Ava and Taco Cat by Carol Weston Page A

madly in love with her and proposed. At the wedding, Jupiter said to Venus, “Look how lovely she is. Who would have thought that she used to be a cat?” Venus said, “Watch this!” and tossed a squeaky mouse into her path. No sooner did the bride see it, than she pounced upon it. The groom was horrified! And Venus said to Jupiter, “See? You can’t change who you are.”
    Well, not to argue with Aesop or anything, but I don’t agree that you are who you are. Maybe in some ways. But not in all ways. I mean, I think people and cats can change a little bit, if they want to and they try.
    Like, Pip and Taco are both a lot less timid than they used to be. Right now, Pip is at Isabel’s, and Pip never used to go to other kids’ houses. As for Taco, maybe he will always seem aloof and like he’s planning his escape. But he is settling down a bit and trusting us. And I’ll say this: his ready-to-run personality makes his “cat cuddles” extra sweet. >^. .^<
    Ava, Not Aloof

1/16
before dinner
Dear Diary,
    Dad and I were in the car running errands, and I asked him if we should have put up Found Cat signs.
    â€œAva, we didn’t find Taco. We adopted Taco.”
    I told him that Zara had asked if I knew who Taco belonged to before us.
    Dad patted my knee. “I doubt Taco thinks he ever belonged to anyone. I bet he thinks we belong to him. We’re the ones who feed him, right?” I nodded. “Maybe he thinks he owns us!”
    We talked about how pets aren’t property, and I told him Ben’s jokes about cats versus dogs. Dad told me that in ancient Egypt, cats were revered as gods, mostly because they killed the mice and rats that were spreading disease and eating up all the grain.
    Ava, Owned by Taco God
    P.S. Maybelle is coming for a sleepover. Y-A-Y! First time in a long time!!

1/17
1:17
Dear Diary,
    Maybelle brought a laser light with her. It made a red beam, and Taco chased it everywhere, even up walls. (We were careful not to flash it in his eyes.)
    Pip was in the kitchen illustrating the V rhyme she made me write:
    V is for viperfish.
    The viperfish has sharp teeth and shines its own light,
    It swims deep down by day but less deep at night.
    Pip is worried that we won’t finish in time, but after dinner, I told her to come outside with Maybelle and me, and she did. The three of us bundled up and went to look at the stars. Maybelle started talking about life in outer space and that French space cat. I said that in science we learned about “inherited, acquired, and learned” traits. For instance, if Taco hadn’t had certain private parts snipped off, he could have had kittens, and some of his kittens might have been taco-colored (inherited), but none of them would have been born with a bitten-up ear (acquired) or playing Jenga (learned).
    This morning, Taco found a diamond of sunlight and lay down on his side. Maybelle joked that it was a “rhombus” of sunlight and said he looked like “a breaded pork chop.” That made me laugh, but I have to admit that if Zara had said the exact same thing, I might have wanted to punch her face. (Not that I would have.)
    I said that when Taco sits with his paws tucked in, he looks like a golden loaf of bread.
    The twins came over (wearing orange sweatshirts), and we played Slow Down/Speed Up. Pip and Maybelle were eating cereal, and when Carmen said, “¡Más lento!” they lifted their spoons in slow motion, and when she said, “¡Más rápido!” they shoveled cereal into their mouths, spoonful after spoonful. It was funny—but I was glad Mom and Dad weren’t watching.
    Sometimes I wish I really could slow down time because I like being a kid. Especially when everyone is getting along.
    Does growing up mean growing pains?
    Actually, I think Pip likes being thirteen more than she liked being my age, eleven. She used to be moodier and more temperamental