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Odelia had no trouble following her father’s thought process, for the man now flanking Omar was none other than… Jaqlyn Jones, who’d stolen half of his patients.

“Yes?” Omar prompted. “You had a question for me? Don’t be shy. There are no stupid questions. Only stupid answers.” He chuckled softly, clearly amused by his own joke.

“My name is Tex and I, um…” said Dad. “Um…” He seemed transfixed by the sight of Jaqlyn, then finally said, “What’s… the meaning of life?” And promptly sat down again.

“A very good question,” said Omar, nodding appreciatively. “And a very profound one.” He turned to his left and said, “Jaqlyn. Do you want to do the honors?”

“Of course,” said Jaqlyn. “In my humble opinion, the meaning of life is always to do right by your fellow man. To treat him with the respect he deserves. To love him like a brother. But I think Tex knows this already.”

“Oh, you know Tex?” asked Omar, surprised.

“Oh, yeah. He’s a doctor, just like me, and trying hard to take care of his patients. He doesn’t always succeed, as he’s only human, as we all are, but he does his best, and that’s all that can be expected of anyone.”

“Truer words were never spoken,” said Omar. “Even doctors fail their patients from time to time, but they shouldn’t let that deter them from keeping up the good work.”

“Exactly. Because Tex knows that each time he fails a patient, I’m there to pick up the pieces,” said Jaqlyn with a smile. “And that’s the true meaning of life: to know that your friends have got your back and are there to help you up when you stumble and fall.”

“Words to live by,” Omar murmured.

Odelia could see that her dad’s face had turned a dark shade of puce, and thought it best to change the topic before he burst forward and attached his hands to Jaqlyn’s neck. So she got up and said, “I’m Vesta’s granddaughter Odelia, and I’m so happy to be here tonight.”

“As we are all happy you’re here, Odelia,” said Omar.

“So… can you tell us about the meaning of happiness?”

“Excellent question,” said Omar. “Anyone care to answer?”

Dad snatched the microphone from his daughter’s hands and said, in a tight voice, “Happiness is seeing a ten-ton truck thundering down your street and squashing—” Unfortunately some static momentarily intervened. “—horrible, no good—” More static. “—treacherous, deceitful, backstabbing—” And yet even more static. “—like a bug.”

“Excellent, excellent,” said Master Omar, nodding approvingly. He raised his hands. “Ask more questions, people. More questions. I’m here to answer them all.”

In actual fact Odelia couldn’t help but notice that Master Omar so far hadn’t answered a single question. But then of course the night was still young.

An assistant tried to wrest the microphone from Dad’s hand. Dad held on for a moment, his eyes still fixed on a smiling Jaqlyn, but finally let go and sat down.

“Well said, buddy,” Uncle Alec whispered, patting his brother-in-law on the back.

Chapter 13

We’d arrived on the second floor and found a lot of familiar faces in attendance. In fact it seemed as if every single cat in Hampton Cove had decided to show up at Master Sharif’s little shindig.

“Is there a meeting of cat choir they didn’t tell us about?” asked Dooley as he glanced around.

“I think Shanille has decided to organize an impromptu rehearsal,” I said as I nodded to several of my friends. Shanille was there, of course, and so was Kingman, as Harriet had foreshadowed, but I also saw several others: Tom, Tigger, Misty, Shadow, Missy, Buster… Even Milo was there, our neighbor’s cat.

“I have a bad feeling about this, Max,” said Brutus. “They’re probably going to wash our brains next.”

“You mean brainwash us?”

“That’s what I said.”

“No, you said they’re going to wash our brains.”

“And they will!”

“I don’t want my brains washed, Max,” said Dooley, a touch of panic in his eyes. “I like my brains just the way they are. Besides, I don’t think brains are supposed to be washed. What if they get damaged in the wash? I need my brains, Max!”

“Nobody is going to try and wash your brains, Dooley,” I said. “So just relax and take mental notes so we can tell Odelia exactly what’s going on here.”

He stared at me.“How do I take a mental note, Max?”

“Just… keep your eyes peeled.”

“You want me to peel my eyes?” he asked, a horrified look stealing over his face.

“Just pay attention and try to remember what Sharif says.” I smiled. “Use your brain.”

The frown that appeared on his face indicated he was taking my words to heart, and he was already trying very hard to remember everything, even before it was said.

Contrary to meetings of cat choir, the cats present were all conspicuously quiet. And judging from the cold looks I was awarded, it was clear I was being entirely too loud. So I decided to keep my tongue and await further developments.

We’d taken a seat near the stairs, so we could beat a hasty retreat if needed, and as we watched on, suddenly a cat came striding in and took position on a small podium that had been erected especially for this occasion.