Our Big Embarrassing Departure

Broken drinking glass

“Honey, they’re home!” Frank calls to me from the back door as the homeowners open it and set their luggage on the landing.

I stand up from the table where I am using our laptop to access the Internet. It is our daily ritual to explore house and pet sit notices.

“They’re home?” I choke on my shock. I feel confused. I’m embarrassed.

The homeowner had sent a message to advise us that she and her husband would be home at five post meridiem tomorrow. My mistake was to imagine the email had been sent this morning. In fact, it had been sent yesterday.

Frank and I spend the next hour frantically tossing our belongings into bags and hauling them out to our motorhome. Luckily, earlier this morning, Frank had loaded the bike onto the trailer. He too was under the impression he was ahead of schedule. That action, alone, was the best thing that happened today.

Yoda, the one-eyed cat

I glance at the homeowner who is swaddling her one-eyed cat. She cannot release her hold because he’ll scramble out the front door and perhaps lose his other eye. He’s very vulnerable these days. She glances back at me. No smile is returned to mine.

Frank and I stand at the front door holding our list of debriefing topics. I let the homeowners know that I broke a mug.

“What kind of mug?” she says.

“A beer mug. A large drinking glass,” I say.

I try to appease them by reporting that Frank had cut the grass and trimmed the edges as indicated on their to-do list. They thank Frank. We report that Yoda, the cat, was a rambunctious feline, emphasizing his rough playful manner.

All four of us reach a no-talk stage. I look at Frank and he recognizes my ‘let’s go’ face. We honk our horn as we drive away. Not too fast, but if you look from behind, you can see my tail between my legs.

Yellow bowl

Later, as we settle in at the Walmart parking lot north of Edmonton, we find a yellow bowl belonging to the homeowners among our gear. We text them and account for our error.

“I’m very partial to my plates. They have a strong sentimental value for me. Please wrap it up in bubble wrap and send it to us,” she writes in a text message.

We dutifully comply sending it express, insured and with a Canada Post tracking number.

“Thank you very much!” she writes.

We are two days away from our next house sit. Yellow for Alberta.