Cheese woke up just in time to save himself from rolling off the comfy blue and… chair. For the 754th time, he wondered why such a lumpy-in-all-the-right-places chair was left in the basement. He was glad it was here though, because he felt safe when he snuggled down in its’ blue and brown and yellow stripiness. Nobody and nothing bothered him here, which was just the way he liked it.
But now he was wondering 2 things:
1) What caused him to need to come to his safe place, and
2) How long had he been there?
Cheese pondered these questions as first he stretched, then gave himself a good, long bath. He knew that for some reason, a good ear-cleaning seemed to lead to good answers.
He thought back, way back, to this morning? Yesterday? No, he definitely remembered having dinner last night, then having a long, quiet sleep in darkness, so it must be a new day….
He suddenly stopped licking and began shaking…he remembered why he had had to run to his safe spot! Just after the sun came up, he heard the sound—the horrible, awful, terrifying sound of what his people called “cat carrier”! The sound of that beast meant just one thing—he was going to the vet, and he hated the vet! [To be fair, he didn’t hate the vet—she was very nice and kind and gentle. No, what Cheese really hated was the cold, slippery table. And, it always smelled of dog! Yuck! And also, truth really be told, Cheese was not very adventurous outside of his own yard. “Out there” scared him a little.] As soon as Cheese heard the first teeny, tiny creak of the door of the “cat carrier”, he ran as fast as he could, down the stairs, across the basement floor, to the safety of his chair.
But wait a minute! If he was here, then who did the “cat carrier” trap inside its door?
Banana? Banana!!!!
Cheese jumped off the chair, ran across the basement floor, and up the stairs. He skidded around one corner, raced through a doorway, and slid to a stop in the biggest room in the house. No Banana. He sniffed the air. He could not smell Banana. He meowed a little as he left this room and headed to the next room…and the next…and the next. Banana was nowhere to be found.
He had an idea…he rushed to the big, glass doors, and looked into the back yard. What? No Banana there either!
Just as Cheese sat down to think some more, he heard the familiar noise from the garage that always came just before his people walked in the door. He heard a car door slam, and a teeny, tiny creaking noise…the BEAST!! That “cat carrier” was coming his way! He ran as fast as he could down the stairs…..to his safe spot.
He heard footsteps overhead, and then the “cat carrier” squeaked—he knew that sound was the opening of its’ door. It was quiet for a moment, then Cheese heard Banana’s bell, jingling.
“Cheeth….Cheeth…wheh ah oo, Cheeth?” Cheese heard something calling him—it sounded like Banana, and yet it didn’t.
“CHEETH!!” Oh yes, he could tell Banana’s yell anywhere. He crept out of the chair, slinked across the floor, then quietly padded up the stairs. He peered around the corner, just as a beam of sunlight came through the window. He squinted into the bright light, and saw….Banana’s teeth! Her mouth was open, and her TEETH sparkled in the sun!!
“Cheeth! Do oo ike mah teeh?” Banana smiled. “I uss ad em cleaned!”
Cheese had to admit, Banana’s teeth did look nice…and clean…and….bright!
“Ow,” Banana asked, “Ut’s oo eat? I’m sarvin!”
