Chapter 76

You know how there are some things you do on autopilot? How you hardly even know you're doing them? For me, one of them is getting Bozo's dog food. We have a plastic kitchen wastebasket in the closet with the washer and dryer. It used to have a swingy top but that got tossed long ago, being more of a nuisance than a help. When it gets empty, we fill it up again. Jack either takes it down to the garage, fills it and brings it up or he brings up the bag if it's light enough. I just grab his bowl, dip it in until I hit dog food, then use the bowl as a scoop. I've got it down pretty good, filling it, then emptying part of it until I have the right weight. Like I said, autopilot.

He was back from his nightly trip to the back yard. I'd put some more lotion on Jack's back and he did my knees for me. It's amazing how much different it felt depending upon who did it did it: I just rubbed it in, Daddy had been confident, in charge, healing, and Jack was loving. I was wearing a nightgown that showed some leg. Bozo felt cool and soft as he rubbed against me after being outside.

I did my number with the dog food and set the bowl down in front of him. And then I saw part of the dog food move and a mouse suddenly appeared and ran towards the cabinet under the sink and disappeared. A little gray streak and then he was gone, like he climbed into a space portal or something.

I don't know if Bozo didn't see the mouse or just didn't care. He dove into the bowl as if he hadn't eaten in days, just as he always does.

It's a good thing the bowl was on the floor when all this happened or I would have dropped it. Instead, I screamed. Not a horror movie scream, more of a surprised "Eeep!" I guess. But it was close enough to a scream that Jack came running into the kitchen.

"Are you OK?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. There was a stupid mouse in the dog food."

"Did you catch him?"

"No. He ran over there. Under the sink."

"Maybe he's not that stupid after all."

I wasn't in the mood to discuss the intelligence of a rodent with Jack. I yelled at Bozo, instead.

"Hey, you dumb dog. How come you didn't go after it?"

He looked up at me but was too busy eating to answer.

Jack went over to the sink and opened the cabinet. He pulled out the trash and looked around. "No mouse in here."

"Of course not. He's probably long gone, laughing with all his friends about the dumb girl who let him get away."

"Well, as long as you're OK."

He just took off, leaving me all alone in the kitchen. Well, not all alone. Bozo was still there. For all the good he did.

I got the coffee maker from where Charlie had put it and moved it to its proper place. I plugged it in, set the clock and then programmed it for the morning. The scoop was right where it should be, on the nail Jack had put in for me and I measured the beans, put in a clean filter and poured in the water. I kept my eyes open the whole time I was doing it but the mouse didn't show up again.

I brushed my teeth, washed my face and headed toward the bedroom. The living room light was on but Jack wasn't in there. I went into the bedroom but he wasn't there, either. I went back out to the living room just as he came in through the front door.

"Where did you go?"

"Down to the garage. I wanted to check out the bag of dog food."

"What did you find out?"

"Nothing much. I didn't see any holes chewed through the bag. I dug around a bit and didn't see any mice. I think I'll pick up a big trash can tomorrow, one of those rubber ones with a lid. That should keep them from getting into the dog food down there."

"But what about up here?"

"It's a lot more likely that he found a way into the bag down in the garage than into your trash can up here. I don't see the motivation for him to figure out a way to get up here. I'm sure he just got on the work bench and jumped into the bag."

"Are you positive?"

"Of course not. How could I be positive about something like that?"

"I thought so."

"You're right. He could have climbed up the stairs and waited at the front door for you to let Bozo out, then snuck in. Or he could have been in the back seat of Wanda's car and jumped in the box from Costco. Or maybe he hid in Billy's high chair and came in when Myra brought it upstairs. Or he could have been up above a door and jumped in your hair..."

"All right, All right. I get it. Now that he's here, what are we going to do?"

"I don't know about you but I'm going to get ready for bed."

"But what if..."

"What if what? What if he climbs up on the bed and gets under the covers with us? Don't worry about it. You've got more chance of a snake crawling in bed with us."

"A snake? What do you know about..."

"Jill, settle down. The mouse will stay away from our bed and there are no snakes. I'll get some mouse traps when I get the trash can tomorrow. We'll probably never see him again."

"What if he's a her? We'll have all kinds of little mouse babies all over the place."

"If that happens, I'll get another package of mouse traps."

"Jack! I'm serious here."

"So am I. Good night."

He just climbed into bed like it was an ordinary night.

I got in and made sure the covers were all pulled in underneath me on the side away from him. I pulled him over to me and held on tight.

The alarm went off and Jack leaned over to hit the button, then sat on the edge of the bed. I checked over every inch of my body with my mind, not finding any furry things on me that didn't belong.

Somebody gave us a flyswatter at our housewarming party and it was hanging in the kitchen, just inside the door. I grabbed it as I entered.

