Maggie and Max (3 page)

“All the kids
loved
Max and Maggie.” That night at home, Lizzie was telling Charles about her time in the recreation room at the Nest. “They loved that Maggie was so big and friendly and soft and warm. They all wanted to hug and kiss and cuddle with her, and she let them. She is so patient and sweet.” Lizzie scratched Maggie’s ears and gave her a hug. “Aren’t you, Maggie?”

Mmmm, I just love kissing and cuddling! The more the better! And I LOVE having my ears scratched!

Then Lizzie looked at Max, who was pretending that a dust ball under the kitchen table was a mouse.
He stalked it with a twitching tail, then pounced. The dust ball was history. Max meowed with pride.

I’m a mighty hunter! Watch out for meee!

“And they loved that Max is so funny and playful. He kept all the kids laughing — until he disappeared on us, that is!”

Max finished teaching the dust ball a lesson and began to stalk the red Christmas ribbon that Charles was dangling in front of him.

“I wish they could both go live at the Nest, but Mr. Baker said ‘no way,’” Charles told his sister. He pulled the ribbon along the floor, and Max dashed after it, batting at the curly ends with his paws. “He said maybe the Nest could adopt Max, but only if we can make sure that he can get along without Maggie.”

“That’s the hard part,” Lizzie said. “They’re such good friends. They hate to be separated.”

By then, Max had gotten bored with the ribbon.
He ambled over to Maggie, curled up against the curve of her belly, and closed his eyes for a nap.

Charles remembered something Mom had said when Max and Maggie first arrived, about the kitten and puppy being a little frightened and needing lots of love and attention. “Maybe we just have to show them that they can each be safe and happy on their own,” he said. “They’re so used to being together that they don’t know any other way. But we can teach them.”

“Good idea.” Lizzie almost looked surprised, like nobody but her ever had good ideas. “But how?”

Charles glanced at Maggie and Max, all curled up together. They looked so cozy. “What if I take Maggie into my room to sleep tonight, and you take Max into yours? They’ll be right next door to each other, and each of them will be with a person who is giving them lots of attention. It will be a start, anyway.”

Lizzie nodded. “Okay, but why do you get to choose who goes where? What if I want Maggie?”

“It was my idea!” Charles could tell Lizzie wished
she’d
thought of it. He didn’t really care whether he had Maggie or Max, but now he was going to stick with what he’d said.

“What about Buddy?” Lizzie asked.

“He’s already fast asleep in the Bean’s room,” Charles told her. “He’s happy there.” Usually Charles was jealous when Buddy slept in his little brother’s room. But for tonight it was a good thing.

Charles scooped up a sleepy Maggie, and Lizzie picked up Max. They headed for the stairs. “Good night!” Charles called to his parents, who were reading in the living room by the fireplace.

“Good night?” Mom looked up from her book. “You mean, I don’t have to nag you two about bedtime for once?” She waved Lizzie over so she could give Max a good-night pat and a kiss. She sure did love that kitten.

“We’re being extra good so Santa will bring us lots of loot,” Lizzie said.

Dad just raised an eyebrow.

Upstairs, Lizzie paused near her door. She took Max’s paw and made it wave. “Good night, Maggie!” she said in a meowy voice.

“Good night, Max,” Charles said back, in a woofy voice. He made Maggie’s paw wave back. “Sleep tight, little pal!”

Charles put on his pj’s and climbed into bed. Maggie seemed perfectly content, curled up near Charles’s feet. But just as Charles was beginning to drift off to sleep, Maggie jumped up and let out a soft “woof!”

“What?” Charles asked sleepily. He reached out to pat Maggie. “It’s okay,” he told her. “Go back to sleep.”

But Maggie did not go back to sleep. Maggie barked again.

How can I sleep? My little friend needs me! I can hear him crying!

Charles sat up and listened. Now he could hear a faint meowing coming from Lizzie’s room. It almost sounded as if Max was calling Maggie’s name.

Maggieeee! Maggieeee!

So that was it! Max was calling for his friend. But Charles knew that Max was really safe and sound with Lizzie.

