Charles had wasted no time in letting the Mackenzies know that they were expected to pay for all the damages in duplicate—or he would file a suit over the accident he’d suffered on the tampered staircase, and he would be sure to win.
Madame Blue still needed the help, of course, and since Blaire still needed a home, the two decided to help each other. And Blaire was already teaching her new employer all about how social media could help her increase bookings. They’d even submitted a listing to AirBnB and already had a couple stays booked for later in the month.
It seemed to be a match made in heaven.
Charlene’s only request was that Socks be allowed to stay on the premises, despite the no pets rule.
Just Socks.
Charlene would be coming home with us.
It turns out our time spent helping her led to all of us being quite attached, which is why she’d snuck out of Blaire’s room to come find us.
“I love my mommy, but I’m old enough to be on my own now. Or at least to be with you,” Charlene had said when she asked us to become her family.
Socks also gave her approval.“It’s what cats do, and it’s a mother’s greatest delight to know her child is truly happy in life. Thank you for loving my sweet baby.”
And that was that.
“Her name being so much like mine was a sign,” Charles said. “We always belonged together.”
I liked that, and I hoped Octo-Cat, Jacques, and Jillianne would be accepting of the new baby when we brought her home, further blending our household. Now we had my cat, Charles’s cats, and one that was both of ours. Soon I hoped we would be a cohesive family unit, but these things took time… especially when cats were involved.
“Ready for a break?” Madame Blue shouted across the yard.
Blaire stood and tore off the oversized gardening gloves.“I’m starving,” she said before striding over to join us.
“You didn’t have to wake up so early for our benefit,” I reminded her.
“Maybe not, but I wanted to make sure to see you off before you left,” she said with a smile. Yes, Blaire visibly liked me now. I considered it one of my greatest achievements from this week.
“When is the apiarist coming by again?” Madame Blue asked. Now that she would be receiving a generous stipend from the Mackenzies, she had enough cash to expand operations, just as she’d always wanted. The apiarist would be consulting on a new bee house and inspecting the current colony so they could talk about how best to introduce even more bees to the lot.
Queen Bey’s reign would be one for the history books. You know, if bees had history books.
“Did you have a good week?” Charles asked just as we were about to climb into the car and head back to Maine, Charlene in tow.
“The best,” I answered before we shared one final kiss. “I can see why Mom and Dad like it so much.”
“Me, too.” Charles smiled and let out a wistful sigh. “We should come back for our first anniversary. Just eleven months and some change to go.”
“I can’t wait,” I answered with one last look back at the enchanting stone mansion where we’d made so many memories.
“Bye, Mommy!” Charlene shouted happily, and with that, it was time to move on to our next adventure.