It was very warm for February. Anna and her brother, John, played outside in the beautiful, sunny weather. Dad was washing his car. When Mom came home with the groceries, Dad sent the kids to help carry bags. They ran to the garage to help her. But when they got there, Mom was kneeling on the ground near where their bikes were parked, petting a gray cat with long hair. 

"Can we pet her?" Anna asked. 

"Be careful," Mom said. Anna knew these directions were for her brother, who was often rough with things. 

"She's fat," John giggled. 

"She's not fat. She's pregnant," Mom told him. 

"What's that mean?" John asked. 

"It means she's going to have kittens." Anna said. "Can we keep her?" Anna begged. "Please?" 

Mom and Dad looked at each other. 

"We could take her to the pound, or she could stay outside here," Mom said. "Long-haired cats give you rashes." 

"But you always said you wanted one," Dad told Mom. "Short-haired cats don't bother me, and if she stays here, we have to give the kittens away. Let's send her over to your parents' farm. She can live in the barn, and then if one of the kittens has short hair, we can keep that one." 

The kids were excited. They named the cat Socks because she had white feet, and they went to visit her every day. Socks had her kittens in April, and, to everyone's excitement, two of them had short hair. Dad said that since they were brother and sister, they could keep both kittens. Anna named her kitten Lucky, and John named his kitten Spike. The other two kittens, Butterscotch and Squeakers, stayed at Grandma and Grandpa's house, but Anna and John each got a kitten of their very own.
Who was cleaning the car?
Dad was washing his car.