Lace won the checker game and Rae rolled over onto her back with a groan.

That checker game can wait.

Whatever Tommy was doing, he finished in a very few moments and sauntered back to the checker game, his eyes dancing.

And I don't care if I never see any more excitement the rest of my life than a good, fast checker game.

The gray cat, disturbed, got to its feet and stepped onto the table beside the checkers game.

"What you did in there, with the checkers game," he said.

"We've taken another king in this little checker game," he said.