“It’s okay,” he said again. He gathered Maggie into his arms. “Time to sleep. Your friend is fine.” He used the soothing voice that Dad always used when Charles woke up scared after a bad dream. Charles knew that Lizzie was probably doing the same thing in
her
room, with Max.

It was a long, restless night. Maggie kept jumping up, but every time Charles just patted her and hugged her and told her everything was fine. When his Snoopy alarm went off in the morning, Charles stretched and yawned. Then he looked
down at the end of his bed and saw Maggie, curled up in a ball and sleeping soundly. Finally!

That was the first night. It took two more nights, and lots of practice during the day, for Max and Maggie to get used to being apart. But finally, all the Petersons agreed that Max was ready to be on his own. By Saturday morning, the little kitten could play and sleep and eat even if Maggie was nowhere in sight — and Maggie didn’t seem quite as worried about her friend. Max and Maggie had learned that it was okay to be apart, and that meant that Max was ready to go to his new home at the Nest.

On Saturday, Mom drove Charles and Max to the Nest. “Here he is!” Charles handed the cat carrier over to Mr. Baker. “Take good care of him!”

“I promise,” said Mr. Baker. “This is wonderful. The kids are going to be so happy to have a kitten!”

Mom looked a little sad on the way home. “It
sure was nice having a cat around,” she said. “I’ll miss that little guy.”

Maggie must have felt the same way. First she padded all through every room in the house, looking for Max. Then, finally, she seemed to understand that Max wasn’t just in the next room this time. This time, he was really gone. Maggie spent the rest of the day lying under the Christmas tree with her head resting on her paws, heaving long sighs and watching the Petersons with her sad brown eyes. Maggie’s big heart was obviously broken.

“When what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer!” Sammy said his line and waited for Charles to say the next one.

And waited.

Charles was thinking. “Why do they say eight
tiny
reindeer?” he asked. “If they’re so tiny, how can they pull Santa’s sled? Maybe it’s because his
sleigh
is miniature — that means little, right? But how little can it be? It’s loaded with presents for every kid in the world!”

“Charles,” Sammy said. “It’s just a poem.” He gave Maggie a hug. “Tell him to just say his line, Maggie.” The boys were at Charles’s house,
practicing their poem. Maggie was still moping, and Buddy was trying to cheer her up by rolling onto his back and batting at her chin with his paws, the way Max always did. But Buddy was not Max, and Maggie knew it. Max was gone, and nobody could take his place. Maggie let out one of her big sighs and plodded over to lie down by the Christmas tree.

Charles
couldn’t
say his line, because he couldn’t quite remember it. And, even worse, he knew the hardest lines of all were still coming up, the ones where Santa calls to his reindeer by name. No matter how hard he tried, Charles could not get those reindeer names straight. Dasher and Dancer, he could remember. But after that he got all mixed up. Comet? Cupid? What kind of names were those for reindeer?

“You know what, Sammy?”

“What?”

“I really do not like this poem.” Charles buried his face in the soft fur of Buddy’s neck. “Maybe
we have to come up with another idea for the Nest’s Christmas show. This isn’t working out.”

Sammy shrugged. “It’s okay with me if we do something else,” he said. “But it’s up to you to think of it.”

“Maybe we could just sing ‘Jingle Bells’ or something,” Charles suggested. He knew it was a dumb idea, but at the moment it was the only one he could think of.

Sammy rolled his eyes. “You can do better than that.” He went over to give Maggie a hug. But the big puppy struggled out of his arms and galloped toward the front door, woofing her big loud woof and waving her big feathery tail.

You’re back! You’re back! Oh, my dear little friend. I’m so glad you came back! I missed you so much!

Sammy looked at Charles. Charles looked at Sammy. What was going on?

Then the doorbell rang.

“Can you get that, Charles?” Mom called from the kitchen.

Charles was already on his way, with Buddy trotting beside him. Sammy grabbed onto Maggie’s collar to keep her inside while Charles pulled the door open. There, on the porch, was Mr. Baker, holding a cat carrier. He did not look very jolly.

“Mr. Baker!” Charles said.

