Ben there, and I was even more surprised to see Becky with him.
“What are you doing out?” I asked her. “Come in. Sit down.”
“The doctor gave me a hall pass,” she said. “It’s my reward for having a lower blood pressure reading.”
I was glad she was doing well.
“And I’m here to apologize,” Ben said.
“Nothing to apologize for,” I told him. I hadn’t meant to intrude.
“I shouldn’t have reacted so strongly.”
“I could have stayed away.”
“No,” Becky said to me. “I don’t want people to stay away. Swing by whenever you have time. I promise I’ll stay off the phone from here on out. But I’d like to point out that my blood pressure went down after I had a chance to be useful. Quite frankly, I think it’s more stressful to do nothing.”
“Nice try,” Ben said to Becky.
“I am a professional debater,” she said back.
They were grinning at each other.
“Well, good news,” I said to them both. “You’re just in time for the big cat contest. That is . . .” I said to Becky. “If you’re allowed to stay that long.”
“I am,” she said, giving Ben a firm don’t-mess-with-me look.
He heaved an exaggerated sigh. “She is.”
“Great,” I said. “They’ll be here any minute.”
The door opened again.
This time it was Josh. He looked surprised to see Ben and Becky.
“Are you here for the cats?” Becky asked him.
“This town is completely starved for entertainment,” Ben said.
“The Buffy and Mumu decision,” I told him. “Assuming Nellie and Humphrey agree.”
“Oh,” Josh said. “Yeah.” He was obviously playing along since he didn’t know about Madeline’s Max-inspired plan. He wasn’t here to see the cats.
“Pull up a chair,” Becky said. “We should have popcorn for this.”
“I’ll have to make sure they don’t mind an audience,” I said, worrying about appearing professional.
Becky waved me off. “They’ll be fine. We’re all friends.”
“It is a divorce.”
“Are you going to argue with my wife?” Ben asked in mock seriousness.
I backed up a step with my palms raised. “Not me. I’m not upsetting the nice pregnant lady.”
“I think I like this,” Becky said.
The door opened once more, and Josh quickly stepped to one side.
It was Humphrey, and he looked around at everyone in the room. “Am I early?”
“No,” I quickly told him. “Come into Madeline’s office. There’s something I’d like to run past you.”
He looked around the room again. “Sure.”
“Send Nellie in when she gets here,” I said to Becky.
“Will do.” She gave me a mock salute.
“Don’t get too used to helping out,” I heard Ben tell her as I closed the door behind us.
“Don’t tell me Ben and Becky are having problems,” Humphrey said as he took one of the two guest chairs.
“Nothing like that,” I said. “They’re just here to . . . here for a little while today.”
“I thought Becky had to stay home.”
“She’s allowed out for a while,” I said.
The door opened then, and Nellie appeared. She carried a cat cage covered in a floral towel.
“Becky told me I should come in.” She gave Humphrey a sidelong glower as she took the other chair, setting the carrier on the floor.
One of the cats meowed in protest.
I sat up straight, putting on my best professional demeanor. “Yes. Now that we’re all here, I have a proposal for the two of you.”
The cat meowed again.
“That’s Mumu,” Nellie said.
“I know that’s Mumu,” Humphry said. “I know my own cats.”
“I know this has been a tough decision for the two of you,” I said. “You’ve both rejected everything we’ve proposed so far.”
There was a faint knock on the door. Before I could react, Becky cracked it open and stuck her head in. “How’s it going?”
“You should be sitting down,” I told her.
She glanced hopefully around the office.
I heaved a sigh and rose from the desk chair. “Do you two mind if Becky sits in?”
“How are you feeling, Becky?” Nellie asked.
Becky clearly took that as permission.
“Good,” she said, coming fully into the room and closing the door behind her. “A little bit tired, and my feet are swollen.”
“I remember,” Nellie said with a nod. “The last month is the worst. But congratulations on the twins. That’s exciting.”
“Congratulations,” Humphrey added.
I gestured to my now empty chair, and Becky grinned and waddled around the desk to sit down.
“As I was saying,” I said. “We have what we think is an innovative idea.”
“You’re going to love this,” Becky said.
I wasn’t so sure. “We let the—”
“—cats pick,” Becky finished with glee. Then she looked guiltily up at me. “Sorry. I’m not getting much excitement right now.”
“I