chapter five
“Tim! I need a hand with the lovebirds!” Amy hollered. Her hands were on her hips, so I knew she meant business.
I’d just gotten Winifred, Hubert and Elmo settled on the brass swings under the potted palm tree in the middle of the store, where they spent most of their days. Winifred was preening herself, her beak working so fast she reminded me of a bumblebee. Hubert was watching her, and Elmo was watching me.
I adjusted the swings, but truth was, I just wanted to hang out a little longer with Elmo. He hadn’t even left the store and already I missed him.
The thought that my dad would be renting Elmo out like he was a DVD was driving me nuts. I’d hardly slept. There was no telling what could happen to Elmo. He might stop eating or catch a cold. And when I imagined the aviary without him, my throat tightened up.
I saw my own reflection when I looked into Elmo’s dark eyes. “I’m sorry,” I whispered.
Was I imagining it, or did Elmo look sad? Like he knew?
“Hey, pal, whatever happens, wherever Dad sends you, I’ll be there. I promise.”
“Tim!” Amy shouted again.
“What’s all the racket about?” Trout asked as he walked by with a small plastic bag filled with water and two goldfish.
“I’m coming,” I muttered, waving in Amy’s direction.
Before I went, I scratched the feathers on the top of Elmo’s head. “I promise,” I whispered.
Each of the four fledglings was no bigger than a peach and just as fuzzy. They looked like they’d been splashed with green and orange and pink paint. Their pearly beaks were the size of fingernails.
“Hello, babies,” Amy cooed. It was bad enough I had to listen to my mom fussing over the twins all the time. Now Amy was losing it too. You’d think she’d given birth to those fuzz balls.
I had to admit the lovebirds were cute. Amy had tucked a heating pad under their cage. Now, because we were cleaning the cage, the little guys were strutting across the counter. We didn’t have to worry about them flying off since they still hadn’t figured out what their wings were for.
“How are the fledglings this morning?”
It was my dad, but I didn’t look up. Instead I scrubbed harder. So hard my wrists started hurting.
“They’re doing well, Mr. Barnes. They had their food through the dropper this morning,” Amy told him.
“Excellent.”
When I felt Dad’s eyes land on me, I didn’t look up. I was giving him the silent treatment. But the silent treatment only works when the other person notices.
“I’ll be in my office making phone calls,” Dad said as he headed out the aviary door. He sounded happier than he’d sounded in a long time. Sure, I thought, he thinks Elmo’s going to solve his money problems. If only he cared as much about Elmo. Or me.
“Something bothering you?” Amy asked.
“Nah, I’m fine. Hey, what’s the red smudge on that one’s head?” I asked, pointing at the smallest fledgling.
“Lipstick. A family was in yesterday. They totally fell in love with her. When I told them they couldn’t take her home for two weeks, they insisted on leaving a down payment. So I dabbed her head with lipstick; that way, we’ll be able to tell her apart from her brothers.”
“Hey, Amy,” I said, when we were scooping up the fledglings to put them back in the cage. “Ever hear of people renting out birds? For parties and stuff?” I was holding one of the fledglings in my hands, and I could feel the thump-thump of his heart.
“Nah,” Amy said. “Never heard of it. Why do you want to know?”
“No reason.”
The silent treatment hadn’t worked. Keeping my feelings in wasn’t working, either. So though I didn’t have to pee, I headed for the bathroom at the back of the store. On the way, I stopped at my dad’s office.
The door was half-open, but he wasn’t there.
“I think he went to the bathroom,” Trout called out. He was feeding the fish.
When I walked into the bathroom, my dad was checking out his shave in the mirror.
I looked for feet inside the stalls. I didn’t want anyone else to hear what I was about to say.
“How could you?” I asked, looking up at my dad. When I heard my voice, I was surprised by how angry I sounded. I don’t think I’d ever really gotten angry with my dad before.
“How could I what?” I could tell Dad had no idea what I was talking about. That made me angrier.
“How could you rent out—” I had trouble finishing the sentence. “How could you rent out Elmo?” It sounded like I’d spit out the words.
“How do you know about that?”
“I heard you tell Mom.”
“Since when did you start listening in on private conversations?” Dad’s eyes flashed and his whole face was red. I couldn’t believe he was getting angry at me! He was twisting things. I wasn’t the one who’d done something wrong, he was.
I tried to stay calm. “I wasn’t listening in. I just heard you talking is all.”
I was sure Dad would apologize for losing his temper and for his plan to rent out Elmo. I was sure he’d say it was all a big mistake and he’d changed his mind.
Instead he walked right past me and pressed his palm against the bathroom door so hard it made a smacking sound. “What makes you think I need some kid telling me how to run my business?”
“I’m not telling you how to run your business. I...I just want to look after Elmo.”
The veins on Dad’s hand looked purple and swollen. “Now you’re telling me I don’t know how to look after my animals? Is that what you’re saying?”
“N-no,” I stammered. “It’s just that I...I’m worried.”
Dad dropped his eyes to the ground. “You don’t know the first thing about worries,” he muttered as he left the bathroom.
I knew there wasn’t any point going after him. But I wasn’t ready to go back into the store, either. My heart was racing and I needed to catch my breath. Dad and I had never fought before.
So I just stood there, staring at my reflection. I looked so much like him. Usually I thought that was a good thing. But not today. Today I didn’t want to be anything like my dad.
I nearly jumped when the bathroom door opened. I spotted the black cloak first. “Rodney!” I shouted, and for a second I sounded as angry as my dad had a few minutes before. “What’s wrong with you? Why are you always following me around like some stray pup?”