Noon was the target,
     2 p.m. the truth.

No appointment waiting,
   no deadline keeping score…

   so _late_ remained relative—
      and two,
      on a road trip,
      still lives somewhere

      in the general neighborhood of noon.

Finally packed,
        finally ready,
        one last question still unresolved:

                 How do you pack a Bubbles?

The only carrier Ava had
    was the one he’d arrived in
    when she rescued him five weeks earlier—

         a cardboard Vet One box
         with some holes in it.

It had served its purpose,
   but
       did
          _not_,

   in Baron Bubbles’s opinion,
       reflect his current station.

Enough perseverance got him secured:
       fifty-foot walk to Orcus,
       one complaint filed
       for each and every one of ’em…

       one look at him,
       one look at each other—

                route revised.

The trip would begin
    in the “Proper Cat Carrier” aisle
                          at PetSmart.

Carried our vocal passenger inside
        with some haste,
        and a lil’ help

        from one happy-to-help associate.

Four models waited:
        soft-sided,
        hard-sided,
        different doors,
                zippers,
        theories about what a cat might tolerate…

          but no selection protocol was required.

Bubbles jumped into his choice,
            settled the matter,
     requested to be zipped up

     so this operation could proceed.

“Yes, Sir.”

On the way out,
   grabbed freeze-dried beef liver—

   my never-fail
   cat-or-dog-or-raccoon-or-whatever treats.

Treats secured,
       Baron Bubbles finally riding
           in an acceptable chariot…

              _now_ we could depart.

First Leg Accepted:
      get us
          the _hell_

          out of Dallas County. (ew)

Considered meandering around it,
           but that would’ve added two hours—

                 even principles have limits.

Agreed to hold our noses and bear it.

Orcus agreed to maintain 85 mph-plus.

Dallas County countered with a crawl,
          and teeth remained gritted
       until the skyline disappeared
                  from the rear-view
                  and the blue skies
                   and green forests
       of the East Texas Piney Woods
          finally opened ahead of us.

Orcus was an enthusiastic partner.

Somewhere in there,
          Bubbles opened one more ticket:

                the facilities situation?

Oops.

Quickly fashioned a suitable loo
       in the very back of Orcus,
         added a scratching post,
        and, while we were at it,

                    some pillows.

Orcus’s bed now a temporary throne room,
                      finally eastbound,
             the first gas stop arrived.

We went inside,
   leaving Bubba
   (Ava’s nickname for Bubbles)

   to fend for himself in Orcus.

Back first,
     opened the door,
     and cannot make this shit up:

         Bubbles (Bubba?)
         sitting in the driver’s seat
          with both paws on the wheel.

Had Ava left the keys,
      no doubt at all
      he and Orcus would be

      somewhere in Florida by now.

Under protest,
      driver’s seat reclaimed,
      Orcus pointed east again.

Leg Two remained mostly uneventful
    until Rest Stop Number Three,
    when Bubba’s cat harness and leash

    finally got their trial.

It worked…

   for forty-seven seconds.

At second forty-eight,
   Bubbles resigned from domestication
        and bolted up the nearest tree.

It took both of us
   to corral His Lordship,
   entreat him,

   return him to Orcus.

Barely.

Naturally, we tried again
           at another four or five rest stops,
              Bubbles opening up more at each,

              the real cat coming out:

              more curious,
              more adventurous,
              more _himself_.

I never expected to have _fun_
        with a cat on the road,
           and don’t you _dare_

        tell Bubba I said that.

After the next stop,
       Ava took the wheel.

Everything after that is missing from the logs.

The system came back online
    at 11:30 p.m.,
    Candlewood Suites,
    Pearl, Mississippi—

    which is where Day One _should_ have ended.

                             … to be continued