Looking for Serenity

She sighed deeply as she turned off the ignition and closed the garage door. The interior car light was on and she paused to savor the quiet and calm. When the light turned itself off she headed into her house. She had only two keys on her ring, the car and house key. Prying her boots off on the door mat, she steadied herself on the arm of the sofa. The interior darkness wasn’t complete. The blue light from the DVD player cast a glowing circle. As she moved through the hall she could see the reflection of the microwave display in the glass of the wall clock. She sighed again. This time it was the sound of satisfaction. All was as it should be. There was serenity. Even the air was welcoming. A small smile played across her face. The crease between her eyes relaxed and the tension in her muscles eased. Silently she hung her purse on the back of the kitchen chair and shed her winter coat. She stood motionless for several minutes letting her eyes adjust to the dark and her ears pick up the subtle sounds of the house. She waited. It had become a game she played, marking the time from opening the garage door to when he would finally realize she had come home. She savored the delay, amused at how quickly he would appear. She jumped with the light touch on her arm. He was a marvel of stealth and it pleased her that he greeted her with this gentle gesture. “There you are, Mister.” she whispered. He responded with a soft touch and was gone. She knew where he went. Reluctantly she turned on the light. She had installed dimmer switches throughout her home. She preferred a soft light to the glaring white in her office. Mister seemed to prefer the shadows too. His sleek black form rarely ventured into the center of a room, preferring to hug the walls and navigate behind and beneath the furniture. If only she could have been born a cat she thought. With a relaxed motion, she gave Mister his dinner. While she watched him eat she pondered her own dinner choices. She wasn’t usually lazy when it came to meal preparation but today had been a trial. The choices were slim, leftover quiche or cereal. “Eeny-meeny-miny-moe” she intoned and then decided that a scrambled egg on buttered toast sounded better than either of the other choices. Mister appeared on her lap as she started to take the first bite. She was never sure if he just wanted attention or if he was after her food. It didn’t matter. She willingly gave him the second bite. He was a dainty eater nipping off just one little corner before curling up on her lap. It was as if he knew that she savored the silence. Everyone always talked about their cats purring loudly but Mister didn’t make any noise, only a constant vibration deep in his chest. In fact he was so quiet that most of the time she couldn’t determine his location. He could be lurking under a chair or stretched behind her head and she wouldn’t know until he tapped her ankle or her shoulder.

This is episode #2 of “An Introvert’s Story”. Some people are dog lovers and others are crazy cat ladies. You can draw your own conclusions.