“Hello, Charles,” replied Mr. Baker. “Can you guess why I’m here?”

By then, Maggie had struggled out of Sammy’s grasp. She had both big paws up on the cat carrier. Her tail was wagging and she was woofing softly. Charles could hear happy meows coming from inside the carrier. He recognized that voice. It was Max.

Hooraaaay, hooraaaay! I’m back to staaaay!

“What happened?” Charles asked.

“Let’s just say it didn’t work out,” said Mr. Baker.

Mom came into the hall, wiping her hands on a kitchen towel. “Oh, dear,” she said. She took the cat carrier from Mr. Baker and knelt down to open it up. “Hello, cutie-pie!” She reached inside for the kitten. But Max dashed straight past her toward Maggie. His purr rumbled loudly enough for everyone to hear as he twined himself around Maggie’s legs, pushing the top of his head up against her chin. Maggie wagged her tail and made soft whuffing noises as she gave Max a few huge, happy licks.

“That’s the first time he stopped meowing since you dropped him off with me on Saturday,” said Mr. Baker. “He never stopped crying for his friend. Evan and the other kids tried everything to distract him, but nothing worked. He didn’t want to play with string, or chase toy mice, or eat kitty treats, or anything. He just ignored the kids and paced up and down, crying and crying. I guess he just missed Maggie too much.” He shook his head. “It’s a pity. The kids
are heartbroken. They’ve really fallen in love with this kitten.”

“I can understand that,” Mom said.

“Maybe you just have to adopt Maggie at the Nest, too!” Charles was still hoping that Mr. Baker would change his mind about that.

But Mr. Baker shook his head. “I just can’t see how I can handle a puppy
and
a kitten. But I know everybody would be very, very happy if you brought them both to visit again this week.”

“We’d be glad to,” said Mom.

“And Charles, maybe you could spend your volunteer time in the recreation room instead of the dining room,” Mr. Baker suggested. “You can help out Beverly, our rec room coordinator. She said Evan asked especially for you to be there. He said you are — uh, let’s see — ‘actually a really cool dude!’”

“Ha!” Sammy snorted.

Charles looked at his friend. “You’re just
jealous,” he said. “You’re going to be ladling out meatballs again, and I get to hang out with Maggie and Max and the kids.” Secretly, Charles felt flattered to know that Evan thought he was a really cool dude. But would he still think so if Charles couldn’t remember his lines for the holiday show?

“Charles! Charles!” Evan started jumping up and down the minute Charles walked into the Nest’s recreation room. “Guess what? I made a picture of Maggie and Max.” Before Charles could even introduce himself to Beverly, Evan had grabbed his hand and pulled him over to a bulletin board. “See? There’s Maggie. She’s discovering Max in my mommy’s sweater drawer.”

Charles looked at the red-and-yellow scribbling, trying to make sense of it. “Oh, sure!” he said. “There’s Maggie, right?”

Evan laughed. “No, silly! That’s Mommy. Maggie’s over there.” He pointed to a green scribble.

Now Charles could see that the scribble looked sort of like it had a tail. “Great picture, Evan!”

“You must be Charles.” Beverly came over to say hello. “I’ve heard a lot about you, and, of course I met your sister Lizzie last week. Welcome!”

Charles smiled at her, but Evan was tugging on his hand again.

“Where
is
Maggie?” Evan asked. “Where’s Max? Aren’t they coming? I thought they were coming tonight!”

“They’re coming, they’re coming.” Charles had ridden over to the Nest with Dad and the Scouts. Mom drove behind them in the pickup with Maggie and Max. “In fact,” Charles went on, “I think I hear them right now.”

“Yay!” Evan shouted. He ran to the door.

“Evan, don’t forget to use your indoor voice,” called Beverly. “The animals will be scared if you yell.” She turned to Charles. “He’s so excited to
see them that he ate dinner early so he could be here when they arrived. I’m excited, too! We haven’t had so much fun in the rec room since the Easter Bunny came to visit. We just
love
Maggie and Max.” She frowned. “It’s just too bad it didn’t work out to have Max here by himself. He sure did miss his pal!”

