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“Look at the little guy smiling,” said Chase. “I didn’t even know cats could smile, but look at him smiling.”

“So what about Harriet? Does this mean Brutus can’t bring her the pollen?”

Now it was Odelia’s turn to get a little technical. “The thing is, just like flowers, females have a, um, receptacle for the, um, pollen. And the procedure removes the receptacle. It also removes the, um, pollen factory from the male.”

Dooley nodded slowly.“So Brutus can’t make new pollen, and Harriet can’t receive it.”

“That’s right. That’s exactly right,” said Odelia, much relieved.

“Oh, man,” said Dooley. “Looks like they’re both screwed.”

“Who is screwed?” asked a voice from the window. Two more cats came waltzing in. It was Harriet and Brutus.

“Uh-oh,” said Dooley.

“Uh-oh,” said Chase, who seemed to be on the same page as the cats and adjusting quickly to his newly acquired knowledge.

“It’s actually very simple,” said Dooley. “The operation removed your pollen receptacle, and it also removed Brutus’s pollen factory. So now you can’t have babies anymore, and no operation is going to fix that, no matter what Milo says. Isn’t that right, Odelia?”

Harriet stared at Dooley for a moment, then cried,“WHAAAAAAT?!!!!!!!”

“She’s not taking it well,” said Chase.

“No, she is not,” said Gran. She glanced over to Chase. “Are you sure you don’t understand what they’re saying?”

“Positive. But it’s not hard to interpret. They’re so expressive!”

“Harriet, I’m very sorry, but it’s true,” said Odelia. “The operation was permanent. There are no tied-up tubes to untie, and the same goes for Brutus, and Max and Dooley, for that matter.”

“But WHYYYYYYYY?!!!!!” Harriet wailed.

“Do you really want to fill the world with millions of cats who are never going to find a home because there simply aren’t enough homes to go around?” asked Gran sternly. “Do you? Odelia did you a favor, young lady, and if you don’t appreciate it, you better find yourself another home.”

“Gran,” said Odelia. “Let me handle this.”

Harriet seemed on the verge of tears. But then she hardened.“Maybe Iwill look for a different home.” And then she walked out onto the balcony again.

“Harriet!” cried Odelia, and hurried over. But when she got there, Harriet was gone. Like a ghost, she’d vanished into thin ear.

“Oh, damn,” she said.

And when her grandmother and Chase joined her, Gran said,“Looks like someone threw a hissy fit.”

“You should have let me handle it, Gran.”

“You can’t keep pussyfooting around it, Odelia. At some point you have to tell it like it is.”

“I know, but there are different ways of handling a situation like this.”

“She’s gone,” said Chase. “So weird.” He looked up, then added, “Oh, there she is.”

They all looked up, and true enough: Harriet was making her way up along the drainpipe.

“Harriet, get back here!” said Odelia.

“Fat chance, baby killer!” Harriet yelled, and hopped onto the roof.

“Don’t worry,” said Chase. “I’ll get her.”

And before Odelia could stop him, he was climbing that same drainpipe.

“Chase, get back here!” she yelled. “You’re going to get yourself killed!”

“Just be a sec!” he said, then with surprising agility swung his leg over the gutter and disappeared from view.

“He’s a hero,” said Gran. “Or a moron. The jury is still out.”

Chapter 28

Harriet had reached the roof and was pondering her next course of action when Chase Kingsley, of all people, suddenly appeared and joined her.

“Nice view from up here,” he said, wiping his hands and taking a seat.

“Yeah, pretty glorious,” she said, wondering if he could suddenly understand her.

“The thing is, Harriet,” he said, turning serious, “I can see where you’re coming from. I’m in love with a pretty amazing person myself, and between you and me—and I hope you keep this to yourself—I hope one day to settle down with her and have lots of babies. So I understand your frustration, I really do. But you have to believe me when I tell you that Odelia doesn’t have a malicious bone in her body. Not a one. She’s the most loving, caring and sweet-natured person I know. Pure goodness through and through. She would never have done this if she didn’t believe in her heart it was the right thing to do.”

“She took away my happiness,” said Harriet sadly. “My one chance at happiness.”

“I hear you, babe,” said Chase, “but look at it from her side: she wanted to spare you a life of unhappiness. Being pregnant all the time, wearing yourself out, being followed around by all the horny bastards of the neighborhood.”

She laughed at this.“You’re funny.”

“And trust me, there’s a lot of horny bastards out here—a lot.”

“There’s only one horny bastard I care about and that’s Brutus,” she said. “But keep this to yourself, will you? I don’t want him to get too cocky.”