Vacation Time Part V, or Going Home

continued from Part IV

Driving home proved to be much hotter this time around. The sun was out in force, and the sky was so very blue but only a few wispy clouds, and the trees and grass were vivid variations of green.

Mom was our audio-book again, and luckily I wasn't as sleepy this time, so I was able to drive a little less than two-thirds of the way before turning it over to Daddy. It's not so much that I can't drive the whole way (I've done it plenty of times), but the more tired I get, the more distractions bother me, and the testier I get with said distractions. When it's just me in my car with music, I can simply turn the music off. Human companions are a bit more difficult.

So Daddy drove the rest of the way. While we did stop for gas and the required bathroom breaks, we didn't actually stop for supper. Daddy said we'd get home around the time that Mom and he usually ate anyway, and I was perfectly willing just to snack for food. Both Mom and I didn't particularly want a repeat of supper on the way up.

They had picked me up from my house so my car would be there while I was gone, and thus they dropped me off before going home. 

Mom said, as I gathered up all my belongings, "I'll help," and then, as I persisted in putting all the bags on myself, said "why won't you let me help?"

"I don't want to go in there" shrugging in the direction of my house, "with strangers." (I meant strangers to the cats, and she knew that, because her response was an enlightened, "oh, right!")

So I staggered into the kitchen with all my bags strewn around me, and announced that I was home, it was me, you can come out, where is everybody? and about that point Thimble thundered into the kitchen, with Apricot hard on his heels and Colby a few feet behind them.

They were ecstatic to see me home. This is only the second time in their lives I've left overnight, and they were worried. Colby even required some coaxing before he'd admit it was me and he was happy to see me. 

I smelled funny, you see, so they thought it was possible I could be someone else. Although I did sound like me. And look like me. And eventually, they admitted that underneath all the external scents, I smelled like me too.

For the past two days (I took two more days off work after I came back simply because I didn't have my normal weekend to do things like wash clothes, vacuum the house, etc) they have been following me around. Thimble's practically been glued to my side. He hasn't protested his crate at night at all, almost volunteering to go into it (this means things are back to normal, being crated at night, thus the willingness to "leave" me). 

And the other two, while willing to sleep during the day and let me unsupervised, are trading off that sleep so there's always two cats with me ... or magically always in the same room with me.

Typical view these past days ... I turn around from the kitchen counter, and there everyone is.