The next day, after work Abraham stopped by his buddy's house to pick up Florence's cat. All his buddy mentioned at the water cooler at work was that a cat had wandered into his house one evening and although it was sweet, his buddy's wife was allergic to the animal and so he couldn't keep it.
What Abraham pictured when his friend mentioned the cat was a kitten, most likely dropped off by its mother as cats tended to do. What he got was an adult mangy, black, tailless tom riddled with fleas. He was suddenly a little hesitant to bring it home, especially when his first introduction to the cat was it hissing and swatting at him from the crate his friend has placed the cat in.
" I thought you said the cat was sweet," Abraham said.
"He is, he must just not like you for some reason, or possibly a bit grumpy from being in a crate. " his friend said.
"Will he be okay with my daughter?" Abraham asked.
"I'm sure once he gets settled he'll be just fine, he loved playing with my son," his friend said.
"If you say so," said Abraham and reluctantly took the cat back to his house.
Before he could even set the crate down, Florence ran to the door and took it from him.
"Is this the cat!" Florence exclaimed, barely able to contain her excitement.
"Yes, but he may not..." Abraham started.
Florence didn't let him finish and opened the crate. The cat leapt out of the cage and immediately ran over to the food bowl they're filled earlier that day, completely ignoring his step-daughter.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49731987856_66d78dc74b_c.jpgHe shook his head and turned to his wife, who had a concerned expression on her face that he imagined mirrored his own. To make matters worse after the cat ate it immediately dove under a couch in the living room. Abraham started to apologize, but Florence stopped him.
"I'm sure he's just a little nervous. He's in a new place and surrounded by strangers, you can't blame him for wanting to hide," Florence said, Abraham was impressed with her patience.
A couple of days passed and the cat continued to avoid them most of the time, so Florence focused on making the cat, now named Thomas, as comfortable as possible by keeping his bowl full, his sandbox clean and even turned an extra hallway that just contained the family chessboard into a room mostly for the cat. Still, the blasted animal ignored her. He was about to give the cat back to his friend when one evening he and Florence were playing chess when the cat sniffed his step-daughter's feet.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49758486767_f1c5c9a133_c.jpgFlorence immediately abandoned their game and lowered her hand to the cat's nose. It responded by licking Florence's hand. She giggled and spent the rest of the evening petting on the cat. By an hour before her bedtime she had the cat playing with her, a cheesy grin filling her entire face.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49732028141_3ee316b658_c.jpgAfter she went to bed, Abraham tried to pet the cat himself, taking the same approach Florence did by letting it sniff his hand first. It just hissed at him. Apparently, he and Thomas weren't ever going to be friends. It did like Florence though and that was all that really mattered.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49758106746_5543991bdb_c.jpgThe cat and his daughter's relationship sealed, Abraham turned his attention back to remodelling his and Vickie's bedroom. Once it was finished he was quite pleased with the result, especially the specific touches he added for Vickie, like her vanity.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49758457147_b3e218d89a_c.jpgThe next few days after he finished the bedroom were uneventful, but just as summer the last summer of the 1910s was hitting Roaring Heights, Vickie went to labour. At seven pm that night she gave birth to a son. They named him Clifford James-Henry Nolan after all the family they lost.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49732350782_abdb5e98c3_c.jpghttps://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49732350747_0c8cbae56d_c.jpgThe rest of the year was a blur and soon Clifford aged up into a toddler.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49758439372_c72dc47f86_c.jpgBoth Vickie and Abraham turned all their attention to raising him right while also giving some attention to Florence as well, but she was focused on Thomas and having a thriving social life with her school friends.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49757584038_b778ba8827_c.jpghttps://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49758110891_d0c7c74413_c.jpghttps://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49758116326_5dc66ca264_c.jpgBefore they knew it the year 1920 was halfway over and Florence was a teenager, one who had a party with friends instead of her family and all she wanted for her birthday were clothes and a remodel of her room instead of toys.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49758436017_5796fa367d_c.jpgAbraham gave his step-daughter what she wanted and she thanked him for his work and complimented her new room.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49757790673_f4ded78a14_c.jpgHer gratitude made him happy, as always, but that night, as he got in bed with his wife, he felt a little blue. When he told Vickie how he was feeling she agreed that she felt the same melancholy.
"I think it's because our kids are just growing up so fast. It won't really be too much longer until Clifford starts to grow up as well," Vickie said.
A comfortable silence fell between them and then Abraham broke it. "We always could have one more."
Vickie laughed a gentle laugh, "Abraham, we aren't exactly spring chickens ourselves. Are you sure?"
"We haven't even reached mid-life yet. What's one more child?"
"All right then, let's go for it," Vickie said.
After that, they woohooed long into the night before falling asleep more sated and comfortable than they had been in years.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49758436162_ac6e9666f5_c.jpg 
