It was raining when we got to Paul's house. He told the story of how an opossum scared the kittens the night before which sent the gray one hiding under a neighbor's Winnebago. The black kitten was in Paul's garage... and Sangria came when she was called (which amazed me... since I rarely see cats come when their names are called... but they always come a-runnin' when they hear dry food being poured into their bowls!).

I tried to wait for the gray kitten to calm down and come to me... but she just wouldn't. I had to crawl under the RV in wet, decomposing leaves, pretend to be asleep (so the kitten would close her eyes, too)... then inch toward her 'til I could grab her. I was a damp and filthy mess... so Paul let me wash and dry my clothes while we all visited for a while, looking at pix from Halloween and his recent trip to Mexico.

Paul also called Gia so I could tell her "hello" and give her the details of the rainy feline-capture. Gia and Paul have pretty much been Sangria's caretakers, even before she had her tiny litter. Perhaps they were even drinking sangrias when the affectionate, patchwork mama-cat chose Paul's backyard as her squat?

When my clothes were dry, we put Sangria in one carrier and the two kittens in another cage and drove back to Alabama. It was a long drive. Sangria doesn't like to be in enclosed spaces... she meowed most of the time. And the kittens would nervously mew when they heard their mother cry.

When we got home, Philip and I cleaned all of the dangerous stuff out of the utility / laundry room and opened up the cat carriers and watched our fuzzy babies explore their new home. I've decided to call the black one "Bitumen" since she is as black as tar... and the gray one "Hepsebah" (which was the name of the witch in SLEEPING BEAUTY... or at least in one of the storybook versions I had as a child).

At first Philip didn't think he'd be able to remember the kittens' names... but soon it became second nature. And we came up with a little alliteration to help us memorize: Bitumen is black... Hepsebah hisses.