Only to Herself

Only to Herself

“What happened here?” Mom said, through clenched teeth, as she looked around the kitchen. It had been spotless when she left to run to the grocery store. Now it looked as if a tornado had hit it.

“Sandra and Alex!” she yelled, angry as hops! The kids came to the door, but they looked as shocked as Mom was when they saw the kitchen.

“What happened?” Alex said.

“That’s what I’m asking you!” Mom said, not ready to believe they really didn’t know.

“We didn’t do it! We’ve been playing video games the whole time you were gone.”

“You didn’t hear anything?” she said suspiciously.”

There were several dishes broken on the tile floor, canisters tipped and spewing all over, the utensil drawer was open and things ready to fall out, and the wastebasket knocked over, its contents strewn across the floor.

“Sorry Mum,” Sandra said, “We had earphones on. Do you think we had a burglar?!”

Realizing Sandra was a bit scared, Mom brushed it off with a joke, “A burglar would never make this much of a mess.”

Suddenly they all heard a squeak. Then a mouse ran out from under the table at ninety miles an hour, followed by their cat, Rufus.

The mouse practically flew up on the counter, Rufus leaped, sliding across, as the rest of the canisters went flying, smashing all over the floor. Then the cat and the mouse disappeared out the back door, the door that Mom was still holding open.

“Mystery solved!” Alex said, and he and Sandra shot out of the room.

Mom, looked at the room, now worse than when she came in. Then she heard the video game start back up in the living room.

“What happened here?” Mom said again, this time, only to herself.