Chapter Six

A young single mother comes in after a hard day at a minimum-wage job. It's been a rough week, and the money she got will just barely pay the food bill for her and her three kids this week.

She lives down the street in one of those run-down public housing places.BarCat has seen her occasionally. After a hard week, she would come in, have precisely one beer, and leave Pete a tip. The best thing is she will also ask for a shot glass and share the beer with BarCat.

She was looking exhausted. Retail sucks as a job, and the holiday season can be brutal on the workers. BarCat admired her; she was a hard-working woman trying to keep her family together as best as possible.

She had said a few times that she had an idea for a book. See, she likes towrite. She has it all worked out. She just needs more time to work on the manuscript. She wonders some days how she is ever going to make it. But she just keeps going.

BarCat never heard her say she wished for anything. She has all she could wishfor in her children. But being BarCat and being very mellow that particular evening, he thought he might give her something. It was the holidays, after all. He knew she would finish the book but would need a publisher. He reached out with his paw and touched her hand. She looked at the cat, smiled, and scratched his head. She poured a little more beer into his glass, finished the beer, and left a tip on the bar for Pete.

Pete came over to talk to BarCat.  "You know," he said, "I like her idea for a kid's story about young wizards and witches. I do hope it is a success."

BarCat smiled. How could it not be when the woman herself is fantastic? Shewill do quite well all on her own. And the right publisher will make her stories known to everyone.