a raccoon in the apartment
Tonight when I got home I noticed the small cat-door that was built into the wall next to the door.The former occupant of our unit was the owner of the building; by description he seems to have been a wealthy European playboy. Just a tad different from yours truly.Anyway, he lived with a cat or two, and had not only the door installed into the unit but had a similar door put into the screen window that leads out from the landing between the first floor and ours. Allowing entry to that screen window was a shaky wooden plank crossing from the fence, and a second plank screwed to the fence itself.When our neighbour told us that raccoons had been known to use the catwalk and had gotten as far as to open the fridge, I took down the catwalk.Then tonight, upon hearing The Boy's voice just inside the cat door, I had the idea of playing a little trick on the family. I started 'pawing' at the cat door and may what I hope were reasonable raccoon noises by sucking air through my teeth. It worked. In no time I could hear Mari and The Boy hovering around the cat door and talking to each other in worried Japanese.Deciding enough was enough, I stood and entered the apartment to find Mari just reaching to lock the door. Everyone exclaimed when I appeared.Ah, the simple things that entertain the aging mind.P.S. Happy fortieth birthday, Arnon. We were just ten when we met.