Stewie Fulkerson …

 “Uh oh, something is wrong. Why is Mama crying?” Pepper was usually the first to know, but this time it was Misty who sounded the alarm.

“Where’s Andr…oof.   Dang it Andrew, I hate it when you do that …”.  Misty found herself unceremoniously deposited on the angel’s lap.

“Calm down Old Girl, sometimes it’s necessary.”  Andrew soothed the flustered kitty.   “What’s got you so distraught?”

“It’s Mama.  She’s on the ‘writey box’ and there’s water on her face. But I checked, everyfur is accounted for …”

“Not quite, my Love, not quite.  See, she’s been following one of her favorite groups, of quilters with kitties.  I’m sure you remember it ….” Andrew’s soft words were soothing.  

“But … oh No! Not Stevie! NOOOOOO”

The angel’s wings folded around her for just a blink of an eye, and then she saw him.  She scrambled off Andrew’s lap and took off across the meadow to a spot she knew only so well. 

At the angel’s feet tumbled several more kitties, not quite as upset as Misty had been. 

“What’s going on?” Mittens was an old hand at Andrew’s odd way of gathering them when they were needed.  

Mouse looked across the meadow. “I think I know why, and yet I don’t.”

“While he’s not one of your family, he IS one of Mama’s extended family. “

“Yep, that would be the quilters…”.  Katie scrubbed a paw.

“Geeze Kate you’re about as subtle as. …”

“Now, now ladies, you’re better than this.  You’ve all spent time under the sewing machine, and more often than not, lounging on quilts in the frame.  They’re a special bunch of people are quilters.  Rarely do they think of their own selves, or wants, or needs, but are always the first in line at the sound of trouble.

“Stewie was a quilting cat, like all of you were.  So not only is his ‘Nana’ devastated, but so many of her friends as well.”

“You know, as far back as I can remember there was always quilting going on, long before the writie boxes came to be,” said Mittens thoughtfully.  

Katie added “And when it DID, strong bonds were made between quilters all over the world. I remember piles of blocks, and patterns, from those early days of swaps.”D

“Is Misty okay?” Asked Mousie, as she and Mouse watched.

“We will wait for her, she’s got this …” Andrew reached into his pockets for kitty sized treats as they waited and watched.

“Stewie … wake up, Stewie … “

“Huh?” Yawn. “I’m sorry, who are you and why are you waking me up, and where am I.”  Stevie sat, and studiously scrubbed a paw.  All cats learn as wee kittens, ‘when in doubt, wash’.  And Stevie was indeed, ‘in doubt’.

“It’s okay.  I’m Misty. We met on the ‘writie box’ our mamas use.”

“I remember you, you asked me on a date! But I am promised to Miss Gypsy.  And a gentletddom doesn’t trifle with two ladies’ hearts.”

“Oh Stevie, you’re ever as sweet as I thought you were.  But that doesn’t answer your question. But first, you must have a drink …”

Stewie had thought he’d heard water running, and just as she said, there was a small creek flowing.  Doing as he was told, he lowered his head to lap up the refreshing water.  He marveled at how GOOD it tasted, not like just plain old kitchen water.  He looked as far as he could see, wondering where the creek began.

“You see, a very long time ago, before ‘writie boxes’ and quilt frames, before everything you’ve ever heard about, there was a time when our Creator got real mad at the world He had built, and washed it all off save for only a few.  He was ashamed of Himself a little bit for being so mad, so He promised He’d never do it again, and He put a rainbow in the sky to remind us.

“Come with me, there are others you need to meet…”

With that the bewildered Stewie padded along beside Misty toward huge trees, shady spots, a large rock and another group of cats. ‘None of this makes any sense,’ he thought.

“Welcome, young man, you must be Stewie!” The angel lifted the bewildered cat to his lap, and offered him his favorite kitty treat.  

‘Where on earth would a guy in a white dress, on a rock, under trees, with other cats, possibly come up with churu?’ thought Stewie. 

“Um, thank you very much, Sir, but I really need to get home to Nana.  She will be worried about me, and … ”

“But that’s just it, Stewie,” Misty explained.  “You’re here now with us and you can’t go back.  Well, you can, but not like you were …”

The angel continued his comforting touch. “Stewie, Man’s time on earth is longer than that of just about every animal.  It is not yet Nana’s time to be here, but it IS yours.  These kitties who have come to greet you all belonged to ladies who also make quilts.  

“In time you will come to understand better, but for now, we must be going, as the others are waiting for us.”

As the angel rose, Stewie cradled in his arms, the gentle breeze whispering in the trees, they all were gone….

….and arrived on a beautiful Bridge made of every color of the rainbow.

Stewie’s eyes were HUGE!  All these animals! Cats and dogs, horses and bunnies, others he’d heard about but never seen.  They all looked up at him with love and understanding, clearly there to welcome him. 

Pepper, Katie, Mouse and Mousie, Mittens and Misty all hopped off the edge of the rainbow to join the others. 

“Now all you need to do is to jump off!” 

“KATE!!!  She’s right though. You accept the promise made to every living thing. Your Creator knows when even the smallest of us falls,” Misty explained.

“Even us!” as the tiniest birds he’d ever seen flew around him and then perched on the heads of two golden retrievers.  

“But, but Nana … and …. I don’t want to.”  Stewie buried his face in the angel’s arms.

“It’s okay Stewie, I’m right here.” Misty hopped back up on the bridge at the angel’s feet.  “It’s going to be okay.  We will teach you how to visit with Nana. How to tell her you are not gone, that. you still love her, and your Lady Gypsy.  We will teach you.”

“She’s right, Stewie. In one sense you are gone, but in another you are always with her, and with all the ladies who came to love you.”  Andrew ached for the unhappy cat. “But you will wait here, until her time on earth is ended, and then you will be reunited, to go through the Great Gate to Heaven forever.”

“Well, if you’re sure …” Stewie squirmed in Andrew’s arms, and was deposited on the rainbow beside Misty.  

“You ready” she asked?

Stewie closed his eyes tight, and with Misty beside him, hopped down off the rainbow bridge.

Mouse slipped away from the others and moved to the edge of the meadow. “Mama, Stewie’s here with us. He’s a little confused at the moment,  but then so were the rest of us when we came.  “Can you tell the others, and Nana, that he’s here with us, and he’s well again?”

“…and Mama? I love you ….”

            …. the woman thought she heard the softest purring as she reached for her keyboard …