Grandma Robot (6 page)

Henie hesitated. “I'm not suppose
to know, but I'd say Samuel's wife was a bit too picky. Most things
weren't good enough for her unless she picked them out. The more I
hear about your mother the more she sounds like her mother. That
happens usually. Daughters become like their mothers. Anyway when
you need a hope chest, I just wanted you to know you have
one.”

“Yes, I'll keep that in mind. Now
I best carry some of my treasure down to my room. You can dust the
table and air the quilts if you want to help,” Karen
said.

“That's my job,” Henie declared.
“Oh, there's a couple other items I'd like brought down. Could we
take a couple of the old rockers taken out on the front porch so we
can sit out there on nice evenings and watch the sun
set?”

“Henie, that sounds like a good
idea. I'll carry them down later,” Karen said. “Let's work on my
bedroom first. I'm excited to see how our makeover
looks.”

One day, Karen was right in the
middle of writing an important chapter in her book when Henie
insisted she stop for lunch. When Karen sit down at the table, the
full bowls were overwhelming. She wasn't sure what would have been
appropriate to feed crew of field hands in days gone by, but she
had the feeling this meal might be it. Also, she had an ominous
feeling if she asked, Henie could tell her what foods would be on a
working farm's table.

“My goodness, Henie, why so much
food? I really can do with much less to eat,” Karen
declared.

Henie leaned against the counter.
Her bottom lip jutted out in a pout. “You work hard. You must keep
up your energy.”

Karen sighed. She wasn't going to
be able to out argue Henie when the robot gave her that worried,
grandmotherly look. She filled her plate with portions from each
bowl. She managed to eat most of the mash potatoes, gravy, fried
chicken, green beans, carrots and strawberry Jello salad she put on
her plate. All the while, she eyed the dessert on the other end of
the table, chocolate cake.

Karen decided to leave some of the
food to have room for the cake. She leaned back in her chair and
rubbed her full stomach. “Okay, Henie, I give up. I'm ready for a
piece of cake.”

Henie critically stared at the
plate. “Didn't your mother ever tell you, children are starving in
this world that would love to have half of what you just ate. You
should appreciate the food you get and clean up your
plate.”

“Oh, yes, I heard that from my
mother. When I ate her food I made sure not to put too big a
portions on my plate so I could eat everything. That way she'd let
me have dessert,” Karen explained truthfully.

“Just remember you're the one that
filled your plate. It wasn't me holding onto the serving spoons,”
Henie pointed out as she scraped the scraps off into a pet
bowl.

She carried the bowl to the back
steps and called, “Here kitty, kitty.” She waited a minute and
called again, “Here, Sock.”

No wondered that
pesky cat has stuck around instead of going back where he came
from
, Karen thought.
She's been feeding him.

“Where could that cat have gotten
off to,” Henie mumbled. “I better go check in the barn. Maybe the
cat didn't hear me.”

She was down the steps and walking
across the yard before Karen got to the screen door. “Where do you
think you're going?”

“To find the cat,” Henie said
without stopping. “I thought I'd check in the barn.”

Karen flew out the screen door and
caught up with Henie. “That old barn doesn't look safe. I don't
think it's a good idea to go in there.”

“Nonsense, just because the
building needs a few repairs doesn't mean it's unsound,” Henie
said.

“All right, but I'm going with you
against my better judgment,” Karen insisted.

Henie looked put out with her. “You
really don't have to if you would rather not.”

“Yes, I do. You're worth a bunch
of money. I don't want Amy to charge me for letting you get broken
when she comes to get you,” Karen argued. “I can just see it now.
Amy will ask how this accident happened. I say the barn fell in on
you. She's really going to like that.”

“That's not going to happen. I
don't intend to repair the barn for heaven's sakes. I'm just
looking for Sock,” Henie snapped.

Careful Karen.
She's getting mad. Change the subject.
“Why don't you call him Socks?”

Henie looked perturbed. “It doesn't
take human science to come up with the answer.”

“You mean rocket science,” Karen
corrected.

“Don't always
correct me, young lady. In your case, human science is a lot closer
to what you
might
know than rocket science is. How much closer is debatable
from all these dump ideas you have,” Henie
flipped.

“Fine, but the name Socks is much
easier to say than Sock so why name a cat that?” Karen
insisted.

“If you had paid attention you
might have seen the cat only has one sock,” Henie replied dryly.
“Now if you're going with me help me find my cat.”

The fact that Henie was now calling
Sock her cat didn't get by Karen as she unhooked the door. The
rusted hinges squeaked and groaned in protest. For a moment, Karen
wasn't sure the hinges were going to hold the door in
place.

Karen stood just inside the barn,
letting her eyes adjust to the light. Apparently, Henie didn't have
the same problem. She walked around, looking the building over and
reminisced, “There was a time long ago when I'll bet those stalls
held a pair of dappled gray driving horses and two draft work
horses.”

Karen glanced at the stalls with
the thought she wouldn't take that bet, either. She'd have to
remember to ask her mother what kind of horses had been in the
barn.

Henie headed for a feed manger
along the back wall, calling, “Here Sock. Come to me.”

Karen listened for an answering
meow. All she heard were pigeons cooing in the hay loft. A rat
skittered behind Henie and burrowed into a pile of hay before Karen
had time to squeal. “Henie, let's get out of here. The barn is full
of rats.”

Henie stopped staring in the manger
and turned with her hands on her hips. “You live in the country
long enough you won't let a few little critters bother you. You
will get used to them. Take it from me. I know. Now come over here.
I found Sock.”

Skirting way out around the hay
pile, Karen watched around her feet so she didn't step on another
rat as she rushed to the manger. “Is that cat sick? If he is, I
don't him in the house anymore. You hear me.”

