Dark brown hair pulled into a loose knot.
She looked worried.
“Are you Evelyn?”
Evelyn tightened the leash instinctively.
“Yes.”
The woman exhaled.
“I’m Rebecca Bell.”
Arthur’s daughter.
“Oh.”
Rebecca looked toward the tree.
“Dad told me this was where you found him.”
“He’s okay?”
“He is now.”
Something in Evelyn’s chest released.
Rebecca walked closer.
“He was severely dehydrated.”
“The doctor said his blood pressure had dropped dangerously low.”
“He also missed one of his heart medications yesterday morning.”
Evelyn frowned.
“Why was he walking?”
Rebecca sighed.
“Because he is the most stubborn man in Franklin County.”
That sounded familiar.
“His car broke down.”
“He tried calling roadside assistance.”
“Phone battery died.”
“He decided he could walk home.”
“Four miles.”
“I know.”
Rebecca rubbed both hands over her face.
“He made it maybe one.”
Evelyn looked toward the maple tree.
“They said another hour or two out there could’ve been dangerous.”
She looked at Lumi.
Rebecca followed her gaze.
“That’s him?”
Lumi sat beside Evelyn’s shoe.
“Yes.”
Rebecca crouched.
“So you’re the hero.”
Lumi stepped backward.
“He doesn’t like strangers immediately.”
“Fair.”
Rebecca smiled.
“Dad keeps asking about him.”
“Really?”
“He remembers the cat more clearly than the ambulance.”
Evelyn laughed softly.
Rebecca’s eyes filled.
“He said Lumi stayed with him.”
“He said every time he closed his eyes, the cat touched his leg or made a sound.”
Evelyn looked down.
Lumi was watching a leaf move.
Rebecca continued.
“Dad thinks the cat kept him awake.”
Neither woman spoke for several seconds.
Finally, Rebecca asked:
“Would you bring him to the hospital?”
Evelyn stared.
“The cat?”
“If they allow it.”
“They probably don’t.”
“I asked.”
Rebecca smiled.
“They said if he’s in a carrier and we stay in the family waiting area, Dad can come down in a wheelchair.”
Evelyn looked at Lumi.
“I don’t know if he travels.”
Rebecca raised an eyebrow.
“He apparently conducts roadside welfare checks.”
“Good point.”
The next afternoon, Lumi went to the hospital.
He hated every part of transportation.
The carrier.
The car.
Traffic lights.
The parking garage.
The elevator.
He expressed his opinion continuously.
Meow.
Meow.
Meow.
“Everyone understands.”
Evelyn carried him through the lobby.
“You are unhappy.”
Meow.
“Yes.”
“We know.”
Rebecca waited near the elevators.
She smiled when she heard him.
“I could hear you coming.”
“That makes one of us embarrassed.”
They entered a small family consultation room.
Arthur was already there in a wheelchair.
He looked different.
Still tired.
But awake.
Color returned to his face.
Gray hair combed.
Hospital bracelet on one wrist.
He saw the carrier.
His entire expression changed.
“There he is.”
Evelyn set the carrier down.
Opened the door.
Lumi did not emerge.
“Come on.”
He remained inside.
Arthur leaned forward.
“Hey.”
That was all.
Lumi moved.
Slowly.
He stepped from the carrier.
Looked around.
Then walked directly toward Arthur.
Rebecca covered her mouth.
Lumi jumped onto the empty chair beside the wheelchair.
Arthur reached one hand down.
The cat touched his forehead against the old man’s fingers.
Arthur started crying.