“I know,” Charles said. “Maggie missed him, too. She was really sad without her friend. I guess we have to keep working on that separation thing.”

Beverly made a
tsk-tsk
sound. “It’s a shame they can’t find a place together,” she said. “I’d love to have them both here, but I have my hands full already watching all the kids. I can’t take care of two animals, too.”

“They’re here!” Evan shouted.

Maggie galloped into the room, pulling Mom behind her. Mom was struggling to hold on to Maggie’s leash, while Max climbed up her coat and perched on her shoulder.

“Close the door, Evan!” said Beverly. “Let’s keep these two critters safe.”

Evan slammed the door shut and ran over to throw his arms around Maggie.

“Hello, Beverly!” Mom unstuck Max’s claws from her collar and handed the kitten to Charles. “Keep an eye on this one,” she told him. “I’m going to help serve dinner. I’ll be back soon.”

As soon as Charles put Max down, he scampered over to join Evan and Maggie.

“Look at Evan,” Beverly whispered to Charles. “He’s so happy!”

It was true. Charles saw Evan’s smile grow huge as he patted first Maggie and then Max. The puppy and the kitten looked happy, too. They were together, and they were getting plenty of pats. Maggie’s barks and Max’s meows were like a sweet duet.

Maggie rolled over onto her back.

This is the life! Rub my tummy some more, would you? How about another kiss? And maybe
you could scratch my ears? Don’t forget to give my little friend some attention, too!

Max rolled over just like Maggie and batted his paws at Evan.

Wheee! Pat meee!

After a few minutes, more kids started to arrive. They all ran over to see the pets. “I want to walk Maggie!” said one girl. “I want to play with Max!” said another. Charles recognized Evan’s sister from last week. Suddenly, Max and Maggie were surrounded by a circle of kids.

It was too much for the little kitten. Max dashed between a boy’s legs and ran over to Charles. His eyes were wide with fear.

Eeeek! Save meeeee!

Charles scooped up the scared little kitten.
Then Maggie dashed over to be near her friend. She leaned her big body against Charles.

There are too many people in here! Somebody just stuck his finger in my ear! What if my little friend gets hurt?

Charles looked over at Beverly. “They love attention,” he told her. “But maybe this is too
much
attention at once.” He wondered if this was why Max had run away to hide in a drawer last week.

“Good point.” Beverly nodded. “Okay, kids, we’re going to give the animals some space. How about if we take turns petting and walking them? And while you’re waiting your turn, you can draw pictures of our new friends.”

Quickly, Beverly organized the kids into groups. When Mr. Baker stopped in a few minutes later, one pair of kids was taking Maggie on a walk down the hall while another pair was sitting on
the couch with Max, playing “chase the shoelace” with the kitten. The rest of the kids were seated at a long table, drawing happily with markers and crayons.

“This is great,” Charles heard Beverly tell Mr. Baker. “Walking the puppy helps teach the kids responsibility, even if they
are
only going as far as the dining room. And Max sure does make the kids laugh. He seems happy, as long as he knows Maggie is nearby.”

After Mr. Baker left, Charles tried to keep an eye on both Max and Maggie and also pay attention to Evan, who was drawing a picture of Maggie helping Santa Claus deliver presents. “See?” Evan asked, pointing to a red blob. “That’s Santa. He’s standing on the roof at my house, looking down the chimney.”

Charles was trying to figure out which scribble was the chimney, when, suddenly, Evan burst into tears. “I don’t
have
a house anymore since
the fire,” he wailed, as if he’d just remembered. “How is Santa going to find me?”

Charles couldn’t blame Evan for crying. He thought about the Petersons’ Christmas tree at home, with all the familiar decorations, and the big red stockings that said
CHARLES, LIZZIE,
and
BEAN,
already hung by the fireplace, and the green vase full of holly that Mom always put on the table in the hall. Christmas just wouldn’t be Christmas without those things.

Charles gave Evan a hug. “Santa will find you,” he said. “I’m sure of it. He’s a really smart guy, you know.”

Evan’s sobs had died down to sniffles when, suddenly, Charles heard somebody yell, “Hey! Where’s that kitten?”