Tuesday Tale: in which Kate & Karl get caught smoking

"What the hell?" The ringing sound was way out of place. Kate and Karl awoke to an incessant clang. They were at a friend's cottage sleeping practically outside, but really in a tiny guest cottage a few feet away from the main house.

It had been weeks since they'd been able to sleep together. No, probably months. Kate's daughter had not spent a weekend at her father's in that long time period creating difficulties for Kate and Karl having any "private time." They had been relishing their time together out in the wilds of nature with friends. Love making had taken a back seat to just sleeping with a gentle breeze blowing through the cottage.

And now, after a luxurious night cuddling together under a fluffy duvet, they were rudely awoken by of all things, a smoke alarm. And of course, neither of them were wearing pajamas as they weren't expecting to have to jump out of bed and do a runner!

"I'll go see what's going on with that thing," said Karl in a sleepy yet startled kind of voice. The smoke alarm was positioned up in the loft of the little guest cottage. As Karl climbed the ladder up to the loft, Kate thought, "Brian is going to be out of the house and coming down to see what's going on. I'd better find my pajamas."

While the smoke alarm was clanging away in that annoying way they do when there isn't actually any smoke anywhere, Kate rummaged through her bag looking for her pj's.

As she was springing into a pair of bottoms, sure enough, she heard Brian outside the door. " You two all right in there? What's going on?"

Kate was dressed at that point. She threw a t shirt and a pair of jockeys up into the loft at Karl then swung around and opened the door. "Beats me Brian. Karl is up in the loft trying to turn the thing off."

"Well, let me come in then and I'll go up and take care of it."
Karl retorted "it's okay Brian, I've got it under control."
"Sure ya do Karl, I can tell since the thing is killing my ears. l'm coming up."
"Really Brian - no need."
"Karl, take the battery out of the thing and I'll fix it later, okay"
"I know Brian, I just can't get the thing unhinged so I can get at the battery."
At this point Brian looked at Kate with something that said ," seriously, what's wrong with this guy?" and sighed, "Karl, I'll come up."
These two men were like ten year old bickering boys. The clanging seemed to be getting louder and louder. No doubt it was heard across the lake clear to the highway.

"Brian..... I DON'T have any clothes on, you DON'T need to come up here, okay?"

Brian looked at Kate, giving her a sly little smile - " I hope he figures this out soon. I'm going back to the house for now."
As he turned around to leave, blessed silence returned. All was once more tranquil with only the call of a loon in the distance. Karl came down from the loft, a battery in one hand and t-shirt and jockeys in the other. He got dressed and the two of them went into the main house.

"I sure don't know what you two were up to during the night" said Brian with an evil twinkle in his eye, "but Liz and I have decided to vote you in as hot couple of the year with that smokin performance."