The sudden bath of light was
blinding. Sharon had set her briefcase on her desk and opened it to get out her
files. When she saw Pipsqueak inside, she shrieked. Pipsqueak was scared and
started running around the briefcase and onto Sharon’s desk. Trying to figure
out what to do with the mouse on her desk, Sharon scooped Pipsqueak up in her
hands and waited until he stopped wiggling. She held him firmly to calm him
down and asked him who he was. “I’m Pipsqueak and I’m lost and I don’t know how
to get home! Can you help me?” he squeaked nervously, still wiggling around.
“Ok, Pipsqueak, I’ll help you. Can you tell me about where you live? Maybe I’m
familiar with it.” Sharon responded.
Pipsqueak
explained to Sharon how he had seven brothers and sisters who all lived in a red
house in a wooded forest. He told her how they all went to sleep together the
night before but when he woke up, he was on cold concrete outside of a garage
door and had seen Sharon walking and decided to follow her. Sharon wasn’t sure
where the wooded forest that Pipsqueak had described was, but she knew that the
Coca-Cola factory used red crates to ship their bottles. She thought that
Pipsqueak might live in the factory somewhere, but didn’t want to give him any
false hope. “Ok, Pipsqueak. I’m going to get to work on figuring out where you
live. In the meantime, why don’t you stay in my briefcase. I’ll close the lid
so it’s nice and dark and get you some cheese so you’re not hungry.”
“Oh
Sharon, thank you so much! That’s so nice of you! I knew you would be able to
help me, I just knew it! Oh I’m so excited! You’re going to get me back home with
my brothers and sisters!” Pipsqueak exclaimed. He was so happy that once Sharon
placed him back in her briefcase, he started running around and clapping his
little paws. Sharon smiled and chuckled as she walked to the kitchen to get her
new mouse friend a snack.
After getting
to some work that she needed to finish, Sharon decided to take a break by looking
in to Pipsqueak’s situation. He said that he lived in a red house in a wooded
forest, so what could that mean to a mouse-baby? The red house most likely
meant the red shipping crates, so where would there be enough empty crates for
a family of mice to live? “I’ve got it!” thought Sharon. “We keep the surplus
crates in the back of the truck in a big wooden box! That must be the forest he’s
talking about!” Sharon opened the lid of her briefcase and lifted up Pipsqueak.
“Pipsqueak, I think I know where you live!” she told him excitedly. “Oh my
goodness, that’s so great! Sharon you are the nicest lady I’ve ever met I’m so
happy that you know where my family is! You’re so smart and nice and helpful
and –“ Pipsqueak was so excited by the news that he ran up and down Sharon’s
arms while she laughed.
Once Sharon caught Pipsqueak again,
she had to tell him how she would get him back home to his family. “I have a
meeting with the factory manager tomorrow morning, so I can take you home
tonight and bring you to the factory tomorrow. Hopefully the truck will be
there so that you can return to your brothers and sisters.” Pipsqueak was so
excited by the plan; he couldn’t wait to see his family again but he was also
excited to spend more time with Sharon. He went back into the briefcase for the
rest of the business day so that Sharon could work.
At 5 pm, Sharon told him that it
was time to go home. She closed the briefcase lid, carefully carried it to the
car, and drove to her apartment in NoDa. As she turned the handle to open the
door, her puppy Oliver jumped up on her legs. Oliver was so excited to see
Sharon after a long day at work. Pipsqueak, however, was spooked by the new
sound and energy. He didn’t know what was barking and making the briefcase
shake like that. Sharon set the briefcase down on her kitchen table and opened
the lid. “Pipsqueak, I’d like you to meet my puppy, Oliver. He’s very sweet so
you don’t have to be scared.”
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