Nobody's Fool Y'all

30

 "Everything okay at the Cat Spa and Beanie Resort?" asked Maury.

"Beanie says it is."

"You don't believe him?"

"I don't know. Beanie is an optimist, Sis. My house could be a pile of ashes at his feet, and Beanie would say everything's okay. He could have a glass half-full of used motor oil and be delighted about the colorful sheen that glowed on top of it in the sunshine."

"Oh," said Maury.

"Come on, you two," said Lou Edna. "If you keep standing around gabbing, we're all gonna have to put on night vision glasses to see anything around here."

"You're right," said Hadley. "Onus is just a cat. How much damage can he do? He's less than a foot tall."

Grabbing bottles of water, they set off to see what the place had to offer. The resort was a maze of little streets, each with units like the one they'd been assigned, except for the large single unit off by itself in the back corner of the property. 

They were small, white-framed affairs with a four-panel window and a door. Over the door was a small A-frame porch, just large enough to keep a visitor out of the rain. Under the single window of each unit, a brightly colored metal patio chair added color. As she stared down a row of cabins, Hadley was struck by the sunny rainbow the chairs provided.

"You know," Hadley said, "these cabins grow on you. They are cute and charming. There's just an air about them that you don't see anymore."

They marveled at the neat landscaping around the units, each little square of grass was perfectly manicured.

"It really is pretty here," said Maury.

"I know," said Lou Edna. "I remember when this was a real shabby place."

Both Maury and Hadley looked at Lou Edna.

"I mean when I drove by, of course," said Lou Edna.

"Um-hmm," said Hadley, giving Maury a sly wink when Lou Edna wasn't looking.

The gently rolling slopes of the Appalachians spread before them. A blue haze hugged the tips of the mountains like a downy blanket. The clouds were rolling in. The sky was ablaze with yellows, pinks, purples, grays, and blues.

"Look, Hadley," Maury said. "It looks like Mother Nature is putting on a display for us. Have you ever seen such gaudy, magnificent, and spectacular colors in your life? If you painted a picture with those colors in the sky, nobody would believe they existed."

"I love this time of year," said Hadley.

"Just look at how the slopes go on and on. It looks like you've stacked a bunch of bluish-green pieces of paper that you've torn and stacked one after the other."

"It does, doesn't it," said Lou Edna.

"And I'm always thankful that these ranges have so many trees," said Hadley.

She took a deep breath.

"Such clean, crisp air," she said.

"I love it here," said Maury. "I really couldn't think of another place on earth I'd rather live."

"Me too," said Lou Edna.

Lou Edna suddenly bent over and started inspecting some nearby bushes.

"Hey!" said Lou Edna. "What's this!"

Lou Edna brushed away some dirt and stood up.

"It's a button!" she said.

"Let me see that," said Hadley.