I stretch and smile as Puck, my 5 year old calico, jumps onto my bed and rubs her head against my hand. "Hungry, mama?" She meows as if in response. "Okay, breakfast time it is." I sit up, stretch again, then stuff my feet into my favourite slippers. They're holey and a mysterious grey colour, but I love them anyway. "Here we go, sweet thing." I dump Puck's breakfast in her bowl and turn on the coffee maker, looking around for the newspaper. Felix usually brings it in before he leaves for work. I frown when I realize I don't see it.
I walk to the front door and peer onto the porch. There it is, sitting in the morning sunshine. After retrieving it from outside and pouring myself some coffee, I dial Felix at work. No answer. I frown again and put the phone on the table. Puck meows up at me and rubs against my ankles, purring. I pick her up and cradle her against my chest while taking a sip of coffee. I contemplate going to Felix's work but decide against it. He probably just forgot the paper and is too busy to answer his phone. Having decided that, I put Puck down and get ready for my day.
An hour later, as I'm picking up my keys from the front hall table, I'm suddenly seized with an overwhelming urge to hide in the hall closet. Just as I close the closet door, the front door opens. "Is she here?" I cover my mouth with my hand to stifle my surprise.
"Who cares? We were told to get the file and get out. His office is upstairs. Come on." The two men walk past my closet and down the hall to the stairs. I sit on the floor and breathe deeply, listening to their footsteps walk around the second floor. After a few minutes I crack open the closet door to see if I can hear what the men are saying upstairs. I catch a word here or there, not enough to clue me in as to what they're looking for. Felix deals with pet foods. He's the senior manager for a company that distributes food for every type of pet imaginable. What could they possibly be looking for.
I quickly close the door as I hear the men coming back down the stairs. "Shouldn't we at least make sure she's not here? Her car is here. Where else would she be?" I hear an exasperated sigh.
"Fine. Start in the back and I'll start here." I shove myself as far into the closet as I can manage. There's no way I won't be spotted. I hold my breath as the closet door slowly opens. Please don't see me.. Please don't see me.. To my utter amazement, the guy takes a quick look and shuts the door again. I listen as both of them walk around the house for another couple minutes, then meet back in the front hall. "Nothing."
"Maybe she went for a walk."
"Who cares, let's go." After the door closes I peek out of the closet and then scramble out. I go to Felix's office and look around. Nothing is obviously disturbed, but I can tell that things have been moved, which means Felix will know. And I have the distinct feeling that Felix should not know anyone was here. I straighten up and go back downstairs for my phone. I call Felix again and again there's no answer. I look down as I hear a meow at my feet.
"Hi baby." I scoop up Puck and make my way to the living room couch. Puck settles in for a nap on my legs. I think about what happened in the closet while I listen to Puck's purring. That man should have seen me. I wasn't hidden well enough for him not to. All I remember is pleading that he wouldn't see me, and he didn't. It's baffling, but things like it have happened before.
I was at the grocery store last week with only a few things in my basket. The woman in front of me had a full cart and a folder full of coupons. She was arguing with the cashier about one particular coupon. I remember wishing that she would just shut up and pay for her stuff. And she did. I chalked it up to her realizing she wasn't going to win that battle, but now I wonder if there was more to it. What though, I don't know.
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