Rescue Nova

The Call

The next morning, Leila and Nova went out to buy everything they'd need for Lucy's going-away party that they'd be having this afternoon. First, they went to a pet store and got Lucy's favorite canned food, cat treats, and some toys. After that, they went to a store that sold just about everything one would need to throw any type of party. There, Nova explored each aisle, tossing into the cart things she thought Lucy would like.

"Look, Mommy!" Nova exclaimed when she spotted the pinatas.

"Aren't they colorful?" Leila replied.

"Can we get one?!"

"Honey, candy goes in pinatas, and Lucy doesn't like candy."

"We could put her cat treats in it, and the little toys we bought her."

"That wouldn't even halfway fill up that," Leila said, pointing to the smallest pinata.

"That's okay, it doesn't have to. It won't matter if it's only a little full."

Because Nova looked so sad at the idea of leaving without one of these colorful party items, Leila looked at the price of the miniature pinatas. It was overpriced, like everything else here, but despite being unemployed and short of cash, Leila couldn't say no to Nova's big, hopeful eyes.

At least we have the extra money from my car. "Okay, sweet girl, we'll get it. But that's enough. We have all we need. Lucy will love it."

"Okay."

They pushed their cart to the checkout lines, and while they waited, Leila pulled out her phone and ordered a cab to take them home. She figured if she ordered it now, that would be less time they'd spend in front of the store waiting.

•••••••••••••••

Two hours later, Leila and Nova had their living room decorated to Nova's satisfaction. There were balloons and streamers and a pinata with cat treats and toys inside.

"It's so pretty!" Nova exclaimed, looking around the room.

"It is, honey, good job. Can we let Lucy out now?" Leila asked, remembering that, per Nova's request, they'd put the cat in Nova's room so they could surprise her with the party.

"Not until the party starts," Nova answered. "We gotta wait until Mama comes home."

"Okay. In the meantime, let's call Shannon and ask her about Lucy's new home."

•••••••••••••••

When Kimberly came home that afternoon, the party began. Lucy was released from Nova's room and shown her surprise. From Nova's perspective, Lucy loved the decor.

Since even Nova couldn't come up with many cat-friendly party activities, they got right to the good stuff. They gave Lucy the canned food and a few of the bigger toys they'd bought. While the cat enjoyed that, Nova broke the pinata with the treats and smaller cat toys. The whole event was over in less than an hour, but Nova was delighted, so Leila and Kimberly thought it was time well spent.

"Do you think Lucy enjoyed her party?" Kimberly asked her daughter as the three of them cleaned up the pinata pieces on the living room floor.

"Yes, she did. She's still having fun. See?" Nova pointed to the cat, who was batting one of her toys around.

"Yes, I think that's her favorite toy now. Good job choosing that," Leila complimented the little girl.

Nova beamed.

Kimberly picked up the last piece of the pinata. "Okay, that's all of it. Now let's get rid of these streamers and balloons."

"Do we have to?" Nova asked. "It looks so pretty. Lucy really likes it."