“Sock isn't sick. She's bringing
this old barn back to life. It's been years since an animal gave
birth in here, not counting the mice and rats, of course. As a bird
fluttered over head, she amended, “Sparrows and barn swallows,
too.”

Karen's mouth fell open. Henie was
holding a tiny black kitten. The kitten was so new it didn't have
its eyes open. “Sock is a female!”

“That's right. Look at that pretty
litter of kittens. No wonder she didn't want to come when I called.
She was busy,” Henie said excitedly. “Here, take this one, and I'll
pick another one to hold.” As soon as she handed the kitten to
Karen, its face turned ugly, it's claws came out and it sputtered
at her.

Karen let go of the kitten. It fell
back in the manger. Henie gasped as Sock reached out and pawed the
baby back into the boiling mass of legs and tails.

“I don't blame you, Sock, for
wanting to protect your babies from Karen. Don't worry. She will
learn how to hold your kitties. Henie held her kitten out to Karen.
“The little darlings spat, because they can't see, but they won't
hurt you. Try again?”

Karen put her arms behind her back.
“No, thanks. You didn't tell me Sock was a female cat.”

“You didn't ask. Besides, I didn't
know she was expecting. If I had I would have smuggled her up to my
room,” Henie said.

“You wouldn't have!” Karen
countered.

“Oh yes, I would have,” Henie
declared.

“Don't think of doing it now. I
didn't like one cat in the house. I don't want a house full of
cats,” Karen said.

“You really don't know anything
about cats, do you? I can't move Sock and her family now. She might
stop taking care of the kittens. That means they have to stay where
they are until Sock moves them,” Henie said with disdain. “She
seems content right where she is. Matter a fact, this old manger
has seen plenty of kittens.”

Karen narrowed her eyes at Henie.
“And you know this fact how?”

Henie said in exasperation. “Just
look around. One time this was a working barn used for cattle and
horses. Cats were welcome by Clell to keep down the mice and
rats.”

“That's true, but Sock isn't doing
her job. I just saw a live rat,” Karen argued.

“She has more on her mind than
hunting food right now,” defended Henie. “I'm going back to the
house and get her pan. It should be here close so she doesn't have
to be far from her kittens.”

As they walked back across the
yard, Henie asked, “You said Amy would be coming. How long before
she comes for me?”

Chapter 7

Karen explained, “I think that
depends on me. When I tell her you're ready to sell to a customer,
she'll take you back to the lab. Maybe two or three weeks from
now.”

“Is that all the time I have
here?” Henie reached down for the cat's pan, hugged it to her and
turned around. She paused to study the barn, the pasture and the
grove of cottonwood trees behind the fence with the most dejected
glance. With a heavy sigh, she ambled away.

Karen walked with Henie to the barn
long enough to set the cat bowl in the manger. After a glimpse at
her watch, she decided she'd wasted enough of her time. She
insisted Henie go back to the house with her. Henie consented, but
she grumbled she was only leaving the cat because she still had to
do kitchen cleanup.

Karen started typing, but she had
trouble keeping her mind on her story. She remembered the glow on
Henie's face when she found the cat and her family. She lost that
happy look quick enough when Karen gave her a hard time about the
cat. Henie turned really glum when they discussed Amy coming after
her.

Karen couldn't stop Amy from taking
the robot away, but if Amy was right about the robots having
emotions, she should apologize to Henie for being so hard nosed
about the cat. After all, Sock wouldn't be trying to get in the
house any time soon now that she had to stay in the barn with the
kittens.

Karen tilted her head toward the
door. The house was quiet. Earlier, she thought she'd heard Henie
climbing the stairs. Maybe the robot was in her room, charging her
battery.

After a quick check in Henie's
room, Karen called, “Henie, where are you?”

She didn't get an
answer.

The third story attic door was open
at the top of the second flight of stairs. Henie must be up there
again. She was curious why Henie kept going to the attic. Karen
climbed the narrow, creaking stairs to find out.

Henie's head was leaned back
against a rocker like the one in front of Henie's bedroom window.
She had a framed, eight by ten picture upside down on her lap as
she rocked slowly. The attic floor around her was covered with
stacks of boxes and trunks, all trapped in dust and cobwebs.
Henie's shoe tracks showed in the dust from the door to the
rocker.

“Henie, are you busy?” Karen
asked.

“Do I look like it? I was just
thinking is all,” Henie said, straightening up in the
rocker.

“I've been wondering where did all
the clothes in your closet come from? You have more changes than
would fit in that satchel you brought with you,” Karen
inquired.

Henie pointed to the open trunk in
front of her. “I found them in here. I didn’t think you would mind
if I wore the dresses and aprons. After all, you're a little old to
play dress up with the clothes in this trunk, and I needed clothes
to wear. I can be a messy cook you know.”

Karen looked around, thinking what
an undertaking it would be to clean up the attic. “Why do you
suppose the people who lived here didn't throw anything away or get
rid of stuff?”

Henie placed the picture face down
in the trunk and gently shut the lid. “Attics seem to collect the
past. Guess the previous owner couldn’t bear to throw away items
that represented her memories.” She pushed herself out of the
rocker. “I think I’ll go to my room awhile before I start supper,
dear. I’m feeling rather tired.”

Karen listened to the hollow, slow
footsteps going down the stairs before she lifted the trunk lid and
turned the picture over. A couple, in their forties, smiled at her.
The picture was probably taken around 1900 from the style of their
dark stiff clothes.

Karen closed the trunk lid and sat
down on it to take the old metal frame apart. She took out the
cardboard and read on the picture's back - Henrietta and Clell
Crane.