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“Looks like it,” the other man grunted, then effortlessly scooped both myself and Dooley from the not-so-raging waters of the Atlantic and placed us on the floor of the boat. Then he proceeded to place a towel over us and started rubbing us dry. Probably standard procedure.

The treatment was very pleasant. Under normal circumstances I hate being toweled off, but this was different. This signaled the end of our ordeal, and so when the man finally finished the procedure, and wrapped me in a second towel, I gave his hand a grateful lick. Dooley, who’d undergone the same treatment from our other savior, showed his gratitude by giving the man’s hand a gentle nudge. Both men smiled and shared a look of satisfaction. They might not have saved a fellow human’s life, but they’d saved two pets, which was something, after all.

“You know, we probably would have been fine,” said Dooley, his teeth clattering a little. “We would have drifted in the direction of the nearest island and would simply have waited on the beach for Odelia to show up.”

“Or we would have drifted off in the direction of one of the poles—either to the north or south,” I said, my teeth also clattering. “Never to be seen or heard from again.”

“I’ll bet the South Pole is nice and warm, though. So I’d have preferred to drift there.”

“Don’t let the ‘south’ part in South Pole fool you, Dooley. It’s a pretty frosty place.”

The boat quickly joined the mother ship and soon we were being hoisted aboard. And who would be waiting for us there with bated breath but Odelia and Chase, both looking extremely worried.

“Max! Dooley!” said Odelia the moment we were placed on deck by our two able-bodied saviors. “I was so worried!”

“We’re fine,” I told her as she pressed me to her chest so hard my breath was expelled from my lungs with a whoosh.

“We would have drifted off to the South Pole,” said Dooley. “Max says it’s cold but I bet it’s nice and warm. And we probably would have caught some fishes on the way.”

“Oh, you guys,” said Odelia, and suddenly started crying. Actual big tears leaked from her eyes and rolled down her cheeks, and now Chase had to come in and hug her close, while Dooley and I were more or less being squished between them.

“Why is she crying, Max?” asked Dooley. “We’re safe now, aren’t we? Or did we die and go to heaven?”

“No, we didn’t die and go to heaven. She’s crying because she was very worried about us and now she’s feeling very relieved and all that pent-up emotion is spilling over.”

“Humans are weird.”

“Tell me about it.”

Weird but also wonderful. Odelia had singlehandedly managed to stop that big boat and dispatch two guys to save us. It was almost like a miracle. Or the scenario of a Lifetime movie.

All around us, and also on the decks above, people were standing and watching the scene unfold, and the moment they saw that we were safe and sound, they all started cheering and clapping. It was an impressive scene, and judging from the hundreds of phones being held out, I had a feeling that we’d both become instantly famous.

Dooley had noticed the same phenomenon, and said in hushed tones,“We’re famous now, Max. We’re influencers! Next thing they’ll name a brand of kibble after us!”

Odelia carried us up the stairs, where we were met by all of our neighbors—our corridor-mates, so to speak. The influencers, Oren and Chiquita, were holding up their selfie sticks, grinning broadly. Laura and David came to tickle us under our chins, and even Ruby Kettering was smiling for a change, as were her parents. And finally when Odelia managed to let go of us and set us down on the deck, Salvatore came tripping up to us and said, “I saw the whole thing! Those mean birds!”

“You should watch out, Salvatore,” I told the tiny dog. “If they get the chance they’ll fly off with you, too.”

“And don’t I know it!” said Salvatore, and gestured to the leash Bertha’s carer had him on. “One sign of those birds and Adele will yank me back so fast those birds won’t know what hit them—and I won’t either.” He frowned. “Last time she gave me a yank like that I got rug burn on my tush.”

“Ouch.”

And as we started back toward our cabin, Salvatore said,“I didn’t know cats could swim. Well done, you guys. And so brave of you to jump after your friend, Max. I’ve never seen anything like it. When I saw you go in, I think my heart skipped three beats.”

“Max is very brave,” said Dooley, giving me a grateful smile. “He’s the bravest cat I know.”

“You would have done the same thing, Dooley,” I repeated my earlier statement.

“I would,” he said, nodding.

And thus ended our harrowing adventure. Odelia couldn’t wait to get us both inside and back to safety, and frankly the moment the door to the cabin swung closed behind us, I actually let out a sigh of relief.

Cruising is dangerous—especially for cats!

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