I tuned to the Christmas afternoon movie. They were showing The Sound of Music again. As there was little else on, and neither of us had seen the film for a few years, we collapsed onto the couch and began to watch. I must have fallen asleep at some point because the next thing I was aware of was Mark getting off the sofa. It was dark and he was drawing the curtains.
After turning on the tree lights, he asked, “Didn’t you say something the other day about a Yule log?”
“Yeah. I put it just inside the shed.”
Mark went out but came back almost immediately, cradling something in his arms.
“What’s that?” I stood to get a better look. “A kitten?”
The tiny thing was mostly black with white sock markings on the bottoms of each paw. The lower half of its face was also white.
“Where did you f
