The big cat snarls and swipes at me.
I duck and swerve away. Right into the cat with the missing ear. Ouch!
“Lolo!” Miguel comes running.
CHAPTER 22 Miguel
Lolo reaches for me when I finally catch up to him. The cats around him scatter.
“Why did you run away, Lolo?” I ask.
Then I see. A drop of blood trickles from his paw, and there’s an orange cat hiding behind a bush. Lolo wasn’t running away. He was helping a friend.
“Is this the little cat that hangs around our bodega?” I ask as I wrap a tissue around Lolo’s paw. “The one Mami calls Preciosa?”
Preciosa shakes my hand away. She pants and paces, then vomits.
“Oh,” I say. “She must be sick. Good boy, Lolo, she needs help.” I stand and look around. Off in the distance I see a group of people headed toward the museum. “I’ll be right back, Lolo.”
When I reach the group, I’m relieved I recognize them. “Ms. Miller!”
“Miguel, how nice to see you!” Ms. Miller’s eyes search behind me and from side to side. “You came with your parents?”
I don’t have time to explain. Preciosa needs us. “There’s a sick cat over there,” I say. “Could you call the Gómez Animal Clinic, please?”
Ms. Miller and the art club kids follow me to Lolo and Preciosa. The poor cat is crying out and panting.
“Oh, my!” Ms. Miller pulls out her phone while the students murmur and wring their hands. “Dr. Gómez will be right over,” Ms. Miller says to me as she puts her phone away. Then she turns to my schoolmates. “Artists, if we’re going to see the exhibit, we should move along. I told Dr. Gómez to call me if she can’t find the sick cat.”
They step toward the path.
Jenny hangs back. “Are you coming, Miguel?” she asks.
I really want to. I’ve been thinking about the comic book art exhibit ever since Ms. Miller told us about it. Now here I am, so close. Will I ever get another chance to see it?
I look at Preciosa. Her mouth hangs open, and she wails as she paces back and forth. Lolo sits patiently and watches her. He’s pulled off the tissue and licks his paw.
Lolo and Preciosa need me. There’s no way I can leave them alone, especially with those evil cats lurking somewhere.
I shake my head. “I’ll stay here with the cats.”
I sit with Lolo on my lap and watch Ms. Miller and the art club kids walk away.
Luckily, the bleeding on Lolo’s paw stops. But Preciosa is still panting and crying. “Don’t worry, Lolo, Dr. Gómez will be here soon.”
Lolo doesn’t seem as worried as I feel.
“It was very brave of you to drive those big cats away,” I tell him. “I’m glad you’re okay. Hopefully they didn’t hurt her.”
Preciosa plops down and whimpers.
My heart drops. She’s getting sicker and sicker! What if Dr. Gómez arrives too late? Maybe I should pick Preciosa up and carry her to the clinic?
Before I even stand, I see Dr. Gómez! I jump up and wave my arms until she sees me and runs over.
Dr. Gómez takes one glance at Preciosa and says, “I think she’ll be fine.”
“How can you tell?” I ask.
Dr. Gómez smiles. “This little lady is going to be a mama.”
I open my eyes wide. “Oh…”
“I’ll run back to the clinic and get her a nice nesting box.”
She takes off before I get a chance to ask any questions. And I have lots of them. How long will it take Dr. Gómez to come back? What if Preciosa has her kittens right here, right now? Should I do something? Did Lolo know?
“It’s okay that I won’t see the exhibit,” I tell Lolo. “Helping a friend is more important.”
So is helping family. I look at my watch. It’s been an hour and a half since we left Tío Diego’s. I hope he’s okay.
“He’s probably wondering where we are,” I say. “But we can’t leave now. We have to wait for Dr. Gómez.”
Lolo blinks at me and nods.
