Abbey's Road: How a spring break library trip led to a purr-fect addition to the Roy family

Our spring break started as most do, with a festive cleaning of bedrooms on a rainy day, plenty of loads of laundry and the ceremonial removal of plastic from the front window, which any Ohioan worth their road salt can tell you is a surefire way to usher in another snowfall. (We did it anyway — sorry.)

This was underwhelming for the girls, who are acquainted enough with our lifestyle to know they shouldn’t have expected a Tahitian getaway but were holding out for something a little less chore-y.

It was Mr. Roy’s idea to go to the library, and that felt innocent enough.

Abbey's Road: Witnessing history with loved ones during a once-in-a-lifetime solar eclipse

Everyone found their library totes, I grabbed my knitting and we headed to our local branch to find some fresh material.

It wasn’t until we parked and the girls were halfway to the building that Mr. Roy nudged me.

“Pssst. Look in the back,” he said, indicating the rear windshield.

“I know, I’ve been meaning to peel off that bumper sticker forever,” I sighed. “I just love the Golden Flashes so much.”

“No, look inside,” he said.

I did, and lo and behold, the man who, in May, “just happened to take a cat carrier to get a haircut” and came back with a cat had struck again.

“Why is there a cat carrier in the trunk?” I hissed.

He just shrugged.

“Thought maybe if we had time, we could go to the humane society after this.”

Ever since we said goodbye to our sweet Watson, Tiny — whose lifelong goal, you may recall, is to live in the apartment complex closest to our house and own 100 cats — has been gunning for a new furry friend.

The other two had been less vocal but indicated they wouldn’t mind an extra companion. Sherlock, meanwhile, was enjoying the peace and quiet but seemed unhappy that there was no extra food to fight over and no whippersnapper to chase him around the house.

“‘Maybe’?!?” I said. And that was that.

Abbey's Road: Remembering the COVID-19 pandemic four years later and what we've learned

We chose our books and returned to the van, where the girls settled in with their new reads, and Mr. Roy took the helm.

No one noticed he was driving the opposite direction of home, or that the trip seemed to be taking longer than it should, or that we were in the middle of cornfields instead of a neighborhood.

It took until the moment he turned the van into the humane society for it to dawn on them what was about to unfold.

The Architect was the first to realize what was happening.

“Why are we at the humane socie… Ooooooh,” she said.

Tiny about lost her mind.

“WE’RE GOING TO GET A NEW KITTY!” she said, halfway out the door before the car was in park.

“We’re just going to look and see if there’s any here that might be a fit,” I said, and every person who has ever gone to a humane society or pet shop “just to look” knows how this inevitably ends up.

We were shown the cat room and the kitten room and invited to socialize with the residents, and this is where we first met Bert.

There were others that were cuter and others that were younger and others that might have made good pets, but Bert was the one who spoke to us.

We liked his white “socks” and the way he played with the scrap of brown paper in the corner; how he jumped up and sniffed in my knitting bag and pulled out a pair of double-pointed needles to claim for his own.

We liked that he would sit still and let us pet him but then was off to run and play, exploring his little space like it held treasures just for him.

Bert was the one; it was clear.

We brought him home and, after much debate, renamed him Milo after a cat in a movie from my childhood. (Tiny was adamant that we stop with the Holmes names.)

He’s getting along just fine. Sherlock is taking it in stride. We all agree that Watson would approve. The girls are over the moon.

And once again, we are a family of seven.

Abbey Roy is a mom of three girls who make every day an adventure. She writes to maintain her sanity. You can probably reach her at amroy@nncogannett.com, but responses are structured around bedtimes and weekends.

This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Abbey's Road: Roys add another feline friend to their family mix