Over the past month, Owen has developed a curious habit of disappearing right in the very room in which we are both standing. For instance, one morning we went to the kitchen for a snack. I grabbed the cereal bar (or cracker or whatever it was) from the counter with Owen nipping at my heels chattering
'nack, 'nack, 'nack and headed back toward the living room. Next thing I knew I was alone. Silence.
I turned and glanced behind me, but Owen wasn't there. I walked back into the kitchen, and he wasn't there either. I briefly considered the possibility that he'd made a daring escape through the cat door. Then I saw him tucked into the corner between the wall and the stove. His shoulders were slightly rounded, arms straight, hands resting on his thighs, knees bent in a squat. Thinking I was getting in on the game, I called "Gotcha!" But he just glanced up at me with a look that was one part shyness, two parts annoyance and started backpedaling in place like he was hoping the walls would cocoon around him. I was confused.
But what my mind couldn't solve, my nose did.
So this past weekend when the three of us were in our bedroom putting up clothes and I saw Owen slink to the back of Scott's closet, I did the polite thing. I waited until he was finished and then took a picture.