The Lucky Paw

Chapter 7

The next day was extremely pleasant for Katy. Anita had dance practice all day long, so Katy convinced Mrs. Patterson that she needed a day off.

"Go have some fun. Watch a movie, go to lunch. I'll be perfectly fine here," she had said in an effort to move her out the door. "Okay," said Mrs. Patterson. "Keep the doors locked, don't let anyone you don't know well in, and stay in the house."

"I will," Katy promised.

As soon as her convertible drove away, Katy scrambled up into the secret attic room, eager to read more of the old journal. She took some snacks up with her, planning on spending at least all morning in the attic with her mother's little book. Katy opened the diary, and began.

November 7, 1995

Wow, have I ever been busy! Mother and Father lost their insurance jobs. The company decided to cut back on their staff. Mike is still working, however, and brings in enough money. I am almost glad Mother and Father lost their jobs. They are getting old, and need to be cared for, especially Father, who has been very sick lately. More of my paintings have sold. I am doing ones of The Statue Of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower, going off of pictures that I've seen on television to help me paint. I am also doing a few custom-made portraits, per request of my customers. Katy is growing like a weed in the sun and crawling all over the place. She is such a great joy in my life.                                                                                                                           

December 7, 1995

I have been very busy. My paintings are selling very fast,and people who buy them are telling their friends about them. I am now painting a starry sky, an angel, a Christmas tree, and Niagara Falls, once again using television pictures to guide me. The entire family is looking forward to Christmas. It will be so fun watching Katy enjoy her first holiday.

January 7, 1996

You will not believe my good news! My clothes are starting to sell! My paintings are still bringing in top dollar, and now handmade clothes can be offered as well! A woman complimented me on my dress about a week ago, and asked if I had made it. When I said yes, she asked for a dress to be made for her! After that, more and more people began requesting me to sew them new clothes or repair damaged outfits. Overall, these happy events are more than covering insurance, bills, and medical treatments. Mike doesn't have to worry anymore!

March 7, 1996

My father is sick. I have to help Mother tend to him, so I can't paint or sew new things to sell. Our money is slowly dropping. My life would be so sad if I didn't have my Katy. She brightens my days.

April 7, 1996

My father is better, so I can go back to painting and sewing. By the way, today was my birthday! I am now twenty-one. I can hardly believe it! I never dreamed that I'd be married and have a daughter by the time I was twenty-one, and now I am married, and I have Katy! She is walking now. We have to keep a closer eye on her so that she doesn't get into anything she shouldn't. We learned this lesson after we found her with rice on her head and clinging to her pajamas one morning. I am not even going to talk about the state of our kitchen that morning.

May 7, 1996

I have decided to take on landscapes in my paintings. I need to know if I am good at painting land. This came after I had a man request a rolling Kansas countryside, and I had to turn him down because I wasn't sure if I could paint such a thing. I am creating a Florida beach right now, and someone has already offered to buy it for much more than I expected. If this one turns out all right, next I will paint a field of flowers on a cloudy morning.

Katy checked her watch. It showed that it was eleven-thirty. Mrs. Patterson had said that she would be back by noon. Katy kept reading.

June 7, 1996

My clothes are the talk of the town! People buy them and their friends admire them, and then they come over and buy some! People say that my clothes are soft and don't itch, and that they smell fresh and clean. They say my paintings are painted with great precision and are gentle and welcoming in mood. I am very proud to hear people compliment my work so. My landscapes are a hit. They are selling as fast as a wildfire. I can barely make enough to keep in stock! I still don't have a shop, but people line up at my booth beside the library daily. One time, a child even asked me for an autograph for his mother's birthday! It feels great being able to support our family with my own work. Since Mom and Dad are both home now, they can help out some with Katy, which gives me more time to work.

August 7, 1996

I've been very busy! Paintings and clothes need to be kept in stock. Mike got a raise! He still works five days per week, but he is earning more money. Our family is now complete, with money to support us, love to nurture us, and fun. It's always important to have a little fun. I think even Katy knows that.

Katy looked at her watch. It was eleven forty-five. Katy decided that she had time to read one more entry.

October 7, 1996

I have discovered that if you want to succeed in life, you really have to work hard at it. I have to work constantly in order to keep clothes and paintings in stock for my customers. But today, I took a day off. We all had fun today, especially Katy. Even though it's not Halloween yet, we went to the store, Mike and I, and got four huge pumpkins. We carved them into jack o' lanterns as a family. Mine had a really creepy face, which scared and intrigued Katy a bit. Mother's was smiling, and I have a feeling that she carved her pumpkin to match her personality. Mike had covered his in holes to make warts, which Katy could not stop playing with afterwards. Father's was a regular unhappy face. We had pumpkin pie after supper, and then we let Katy play with her Walk-A-Tot stroller while we made masks out of construction paper and held a contest to see which one was the creepiest. I was the judge and I decided that Mike's was the creepiest. His mask scared Katy. I cannot even remember the last time that I had so much fun. Katy smiled and laughed so much today. It will be back to work for all of us tomorrow, but today, we just had fun.

Katy set the diary down, and tried to picture herself as a baby in a stroller, watching her parents and grandparents have fun.

She had no idea how she had looked when she was a baby, so it was a little difficult to do.

Suddenly, she remembered where she was. She had to get out of the attic before her foster mother came home. She put the journal back in it's secret place, and was about to climb down out of the attic, when a shout from the front doorway startled her. "Katy! I'm home!" It was Mrs. Patterson. Katy scrambled down from the attic, and stretched out on her bed. She plugged in her headphones and had Love Me Like You Mean It blaring by the time Mrs. Patterson opened her door. She tried to look nonchalant, as if she had been listening to the song the whole time. Mrs. Patterson peeked in. She smiled at Katy, then shut the door.