Who Did It?

We are calmly eating lunch at the counter when suddenly my husband jumps from his chair. “There’s something in the plant!” he says.

I approach the plant cautiously. I see the dark mass huddled amongst the thick leaves. I watch to see if there is any movement. All is still. Slowly I pull back some leaves to reveal

this  disturbing sight. “How in the world did this get here?” I wonder aloud, as I reach in and pull the nasty creature out of the foliage. Something in my brain stirs, I think I have seen this in another location but I can’t recall where.

Even sitting on the table it looks creepy. Who is the jokester? I have several candidates in mind so I sent out a couple of texts. Did you put a rat in our plant? The responses were quick and appeared to be innocent. Who else has been in  the house recently?

My suspicions fall to my neighbor on the left. I bring the offensive item over to question the suspect. Dan denies knowledge, but he says that with a chuckle. This laugh leads me to thinking he has knowledge but will not divulge his secret.

We continued to be suspicious of everyone  in our life. However, all that changed with a phone call from my son. I was telling him about his dad’s reaction to the rodent when an image clicked in my mind and I had a vague feeling that I had seen this rat in the hands of my granddaughter when they were here in April. “Do you know anything about this?” I asked.

“Maybe,” is the response on the other end of the phone. “It took you long enough to find it,” my son said with a laugh.

Now we can sleep easy. We know where the rodent is, but one day we will visit our son. I wonder where this furry fellow will find his next home?