Big Puss eyed her drowsily from where he sprawled on the carpet. A lot of signs suggested he and the surgeon had gotten very close.
Melissa told Big Puss, well done, now it’s time to go.
He said he didn’t want to go, he wanted to relax.
Melissa said he could relax when he was back up in the hills.
He said, what about the leftovers? His mummy’d told him he had to always finish off leftovers.
Melissa said Gimbel City was no place for a tiger in daylight.
“Just one little ten-minute snooze?”
“No, no. You have to go, now.”
He said she was cruel little girl, but he stood and stretched.
They left the hutch, Melissa locking the door securely behind them. She escorted Big Puss down to the street. You’re on your own now, she told him. Get out of the city as fast as you can. Maybe up in the hills you’ll catch yourself an oryx.
He said he was much too full to run.
She said, I’ll bet that gorilla will catch you if you don’t.
He said, I suppose you’re right. Well (he nuzzled her), no rest for the wicked. We’ll always be friends.
We certainly will, Melissa called after him as he loped away.
Melissa called the Gimbel Majestic Hospital. Deepening her voice, she told a real-time person Dr. Blackheart was ill, couldn’t handle his morning’s schedule. The real-time person said thank you.
A bit later she called the hospital again and inquired after her daddy. He’s worse, she was told. They’d paged Dr. Blackheart, but he hadn’t answered. “Oh,” the hospital person continued, “a message just came in. Dr. Blackheart is himself sick. I suppose we’ll have to get another surgeon. You want to call again in a couple of hours?”
For two hours, Melissa fiddled and fussed to make time go faster, but it wouldn’t.
One interesting thing happened. The entertainment center came on on its own. Emergency. A dangerous gorilla loose. The savage beast had invaded a private party at a hilltop mansion. Only the heroic intervention of Mr. Peter Garrity had driven it off. Film later.
Garrity Two, Melissa thought, hero!
At last the time came to call the hospital again.
The hospital person said her daddy had had his operation, and was responding satisfactorily. She could come and see him if she liked.
Gorilla or no gorilla, Melissa had to go.
It was almost dawn. She didn’t meet Cardiac Emperor. Her daddy was already sitting up, cheerful. He got still better as the day wore on.
Several days passed before the hospital would release Melissa’s daddy. They couldn’t throw him out early, he was classified indigent, nowhere to go. By then it was true. With no money coming in, Melissa had had to abandon their hutch and quit school. She was living with Sarah and Yo Yo, and was happy, except, with no entertainment center, she didn’t know what was going on in Gimbel City.
Yo Yo did bring home snippets of gossip picked up on his travels. There was this menagerie up in the hills, animals all escaped, Gimbel City hunters, fun out shooting. A few days later, hunters, a charging gorilla, some hurt. Later still, Mayor, emergency, National Guard, tanks and armor-piercing missiles, gorilla dead.
Yo Yo didn’t bring home one word about tigers or surgeons. Melissa was happy not to hear about Blackheart, but she’d have liked news of Big Puss. But no news was good news.
From the hospital, her daddy found a new job in another city, transportation prepaid.
Melissa saw a headline on a blowing scrap of newspaper. POLICE: NO PROGRESS IN MENAGERIE MYSTERY. It was a relief, not that she’d been worrying. Gimbel City police were all temps and not much good.
When the hospital released her daddy, she met him at the bus station. Sarah was there, and Yo Yo. She shed tears, hugging them goodbye. She’d never forget them, or Big Puss, or Gimbel City, or how she’d taken care of her daddy!