Awkward...

So, there I was, in my friends' house, taking care of their cat. Yes, it was 8 PM. Yes, I was a little late. I had forgotten to take the keys to their home with me to work so I had to come back much later. And, to make matters worse, I couldn't remember whether they were coming back that night or the next day.

So, I was watering the plants, and the garage door suddenly opens...and there stands my friend, fresh from two weeks in the great American Southwest, rested, tanned, and finding me in her house at 8 PM.

Now, it wasn't like I was stuffing anything in my pockets, or going through their drawers. But I was in their house. And they were home. But they hadn't been when I first arrived. And I had let myself in.

Of course, I had permission to be there. They knew I would be taking care of the cat and the plants. But, still, I was in their house, when they got home. I felt dirty. Like I had been caught doing something I shouldn't have been.

So, I was caught red-handed, and started babbling like an idiot:

• "Oh! You're home!" (Duh!)
• "I am feeding the cat!" (Right...that's what we arranged....)
• "I swear, this is the first time I came this late! I forgot the key! I promise I have been feeding the cat the entire two weeks!" (By the way the cat is running around she's obviously not dead.)
• "I just got here" (As if to say that I hadn't been sleeping there.)

Now, when someone is caring for your home while you're away, you know they are in your house from time to time. But it's pretty much theoretical. Meaning, you don't actually see them there. It's kind of a personal thing, letting yourself into someone else's home. And when they come home and find you standing there...it's just strange. I would wonder why they were in my house, knowing why, of course, but wondering all the same. Then, I would ponder why, if they knew I was coming home, they didn't clear out beforehand.

Thankfully, my friends are quite calm and sane, and only laughed about it. And it looks like I'll never have to take care of their cat again, either.