A House of Their Own

Lily and Rose, two proper city girls, had been cheery as ever about their family’s sudden move from the city to the countryside of Cloverleaf Corners. Natalie Charcoal Cat, their mother, was supportive all the way of her husband’s new job to tutor and test the homeschooled country children. Mayor Cuddlebear had made this an utmost priority so that homeschooled critters would receive the same quality of education, despite living an hour away from school.

One morning, at the dimly lit breakfast table inside the rented Lakeside Lodge, Lily Tuxedo Cat proclaimed, “Are we staying here forever, Mother?”

Natalie Charcoal Cat, enjoying a piece of tempura from the two tiered platter, was rather shocked. She had never thought much about this, but her husband had told her that the mayor rather insisted his position be permanent.

“I guess so,” she uttered. “What’s the matter? Do you miss the city? You still get to see your friends during ballet lessons, and your father and I have made sure the house is comfortable.”

“Yes, yes,” said Lily. “I just thought it might be nice to have a house of our own if we’re going to stay here forever. Nothing fancy or huge like the Hopscotch Rabbits have, but just something we can call ours forever. After all, we did sell our old house in the city before moving here.”

Natalie, always a reasonable critter, was quite convinced, and brought it up to her husband the next morning. Their twin daughters were both asleep in the hammocks, as the couple discussed it by the balcony.

“Mason dear, the girls and I have been talking, and we feel like we need a real home. This Lakeside Lodge is nice and everything, but it’s not ours. Nothing too fancy, but a simple home.”

Mason Tuxedo Cat was a man of great professionalism, but would sometimes get so caught up in things he’d forget about family needs. Recently, he had been so busy coming up with standardized test questions that he had never given much thought to this. He loved his family endlessly, though, so he agreed immediately.

“We’ll use the funds from selling our old house to get one built. Nothing too fancy, but definitely three stories. I know you always liked a modern touch, so I’m thinking about white walls with hardwood flooring. The roofing must be modernized. It’s always raining here, so I want tiled roofs. No wood; the rain will rot them. I’ll have a simple sink and stove installed for you. I don’t think we can have a full bathroom installed.” Mason planned out.

Natalie then interjected, “Heidi told me that the country way was to share the bathroom access. She said she wouldn’t mind at all should we ever need to come over.”

“Ah, that’s good news. I’ll get to it today. Going to drive to town and have it all planned out.”

Time passed, and all the critters driving past the construction site could see the progress. By a few weeks, the foundation floor had already been laid out. White cream colored beams to support the red tiled roofs were stuck up. Slowly but surely, wooden flooring was laid out inside.

When all the layers had been built, Mason drove his whole family (and Ginni) towards the site.

“It’s beautiful,” Natalie remarked about the tiny floral engravings Mason had planned on the door for her.

“Whoa, that’s tall,” Lily said.

Finally, Rose piped up, “So we get the second floor, right, Father?”

“Of course,” Mason cheerfully replied.

“Well, if it’s not too big of a fuss, could you please install shutters into the windows? I’m still not accustomed to this weather, and it gets so cold sometimes,” Rose requested.

Pretty soon, everyone was asking for a few details here and there including a request for a cream colored stove, special square wooden tiles installed upstairs, and glass windows, so Mason got to work in town once more.

Within a few short months, the modernized house was completely finished with an extravagant description to match in the newspaper. The description read:

The Tuxedo Cat Family (and Ginni) eagerly stepped in and explored their new home.

“Look at this stove! It’s absolutely beautiful with the new floral engravings I requested!” Natalie complimented as she looked to find the sink doors engraved, just as she requested.

Lily and Rose climbed up the wooden ladder to their room on the second floor.

“Let me try the shutters,” Rose squealed as she pushed open the solid shutters her father had had customized for her and her twin.

“The ladder even moves up and down automatically,” Mason referred to the tall wooden ladder that connected one floor to another. The thing would shift up and down on its own.

“I can see the toy shop and Lakeside Lodge from here!” Lily gasped as she made her way into the balcony.

“And look, Bell’s waving to me through the glass window!” Rose announced, as she peered through her room’s glass window facing her neighbor.

“Wait…,” interjected Mason. “I have one last surprise for everyone: I’m going to let you furnish this place any way you want.”

Natalie and her twin daughters squealed in laughter of happiness, while Olive and Ginni giggled just to imitate.

“Oh, what fun we’re going to have. Thank you!” they said.