The New Resident

A couple of days ago, I got up at my usual 5:00, headed downstairs, started my chai tea, and then walked into the living room to turn the light on when Ajax bounded through the cat door in the window with a perfectly healthy live mouse in his mouth. Once inside, he set him free on the carpet and began the game of cat and mouse. I stood frozen. But suddenly, I whipped into gear and began screaming and stomping like a crazy lady, yelling, "Ajax, get out! Get out now!" And, wonder of wonders, he did. He scooped up the mouse in his mouth and, clearly wanting to escape my crazy antics, madly dashed back through the cat door and out into the darkness with his prize.

Whew.

I stood there for a just a minute to let my heart slow a bit and then went about my normal routine--letting out Piper, giving him his pill, feeding the "wet" food to the cats, etc.

And then, I headed back into the living room for some "me" time--my absolute favorite time of the day....except, Ajax was back. This time he was peering frantically under the couch, moving his body with whatever was underneath and stretching his paw in hopes of catching it.

Clearly, the mouse was back.

I moved the couch and sure enough--he scurried out from under it and along the edge of the wall while Ajax, tired of his moving target, headed to the kitchen to find some food that didn't take so much work...and he couldn't be persuaded to come back and finish what he started.

Somehow I managed to chase the mouse into Darian's bedroom and closed the door, barricading the closet and the bedroom door with towels. And at 5:15 a.m., I headed upstairs to get Roy to help me get rid of this unwanted little creature.

I wish I had a video of the two of us scrambling after that damn mouse. For the next thirty minutes, we chased it like morons. It would go under the dresser, under the bed, under the hope chest, under under under...while we screamed and swung and chased. At times it even managed to run over my feet--or Roy's-- and we yelled like banshees and jogged in place for a second.

We did this for 30 minutes. Yeah.

T.H.I.R.T.Y. M.I.N.U.T.E.S.

Finally, after barricading all hiding places with towels and such, we had him cornered and there was no escape. We slowly went towards him--each of us with containers, a broom...and just when we were seconds away, inches away, from catching that little sucker....

....he went down the heating vent.

Yep. There's now a healthy, live mouse in our heating system.

Meanwhile, my "quiet" time was over. I headed back upstairs to get ready for work.

While I was at work, I sent a text to Roy: Please take Ajax in the car, drive a few miles down the road, and throw him out the window.

Roy responded: Great idea.

A couple of hours later, Roy sent me a photo of Ajax and Piper curled up together, sleeping contentedly. The caption?  "He found his way back home."

Meanwhile, I will go about my life, living my own definition of normal...but a little piece of me will be ever watchful for a little resident who has total access to every room in our home...

If anyone hears me screaming, or spies me doing a strange sort of dance through my windows....well, you'll know why.