The Adventures of PadFoots & ToeBeans - #008
Not moping…merely contemplating…
🐾 SOMETHING IS MISSING - 🐾
…A Most Inconvenient Feeling
That feels VERY Marlowe.
I must begin this Record by making one thing perfectly clear.
The new patio is magnificent.
There will be no criticism of the patio contained within these pages.
The breeze is excellent.
The sunlight is plentiful.
The view of my kingdom is unobstructed.
My subjects can be observed from a safe and respectable distance.
Bird activity remains high, though fortunately they remain on the appropriate side of the screening.
And shrubbery—
I am pleased to report—
remains entirely inaccessible.
Big Human has, against all reasonable expectations, created what may very well be the perfect arrangement.
I can enjoy the Wild without actually having to participate in it.
Frankly, I don't know why humans didn't invent this sooner.
And yet...
Something has been bothering me.
I hesitate to document this.
Official Household Records should contain facts, observations, matters of Estate importance and, when necessary, evidence of my exceptional leadership.
They should not contain...
feelings.
Nevertheless, historical accuracy requires honesty.
So.
I shall say it.
I have been...
...
moping.
There.
It has been documented.
We will not discuss the terminology further.
It generally begins at the glass door.
I sit there looking outside.
Sometimes I scratch at it.
Big Human notices.
Of course she notices.
Big Human notices practically everything I do.
She opens the door and allows me onto my new patio.
And for a while...
I am content.
I stretch in the sunshine.
I watch the birds.
I smell the air.
I inspect my subjects.
I patrol the perimeter.
Then eventually I find myself standing at the screen.
Looking beyond it.
Wanting...
something.
I cannot explain what.
Perhaps I want to go farther.
Perhaps I miss the excitement of exploration.
Perhaps a monarch occasionally longs to walk among his subjects.
I have considered this possibility extensively.
Unfortunately, walking among one's subjects also involves uncontrolled birds, unknown Padfoots, questionable water sources and, as previously documented...
hostile vegetation.
So I do not actually want to go out there.
Except...
sometimes I do.
But I don't.
It's complicated.
Big Human has noticed this contradiction.
Several times she has found me sitting beside the patio door, staring outside.
She crouches beside me.
I look at her.
Then the door.
Then her.
Then the door.
Occasionally I place one paw against the glass for emphasis.
Big Human understands perfectly well what I am requesting.
And yet...
she refuses.
I have protested.
I have scratched.
I have employed increasingly persuasive vocalizations.
Nothing.
Apparently my previous expedition resulted in the implementation of a strict new security policy.
The monarchy's mortality, Big Human has determined, cannot be risked.
On this matter...
I reluctantly concede she may have a point.
There is only one Marlowe.
The Estate simply could not withstand the loss.
Still.
The feeling remains.
I have attempted to occupy myself.
I patrol.
I nap.
I supervise Big Human.
I observe Lil Human.
I conduct bird surveillance.
I eat.
I nap again.
I inspect the patio.
I sit atop the pterodactyl's vacant lodgings and enjoy my rightful position at the highest known vantage point.
I have even spent considerable time reorganizing my daily surveillance schedule.
Nothing appears to be wrong.
And yet...
everything feels just slightly...
quiet.
That may be the word.
Quiet.
There are humans here, certainly.
Big Human speaks to me constantly.
Lil Human provides more interaction than I generally request.
The Padfoots occupy their usual positions throughout the Estate.
There is no shortage of activity.
But sometimes I find myself wandering from room to room without any particular objective.
I call out.
Big Human answers.
I go find her.
She picks me up.
I remain there for a while.
And that helps.
Then eventually I get down...
and begin wandering again.
This behavior is becoming rather difficult to explain from a leadership perspective.
Big Human appears concerned.
Not emergency-veterinarian-four-digit-bill concerned.
Thankfully.
But she's watching me.
I've caught her doing it.
When I sit at the door.
When I wander through the house.
When I call from another room.
When I climb onto her lap and settle against her longer than usual.
She watches.
She thinks.
Then she scratches beneath my chin and tells me everything is all right.
Of course everything is all right.
I have an Estate.
A patio.
Staff.
Subjects.
Climate control.
Excellent meal service.
Several strategically located sleeping locations.
My own Big Human.
What exactly could I possibly be missing?
I don't know.
And apparently...
neither does she.
But I recognize that look on Big Human's face.
I've seen it before.
She gets it when she has identified a problem she intends to solve.
I am uncertain what problem she believes she has identified.
More importantly...
I am uncertain what she intends to do about it.
For now, I suppose I shall continue my usual responsibilities.
Patrol the Estate.
Supervise the humans.
Observe my kingdom.
And occasionally...
sit beside the door.
Not moping.
Contemplating.
There is an important distinction.
Marlowe's Journal
The Estate is secure.
The patio is exceptional.
My subjects remain accounted for.
Big Human continues to perform above expectations.
By every measurable standard, I possess everything a respectable monarch could require.
And yet lately, the Estate feels...
quiet.
I find myself searching for something, though I cannot say precisely what.
Big Human seems to have noticed.
This concerns me.
When Big Human notices things, she has an unfortunate habit of doing something about them.
...
I shall remain vigilant.