An Uninvited Guest

Every Monday, I go to Yad Binyamin to work for an Olim couple. It's an administrative position that I found with the help of Sharona Watemberg and it's really great because I get to help my clients open their mail, I make phone calls for them, and generally communicate on their behalf with the Hebrew speaking population. My reward for a job well done (besides my pay) is a chance for a cup of coffee with Sharona who lives in the Yeshuv.
Today was special. I knew that Sharona was going out to a meeting, but she should have been back by the time I came for coffee. She wasn't. I made my way home, somewhat disappointed. There was no shortage of things to do at home, so I started with the dishes, at the same time that Malcolm called to tell me of his visit with Lisa Judah (that's a whole other story - he can write it if he wants). It was then I heard the noise. It sounded like something scratching a door. I quickly quieted Malcolm and started listening around me. I realized that the scratching was coming from the pantry door, so I jumped on a chair and hung up on Malcolm. He was on his way to Haifa anyway, and I didn't think that he would be able to help with whatever animal was hiding in the pantry.
My quick thinking helped me reach a number of conclusions:

1. There was a rodent - I hoped not a cat - in the pantry.
2. There was not much I could do about it from my perch on the table in the kitchen.
3. There was no way I was getting off the table until whatever it was was gone.

Now, even I could tell this was going to be a problem. So I dialed 1-800-Arie (my cousin's husband who fixes all). Unfortunately, he was not in my area. He did suggest that I open the door and jokingly asked "What, are you afraid of a little mouse?" "YES" I answered. I had to hang up on him because he was laughing so hard.

Finally, I realized what I had to do. If no-one could come to my rescue (I thought of Mikee Z and Eddy G who were always around, in the neighborhood and available to help and, boy, did I miss them.) I was going to leave the premises and return ONLY when I had backup. So I climbed onto one of the kitchen chairs and dragged it to block the pantry door - you never know how strong a mouse can be. For good measure, I added another chair. I jumped off the table - AWAY FROM THE PANTRY DOOR - grabbed my purse and left the house.

I picked up the kids from school and the three of us went looking for mouse-traps. I wanted the flat ones that are sticky on top, figuring that I could slide it under the door. They store had a different kind. The man tried to explain that all I needed to do was open the door to the pantry and put the trap down. I don't know why he wouldn't understand that this would not happen.

This left us no choice. We came home, dropped off the kids bags, picked up the car keys and went to the mall for lunch. Kobi and I dropped Oriya off at her art class later in the afternoon and came back home. I listened carefully and could not hear the "guest". Still, we did not open the pantry door.

In the early evening, a friend of mine who lives in the next town stopped in on his way home from work ( I had called him rather frantic about my "guest" and he volunteered to help). By this time, the guest was gone. Now my head is like a radar, just waiting for him to run across the floor or come around a corner. Needless to say, when Malcolm comes home form work tonight, he'll have to move all the stuff in the pantry around, just so I know for sure that the guest is gone. Then he'll set some traps. Hopefully, by next week sometime, I'll be willing to open the pantry door myself!