Read the beginning of Molly & Marmalade’s Christmas Caper here and find other Fiction Friday posts here!
Molly’s news that an intruder was planning to burglarize countless neighborhood homes was distressing. That Molly reported the thefts of all food in these homes was to take place tonight, was cataclysmic. Marmalade had started to pace, while Molly availed herself of Marmalade’s food dish. Between bites, Molly continued with tales of the dastardly snack napper, “mm-apparently-mm, he wears a large suit with a big beard to disguise himself. Family was talking about leaving cookies for him – I can only assume this is to distract him from the true treasures hiding in the kitchen.”
“That makes sense,” Marmalade added and continued nervously, “but is he dangerous?”
“Extremely,” confirmed Molly, “so we need to frighten him off right away, rather than engaging him. I’m thinking some kind of ariel attack might be in order? We’d need a whole team though, and everyone will have to defend their own houses…” Molly’s words drifted away. What can we do? Marmalade wondered to herself as she gazed out the window onto the porch and beyond. They needed a plan, and quickly; Late Afternoon Nap was quickly approaching. The two calico cats walked back and sat together in front of Tree, gazing at its immensity, wishing it were an ally, not a foe.
“The Tree!” Marmalade and Molly gasped to each other, little heads swiveling, meowing excitedly. Marmalade jumped swiftly to the couch, to get a closer look at the green monster. Molly hefted herself, back feet scrambling to make the climb, next to Marmalade. Logistically, Molly and Marmalade considered, Tree was the perfect secret weapon. From the height in the top branches, a cat can easily wait – hidden – for the intruder to enter. Once the villain makes his move on the family larder, the hidden hero can spring into action from above.
“Flawless,” Molly whispered, almost in awe of her and Marmalade’s combined crime-fighting genius.
The plan to use Tree as a perch to spy on and stop the intruder’s inevitable attempt on the kitchen’s goodies was swiftly put into action. After carefully calculating the distance between herself and her target, Marmalade was just about to practice jumping from the couch into the upper branches of the tree. She hesitated, crouched, as Molly reminded her that it was time for Second Afternoon Nap. Knowing their senses would be more heightened for the night ahead if well rested, Molly and Marmalade opted for the nap in lieu of Tree climbing. We can practice later, Marmalade assured herself. Each orange and black spotted cat chose a spot under Tree, curled into a ball, and tucked her nose under the tip of her tail.
Come back for next week’s Fiction Friday for the final installment of Molly and Marmalade’s Christmas Caper!
The Ohioan 