“They said she’s very sweet with all of the other kittens,” Zoe said. “Please, Mom? Butterball is basically Jayne’s cat, anyway. I’ll take care of little Coco all by myself. I promise.”

Mrs. Quinlan nodded. “Let’s go inside and fill out the application.”

That’s when Frida walked up. She looked at Mrs. Quinlan, and then at Zoe holding the cat. She let out a gasp and ran up to them.

“Are you adopting that kitten?” she asked.

“We’re going to apply,” Zoe answered, and then her eyes narrowed suspiciously. “No. Don’t you dare say it.”

“But I have to say it! Your fortune came true! You have made a new friend!” Frida said.

“I warned you not to say it,” Zoe said, shaking her head.

“What is this about?” Zoe’s mom asked.

“Nothing,” Zoe said quickly. “Let’s go fill out the forms.”

“Come on, Devin,” Frida said to me after they’d gone inside. “You have to admit that this is more than a coincidence.”

“Hmmm,” I said slowly. “Is a cat the same as a friend?”

“Of course it is!” Frida replied. “Sometimes animals can be even better friends than people.” Then she counted silently on her fingers. “That’s four fortunes that have come true, Devin. You’re the last one! I bet soon, you’re going to hear about a big trip.”

I thought about the trip I wanted to take to Connecticut. But Mom hadn’t said anything about it in days, and I’d stopped asking her so that “maybe” didn’t become “no.”

“I don’t know about that, Frida,” I said.

She stared at me, and then she wiggled her fingers in a spooky way. “Flash Fortune never lies, Devin,” she said. “You’ll see!”

Chapter Thirteen

“Ice cream! Ice cream! Can we get ice cream?”

Maisie was bouncing up and down and pulling on my mother’s hand. After I’d come home from helping at the animal shelter, Dad had suggested that we go to the beach. It was a beautiful afternoon, not too hot, and a nice breeze was blowing.

When we lived in Connecticut, going to the beach was a big deal. We had to pack the car with all our gear and drive for an hour and a half to get there, and sit in traffic. Now that we lived in California, we could walk to the beach if we wanted to.

Since it was a nice day, we decided to do just that. We set up a blanket and an umbrella, and Mom sprayed sunscreen on both me and Maisie. Just after that, the ice cream guy came by, pushing his cart on the sand.

“Now, Maisie,” Mom said. “We’re going to eat dinner tonight at Captain Jack’s Seafood Shack. You don’t want to spoil your appetite.”

“Captain Jack’s?” Maisie asked. “With the free pirate hats?”

“That’s right,” Mom said.