Population Miniscule

Chapter 5: Sightings

Catherine arrived home mid-afternoon on Saturday. Kendon hadn't been awake very long when he heard her scramble through the door with her bags. He breathed a short sigh of relief glad that she had made the trip safely.

“Turk. Turkey. Here, kitty!” Catherine called from the kitchen.

Kendon heard the familiar thud of the heavy tomcat jump to the floor in the bedroom as Catherine filled his bowl with dry kibble. He let out his usual cheery meow and Catherine cooed at him in greeting. Kendon listened intently.

Catherine returned the cat food to the cabinet. He could hear her muffled voice through the wall. He walked out of his office and listened more closely.

“What is this!?!” Catherine exclaimed.

There were dry cereal bits and rice strewn inside the cabinet.

“Looks like the mice had a party while I was away. Turkey, what good are you?”

The cat didn't move from his bowl.

“I'm going to have to break down and buy some traps. I really don't want to do that. Where is a man when you need one?”

Kendon smiled to himself in spite of the fact that the entire situation worried him a little bit. Had he missed something? Had the kids been in the cabinet without permission again? A million thoughts ran through his mind all at once. Had they covered their tracks? He listened as Catherine moved into the living room.

“What in the...?”

Kendon hurried down the hall and saw Catherine bend down pick up a tiny quilt. He gasped in horror. It was Kendra's from her sleepover the previous night. It had been chilly in the house. Apparently, Catherine had the thermostat on a timer.

Catherine held the piece of cloth in front of her face between her index finger and thumb turning it back and forth. Kendon could only look on with no sense of control. She spread it across her hand and rubbed her fingers over the tiny stitching. She placed it gently on the arm of her favorite chair. Kendon watched as she looked around the room. She walked to the satellite box and hit the power button. The green light faded. Kendon cursed under his breath. He should have been more careful. He flattened himself against the wall and tried to breathe deep and slow. He could hear his own heart pounding loudly within his chest. He ran over the scenarios in his mind. If those were the only two things, they would probably slip from Catherine's mind without incident. The only real concern would be the mouse traps. Yes, worse case scenario would be the traps.

Kendon returned to his office to think. Starla was going to kill him. Speaking of Starla, she was due back any time now. Kendon's stress was supposed to be significantly reduced by the last week of relaxation and so far he had just managed to make it ten times worse. He found himself unable to sit still. He paced the office back and forth. After a few minutes, he could hear Catherine's muffled voice coming from the living room. He walked down the corridor and listened. She was speaking on the phone.

“Well, if you didn't drop it, who did?” She paused in the throes of conversation.

“No, it's a small square cloth that looks like a piece of a quilt, but the stitching is so tiny...I don't even know how anyone could see to sew that small.

I don't know where it could have come from. I just assumed you dropped it.

Did you watch TV while you were here?

Because the satellite was on, and I'm sure I turned everything off before I left.

It's just really weird. I feel creeped out like someone was here while I was gone.