To get to Chatsford Hall from the grand old metropolis of Wilma, assuming that you can tear yourself away from the most charming and entertaining city in Carolina, you follow the High Street through a flurry of seafood restaurants and jazz cafes, until coming to the broad highway that carries you over the Cape Fear River.
Whereas the morning had begun with all that hustle and bustle on Ocean Highway, a leisured peace prevailed this evening within the walls of Chatsford. It's always so here, where the men and women are accustomed to mingling in the serene company of cats on the grounds of an estate in the county.
The refined moon that serves the surrounding district was nearly full, and Chatsford Hall had for some hours now been flooded by its silver rays.
They shone on the gravel drive and the surrounding lawns. They peeped through the windows of the upper room where Uma Maya, the Empress of Chatsford, lay sleeping.
Seeping through the upper levels and floating down the staircase, the moon eventually found someone really worth looking at, the beautiful and enchanting worker of mysterious wonders, the one known as Ms. Wonder herself.
From Wonder's bedroom, the silver rays illumined the length of the hallway and slowly entered the great room with the kitchen in the far corner. Here the moonbeams slowed, respectfully, as if to ask permission to enter.
The reason for hesitation is no mystery for the kitchen is known to be the domain of Abbie Hoffman, the gentleman ninja. Like all cats, Abbie prefers the heights of the kitchen cabinets for his zen-like evening repose. He is quite fond of the moon and welcomes its company but his reputation is known far and wide as a tamer of the sun. The moonlight is merely practicing discretion as the better part of valor in pausing before entering his presence.
If you aren't familiar with the story already, you may want to refer to the post titled, When Morning Comes in The Circular Journey archives. But for serenity's sake, don't do it now. Finish this post first. You have plenty of time. It's a holiday weekend.
It was with Abbie the work of a moment to leave the upper stories and move down to the kitchen floor where he began retracing the path of the moonlight, which led him to the sleeping place of Empress Uma Maya.
He approached slowly and stealthily, careful not to wake her until the time was perfect. He sniffled her fur. His paw reached out, oh so tentatively, in the direction of her head. His execution was flawless.
He gave her head three sharp taps and then hesitated, paw still raised, in case more work was called for.
It wasn't necessary. Uma woke. After the few brief moments required for her to fully waken, the fur on her neck stood on end and she hissed the hiss of The Morrigan in Abbie's face.
He blinked but otherwise, for one brief moment seemed frozen in his tracks. Suddenly he turned and bolted out the door and down the hallway to make his report to me.
The knowledge that he had ruined his relative's beauty sleep filled his cup of cheer. It was piled up, pressed down, and running over. In other words, he was full of himself.
He leaped onto my bed and immediately made his way to my side, insisting that I move over to allow him access to his favorite spot. He settled himself, struck a sphinx-like pose, and lay staring wide-eyed at the moon through the open curtains of my window. I smiled. His self-satisfied air left no doubt in my mind about his recent activities.
"You've come from Uma's boudoir, haven't you?" I said. "You've done something to raise her ire. Don't bother denying it. You can't fool me."
He gave me a look but it neither confirmed nor denied the charge. I give him a little neck massage to let him know that I wasn't cross with him.
"I know you woke her," I said. "I mean, there she was, sleeping so peacefully in the moonlight. You probably thought you could steal into her room, just this once, and resist temptation. Did she have anything to say when you woke her?"
He didn't actually reply but he did take his eyes off the moon just long enough to give me a look that said, 'She didn't have time to say anything. You know how it is. You see her asleep. You nudge her. She wakes and hisses at you, and you feel a sudden impulse to move on.'
"I understand," I said. "Had to be done. Good night, Abbie," I said.
In the master bedroom, Ms. Wonder turned over in her sleep. She was dreaming of ocean-going freighters slowly making the turn at Southport, where the river pilot boards the ship and guides it up the Intercoastal Waterway to the ILM Port.
In her upper room sanctum, Uma Maya gazed sleepily out the window and down on the moon-bathed gardens. She felt the satisfaction that comes only to those who have earned it by dishing out the wages of sin to a vexing housemate.
And I lay next to Abbie Hoffman, lovingly watching him as he lovingly watched the moon. It was a sight that I will continue to see for as long as the moon continues to shine.
Chatsford Hall was in for the night. The moon beamed down on its occupants. It was not quite full yet but it would be in a few nights.
And that's the news from Chatsford Hall. We wish sweet dreams to all and to all a good night.