Aaron Walters had it all; lived very comfortably in an expansive luxury penthouse atop one of those desirable downtown glitzy condo towers, possessed the right education credentials to get to know influential people who willingly opened those invisi...
Two nights ago temperatures plunged, and confirmation enough for me that winter had arrived early. Stepping outside was a very convincing second opinion even if the calendar indicated December 21 was more than a week away. Frigid weather made our present situation unusual for both of us but in differing ways.
Sub-freezing temperatures kept Tina housebound like a prisoner, but she seemed to possess an instinctive knowledge about the outside cold and what its impact would be if she did venture out. Maybe the stimulus was those days with decreasing hours of daylight but I really didn't know. She quickly discovered all the locations inside my house illuminated by sunlight streaming in through windows and she'd frequently bask in the sun's warmth, however as those sunlit patches imperceptibly but constantly shifted, she was compelled to shift her position to follow the warmth. In any event, she hadn't revealed a single thought or opinion about her weather-induced confinement here.
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Crop season was long over and winter afforded me much more free time, time which I could spend talking to her and keeping the house, the kitchen in particular, warmer than I'd ever done before. I discovered that maintaining a hot fire in an 19th century wood burning stove required constant attention day and night, and doing that, especially at 2:30 a.m., gave me a much better appreciation for central heating with a modern thermostat-regulated propane furnace.
Speaking of central heating, the constantly hot kitchen affected the thermostat and the central heating didn't come on as often as before. As I should've anticipated but didn't in relying more on the wood stove, I ended up with some rooms downstairs constantly July-like too hot, the one room upstairs above the kitchen warm enough and the remainder of the house November-like too cool.
"What's January going to be like?" I mused.
I laughed at the irony because I was burning through a shed full of firewood like never before and half my home was constantly cool. Regardless, Tina seemed comfortable enough and appeared content to pass much of her time in the kitchen. In four months that endearing little creature had turned my staid life on end, and as I stared at her I wondered how she'd managed to wriggle her way in. Admittedly, I was glad she did.
I'd been in my office a while, busy in front of the computer diligently researching snakes and reptiles but nothing I'd read thus far really addressed my specific questions. A few unusual noises emanated from the kitchen which attracted my attention. Knowing only too well the source of the distraction, I leaned back in my chair and peered into the kitchen to find out what she was doing.
Late-morning sunlight was now shining through the kitchen window and brightly reflecting off the table top. Minutes ago Tina had vacated her favourite upstairs window ledge where I'd last seen her, and she was already on the kitchen table basking in that inviting patch of natural light. I was beginning to wonder if I could tell the time by knowing where she was.
Second thoughts had been nagging me against pestering her further with another barrage of probing questions, and then I pondered, "How many questions will ever be enough?"
