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Jake slowly reaches out and pets the cat who rubs affectionately on his hands and purrs louder. He speaks to Sam as he pets him, "You're a nice kitty, aren't you Sam? Maybe your owner will like to be petted like you? Maybe you'll make me lucky in a week or two, eh Sam?" Now that Jake's eyes have adjusted and are focused on the cat's face, he sees that Sam's eyes are glowing the same orange as the light from the fireplace. He has stopped purring now and immediately jumps off the bed as he wanders out of the bedroom. Jake says out loud, "Well then, I guess you don't like that idea too much do you, Mister Sam?" There is a loud low "maoow" from Sam the cat somewhere in the cabin as if he is responding to Jake's last comments. Jake falls back to sleep until he wakes for a new and busy day.
It is Tuesday morning, just before 7 a.m., the time Jake had set his alarm to be awakened. Jake's sense of time was fairly reliable when he hadn't been drinking the previous evening, so his body was awake just before his alarm went off. His job interview for Shadow News Service is on Wednesday so Jake has just one more day to settle in and be prepared for his appointment. He has more to do, he wants to set up a network based on his phone's hotspot and Bluetooth features. He needs to do more research online to find groceries, a laundry mat, and any of the other nearby businesses that could fulfill his daily needs. He also wants to explore the basement and this hidden storage room with the prohibition-era booze. He decides to get as much done as he can before John comes back later in the day as Jake is determined to make the cabin his home and have there be no doubt where John is concerned.
Jake is able to set up his hotspot internet connection and his personal WiFi network, he even hooks up the flat-screen TV to his laptop. He does some internet browsing and finds what he needs to know about the local establishments. Then he gets ready for his interview by putting his portfolio together and interview outfit so he can be completely prepared for his appointment the following day. After assessing the pantry and food storage, he finds there are plenty of canned and dried goods to live on, but he had to do some shopping soon, maybe even the next day. Having skipped breakfast, he puts together lunch from the food stores put up by his brother John. He chooses some spam and sauerkraut for his lunch. He thinks to himself that a good craft beer would make his meal almost enjoyable. John is due to arrive sometime after 5 p.m. when he gets off work, so there is still time to explore the cabin and find this hidden stash of alcohol.
While just beginning to head down the basement stairs, Sam makes another appearance by shooting out across Jake's path, nearly tripping him up and causing him to shout, "Asshole cat! What the hell are you trying to do, kill me?" Sam looks up innocently, meows, and rubs on Jake's legs. Jake suddenly realized he hadn't given the cat food or water since he found him in his car. He speaks softly and kindly to Sam, "You poor kitty! You're hungry and thirsty! I'll fix you right up, just follow me." Jake finds a can of tuna for Sam's food and two bowls for his food and water dishes. While he fills the bowls in the kitchen, he continues to talk to Sam, "I have to give you some good treatment so Jennifer will be happy when she comes to get you. We'll fix you right up with a bed, and some kind of a cat pan until your momma sends me some money. OK buddy?" With Sam content consuming the tuna and drinking his water, Jake continues back to the basement.
The basement is bare brick walls with old wooden shelves and a cistern on one end that is unused having been disabled long ago. It has a six-foot ceiling of bare floor joyces fitted with new wiring and pipework in addition to a water pressure tank, hot water tank, and water softening unit. More of John's preps were on the shelves but there was one area of wall space near one corner that seemed out of place. Taking a closer look, he discovers two pieces of molding that appear to be handholds. After pulling and tugging on the molding, he discovers that a section of wall swings outward, allowing entrance into a hidden area. Using his smartphone's flashlight app, he can see this is a narrow hallway into what appears to be a dead end. He notices some old 1930s-era electrical house wiring in the floor joyces above his head and a wall switch that didn't work when he tried it. So he followed the wiring to where it went another direction away from the passageway and found another door that opened into a small storage room, one filled with old dusty crates covered in thick cobwebs.
He could see where John had walked in, dusted off one of the crates, and walked around a bit. Jake took a closer look around at the contents of the room but didn't want to get filthy and have to get into clean clothes. "This is a project for another day." he thought. His brother John would be here soon and would fill him in on all the details anyway. So Jake leaves the basement and goes back upstairs where he finds the cat an old pillow for a bed to be near the fireplace and uses one of his boxes to fashion a makeshift kitty litter box he filled with dirt from a dead potted plant that was on the back porch. Things were looking shipshape so Jake finished the food he had left over from lunch, thinking again how he should have brought a couple of six packs of his favorite craft brew from Chicago for the move. It wasn't too long before his brother John arrived. He actually brought a bucket of fried chicken and a six-pack of domestic beer to share. As much as Jake wanted to refuse to drink that particular brand of beer, he drank three with their meal.
They talked about Jake's plans, the family, and eventually the cat. John was curious about Sam the cat, its female owner, and if she was Jake's girlfriend. Jake was having a good time with his brother and the beer had loosened him up so he explained how that whole situation occurred. Jake told him about how Jennifer and her grandmother were fortune tellers in Chicago who knew Uncle Carl somehow. He went on to tell John how he had gone into the shop on a whim and how strange it all was when John interrupted, "I remember Uncle Carl had a gypsy fortune teller he consulted with. He was very impressed with her readings but never elaborated. So this fortune teller has a hot granddaughter and you have her cat?" "I never said she was hot" was Jake's response, "and yes I have her cat." John looks up and strokes the nonexistent beard on his chin before he says, "So, did you steal this cat in the hope of scoring some pussy?" Even though John had come close with that comment, Jake defensively responds, "Very funny John" in hopes of evading the subject further, but then he decides to rib his brother John by saying, "Yeah. She is really hot and you'd never get her here to the cabin even if you kidnapped her grandmother and her cat." John can only say that Jake had better call him before she gets to the cabin so he can meet her in person.
The brothers finish their visit as Jake must now prepare for his trip all the way to Muskegon for his job interview the following day. With the information John provided for the nearest stores and conveniences, Jake should be able to take care of business within a ten-mile radius of the cabin so his only concern now is his appointment at Shadow News Service. The weather will be favorable according to the local TV broadcast and no new snow has fallen on the driveway to impede Jake's vehicle. So Jake gets everything ready for his interview, piles some wood on the fire in the fireplace, and goes to bed.
