Only Rick...

Since we were getting ready to entertain... and since I don't always clean my house like I should... I called in the troops. I mean, maids.

Two ladies from Pop-Ins Maid Service came and scrubbed my home for three hours. I felt sorry for them just knowing how shocked they must've been seeing all of my dust bunnies. And dishes. And dirt. And dirt. Sigh.

Anyway, since Rick was recovering from a cold, I banished him to the guest bedroom and told him to stay there with the dog. The dog didn't have a cold but she does have hair. A lot of hair. So she got banished, too. And there they stayed for nearly three hours.

In the meantime, I was out and about in the house, wrapping gifts, writing my grocery list for Christmas day and watching The View. And hating The View.

And Rick stayed confined.

When the maids were through, I visited Rick in the guest room to un-banish him. And I said, "Stay in here for another ten minutes... the kitchen floor is still wet." Then I told him that Elizabeth and I were going out to lunch and would bring him back some food, too.

And we did.

And after lunch, we went to the grocery store for all of my Christmas dinner groceries. While in the store, I got a frantic call from Rick...

"Can I come out now? I think Midnight needs to go to the bathroom."

* * blink, blink * *

"You... you haven't come out yet?"

"No, I didn't know if the kitchen floor was dry."

"Did I tell you to wait TEN MINUTES?"

"Yes."

"Well, it's been TWO AND A HALF HOURS!"

"So... can I come out now?"
.