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Home Sweet Home

Judy Hunt

"Wheeeee!" Chloe laughed as she slid across the hardwood floor in the kitchen of the Miller's new home. "This is fun!"

Wanda and Harry Miller weren't aware the denizen mouse would be moving with them, but Chloe would have it no other way. Tucking herself tightly into the bulging moving box, she hid for several days before the actual moving day. She refused to be left behind.

Hearing Wanda coming down the stairs, Chloe scampered under a counter.

"Harry, come here!" Wanda called.

"Just a second, dear. I'm in the garage."

"Come in here this instant!"

The garage had always been Harry's castle, his place to elude the incessant demands of his wife. It would be no different in this new house, yet to keep the peace today, he finished positioning his workbench in the front of the garage and then entered the house through the side door in the kitchen.

"Have you found the toilet paper yet? I swore I kept a roll out so we wouldn't run into this problem," Wanda complained.

"Have you checked the box labeled 'Bathroom'?"

"Thanks for the big help! Of course I looked there! That's obvious!"

"Yes, dear," he said as he retreated back to the garage. He had learned not to argue with his wife many years ago. Wanda went into the living room and desperately began tossing things out of boxes.

Chloe knew this wasn't the best time to be playing out in the open, so she decided to search out all the nooks and crannies in the kitchen. This house was larger than the old one, and it would take some time to find all its treasures. She scuttled the length of the floorboard until she found a tiny crack in the wall. Peeking in, she was taken aback at what she saw. The space had to be at least as large as a ballroom, complete with regal furnishings. The ornate chandelier hanging from the center of the room was dusty, but its magnificence shone brightly. A throne sat in each corner of the room. Their red cushions bordered with gilded cord offset the gold trim of the wooden frame. The rich red maple chair legs were intricately hand sculptured. Placed next to each of the chairs was a small table, their red maple sculpted in the same design as the chairs. An elegant crown centered on the top of each table. Chloe gazed at the one nearest her. Its gems mesmerized her. The rubies reflected off the glow from the chandelier, casting a red luminosity over the room.

The mouse hesitantly walked into the room, afraid to blink in case the momentary lapse would eliminate the splendor in front of her. She grabbed her tail and wrapped it around her two front paws, knowing an inadvertent tail flip could be disastrous. Her twitching nose led the way as she canvassed the room. Gingerly padding along, Chloe approached the crown that grabbed her attention from the first moment she saw it. Rather than risk harming the wooden table legs with her paws, she hopped up onto the table. She peered into one of the jewels on the crown and giggled as it reflected back her own image. The sound of her own laughter startled her. Nervously looking over her shoulders, first to the right, then to the left, she checked to see if anyone had entered the room. Convinced she was still alone, Chloe breathed a sigh of relief as she circled the crown, looking for a way into the middle of it. Feeling it was improper to jump into this magical piece, she tried finding some other way, but not finding any, she finally resorted to that. Once inside, she was astounded to find a miniature bedroom. The sophisticated canopy bed centered in the middle of the circular room wasthe perfect size for a mouse. Logic took over; Chloe was certain fate led her to this precise spot. She climbed onto the bed, spilling into the overstuffed bed coverings. Peals of laughter filled the room as she playfully jumped up and down. Some of the down fell out of the pillows, spilling into the air. Slipping on the silk sheets, Chloe almost fell off but managed to regain her balance in the nick of time. She ran her paws along the silky-smoothness, and then rubbed her face in the sheets, reveling in their softness.

"If I've died and gone to heaven, that's fine. This is the place for me," she thought. Stretching her arms into the air, she realized what a long day it had been. Chloe bundled the sheets, blanket and bedspread around her and settled in to take a much-needed nap. The feathers that had escaped as she was playing still hovered above the crown. Her thoughts were filled with all that had taken place in the past 12 hours - from a ragged mouse orphan hiding for cover to a position of honor in a regal home designed especially for her. Grinning peacefully, she drifted fast asleep.

* * *

"Harry! Harry! Get in here! Quick!" Wanda shrieked.

He was still in the garage, putting the final touches on his workbench. Everything would soon be in its proper place. "In a minute, honey," he called out.

"Please, Harry! Now!"

The shrillness in her voice sent him running in.

"Look! Look!" she stammered, pointing her index finger toward a box in the corner of the kitchen.

Harry's reaction was instantaneous. He couldn't control himself. Tears streamed down his face as he roared with laughter. The mouse they had left behind in their old house had somehow made its way here. And there it was, in all its glory, resting serenely amidst a tattered roll of toilet paper in their daughter's old dollhouse.

"This is not funny! Get rid of that rodent!"

He wasn't sure why he found this so hilarious. Wanda had been more ornery than usual in the past few weeks. In the back of his mind, he may have felt some satisfaction in her terrified reaction, but he had grown somewhat fond of the fuzzy creature before the move and was glad to see it again. Its actions were human-like, and he had appreciated watching its escapades each day.

"Yes, dear. I'll get rid of it."

Taking care not to disturb its contents, he picked up the box and carried it out to the garage, as his wife's screams continued to echo past him. He gently lifted the dollhouse out and set it in a place of honor on the center of his workbench. When he reached in to stroke the mouse, Chloe looked up, her eyes bonding with Harry's. They both knew his castle was now complete.