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Even though Aggie knows Barbara takes really good care of her, she hadn't expected for her to so readily agreed to Aggie's request for a pet. She hadn't really prepared any arguments or bargaining chips, thinking that she'd be asked to wait or simply be turned down. Instead, her guardian had agreed, saying something about companions and responsibility.

Of course, she'd had to do her homework before Barbara would take her and Aggie had spent more than a few afternoons sitting quietly in the library, reading about cat breeds and their various requirements. Then she'd used her allowance to get some toys and dishes and a litter box. Then and only then had they gotten into Barbara's van to pay a visit to the animal shelter.

"Thank you," she says quietly. She's said it more than a few times, but figures it bears repeating.

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"Every year. And the chip is just like a collar, only he can't take it off. It says who he is and where he belongs." And so far as I'm concerned is one of the best things to happen to pets in a long time. I have no idea if he's going to be a roamer, but I know we're going to try to keep him indoors as much as possible.

"Just like I have to get shots every year?" Aggie asks. She makes a show of wrinkling her nose, though even she has to admit it's really not that bad, especially given what she's endured on her own before.

"Just like you." Poor Aggie, she got stuck with so many needles, but then she'd never had ANY shots so she had to start from somewhere. I can't even imagine what state she'd be in if we'd done nothing, all the vaccines and drug treatments and the eradication of disease, it's kind of scary to think about.

"Everyone gets their shots, even me sometimes." You would not believe some of the things I've been on contact with over the years. "But I'm sure he'll be just as much a trooper as you are."

"Or he'll make funny faces like those cats I saw on the internet," Aggie says. She's still a little fuzzy on computers and the internet, but she's managed to find and revisit several pages of funny cats.

"The doctor said that I made a funny face when I had them, but I didn't make any noise or anything."

"That's my trooper." I put my arm around her and give her a hug right before the volunteer hands me the paperwork.

"And we are now the proud owners of Abner, or whatever his name will be. Let's get him in the carrier and take him to his new home, okay?"

Aggie grins and hugs Barbara back, wondering how she got so lucky. Having Barbara is like the best combination of a mother and a big sister.

She takes the rattling cardboard carrier that they hand her and Aggie leans down to look at the cat through the tiny holes. The sound that comes from the box isn't quite yowling, but it's somehow both plaintive and utterly indignant.

"He sounds like a goblin."

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