How could it not shock him? :)

ROFL! Not sure if Wes would let Buddy within ten feet of him, not that the jerk cat wouldn't try.

I'm tickled that you found so much to laugh at in this last chunk. I knew Wes wouldn't be able to respond in kind, not right away, so 'thank you' sounded exactly like something he might actually say.

But thank you again. It started so dark that I really wanted to end it on a much lighter note, so I'm very thankful that the humor came through and that it worked so well.