Nicole Tasker Woods

Curled in an over sized comforter, I can feel Cali’s warm body pressed against my back. She’s scooted up from the foot of the bed to lean against me in an upside down spoon, her paws stretched out as far as they can go, as if pushing my husband away from our cuddling moment.

During these sleepy times, Cali will stretch, yawn, run her tongue over her teeth and twitch to the beat of a dream where she’s chasing or being chased. She may even readjust her position a couple of times throughout the night: stand up, turn around in a circle to pat down the covers, then let herself fall down, body-slamming against my legs to ensure she is as close as she can get without being on top of me…or maybe not all the way on top, but just enough overlap of her on me to feel that I won’t leave her while she snoozes.

I do not want to move or even breathe when we are so close. I catch the time with a half-opened eye: 5:43. The bells will ring in 2 minutes, so I breathe in deep, close my eyes and bury my face in the feather pillow to stretch those minutes into the longest amount of time as I possibly can, for both our sakes.

In the still of the dark room, soon to be disrupted by the wake-up call, three warm bodies have sunk into the fluffy mattress and every puzzle piece has its own perfect place.