a morning

he woke up cold, alone. it was late morning. he needn't be up for another half hour. after attempting to gather his thoughts, he arose to check the radiator in the other room. it was off. he reached for the handle to open the valve, but stopped. he noticed something abnormal. something...furry. a mouse. the rear three-quarters of a brown mouse were visible from under the baseboard heater, its legs splayed out behind it, with its neck lodged underneath, out of sight. how did it get there? how would he remove it? he decided to adjust the temperature and deal with this unfortunate visitor later. at least it's not a rat, he thought.