“Dios mio,” she muttered, eyeing him mistrustfully. “Luci, what’s going on here?”
“Oh, hi, Mami.” Lucia turned to look at the older woman, frowning. “What are you doing here? I thought you were afraid to drive at night.”
“I got worried,” the older woman—who Raze guessed was Lucia’s mother—said. “You didn’t come home and I thought something awful might have happened.”
“I’m fine,” Lucia said. “I know I should have called but my stupid cell phone died again. And besides, I got distracted with these little guys.” She nodded at the kittens. “And uh, this big guy,” she added, giving Raze a shy smile.
Raze felt his heart squeeze in his chest. He’d been trying not to notice too much—trying to concentrate on the kittens—but Lucia was a truly beautiful female. With her short, curvy figure and her long, curly brown hair and big brown eyes, not to mention her caramel colored skin, she was lovely.
“Hello, I’m Raze,” he said, nodding politely to Lucia’s mother and the children—which had to be hers as well, since they looked so much like her. He liked young ones and didn’t want to scare them.
The older woman was still looking at him mistrustfully but suddenly the little female—little girl, that was what humans called it, Raze thought—broke away and came towards him.
“Can I see your kitten?” she asked shyly. “If you don’t mind?”
“I don’t mind.” Raze smiled back at her. The kitten was finished eating so he put down the bottle and held it out for the little girl to see.
“Oh, she’s got formula on her face.” The little girl looked up with big brown, serious eyes that were just like Lucia’s. “Here—I can help you clean her up.”
She took one of the soft-looking, disposable wipes Lucia had used on the other kittens and carefully wiped the tiny face as Raze held the mewing kitten still.
“You have to clean their fur after they eat,” she explained, speaking in a surprisingly adult way, Raze thought. “You don’t want dried formula getting stuck in the little hairs around their mouth.”
“Very good, mija.” There was definite pride in Lucia’s voice as she smiled at her daughter. “She helped me with the last batch of kittens we were fostering,” she explained to Raze. “She can do a feeding all by herself as long as I’m nearby. My big girl is such a big help.” These last words were directed at the little girl herself, who smiled at her mother.
“Thanks Mami. I love kittens.”
“Of course you do, mija.” Lucia smiled approvingly.
The younger males—boys, Raze reminded himself of the Earth term—had been hanging back, looking at him with wide eyes. They had identical curly mops of black hair and eyes like Lucia’s as well. Clearly, they didn’t know what to think of Raze. But when their big sister was brave enough to approach him, they seemed to lose at least some of their fear as well.
“Wanna pet kitty,” one said, boldly stepping forward.
“Me too!” the other chimed in. “I be careful! I know how!”
The little girl frowned at them.
“One at a time! And only one finger,” she said, pointing at them bossily.
As Raze watched, bemused, she stood over her younger brothers and directed them as they stroked the kitten—who had stopped crying at last and was now snuggled securely in Raze’s cupped palm—with one finger each.
“All right—that’s enough,” she said imperiously after both of them had gotten a turn. “You have to be careful with kittens. They’re fragile.”
Raze looked at Lucia who was smiling proudly at her daughter.
“She’s very knowledgeable for someone so young,” he remarked.
“Oh, yes—she’s five going on forty, is my Frannie,” she said, laughing. “But she’s been helping me with all the animals ever since we moved in here.”
“When I grow up, I’m going to be a Vet Tech just like Mami,” the little girl piped up. “That way I can help animals all day long—just like she does.”
“No, mija, you want to be a veterinarian,” Lucia corrected her. “An animal doctor—not just a helper. They know more so they can help more animals.” She sighed. “And they make better money.”
Raze wondered if having enough money was a problem for her. Looking around the living area, he could see that most of her furnishings were worn and shabby—though they were also clean and neat. Lucia’s clothing and the children’s clothing as well, also looked as though it had been washed and worn multiple times. The colorful print of Earth animals on her clothing was faded though still cheerful.
All the signs pointed to the fact that there was not enough money to go around in the little family, and yet she had refused to let him give her any monetary compensation for her time or the supplies she’d given him for the cattens—no, kittens, Raze corrected himself.
Her pride must be very strong, he thought. But in a culture where a male and female could dissolve their union and leave each other, so that they had no one but themselves to depend on, he supposed strength was a necessity.