Happy New Year my loves! I know...I'm a few months late. But life has been a little on the crazy side for me these days. I have several posts I've been working on that I am hoping to have finished today; I've been bitten by the inspiration bug and I'm finally out of my jam. I'm spending today at a place on base that offers free WiFi and tasty (not all healthy, but I promise to limit myself) food. Why did I need to search out WiFi you ask? Well, let me tell you a little story; a tale of a smart little cat, a (potentially) deadly fire, and an evil Property Manager.....okay, maybe I'm being a tad melodramatic. But I am in the mood for story telling. So here goes:
Jenks Saves The Day!
"Hope? I changed my mind, maybe I should just wait until....." the young woman sighed as all the lights in her home shut off at once, plunging them into darkness relieved only by the dimming light of the setting sun. Standing in the doorway of her home, Samantha just shook her head and turned to look toward the white car in the driveway, reassuring herself that the blue-eyed boy nestled in his car seat was still sleeping.
"Did you say something?" Hope asked, popping her head into the entryway.
"Don't worry about it, so you think resetting the breaker will fix it?"
"Not sure, I figured it was worth a shot. Fixed our water heater once." She vanished, and a moment later the lights came back on.
Samantha frowned, and walked further into the house. Something was off about the kitchen light now....and the living room lights were far too bright. "Hope?" A feeling of dread filled her as she watched the kitchen light dim, then brighten. The living room lights brightened further. "Shit...turn them off!" The house abruptly went dark. "Did you do that?"
"Yeah..." Hope left the fuse box and moved to stand next to her friend. "I'm sorry sweetie, I think I made it worse. I didn't hear your water heater coming back on."
"It's fine, this happened right after we moved in last year too. They had to replace some fuses I think. Ugh, I hate this house...." Samantha sighed, wrapped her arms around herself, and looked down at the meowing cat at her feet. "Something tells me we aren't going to have heat tonight Zoey," she said to the tortoiseshell colored cat.
"This is just scary, and makes no sense. Resetting the damn breaker should not cause a power surge! Come on, let's go over to your Property Manager's office before they close. I am not leaving you alone in this house while the electricity is going nuts." Hope said decidedly, giving the other woman her best "don't argue with me" look Samantha recognized as the one she used with her son when he was giving her a hard time about putting on clothes before leaving the house.
"Yes Mother dearest," she replied, and hot footed it to the car. She knew better than to argue with Hope when she was feeling protective. She could be as stubborn as Samantha herself, one of the many things she loved (and sometimes disliked) about her best friend. Hope rolled her eyes at the nickname, and followed her to the car.
They arrived just as a small group of men were entering the building. Samantha jumped out to speak to them. She explained the electrical issues and the inoperative water heater; and after a few phone calls, was told an electrician would be at her door at nine the following morning. "Just now is best not use lights okay?" the man said pleasantly.
Back at the house, Hope looked unhappily at Samantha, "are you sure you don't want to just come home with me?"
"I'll be fine, I don't want to put you out. Besides, if he shows up early I might miss him" Samantha assured her friend. "I have my books and the lanterns Bran bought the last time this happened, it's no big."
"Okay....but you know you would not be putting us out right? If you get scared or anything, just call me and I'll come right back." Hope told her.
"I'm not afraid of the dark...." Samantha grumbled as she exited the car and walked to her front door.
"MerrOW!" Jenks said as she walked up the stairs, hoping up each step, tight at her side.
"Jenks, if you trip me on these stairs again Daddy is going to throw you out a window" Samantha said exasperatedly. She walked into her bedroom, holding up the lantern to watch all three cats rush to their bowls, meowing piteously as though they were starving to death. She laughed, filled their bowls, and tucked herself into bed. As each cat finished his or her meal, they hopped onto the bed to join her. Zoey snuggled under the blankets, slowly warming from her body. Dren plucked himself down by her feet, sighed, and curled his tail tightly around him. "If you're cold you can come snuggle with Zoey and me....sorry the house is so cold guys. It will be fixed tomorrow, I'm sure." As though he were responding to her assurances, though she wasn't sure exactly what he meant, Jenks meowed at her, batted her book with his paw, and curled up next to her, on top of the blankets, and his sister. Samantha laughed, and opened her book.
A few hours later, eyes heavy with sleep, she turned off the lantern and fell into dreams of her favorite characters.
