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Full dark had embraced the house by the time I arrived. Marcie met me at the door, and she had her coat in hand.
“She’s in her room,” Marcie said. “She’s awake, I think. She’s waiting for you.”
“Marcie, I have to apologize. You shouldn’t have had to go through what happened.”
“No, no, that’s OK. I only wish I could have done more. Your neighbor is a real ass. If I had been a man, I would have punched him.”
“I don’t believe in violence, but in his case, I might make an exception.”
“Coming in tomorrow?”
“Depends on Emily. If she wants to go to school, I’ll be in.”
“Great. Sorry, you had to come home.”
“I’ll survive.”
Emily was playing a game on her tablet computer. She looked up and dropped the tablet, scrambling out of bed and running to hug me.
“Mommy,” she said, “Mommy, you’re home.”
“I’m home,” I said. “I’m sorry I wasn’t home when the police came.”
“They’re scary.”
“I know. How about some ice cream. Ice cream always makes things better.”
“I like ice cream.”
“So do I.”
I watched Emily eat ice cream, and she didn’t seem too upset. She said she was sorry for kicking the cat, but it was torturing the chipmunk. I said that the next time, she needed to use a broom or something to shoo away the cat. Kicking it as not nice. She nodded. She would do that next time. After ice cream, we went to bed. Emily wanted to sleep in the big bed with me. I told her that would be just fine. And, if she didn’t want to go to school in the morning, that was all right. One day off wouldn’t hurt her. She said she’d think about it. I stayed awake long after she fell asleep. I couldn’t help but wonder if I had done the right thing. I couldn’t help but wonder if I would have a job when the team returned. I told myself it was too late to wonder. I had done the right thing.
Duty called.
Emily stayed home the next day. I waited until I was sure Sylvester was awake before I decided to visit him. He needed to know that he had no right to call the police on my daughter. He wouldn’t like that, but I didn’t care. He was a bully, and he needed to be treated like one. Before I could go over, I spotted him on the sidewalk, cradling his favorite cat. That was enough for me…neutral territory.
“I’ll be right back,” I told Emily. “I’m going to talk to our neighbor.”
“Don’t kick his cat. That makes him mad.”
“I’m not going to kick his cat.”
As soon as Sylvester spotted me, he turned for his house.
“Stop right there,” I called out. “We need to talk.”
He stopped and faced me. “She kicked my cat.”
“I did what I had to do.”
“You’re a bully, and we both know it. So, let’s get something straight. I will discipline my daughter when it’s necessary. You will do the same with your cats, or I will contact the proper authorities. Is that understood?”
“You don’t scare me.”
I wanted to punch his smug face. I felt my hand form a fist.
“Excuse me, are you harassing this woman?”
