He was going to say he wanted to live with his grandparents. Steeling himself against the pain, Ian nodded. “You can tell me anything.”
“I want my cat. And I don’t want to play football, or soccer, or basketball.”
A rush of emotion left Ian feeling weak. “You don’t have to.”
“I was thinking, though . . . baseball might not be so bad.”
Ian laughed a little shakily. “Well, then, that’s something we can talk about.”
“But what about Remeow? Your building doesn’t allow pets.”
Your building, he’d said. Not our building.
“Then we’ll move.”
Jacob stared at him. “Do you really mean it?”
“Yes.”
Jacob blinked behind his glasses. Then he threw his arms around his uncle, and Ian hugged him back with everything he had.
They walked back to the car soon afterwards. Jacob was happy to see Kate, although he was embarrassed that she’d come out to White Plains to look for him.
His plan, he told them, had been to take the train back to Manhattan, head for the museum where the school had gone for its field trip, and rejoin his class. He’d been hoping with eleven-year-old optimism that no one would notice he was gone.
“I didn’t mean to worry you guys. Honest.”
He looked even guiltier when he heard Ian making phone calls—to the police, to the school, and to the friends he’d enlisted to help in the search.
Finally Ian slid the phone back in his pocket and turned to look at his nephew. “Why didn’t you ask me to bring you here, Jacob? I would have.”
Jacob looked down at his sneakers. “I know, but . . . I kind of wanted to be alone with my mom.” He flushed. “I guess that sounds stupid.”
“No,” Ian said gently. “It doesn’t sound stupid.”
Jacob looked up again. “Maybe next time, though, we could go together.”
Ian felt tears stinging the insides of his eyelids. “I’d like that,” he said.
They drove to Jacob’s old neighborhood, stopping at the house of the neighbors who’d taken in Remeow. The big orange feline was lounging on the porch, and Ian, who’d been afraid he might not remember Jacob after a year, was astonished when the cat came to meet the boy like an old friend, twining around his ankles and arching his head up for petting.
“You’re really going to move to a new apartment just so Jacob can have his cat?”
When he looked at Kate, she was grinning at him.
“Yes. Do you think that’s crazy?”
She shook her head. “I think it’s wonderful.”
“Considering the source, I don’t find that reassuring.”
Kate smacked him lightly on the arm and turned to greet Mrs. Burton, who’d just come out of the house. The woman had a friendly hello for the two of them and a huge hug for Jacob, who settled down on the porch swing with Remeow in his lap while the adults went inside the house.
Ian gave Mrs. Burton a brief summary of the day’s events, finishing with his intention to bring Remeow to Manhattan as soon as he found a new apartment.
“Well, I won’t deny that I’ll miss him—but I’m delighted that he and Jacob will be reunited. I’ve never known a boy kinder to animals than your nephew. He has a good heart.”
Ian nodded. “He does.”
“You know,” Kate put in, “Remeow could stay with me while you’re apartment hunting. That way Jacob could visit him.”
“Gallifrey wouldn’t mind?”
“Oh, he’ll mind. But he’ll deal with it.”
“Well . . .” He glanced at Mrs. Burton. “Would it be all right if we took Remeow home with us today?”
The dark-haired woman nodded. “Of course. Although . . .” She hesitated. “My husband was looking forward to seeing Jacob, after he called this morning to ask if he could come for a visit. We didn’t realize he was away without leave,” she added with a wry smile. “We both dearly love that boy, you know. We watched him for Tina from the time he was a baby.”
Ian nodded. “My sister loved you like family.”
Tears sprang to Mrs. Burton’s eyes. “Thank you.” She wiped her eyes, gave a quick sigh, and then smiled. “I tell you what. You probably want to get him home as soon as you can, after the stressful day you’ve had. But we’d love to have Jacob stay with us tonight. We talked about having him over all last year, but nothing ever came of it.”
Ian had been aware of the standing invitation, but, given the monthly visits to his grandparents that already disrupted Jacob’s schedule, he’d thought it would be better for his nephew to be home the rest of the time. Now he wished he’d reached out to Mrs. Burton sooner.