Everything looked OK. Bozo looked up at me, a curious expression on his face. I crept up to the sink as quietly as I could, raised my right hand with the flyswatter in it and opened the cupboard door as quickly as possible. No mouse. I pulled out the trash can, ready to catch him hiding behind it. Still no mouse. No mouse droppings, either. By now, Bozo was next to me, checking under the sink, trying to figure out what I was up to.

"Come on, Boy."

I put the flyswatter on the counter and headed down the hallway, my dog at my heels. I opened the front door and let him out. It looked more like London than southern California. I could just make out the outline of the main house through the fog.

I shivered and closed the door. Jack was in the kitchen when I got back, pouring coffee for the two of us. I got the flyswatter off the counter and went over to the washer and dryer closet at the far end of the kitchen. I opened the door and checked. No mouse that I could see. I leaned over the trash container of dog food and looked. No mouse. I flipped the flyswatter around and used the handle to dig around a bit. Still no mouse.

"You don't think he's going to let you find him, do you?"

"Why not?"

"Dear, you may think he's stupid but he and his ancestors have spent eons learning how to avoid being caught. I bet his great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather outsmarted a caveman or two just like this one is doing with you."

I closed the closet. "Yeah, well, if this guy thinks he's gonna get away with living in my kitchen, he's got another think coming."

"We'll see. We'll see. Here. Drink your coffee."

I used the bathroom and took my shower. Just in case, I took mine the same time Jack was taking his. No mouse in the shower, so that was good.

I put some panties on and got my Aloe Vera. There were no scabs on my knees, just a few small pink spots. I put it on and then slid on a pair of jeans. That's all I'd need; having to wear shorts when it was foggy.

I said goodbye to Jack, went downstairs and into the kitchen. Mom was pouring some coffee for herself. "There's the girl with the fancy coffee machine."

"Hey, it's not my fault that I enjoy fresh ground coffee."

"I know. I'm going to save up and get one of my own. By the way. If any of your teachers or friends are going to be stuck alone for Thanksgiving, feel free to invite them. Just let me know how many."

"What if they want to bring something?"

"Have them call me."

"OK."

Mary and Charlie were sitting at the table. Mary seemed a little extra-clingy with Charlie this morning.

"Uh, oh. What's happening?"

"I got a call from my dad last night. He's back in town. He said he's going to call me when he gets home tonight. He wants me to go over and talk to him."

"Ah. Afraid the honeymoon's over?"

Mary sniffed. "Something like that."

"Well, you know he's not going to cut you guys off. Not after allowing it while he was away. You guys haven't done anything you shouldn't, have you? Anything to piss your mother off?"

"No. It's just everything was perfect with Charlie living here."

"I'm sure Claude will take that into account. He's really a pretty nice guy."

Charlie gave Mary a long kiss.

"She's right, Honey. He wouldn't tell us we can't be together after already letting us. Let's hear what he has to say before we start worrying about it."

She sniffed again. "OK. I love you."

"I love you too." He kissed her on the top of her head.

On the way out to the car I said, "I assume your mother's not with him."

"No, she's not."

"How's she doing?"

"I'll tell you on the way."

We got into the car and he pulled into the street.

"Dad said there's not a whole lot of difference. One day she's almost back to her old self, the next she doesn't recognize anybody. The doctors are hoping that not having him around constantly will actually help."

"Oh, Boy. I bet that makes him feel good."

"He's not too happy, that's for sure. I know my mother's not the easiest person in the world to get along with and she's gotten ten times worse since the beating, but we both love her. It's tough for me and I've got Mary. I have no idea how he's handling it and maintaining his sanity."

"He's been a strong man ever since I've known him."

"That's true. I'm worried about Mary. If he wants me to move back home, I don't know how she'll react. I don't want to have to sneak in some love on the weekends. And I sure don't want to have to resort to making love in the back seat of my car."

"Mary will survive, no matter how much drama she puts herself through. Wait and talk to him. Then you'll know where you stand and whether you need to do anything or not."

"Yeah, you're right. Do me a favor? Tell my brain to stop worrying."

"I don't do brains."

We pulled into the senior parking lot. Yes, there's a special lot for seniors. Our school is on a hill. As you go up the street to the school, the regular lot is on the left. It's pretty much for juniors and those sophomores who've been invited to take a year over again. It has a double stairway with handrails on both sides and in the middle. There must be fifteen or twenty steps that lead up to the senior lot. No ramp. I've never parked there, but getting my rolling case up those stairs has got to be a bitch. Up past that is the senior lot on the left and the faculty lot on the right. Both have their own gates to the school. I was never going to get to park a car in either of them. I'd be out of here before I was eligible to take a test for my license.