No Hope for Louie

After a pet is missing for 2 weeks, especially if you only owned that pet for 2 weeks, I'm pretty sure you can give up all hope. So, that was where I stood on the Louie issue: no hope. I was going to make myself happy with the image that he had been mistaken for a stray and picked up by a loving family who was keeping him inside.
Amazingly enough, that is EXACTLY what happened!
As I was pulling into my garage last night (Dad and I drove over from DeLand) at 9pm, my next-door-neighbor, Monica, came running over with a huge smile on her face. She asked "Where have you been?" (The answer was obvious as soon as she saw me on crutches and a boot on my foot.) Then she launched into a great story about how she went down the street, over the weekend, to visit some friends of hers. When she walked inside their house and noticed a very familiar and friendly grey cat, she asked, "Where did you get that cat?"
The people down the street had been out for a walk and spotted a very friendly cat (without a collar) and just took Louie home!
Monica graciously kept Louie at her house until I got home last night (I will be picking up a 'thank you' gift on my way home from the pool today).
I just can't believe it! I had to keep looking at him last night and reaching down to pet him just to believe that he was there! All his toys and food was boxed up and in a closet. I was more than happy to pull everything down and strew all the cat junk all over the living room.
Louie was a bit hesitant at first...I wasn't surprised that he barely recognized me and the house...but by the end of the evening, his motor was purring and he was jumping 4 feet in the air to chase the feathers!