Squirrels!

Knock, knock, knock… the firm knuckles on the door rang out. Awesome was just sitting on his couch watching a new episode of “The Adventures of Pug Dog Millionaire,” his favorite show. He paused it and walked over to the door. Looking through the peephole all he could see was pink. He knew things were about to get interesting. He took a deep breath and opened the door.

“Hi Totalie!” it was like a blast of sunshine and summer air pushed through the door into the solitude of the living room. Totalie wasn’t sure but he also could have sworn something else scurried past him in the blast of outside air. Lot’s of somethings in fact. He was terrified to turn around to the scratching sounds he heard behind him.

“Hi Trulie, what are you up to?” He studied her smile.

“Oh nothing, just wanted to drop by and show you the thing I got myself at the pet store!” She was positively ecstatic. Totalie had also just noticed that Trulie was wearing her pocket coat. A coat she specifically designed with loads of pockets to hold anything and everything. Strangely most of the pockets seemed empty.

“Trulie, why does you coat look so empty?”

“Empty? We might need to get you glasses,” she said looking herself up and down,  “I’m standing right inside of it.”

“No, I mean, usually your pockets are filled with baubles and trinkets.”

She looked at him sideways, “I think you mean googly eyes and candy. But today I needed the space. The pet store was having a special!”

Somewhere in the back of Totalie’s head there was a part of him putting the puzzle together, but none of the pieces matched, and it seems someone took three or four of them to steady a table in another part of his mind.

“Don’t you want to see what I got?” Trulie inquired.

“How could I say no?”

“No.” Trulie said thoughtfully.

“It’s an expression”

“A smile is an expression, silly.” She then pulled her left hand out with a sock on it. Sewn to the top of the sock were two floppy sock ears. And crudely drawn in front was an Y. Two googly eyes askew above it. “I named him Sir Boppington.”

“Why?” Totalie asked, instantly regretting it as Trulie bonked him on the head with the sock puppet carefully avoiding his points. But the initial meeting wasn’t lost on him, he needed to turn around and see what was going on behind him as the sound of scratching had grown into a chorus of cacophony. His eyes met with 30 small eyes directed back at him. Squirrels! fifteen of them running around his living room, climbing walls, sitting on his couch, eating his popcorn!

“Oh yeah,” Trulie said thoughtfully, “You had to adopt fifteen squirrels if you wanted to get a sock puppet. Soooooo, say hello to your new roommates: Buster, Bowler, Bashy, Cadence, Clouster, Friendly, Scratchy, Goofball, Wildeyes, Normaleyes, Browneyes, Bigtail, Smalltail, and Blue.”

“Trulie! How could you?” Totalie exclaimed.

“It was actually quite easy…” Trulie started, but Totalie interjected.

“Wait, that was only fourteen names.”

“Well that one, she said pointed at no squirrel in particular, he has no name.” She finished the sentence ominously.

“Trulie, I can’t have squirrels!”

“Sure you can! Look, you already do!” With that she spun in a circle and started out the door. “Welp, I’ll be seeing you. Sir Boppington say’s good day sir!”

“But Trulie!” Totalie said to the closing door, but she was well out of ear shot. He turned back to the room.

“Okay, you guys can stay but only if you sit quietly while we watch ‘The Adventures of Pug Dog Millionaire’.” He felt like they might have understood him, and as he un-paused the  show they all sat on the couch with him and watched.