Now you see her…

I got back from Oklahoma City Tuesday night, excited to see all the decorative work Chelsea had done on the house and to see our precious family of animals: Addy, Sinatra and Luca.

Chelsea gave me the grand tour of the house, which looks wonderful, and then I set about unpacking my suitcase.

Luca, as she is known to do, followed me around the house meowing. When I passed by the guest bathroom, she requested her daily drink from the fresh water fountain we provided for her. (Also known as the bathroom sink.)

That was the last we saw of her.

We got ready to make our daily run to the Home Depot to get our supplies for our next home project, and she was nowhere to be found. We spent a good 45 minutes calling for her, looking in closets, under beds, in the laundry hamper, even in the attic. No Luca.

Little Mom was convinced that she snuck out and was roaming the neighborhood. Luca is obsessed with the idea of going outside, but every time she makes it, she gets a little freaked out about the whole thing and usually wants to come back in. I scoped the outside bushes again. No Luca.

By that time, dinner was ready, so we decided to go on about our evening in the hopes that Luca would return. Chelsea made the Home Depot run and I cleaned the man room for our office party this evening. Still no Luca.

Chel returned from shopping and we were sitting at the dining table, getting ready to try to hang a chandelier and lamenting our missing kitty.

“I keep hoping I’ll see her sitting in the window,” I said.

“Me too,” said Chel. “But Mom says she’s off having fun, and she’ll come back when she wants to.”

And then she appeared. Sitting in one of the dining chairs, like nothing was out of the ordinary.

We were so happy! We laughed, we cried, we laughed again. Sometimes you don’t know what you’ve got (i.e. a great cat) until it’s not around anymore.

Who knows where Luca went — she’s not telling! But wherever she went, we’re glad she’s back.