Chapter Text
The summer he turned seventeen, everything changed. It started the day after school ended. Ms. Abernathy, the crazy cat lady down the street, was dead. As the coroner wheeled the covered gurney onto the sidewalk, a few of the onlookers gagged at the smell. "She'd been dead for a few days…" Lisa sat down next to her brother on the curb in front of their house and Bart looked over at her.
"What about her cats?" He finally looked away from the house. There were police officers and neighbors alike trying to herd said pets. Lisa just shrugged sadly. "Did she even have family?"
"Otto." Lisa's reply made him scoff. Otto was in rehab, what good could he do right now? The siblings shared a look, coming to the same idea.
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While Lisa and Marge baked away, Bart was busy in the garage, painting a sign with his music far too loud. The Simpsons had decided to start a fundraiser to bury their deceased neighbor. "Whoa Bart, what a cool sign!"
"Milhouse, don't scare me like that." Despite the shock, Bart played it off with a cool smirk. "What's up dude?"
Milhouse hadn't even gotten off his bike, he was just rolling back and forth. "My mom told me about your neighbor so I wanted to see if you were planning anything." He explained.
"Sure am, rally the troops and meet me at the town square." Milhouse saluted before riding off again.
Bart wiped the sweat forming on his upper lip as he looked across the street at the now vacant house. He had interacted with her plenty of times. Even just last week he mowed her lawn and took out her trash. She had been friendly, almost even coherent. He wondered if she knew she was dying? Was that something people knew? Grandpa was out on some old people singles cruise so Bart couldn't ask him.
"Bart, we're ready!" His mother's voice snapped him out of his thoughts and he ran inside to help. "We put aside some goodies for you too, dear." She gave him a wink and piled his arms full of cookies before putting one in his mouth
"Thanks mom." His reply was muffled by the food as he turned around to go load the first round of baked goods into the car. Cookies, pies, lemon squares. How did mom and Lisa get all of these baked in only a few hours? The cookies were packed in bundles of six and the pies in halves. Hopefully Homer and Maggie were ready too.
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"Here ye! Here ye! The Simpsons are calling for your attention!" Homer rang his bell as he shouted for his fellow Springfieldians. The closest of the bystanders quickly focused on the big man's loud mouth and drew closer to read the sandwich board he wore. "That's right folks, take a look!"
On his board was a picture of Eleanor taken from a newspaper clipping. "We're raising money for Ms. Abernathy by offering baked goods for sale." Lisa rolled her eyes at the blank stores. "The crazy cat lady!" She shouted. Soft noises of realization filled the audience. The Simpsons sure were the loudest family in Springfield, but that Marge Simpson sure knew how to bake.
"The prices are reasonable" and "The funds are going to a good cause" could be heard as people lined up. "Yeah, I gotta get some of Marge's lemon squares."
Bart saw Milhouse making his way through the crowd with Nelson, Martin and Lisa's friend Janey in tow. "What's the plan, Bart?"
"We're going to let mom, Homer and Maggie take it from here. Us and Lisa are going back to the house to clean." A chorus of groans, but no real protests gave Bart the confidence to continue. "We're going to take turns, one of us will go to the house every day to take care of the cats on a rotating schedule."
"Bart, how long are we going to have to do this?" Asked Martin, who received a punch in the arm from Nelson.
"Can it, nerd. Can't you do something nice for a dead lady without complaining?" Before Martin could respond, Nelson acted like he was going to hit him again. "Two for flinching."
"Ow. Ow." Martin took his lumps with another groan and rubbed his arm.
"Just until Otto is out of rehab." Otto had been Bart's drug dealer until the bus driver decided to get clean. The two had remained in contact. "Or until he can get someone else to do it."