they could change places. Laquita got to hold the babies and feed them and play with them every single day of the week. There was always somebody to hug or to talk with and a mommy and daddy who really seemed to like each other and their growing family. Laquita's mommy was full and soft like a pillow and her daddy liked to make everyone laugh. The house was small, almost as small as Gramma Del's cottage, too small for the shadows and secrets that filled the house where Gracie lived. It seemed to Gracie that there was just room enough in Laquita's house for love.
"'Quita," said the father after awhile, "why don't you take Graciela and Noah out back and show them Moses and the kittens."
Laquita didn't say anything. She just made a face and motioned for Gracie and Noah to follow her. Gracie didn't want to leave Mrs. Adams and the new baby but the thought of kittens was more than she could resist. The only thing better than kittens was a basket of puppies.
She climbed off the bed and hurried to catch up with Laquita and Noah. They walked through a hallway plastered with drawings Laquita had done in kindergarten, stepped over two sleeping toddlers, stopped to pat a big dog with red and white and black fur that was sprawled across the entrance to the kitchen. One day Gracie would have a dog just like that one, maybe even three of them! She'd have cats and kittens a parrot named Walter and maybe one named Groucho too. She would keep hamsters and gerbils and there would be a tank of goldfish in every room.
Gramma Del wouldn't let her have a dog or a cat until she was old enough to take care of them. Gracie thought she was old enough now but Gramma wouldn't budge. "I have enough work, thank you very much," Gramma said the last time Gracie asked, "and I don't need any more." Noah didn't have pets either, not even one measly goldfish in a round bowl from Kmart. They said his father was allergic but Gracie didn't believe it. Mr. Chase probably just didn't want to be bothered.
She was surprised to find Noah's mommy sitting at the kitchen table with two other women. They were all smoking cigarettes and a cup of coffee sat on the table in front of each of them. The two women looked a lot like Laquita's mommy with the same wide green eyes and curly hair. They even dressed like her in hand-me-downs that made Gracie think of old movies from back in the Sixties. Mrs. Chase's fancy dark blue coat had slipped off the back of her chair and fallen to the floor where one of Laquita's baby brothers had claimed it for a blanket. Gracie would have figured Mrs. Chase would hate all that baby slobber on her coat but she didn't seem to mind one bit. She even reached down to make sure the baby was covered with one of the sleeves. Gramma Del would have done something just like that.
"We'll be leaving in five minutes," Mrs. Chase called to them as they trooped out the back door after Laquita. Then she said something low that made the other two women laugh. Noah looked started by the sound, as if he had never heard his mother laugh before.
They followed Laquita out to the shed where a mama cat named Moses greeted them with a loud meow while her five kittens answered back from their cozy straw-lined bed in the corner. "Moses was supposed to be a boy," Laquita said, cuddling the large grey cat, "but she fooled us when she had babies."
Noah and Gracie looked at each other then laughed when they realized Laquita thought it was funny too.
"You're lucky," Gracie said. "Now you get to have kittens."
"Unh-uh." Laquita shook her head. "Mommy says we have to find someone to adopt them."
"I know what that is," Gracie said. "You go to the place where they keep the lost pets and you take one home with you and take care of it forever."
"You could have a kitten if you want," Laquita said.
Gracie's heart beat so fast that it hurt. "Really?"
"Sure. You can pick which ever you want."
Gracie knew right away which kitten was the right one: the little white-and-grey one sitting alone in the corner of the box, looking like Gracie felt sometimes.
"He's so tiny!" She cradled the kitten against her chest. "His eyes are