Kittie Kapers

Curled up under the fluffy comforter, our heroine sleeps as her husband gently snores at her side. The green glow of the alarm clock from the bedside table shows as the minutes tick by accompanied by the tock of the living room clock. Slowly the time passes. 3:02. . . 3:03. . . Outside, the storm which raged earlier has worn itself down to a gently pattering against the window panes. 3:28 . . . 3:29 . . . In the cozy living room two cats doze snuggled on the leather sectional between bouts of maniacal chasing, water breaks, and midnight snacks. 3:44 . . . 3:45 . . . the numbers on the clock continue to count the time.

Our heroine stirs as there is a slight sagging of the mattress near her feet but she doesn't wake up. The comfortor rustles slightly as padded feet make their way up the bed between the sleeping couple. Hubby's snores cover most of the sound with snorts and wheezes. 3:52 . . . 3:53. . . The rustling stops. The heroine's pillow suddenly tilts to one side but still she doesn't wake. Now a quiet rumbling sound joins the snoring. Occasionally there is a watery licking sound interrupting the rumbling which gradually increases in volume as the time continues to pass.

The "sweaty" dreams of our heroine ( which each of her three doctors blame on the medicines given by the others and which have nothing to do with any "sweaty" activities in them!) begin to include the odd rumbles. Her nose twitches as something brushes against it and, sighing, she turns her head to the other side of the pillow. The irritation seems to follow her causing her to mumble angrily in her sleep. 3:59 . . . 4:00 . . .

The rumbling increases in volume until it dominates the heroines dreams. She dreams that she is on a highway behing a very noisy truck spewing irritaing smoke which makes her nose itch. 4:15 . . . 4:16 . . . As she tried to turn over, she finds her pillow to be mysteriously smaller. There is hardly any room for her head. Half waking, but without opening her eyes, she moves her head further to the side of the pillow. Now she rests only on a tiny corner of the pillow while the rest is occupied by another presence.

4:20. . . 4:21. . . Suddenly, the heroine is awakened by a heavy slap to her face! She gasps and half sits up in bed. He eyes pop open to reveal the source of her awakening. A furry kitty is sprawled on her pillow looking at her through eyes no larger than slits. He is rumbling loudly in his efforts to wake her. Relieved to find her irritant something so familiar, the woman sighs heavily and turns onto her stomach. The cat instantly leaps to her back and begins kneading. He will continue to knead for at least ten minutes during which our heroine slips off to sleep again while wishing the cat would move just a little to the left to hit that sore muscle. 4:28 . . . 4: 29 . . .