Okay, so Krista didn’t expect a welcoming party when she returned home from her mission trip, but she didn’t expect the house to be trashed either.
As she stepped inside the front hallway of her bungalow, a shaft of moonlight illuminated the mess in her living room. Sofa cushions were strewn across the shag rug, the end table was tipped over and mail littered the floor.
Anastasia was not happy. Who would have thought a ten-pound cat could actually do so much damage? That she could tip over furniture?
Krista dropped her purse, went to the oak bureau and pulled the chain on the vintage lamp.
Nothing.
“Anastasia,” Krista scolded. The cat had probably chewed through the cord again. You’d think one shocking experience would be enough for kitty to keep her fangs off the electrical wire.
“Come on, Natalie took care of you.” Krista edged her way through the living room, hoping to find a lamp with an unchewed cord, and hoping she got some light before her attack cat decided to pounce.
She tried a second lamp, with no luck. Being stalked by a crazy cat in broad daylight is one thing, but in pitch black it could be its own kind of shocking experience.
“Kitty, kitty, kitty,” she cooed.
Krista was so not in the mood for surprises. Exhaustion filled every cell of her body after spending fourteen hours traveling from Mexico to Michigan. It was bad enough she’d missed her connection, but then they’d lost her luggage. She waited an hour and gave up, asking them to send it home when they found it.
At least she had the important stuff: her Bible, book of inspirational quotes and digital card with the hundreds of pictures she’d taken on the mission trip. She couldn’t wait to upload the shots to her Faithgirl blog.
“Ana-sta-sia,” she called out. The cat was sure to be in attack mode. After all, Krista had abandoned her for nearly two weeks. How dare she!
“Kitty, kitty, kitty,” Krista said, feeling her way down the hall to the kitchen.
It wasn’t like Krista had completely abandoned her. Her best friend, Natalie Brown, stopped by to check on the feline.
The wall phone rang, making Krista yelp.
She snatched the receiver. “Hello?”
“Welcome home!” Natalie said.
“Thanks, I’m glad to be home. Just wish I had some light.” She ran her hand across the wall in search of the switch.
“What do you mean?”
“The cat ate through my lamp cords.” She flicked the switch but the ceiling light didn’t come on. “Did I forget to pay my bill? No, I set it up on bill pay before I left.”
“They wouldn’t turn off your lights if you missed one payment, silly girl.”
“I’m a tired girl and I can’t see what I’m doing and any second now Anastasia is going to strike.”
“But it was a good trip, right?” Natalie asked.
“It was amazing.” Her heart filled with pride at the memory of helping the children in the small Mexican village. “Anything happen while I was gone?”
“Fred Skripps won the fishing contest, the new condo complex on Fourth got approved and they’re bringing in a busload of tourists Friday. Be ready, tea mistress.”
“Ready is my middle name.”
“Bad, Krista, really bad.”
“Sorry. Long flight, they lost my luggage and I’m hungry.”
“Check your refrigerator.”
Krista made her way to the fridge and pulled it open. Unfortunately the fridge light wasn’t working either, but moonlight lit the kitchen enough for Krista to see her friend had left her some goodies.