"MrrrrrOWOWOWOWOW" Jenk's voice was shrill in her ear, Samantha groaned and turned away from the irritating noise. A sudden, sharp pain on her earlobe brought her fully awake. The light from the moon and neighbor's porch lights could barely penetrate the smoke, heavy and thick, now filling her lungs, making her cough and gag. She turned on the lantern and looked in time to see the pillow by her bed catch fire. She threw the bedding away from her and the flames as she launched out of bed, grabbed the pillow, and beat it until the fire was gone. Then she leaned around the nightstand and yanked the power-strip from the outlet. That was when the smoke detector finally went off, beeping incessantly, and (unnecessarily). A string of profanity dropped from Samantha's lips as she threw open both windows to air out the smoke. Heart pounding from fear and adrenaline, she looked at the damage, trying to determine if she needed to call the fire department. The beeping stopped, leaving an echo in her mind as she stared at the pillow and the ruined power-strip. Only two cords were plugged into it; the lamp and her iphone charger. Thankfully, she had decided against charging her phone, seeing as the charger was completely destroyed. "How much worse could it have been if her phone had been plugged in? And what about every other outlet in the house that has things plugged in?" That thought had her snatching the lantern and running. Heart in her throat, anxiety causing her stomach to nearly rebel, she bolted from room to room unplugging everything. She even ran outside to the laundry room to unplug the washer and dryer. Returning to her bedroom, Samantha sat on the bed and tried to remember how to breathe. Jenks sat beside her, purring, and rubbed his body against her. With a choked sob, Samantha snatched up the little cat and hugged him.
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The fire was blamed on a power surge that was eventually traced back to my water heater. The repairman replaced the main breaker and a few fuses. But he told me the wiring in the house needed to be replaced, and soon. The surge took out the power strip, iphone charger, clothes dryer, my laptop charger, and both pieces of equipment needed for internet: the modem and the router. No explanation could be found for why the smoke detector in my bedroom did not go off (in my panic I only realized later it was the one in the hallway that finally sounded, and NOT the one in my bedroom)
.......it goes without saying, that my Little Shit was given as many treats as his tummy could handle. Hope and I spoiled him silly in the days (and weeks) that followed. I'm sure that even if he hadn't woken me, I would not have died, but considering the fire was right next to my bed I probably would have come away with a few nasty burns. Jenks saved me from that, and saved us from losing a lot more than a few electronics and a pillow.
Jenks Saves The Day!
"Hope? I changed my mind, maybe I should just wait until....." the young woman sighed as all the lights in her home shut off at once, plunging them into darkness relieved only by the dimming light of the setting sun. Standing in the doorway of her home, Samantha just shook her head and turned to look toward the white car in the driveway, reassuring herself that the blue-eyed boy nestled in his car seat was still sleeping.
"Did you say something?" Hope asked, popping her head into the entryway.
"Don't worry about it, so you think resetting the breaker will fix it?"
"Not sure, I figured it was worth a shot. Fixed our water heater once." She vanished, and a moment later the lights came back on.
Samantha frowned, and walked further into the house. Something was off about the kitchen light now....and the living room lights were far too bright. "Hope?" A feeling of dread filled her as she watched the kitchen light dim, then brighten. The living room lights brightened further. "Shit...turn them off!" The house abruptly went dark. "Did you do that?"
"Yeah..." Hope left the fuse box and moved to stand next to her friend. "I'm sorry sweetie, I think I made it worse. I didn't hear your water heater coming back on."
"It's fine, this happened right after we moved in last year too. They had to replace some fuses I think. Ugh, I hate this house...." Samantha sighed, wrapped her arms around herself, and looked down at the meowing cat at her feet. "Something tells me we aren't going to have heat tonight Zoey," she said to the tortoiseshell colored cat.
"This is just scary, and makes no sense. Resetting the damn breaker should not cause a power surge! Come on, let's go over to your Property Manager's office before they close. I am not leaving you alone in this house while the electricity is going nuts." Hope said decidedly, giving the other woman her best "don't argue with me" look Samantha recognized as the one she used with her son when he was giving her a hard time about putting on clothes before leaving the house.
