It should be within reach of my fingers, yet I’ve searched in vain for an hour. Countless times I’ve used the ice release and have never had a problem. Each time I have expanded my boundaries, though, and this was the first time I dared to wear the tightly fitting hood.

My hands, locked behind my back, continue to search for the key and the string it’s attached to. I can’t deny the search has aroused me, as my firmness confirms. Yet I know that time is now working against me.

I hear another key, this one in the front door. Time has expired. I hear my wife call my name and then say, “What do you have there, kitty?”