“Why would that keep you awake?”

“His claws screech against the plastic when he covers. And don’t ask me what covers means.”

“I know what it means. My mother had a cat. Do you want me to brace you for the onslaught?”

“Please,” Hannah said getting out her key and slipping it in the lock. But when she opened the door, the usual orange-and-white bundle didn’t hurtle out to greet her.

“Where’s Moishe?” she said, spotting Norman on the couch.

“He went to bed early, right after I fed him. I think he was tired after his scenes today. I hope you don’t mind, but I think he’s sleeping on your pillow and I didn’t have the heart to wake him. And

I finished your chocolate fudge ice cream.”

Hannah told him she didn’t mind about the pillow or the ice cream, and went into the kitchen to put on the coffee. When that was accomplished, she headed to her bedroom to check on her four-footed movie star. Moishe was sleeping the sleep of a well-fed jungle tiger, and from the way he was smacking his lips, he was probably dreaming of mouse body parts. Norman had been right. Instead of falling asleep on the expensive goose-down pillow she’d bought for him, he was on her expensive goose-down pillow.

“The pillows are always softer on the other side of the bed,” Hannah whispered, and let her minipanther sleep. She was just passing the guest room on her way back to the living room when she noticed that the door was open. That was odd. She always closed it when there were no guests. It wasn’t to conserve energy or any of the admirable ecological reasons. It was because Moishe loved to “hunt” the satin butterflies on the new bedspread she’d bought for the guest room. Hannah was about to shut the door when she realized that there was a good-sized lump on her bed, and her eyebrows headed straight toward the ceiling fan the former owner had installed. There was someone sleeping in her bed. She took a step closer and her eyebrows remained on high alert when she recognized her uninvited guest. It was Mike!

Hannah gulped, feeling a bit like Baby Bear who’d come home to find his porridge eaten, his chair recently used, and Goldilocks sleeping in his bed. In her case, it was her ice cream that had been eaten, Norman who’d been sitting on her couch, and Mike who was sleeping in her bed. But all that didn’t really matter. It was close enough to prove that fairytales weren’t all that wildly exaggerated.

“What are you doing in my bed?” Hannah asked, prompting a bearlike snort and a leap to the feet from the unsolicited sleeper who’d been snuggled up on her new bedspread.