"Yes Mother dearest," she replied, and hot footed it to the car. She knew better than to argue with Hope when she was feeling protective. She could be as stubborn as Samantha herself, one of the many things she loved (and sometimes disliked) about her best friend. Hope rolled her eyes at the nickname, and followed her to the car.
They arrived just as a small group of men were entering the building. Samantha jumped out to speak to them. She explained the electrical issues and the inoperative water heater; and after a few phone calls, was told an electrician would be at her door at nine the following morning. "Just now is best not use lights okay?" the man said pleasantly.
Back at the house, Hope looked unhappily at Samantha, "are you sure you don't want to just come home with me?"
"I'll be fine, I don't want to put you out. Besides, if he shows up early I might miss him" Samantha assured her friend. "I have my books and the lanterns Bran bought the last time this happened, it's no big."
"Okay....but you know you would not be putting us out right? If you get scared or anything, just call me and I'll come right back." Hope told her.
"I'm not afraid of the dark...." Samantha grumbled as she exited the car and walked to her front door.
"MerrOW!" Jenks said as she walked up the stairs, hoping up each step, tight at her side.
"Jenks, if you trip me on these stairs again Daddy is going to throw you out a window" Samantha said exasperatedly. She walked into her bedroom, holding up the lantern to watch all three cats rush to their bowls, meowing piteously as though they were starving to death. She laughed, filled their bowls, and tucked herself into bed. As each cat finished his or her meal, they hopped onto the bed to join her. Zoey snuggled under the blankets, slowly warming from her body. Dren plucked himself down by her feet, sighed, and curled his tail tightly around him. "If you're cold you can come snuggle with Zoey and me....sorry the house is so cold guys. It will be fixed tomorrow, I'm sure." As though he were responding to her assurances, though she wasn't sure exactly what he meant, Jenks meowed at her, batted her book with his paw, and curled up next to her, on top of the blankets, and his sister. Samantha laughed, and opened her book.
A few hours later, eyes heavy with sleep, she turned off the lantern and fell into dreams of her favorite characters.
"MrrrrrOWOWOWOWOW" Jenk's voice was shrill in her ear, Samantha groaned and turned away from the irritating noise. A sudden, sharp pain on her earlobe brought her fully awake. The light from the moon and neighbor's porch lights could barely penetrate the smoke, heavy and thick, now filling her lungs, making her cough and gag. She turned on the lantern and looked in time to see the pillow by her bed catch fire. She threw the bedding away from her and the flames as she launched out of bed, grabbed the pillow, and beat it until the fire was gone. Then she leaned around the nightstand and yanked the power-strip from the outlet. That was when the smoke detector finally went off, beeping incessantly, and (unnecessarily). A string of profanity dropped from Samantha's lips as she threw open both windows to air out the smoke. Heart pounding from fear and adrenaline, she looked at the damage, trying to determine if she needed to call the fire department. The beeping stopped, leaving an echo in her mind as she stared at the pillow and the ruined power-strip. Only two cords were plugged into it; the lamp and her iphone charger. Thankfully, she had decided against charging her phone, seeing as the charger was completely destroyed. "How much worse could it have been if her phone had been plugged in? And what about every other outlet in the house that has things plugged in?" That thought had her snatching the lantern and running. Heart in her throat, anxiety causing her stomach to nearly rebel, she bolted from room to room unplugging everything. She even ran outside to the laundry room to unplug the washer and dryer. Returning to her bedroom, Samantha sat on the bed and tried to remember how to breathe. Jenks sat beside her, purring, and rubbed his body against her. With a choked sob, Samantha snatched up the little cat and hugged him.
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The fire was blamed on a power surge that was eventually traced back to my water heater. The repairman replaced the main breaker and a few fuses. But he told me the wiring in the house needed to be replaced, and soon. The surge took out the power strip, iphone charger, clothes dryer, my laptop charger, and both pieces of equipment needed for internet: the modem and the router. No explanation could be found for why the smoke detector in my bedroom did not go off (in my panic I only realized later it was the one in the hallway that finally sounded, and NOT the one in my bedroom)
.......it goes without saying, that my Little Shit was given as many treats as his tummy could handle. Hope and I spoiled him silly in the days (and weeks) that followed. I'm sure that even if he hadn't woken me, I would not have died, but considering the fire was right next to my bed I probably would have come away with a few nasty burns. Jenks saved me from that, and saved us from losing a lot more than a few electronics and a pillow.