Excerpt: A chipmunk of independent means

The food court has been a flurry of activity too. The nurse who works in the office and comes out and smokes a couple of times a day manages to bring out handfuls of peanuts in their shells and occasionally popcorn. I am certain that it is a poor excuse to get outside to smoke, with the pretense of feeding us. I know if the building’s owner came around more often and saw all the chipmunks that lived here, he would poison us for sure. With the consistent drip of condensation from the heating and cooling systems, we always have fresh water in our plastic dish that the same nurse provided for us. How convenient that she managed to place it directly under the dripping eve. For now we are a source of entertainment for the medical workers, as they view us from their large window that covers the entire wall span side to side and top to bottom. We will participate in our playful chipmunk way, just to keep the workers happy and keep the food coming; the humiliation is a small price to pay for a constant food source.
All my older children have been coming by our little corner of the burrow to give their congratulations to their newest siblings, many making remarks that enough is enough in this over flowing burrow, but I remind them that they are free to move on at any time and the burrow is mine as I created it all those years ago after mother died in a tragic car accident in the parking lot.