relieved.

i have such a sad. sad. christmas story. but. don't fret. it ends well.
smokey and i. we love eachother. though, most the time, she acts like she hates me. i promise you. she really doesn't.
i'll get on with it. on christmas eve. there were a whole lot of people visiting the call household. we had a full house. and it was a blast. but. smokey and i are a lot alike. and we don't like a crowd of over, say....15. and we had many more than that. and smokey, she got nervous. and agitated. and the father made me put her out. yes. i was shocked as well. outside. the dad made me put dear smokey outside. and i did. figuring she'd stay close to home, due to the cold.
bad news. she didn't. after all the fam had exited. i went looking for the feline. and...to my horror. she was no where. to be found. i figured she'd be back by morn though. she's tough, could kill a mouse for dinner. and it was christmas. no chance she'd freeze to death. well. christmas morning came. and the ma woke me up. at 8 30. and. i'll admit it. smokey didn't even cross my mind. we came down, opened presents. and i looked at the fireplace. seeing smokey's stocking jogged my memory. i went looking for her, expecting her to be at the front door. as she is most mornings. and again, bad news. she wasn't. devastation? yes. after breakfast. i searched again. still. no sign.
a little later. i looked. and called. nothing.
supper came. nothing.
her presents and stocking still sat. untouched.
visit with the grandparents. nothing.
she was on my mind. she could be frozen. what if she hadn't found a mouse? oh. shoot.
walking home from the grandparents. and. guess what?....a shadow ran across the road. and sat on my driveway. needless to say, i ran the rest of the way home. and sure enough. sitting there. waiting for me, licking her paws. in an extra sassy way was....smokey.
she missed all but the last few hours of christmas.
that darn cat.