“I found them abandoned on the side of the road. It was freezing, and I couldn’t just leave them there.” Her gaze landed on me and then shifted to Jeff. “I didn’t want to make tonight about me, but I couldn’t leave them alone either.
They’re just babies and they needed somewhere warm.”
That’s when tears started rolling down her cheeks. “I-I was afraid you’d think I was ridiculous.
Or that I was trying to fill the hole your dad left. I was scared you’d think I was no longer feeling his absence and was more interested in adopting kittens. I, uh… I just didn’t want to ruin Thanksgiving.”
Her words made me realize she’d been trying to protect us from her pain, even if it meant isolating herself.
Ava, oblivious to the tension, clapped her hands in delight. “Kitties!” she squealed. “Can we keep them, Mommy?
Please?”
The room softened with laughter as the kittens tumbled clumsily around Ava’s feet, sniffing at her toys and wobbling on their tiny legs. “We’ll figure this out together,” I said, stepping forward. “But for now, let’s make these little guys comfortable.”
By the end of the night, Linda’s laughter filled the room as she watched Ava play with the kittens.
It was the first time in a long while that she looked truly happy.
