A Sweet Surprise

Ever since we returned from Sukkot I've been putting off the chore of changing water around the property. I always manage to get half soaked no matter what I do and with the weather getting cooler and my fingers and toes always being too cold anyway, it seems my dislike for the job is reasonable. For the past couple of days dad has reminded me to go out and move the water several times and today I told him that I would do it as soon as the sunshine warmed things up a bit. Finally by 5 in the evening I realized the sun wasn't going to warm things up and that I'd better get out and do what I said I would do. Reluctantly I put on my jacket then I stood in dad's office and told him how cold I was. He told me to go get dressed as if it were zero degrees outside. I took the jacket off and pulled pajamas on under my clothes and a sweatshirt over them, then the jacket and a hat. Still, I procrastinated, standing in his office(looking ridiculous with the pj bottoms poking out from under my skirt). Finally I began to feel quite toasty so I got my boots on, tucked my pjs into them and headed out to the orchard to move the hose from one dry tree to the next. As I pulled the hose to it's new position it caught and kinked, the spray from the sprinkler dribbled to a stop and in the quiet of the outdoors I heard faint but distinct meow that I was sure I would never hear again. I looked around and spotted Mimi, my 15 year old cat who had been missing for 3 weeks, thought to have been eaten by dogs. She was stuck on the other side of the fence in the neighbors yard, pacing back and forth meowing. I almost began climbing the fence to rescue her, but the mental picture of what the neighbors might see and what they might think was enough to stop me. I ran and hopped in the car, drove around the block, ran through the neighbors back yard to scoop little Mimi up. She had a wild look about her and she seemed thin and scared. I walked back to the car with her, just then the neighbor was driving up. I happened to glance down and remembered those stupid pajama pants poking out from under my skirt, they had untucked themselves when I ran to Mimi's rescue. Embarrassed, I smiled and waved at the neighbor and hurried back home with poor skinny Mimi. She was served a heaping plate full of her favorite cat food while Flavia sat scowling and growling from the other side of the room(jealous spoiled thing). Now Mimi sleeps happily on a pile of quilts in the bedroom, jumping up meowing and purring every time I enter. It will take a few days to feed the wild and starving look out of her eyes and fatten her up. I can't believe I had given her up as dead. After all the excitement I went back out to finish setting the water, I didn't care anymore if I did get soaked.