I was showing her how to place the round shaping brush under a lock of hair so that she could blow-dry it straight. "When you get to the ends, give it a shot of cold air to set the curl." Suddenly an alarm went off, and I thought, "I didn't have the hair dryer hot enough to set off the fire alarm."

Then I realized the fire alarm really was going off. That thing is so loud it rattled my head. I imagined it was like the IT character in A Wrinkle in Time, pulsating and penetrating inexorably. It hurt.

I picked up the laptop, then went into the living area to find the cats. They were both scared, but dazed enough that I was able to get Molly onto my left shoulder and to get Buck by the scruff and throw him over the other shoulder. Dead weight: 32 pounds. No room for the laptop. No matter.

People slowly came downstairs. One old guy motioned for his wife to come back upstairs, and she refused. He went back in, only to be herded out again by the landlord, who was coming down to check the office and talk to the firefighters.

I took the cats to my car and put them inside. There wasn't any smoke, so I figured they'd be safe. Besides, there wasn't any way I could keep them from running away if I just held them and sat on the curb.

Molly found her way to the most secluded spot she could, which was under the dash. She poked her nose as far into the gas-pedal well as it would go. Buck hung out on the passenger seat. Neither was typically curious. Buck actually shook with fear for a minute or two.

The firefighters checked things out, and we were back in the building in about fifteen minutes. Unfortunately, the alarm went off two more times in the next half hour, and there was no hope of getting the cats out of wherever they were hiding. By this time I had made tea, so I brought that down with me.

I guess someone on the fourth floor had accidentally hit one of the sprinkler heads in their apartment. Not sure how, as they are, of course, in the ceiling, but whatever. There are reports of sodden carpet in the upper hallways, but my apartment isn't wet. I'm on the second floor, and three or four units north of the one in question.

Happy Mothers Day. I hope you were planning on an early morning. I wasn't, but now that I'm up I guess I'll make some Swedish pancakes and get on with potting my plants.