She’s a spider, you see, a big one, and she’s taken up residence on my kitchen window sill. She’s been there for two days and is a fast learner. At first she was a bit cautious if my hand went in that direction while reaching for something. But now she’s used to my habits and doesn’t bother to move when I take the soap out of the soap dish, which is very close to where she sits waiting for whatever she’s waiting for.
Mostly she only moves when I’m washing the dishes. She walks slowly towards me, presumably attracted by vibrations undetectable to we mere humans, but then stops and walks slowly back again. I suppose she’s disappointed, poor thing. And of course, I’ve started talking to her as any responsible landlord would, but she hasn’t taken up the offer of a conversation yet. Neither has she shown the slightest inclination to wrap me in sticky stuff.
So how do I know she’s female? Well, I read an article some years ago which said that spiders which live in the house during the summer almost always are. The males prefer to spend the warmer days outside, apparently, and come into the house during the autumn for the mating season. (I suspect that spiders are a lot brighter than we think they are, but maybe not.) And the whole article might be a load of old baloney for all I know, but in the absence or evidence to the contrary I will continue to assume that Charlotte is a lady spider.
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And I watched another episode of the crime drama tonight, and another actress I knew from my theatre days showed up. This is becoming a habit, and I’m inclined to wonder whether this is another coincidence which should give me pause. Her name wasn’t Sarah, though, nor even Charlotte. It was Jo something-or-other, but I don’t remember the rest.
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