Chapter 31
The camping chair Ida was using was deeper than she would’ve imagined, and she suspected she’d have to have a hand getting out of it when the evening was over.
With Halloween a week away, the backyard was decorated with happy ghosts, fuzzy spiderwebs, purple-black lights in the bushes, and white rope lighting circling the expansive tree trunks around the yard.
Three pumpkins, the last straggling survivors of her sister’s old garden, each one more imperfect than the other, lined the steps along the back porch.
Pots of steaming chili and an assortment of fixings sat atop the porch table along with hot dogs and s’mores for roasting over the fire.
Mr. Longtail was posed once again at the edge of the table, licking his paw indignantly after having been shooed away twice before.
The yard was filled with the rise and fall of laughter from people her sister would have enjoyed meeting. A crackling fire filled the yard with the pleasant smell of woodsmoke, reminding Ida of camping trips in Connecticut when her children were young, and of the circle of life.
Kurt returned from the house and passed Ida the blanket he’d gone inside to find.
She thanked him and watched as he settled back down on the bench next to Kelsey on the opposite side of the fire and closed a hand affectionately atop her knee.
The young couple exchanged a private smile before returning their attention to the lighthearted ghost story being told by one of the shelter volunteers.
Several kids sat on the ground on blankets in front of the benches and camping chairs, listening attentively. A few of them roasted marshmallows, while others were content to watch the dancing flames.
Having abandoned the table on his own, Mr. Longtail worked his way into the group through an opening in the edge.
He walked over to a small girl with bouncy, angelic curls and sniffed noses with her.
She giggled and pulled him onto her lap, which he tolerated surprisingly well, even though there was far more of him than her small, pretzeled legs could accommodate.
The girl buried her small hands deep in his long fur and babbled a string of adorations at him. From where Ida sat not far away, she’d almost swear the cat met her gaze. And if she knew anything at all, it was that the sparkle in his eyes was from more than the flickering light of the fire.