Paw prints on a sliding glass window

"Squeak, Squeak, Squeak", It's 2:30 in the morning as I awake from a half sleep. "Squeak, Squeak, Squeak", now Amanda is halfway awake. Lightning flashes outside, lots of lightning, no associated thunder. Then the wind picks up. Wind here isn't like back home in Alaska. Back home is builds up over the course of a day or more and takes just as long to die down. I'm no stranger to wind, it's been my companion since I was a lad. Wind here is different. Calm, dead calm, calm for days and then a storm front rolls through at fifty miles an hour. One second calm, the next whoosh. Then it passes, dead calm again. It's like looking at the train tracks, there can be nothing for hours, then a train comes barreling through, and then nothing.

"Squeak, Squeak, Squeak". I know that the storm is going to mean an intense remainder of the night. Everyone is accounted for. Both of our cats are inside, our girl kitty was sitting at the inside threshold of the door when we closed it, our boy kitty is afraid of everything so no need to check outside. Our baby has a few more months before he/she makes an entrance into the world, and no other kids. "Squeak, Squeak, Squeak", what the heck is that? Must be our boy kitty either scratching at the litter box or at his food dish. He does that when he's done eating. 2:45 in the morning, let's try to get a couple more hours of sleep before we wake up at 5:20.

...

"High today will be 94, heat index near 100", I think I hear through a half-sleep, if so that's too hot. It can't be time to wake up already. I hope I misheard, maybe I was dreaming. "Hot today, cooling off tomorrow, 68 outside currently" says the alarm clock, along with displaying 5:22. Time to get up. Birds are chirping outside, the sun is peeking through the blinds. 5:25, Amanda doesn't want to get up either. It's Friday, half-day Friday even. 5:28, our girl kitty jumps up on the bed, she wants fed, petting will have to suffice. 5:33, do I have to?

Amanda hops into the shower, I make my rounds. Pick out my clothes for the day... open the sliding glass door on the porch to let in some cool fresh air ... stumble through the kitchen to get breakfast for the cats ... grab the three or four cereals I want to mix together this morning. Buster (the boy cat) rubs up against my leg. Good morning. Huh? Buster is soaked and cold. Breakfast will have to wait, I've got to find that leak. Bathrooms, clear, no leak. Laundry room, clear, no leak. Downstairs windows, clear. Then it registers, Buster didn't show up until I opened the door. The squeaks must have been wet paws against the window. His first night outside was spent bracing against a thunderstorm.