Family Forum / Parenting / Mothers / August 2008

I was exhausted. Not simply tired but bone-wearily,
muscle-achingly, body-numbingly tired. Moving from one motion
to the next, if it didn't involve breathing, was painful.

"You coming to bed or not?" SWMBO asked.

"No. I'm good where I am," I sighed.

"Girls are all tucked in then," she finished and clicked the
light off.

I closed my eyes and was out before the two incandescent bulbs
dimmed dark.

"Meor! Meor! Meor."

"Oh shut-up already, Stripes!" I muttered aloud. My chair
lurched down as something landed on the La-Z-Boy's extended
ottoman. I put my right hand out and waited for Stripes to move
under it to be petted.

"Meow! Meow! Meow." he repeated from his warm nest under my
back, snuggled down as was his norm.

Chill air washed across my feet. My eyes popped open.

Darkness surrounded me.

I looked down at the edge of the ottoman.

There, sitting at the edge, was a dark curly mop of hair
quietly looking down into her lap. The little girl was fussing
at the doll in her hands.

"Shi!" I bellowed scrambling backwards to sit up.

Cat and girl vanished.

"I don't find this funny in the slightest!" I yelled at the
blackness.

Every hair on my body stood at attention. I reached over to the
lamp by my chair and fumbled for the switch. Eternity passed as
my twitching fingers found the turn-switch and four 75w bulbs
fired to life flooding the room with welcome light.

Stripes sat on the floor quietly staring up at me and waiting
patiently for me to go back to sleep so he could snuggle back
down into the warmth. "I don't think I'll be headed off to
sleep for a while, boy. In fact, I think I'll join SWMBO." I
pulled the wool blanket off and picked him up. The two of us
headed off to Castle Ranger's master bedroom.

"Meor. Meor. Meor." Stripes purred as he rode my shoulder,
needing my shirt and skin with every step.

"Yeah, yeah; I know."

"What are you yelling at?" SWMBO demanded as I pulled the
covers back and climbed into bed.

"Nothing. Bad dream. Must've been that garlic bread."

"Whatever it was you can't be yelling like that."

I didn't say anything. Stripes stretched out on the bed so he
would be touching both SWMBO and me. I settled down into the
room's darkness and I was soon deep asleep.

My body rocked.

"Did you hear that?" the tensely whispered question roused me.

"No," I muttered.

"Shut-up! Someone's running the hallway!"

"Of course she is," I muttered softer.

"'She?'"

I winced physically ducking my head between my shoulders. Damn;
too groggy to keep my mouth shut. I sighed and charged the pill
box. "Yeah. I've told you about what I've seen and heard in the
past. She was here again tonight!"

The footsteps charged up and down the hallway like a child
running back and forth. I pointed.

"Dad? Can I sleep with you and Mom?" Spawn asked from our
doorway.

"What're you doing up?" SWMBO softly asked with arm stretched
out.

"Someone's running in front of my room. I can't sleep."

"Come 'ere, hon," I said pulling the covers back. Stripes moved
but was clearly annoyed at having Spawn take his spot. He
stepped on and over me to the bed's edge and immediately
settled down to go back to sleep.

The three of us didn't sleep much the rest of the morning. The
traffic along the hallway would have taxed even the most
athletic runner.

The Ranger