Poor, poor Puff. COMPANY THE DROWNING CAROLYNN WATKINS CALLS JANET HARRIS “Janet, Janet!’ the voices moving closer to Janet’s room. kittens have come.” cried, Janet’s neck. They followed Boyd through the dark kitchen and _ into the brightly lit lavender bedroom across the hall. He ran to the unmade bed of tangled sheets and knelt down. Karen kicked hard against “The “Janet, the kitties borned.” The doorbell rings, and mother runs to get Her shoes. Won't She shuts the bedroom mess. see the door*so guests us kids; Just ask I'll bet She spent the day at club to learn to be A better mother. Turn the lights down So guests won't see the cobwebs. And stop your quarreling,“she Why should we A smile and The change “Please shut up for company? Laughing She is a gracious hostess. “That Mabel people air rids say Cherry pie When is uncouth,”she ( 26) She fixes The cold From the A & P makes guests remark. She is a good cook. Boyd tells us kids. answers the door. house of staleness. low They think they leave, she sighs. tells us kids. Janet recognized the voices of her brother, Boyd, and her two year old sister, who was learning to put sentences together. Two dark figures appeared at her bedroom door, and the light clicked on. Boyd and Karen ran to her bed, their eyebrows lifted so high that they made wrinkles in their foreheads. stood smiling, his mouth Janet’s thighs, so she put her down. “Kitties, kitties,” she cried. Boyd lifted the sheet and underneath lay a mass of gray fur they called Kittentoes. She curled around three tiny balls of fur; one gray, one black, and one orange striped. full of “Oh, sighed, silver braces and his blond hair tousled around his forehead. His red checked shirt lay partly open so that the store tag showed on the outside front of his undershirt. Karen jumped up and down and waved her arms She stood as high as Boyd's belt, now, and the strands of orange hair flew up and down as she jumped. The remains of a _ chocolate popsicle smeared the end of her nose and her chin and lined her mouth. Awake now, Janet realized ring around her finger. “Sure is,’ Boyd answered, throwing the sheet back. “Wish mama and daddy were here.” Janet knelt down beside Boyd, and she shivered as she touched the soft gray fur. “Mama will be awful mad when she finds out that Kitten-toes had her babies in the bed,” she whispered. “Boyd, what all this meant. “Yippee!” she screamed. “Where are they?” She ran toward the door and followed Boyd and Karen through the dark basement that smelled of apples, potatoes and detergent. Boyd was up the stairs in four leaps. Karen took two steps to each stair and panted as she hung onto the rail along the wall. Janet grabbed her and ran up the stairs. Karen’s legs wrapped tightly around Janet’s waist, and she closed her chubby arms around her neck. The baby’s hot breath came in spurts on boy, isn’t it wonderful!” Janet nervously twisting her pearl go get a box downstairs, and we'll put them them in the bedroom, in it. We can leave though.” Boyd jumped to his feet and ran out the door. He returned minutes later with a brown cardboard box and rags from Janet's blue flannel pajamas in the bottom. They carefully put each kitten in the box with Kitten-toes and watched them make smacking noises as they sucked the milky nipples and pawed Kitten-toes’ stomach. The orange striped kitten let go of its nipple and moved his tiny nose through the fur until it found another one. It climbed over the other two, poking its little (27)