at Hilda, and she blushes. Really. Tom drinks
a little more coffee and then he goes on: "The trouble is, I can't get
married on this flower-shop job."

"Doesn't pay enough?" Pop asks.

"Well, it's not just the pay. The job isn't getting me anywhere I want to
go. So that's what we've been talking about all evening. Finally we went
up to Times Square and talked to the guys in the Army and Navy and Air
Force recruiting office. You know, I'd get drafted in a year or two,
anyway. I've decided to enlist in the Army."

"Goodness, you may get sent way out West for years and years!" says Mom.

"No, not if I enlist in the Army. That's for three years. But I can choose
what specialist school I want to go into, and there's this Air Defense
Command--it's something to do with missiles. In that I can also choose what
metropolitan area I want to be stationed in. I can choose New York, and we
could get married, and I might even be able to go on taking college course
at night school, with the Army paying for most of it."

Pop says, "You sound like the recruiting officer himself. You sure of all
this?"

"I'll have to check some more," says Tom. "The recruiting officer, as a
matter of fact, tried to persuade me to shoot for officers' training and
go into the Army as a career. But then I would be sent all over, and
anyway, I don't think Army life would be any good for Hilda."

"I can see you have put in a busy evening," says Pop. "Well, shove back
the coffee cups, and I'll break out that bottle of champagne that's been
sitting in the icebox since Christmas."

I go and retrieve my spilled bottle of soda. There's still enough left for
one big glass. Pop brings out the champagne, and the cork blows and hits
the ceiling. Cat jumps off the sofa and stands, half crouched and tail
twitching, ready to take cover.

Pop fills little glasses for them and raises his to Tom and Hilda. "Here's
to you--a long, happy life!"

We drink, and then I raise my glass of soda. "Here's to Cat! Tom wouldn't
even be standing here if it wasn't for Cat."

That's true, and we all drink to Cat. He sits down and licks his right
front paw.

_Format by Jean Krulis_
_Set in Linotype Baskerville_
_Composed and bound by American Book-Stratford Press_
_Printed by The Murray Printing Co._
*HARPER & ROW, PUBLISHERS, INCORPORATED*

***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IT'S LIKE THIS, CAT***

CREDITS

March 27, 2008

Proje