TWO HUNDRED AND NINETEEN

It snowed a lot during the night and kids had school so, I needed to shovel the driveway. This meant that I would not have time to walk to work so, I got in the shower and got ready for work. I was done with my shower and headed downstairs for clothes when I spied our cat, Pashmina, on the stairs. She was just sitting their staring intently at something. At first glance I saw that it was a piece of carpet that must have frayed loose and was sticking out on the stairs.
Then I looked again.
Have I mentioned that we have a cornsnake named Rufus Xavier Sarsparilla? Yeah, it was the damn snake and they were having a stare down contest and neither of them was giving an inch. I have to give the snake props since he weighs a couple of ounces in comparison to the pounds that the cat tips the scales at. I scooped him up and went to take him to Martha.
That was it as far as I was concerned. I went back down the stairs and thought it a little odd that Pashmina hadn't moved from her spot. I called her name and went to pet her at the same time. Yeah, the second my hand made contact with her fur she shot up in the air like a rocket. Man, she was in the zone.
Work was work and really, the rest of the day paled in comparison to my early morning adrenaline rush. It makes me wonder how long Rufus had been out of his cage and what else he had done. I mean, he had to get out of the tank, down the cabinet it rests on out of the room past three dogs and under the door. And why pick the stairs? We have an upstairs bathroom wih plenty of reptile friendly places. I also have no idea how long he had been out. He got lucky that Pashmina decided that he wasn't kibble.