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“You really think so, Max?” said Dooley, hope visibly surging as he eyed me excitedly. “You really think they will go on one date and that’s it?”

“Absolutely,” I said. “Gran has been on many dates, if you recall, and she’s never once mentioned the word marriage.”

“She was with this Leo guy,” said Dooley, nodding furiously. “And this Dick guy, and this Rock guy. And she never said she’d marry any of them. Not even once.”

Gran had gone out with many eligible bachelors over the years, but always found something about them she didn’t like. And knowing Wilbur, Gran would soon find fault with him, too.

“I think Gran is after Wilbur for his money,” said Brutus. “Wilbur is probably loaded. And Gran loves money. Remember how she claimed the inheritance of the Most Fascinating Man in the World? She was even going to live in his mansion in Colorado.”

I remembered. It hadn’t been Gran’s finest hour, and even less so when she’d started quarreling with Scarlett, who’d made the exact same claim against the dead man’s fortune.

“I think Gran just wants some company,” said Harriet, striking the romantic note. “She is, after all, a woman all by herself. Even though she has a loving family and four loving cats, she probably wants a man to hold her close at night, and to talk about what her day has been like.” She sighed. “I’m just afraid she won’t find that kind of companionship with Wilbur.”

We’d arrived at the park, and I could see that cat choir was going to be a crowded affair. Officially the gathering is designed to give us an opportunity to practice our singing skills, and maybe even take our show on the road—though Shanille, cat choir’s conductor, feels we’re not ready yet to sing in front of an audience. I happen to agree.

I saw how Dooley made a beeline for Kingman, Wilbur Vickery’s piebald. “Kingman!” said Dooley anxiously. “My human and your human are dating. Did you know?”

Kingman looked slightly taken aback by this piece of news.“Dating? What are you talking about?”

“Gran and Wilbur—they’re dating! And there’s even talk of marriage! Which means that you and I…” He swallowed. “You and I… might be brothers in the near future!”

Kingman darted a curious glance at me, and I shrugged.“They are dating,” I confirmed, “but I haven’t heard anything about a wedding being planned.”

“Are you sure?” said Kingman. “Cause Wilbur usually doesn’t date anyone over the age of fifty. I even heard him tell Mayor Butterwick once that if she wanted to snag him she needed to hurry up. She’s forty-eight, see, and he told her she only has two years left before she reaches the cutoff point.”

“What did she say?” I asked, curious.

“She slapped him across the face,” said Kingman with a grin. “Which happens a lot, actually. Wilbur isn’t what you might call a ladies’ man. In fact you might call him an anti-ladies’ man. Not a chick magnet, if you see what I mean, but a chick repellent.”

“Yeah, I don’t really see this whole affair going anywhere,” I confided in Kingman. I glanced around, and saw that Harriet and Brutus were chatting with Shanille, possibly arranging Gran’s wedding, as Shanille is Father Reilly’s cat. “As far as I understand, Scarlett set the whole thingup. And she’s not exactly the world’s best matchmaker.”

“Scarlett set this up?” said Kingman, his smile widening. “This will not end well, boys. I see another slap in the face in Wilbur’s future. Two slaps, probably, as Vesta Muffin has two good hands on her.”

And it was with this takeaway that we assumed our positions, and moments later choir practice began. Dooley, who seemed more or less reassured by Kingman’s words, sang his little heart out, and so did I. And when it finally came time for Harriet’s big solo, she opted to sing the tune from Titanic for some reason. Possibly she had romance on her mind—a word no one has ever associated with Gran, except apparently Harriet.

When rehearsals were over, Shanille approached me, a serious look on her face.“Max, we need to talk,” she said, and led me away from the throng for a private word. “Harriet tells me Gran and Wilbur are getting married. Is this true?”

“I think it’s a little early to start ringing the wedding bells,” I said with a smile. “They’re going on their first date, that much is true, but beyond that who knows what will happen.”