I'm back at the house on Garden Home road, and Jacki (my girlfriend from nearly 10 years ago) is moving in with me. There are boxes stacked all over the kitchen, and everything is a mess.

We both seem hesitant about the arrangement. I thought she was the girl for me, but she isn't at all convinced. She doesn't look the same either, her face is round and puffy like a pacific islander. I'm not sure I feel the same feelings I felt before. We talk as she's unpacking, me reassuring her that things are going to be ok, and she doesn't have to be all focused on me. She can continue to date other guys, it's ok. I too am concerned about feeling confined, wondering what I've got myself into this time.

We see a rodent climbing among the boxes, and behind a table leg in the kitchen. We see first the tail and then spot the rat, which is smallish, just about three inches long, and extremely narrow, shaped more like a weasel, but otherwise all rat. It escapes into the mess.