry. Rules.” And he snorted a bit to express his opinion of rules.

    Jilly was aware that George thought she often got overexcited and considered it his duty to rein her in, and she appreciated his concern. Still, even though it had been his idea to get a cat, she wished he wasn’t with her now in Geronimo’s, the pet supply store.
    They had chosen a soft round stuffed cat bed in an adorable patchwork fabric that would coordinate perfectly with the cushions on the kitchen chairs. Food and water bowls had also been found that met Jilly’s standards, white china with cute blue paw prints on them. Choosing the kitty litterbox and scoop was not much fun, but the box would live out in the back hall; it wasn’t something people would see.
    “Don’t you think the cat would look gorgeous with this green velvet collar?” Jilly asked George as they stood in the cat toys aisle.
    “We’ve agreed we’re not going to let him go outside,” George reminded her. “Too many cars, too many dogs, too many temptations. The cat won’t need a collar if he’s never going out.”
    “Still, the green velvet against his cinnamon hair would look so pretty, and it is Christmas.”
    “Jilly, the cat doesn’t know about Christmas.” George was jingling the coins in his pocket, a habit he had whenever he was restless in a store and wanted Jilly to hurry up.
    Jilly had to satisfy herself with purchasing a high-end cat carrying case plus a quilted cushion that fit inside it for the cat’s comfort.
    “Hope he doesn’t throw up—or something worse—inside there,” muttered George. He was beginning to have doubts about the whole enterprise.
    “Don’t be silly, George,” Jilly said. “I’ll hold the carrying case on my lap when we bring him home and I’ll talk to him the whole time so he won’t be afraid.”

    After lunch the next day, the Gordons drove out to the Offshore Animal Hospital to pick up their new pet.
    To their surprise, the doctor came out of an examination room to talk to them. He seemed rather stern, almost as if he were sizing them up as cat owners.
    “I performed the neutering operation yesterday,” Dr. Logan told them. “He recovered from it nicely. He’s a strong, healthy, young animal