Mom’s voice snapped me awake. “Other mucker!”
I jumped to my feet. “Where? I’ll get him!”
“Lay down!” Mom said in an ungrateful voice. She pulled the blanket back over herself and patted the warms spot I’d left before there were so many other muckers about. I checked out the window to be sure, but nothing was moving in the dark night, so I lay back down.
When she was sure I’d settled, Mom turned back to the Witch. “I just read a review that said the upper lake on tomorrow’s trail is still under several feet of snow. How can there still be snow everywhere? It’s almost Memorial Day!”
I hoped Mom couldn’t see my tail wagging in the dark as I thought about rolling in even more white dirt. “We haven’t left Idaho yet,” I said helpfully. “We could go potato pi—” Mom’s leg stiffened and I changed my mind. “... we could go somewhere like Good Boise.”
“There’s nothing else around here. Not even another mountain,” Mom muttered to the Witch. “Oregon? More like BOREgon! No wonder a town in these parts could be taken over by a yoga class run amok. A volleyball team could outnumber them.”
“So what will we do?” I asked, hoping it was yummy.
“The trail goes by two lakes.” Mom's finger scribbled around the Witch’s face as she peered into the future. “There's supposed to be a trail around the lower one. We can walk around that if we have to, but the really cool scenery was higher up at the second lake.”
“Don’t worry, all scenery is cool when I’m sitting in front of it,” I told her. “I’ll show you how every place is fun if you’re paying attention. You’ll see!”
Mom thumped her head into the pillow and yanked the blanket closer to her chin. “We should get an early start in case something unexpected happens. It might be a long day.”
I knew something was wrong before I even opened my eyes. When I did, my peepers only told me what I already knew. The darkness was already melting and I could see Mom without the Witch to light her face. That hexed hunk of junk had let Mom sleep in again! Oregon made Mom grumpy enough, but being late would make her even grumpier.
I stared at her sleeping face, but there still wasn’t enough light for the silent alarm clock trick to work. After a few impatient huffs didn’t get the job done, I aimed a paw at her belly and stretched.