mrs. cake

There's a calico cat who likes to roam our yard. We think maybe she belongs to our elderly neighbor, Mrs. Cake, so we started calling it "Mrs. Cake's Cat," but now it's just "Mrs. Cake" for short.

Well, this morning the girls saw Mrs. Cake in the backyard and she wasn't strolling, lounging or napping. She was stalking. The girls enjoyed watching her on the prowl, right up until the moment she sprung into the ivy that covers what seems to be a maze of tiny trails and tunnels. Ella and Lauren came running upstairs. "MOM!" Lauren yelled breathlessly, "Do cats eat chickmunks?" She froze awaiting my response.
"Probably."
"WHAT?" She was frantic.
"Maybe, Lauren. Why? What is this about?"
Ella explained, "We just saw Mrs. Cake jump into the place where we think the chipmunks live."
"Mom." Lauren was serious. "Do you think she ate a chickmunk?"
"I don't know, Lauren. Sometimes cats just like to chase things. Please try not to worry about it." She sighed and followed my instructions to get ready for school.

This afternoon I picked up the girls from Taylor on my way home from running errands. As Lauren and Ella climbed into the back seat I called to them, "How was your day, girls?"
"Lauren is worried," Ella explained. "She's still thinking about Mrs. Cake."
"What?" I looked at Lauren in my rear view. "Lauren, honey. Really?" She had puppy dog eyes and her mouth was pouty. I could barely hear her reply.
"Yes."
"Did you tell Olivia about it?" Ella wanted to know.
"No!" Lauren yelled, then added quietly, "It would make her devastated if she knew that cats eat chickmunks."
"Honey," I said, "I have no idea if Mrs. Cake really would eat a chipmunk, but one thing I do know, and we've been over this a few times now. . . . It's CHIPmunk, with a P, like chocolate CHIP. Remember?"
"Yeah," Ella said, "As in, CHIPmunks are like chocolate chips for cats!"

It was a strange thing to hear Ella's belly laugh at the exact same time as the "Ahhhhhhhhhh!" that came out of Lauren in her horror. But I have to admit, Ella wasn't the only one who found it funny. Bless Lauren's heart.