The sounds of bag hitting, chatting, and even yelling could be heard from the reception. Soon, I was at the gym. Megan gave a young man instructions, and he tried the move she showed him. She nodded in approval and gave him some more advice. Then, she walked towards me.
"How are you?" she asked warmly, wearing workout clothes.
"Great!"
"I teach both intermediate and beginning in this session. Let me introduce you." she took me to a nervous group at the side.
"Everyone, this is Natalie." she said.
She partnered me up with someone, and the lesson for the beginners started. It was quite intense, and Megan was a tough but fair instructor. I was kinda getting the hang of it until I hit my partner a little too hard.
"Shit! " he yelled and snarled at me.. "What's the big idea?"
"I'm so sorry!" I apologized. The grab he had made, though I knew he would do it, had kinda scared me.
"Why don't we take a break?" Megan suggested to the group and took me aside.
"I just wanted to let you know if you ever need to talk to someone, I'm all ears" she said gently.
"Thanks." I said.
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Nat got home around nine.
"How did it go?" I asked after we kissed.
"so so...I hit my partner too hard doing an exercise." she said with a frown. "His fake attack scared me, so I panicked..."
"Oh..." I said, with concern.
"I've been feeling like a declawed cat since the shooting" she admitted.
"Declawed cat?"
"Declawed cats often feel scared and vulnerable because they don't have their main weapon." she explained. "That's one of many reasons why I think it should be outlawed" she sat on the couch and I joined her.
"Did you feel like you were reliving what happened?" I asked with concern.
"Kind of" she said.
"Has this affected you at work?"
"I'm sometimes get startled, and going to the parking lot puts knots in my stomach." she sighed. "So I park my car elsewhere."
I put my arm around her and she put her head on my shoulders.
"You can't avoid the parking lot forever" I told Nat. "A friend of mine who also volunteers at the shelter told me about how he was once threatened at knife point there. He was afraid to go back at first, but then realized that he couldn't let some nut change his life and that he needed to face his fears. Why don't you try to park closer to the parking lot tomorrow? Then from there you can work your way up?"
"I could ..try" Nat replied reluctantly.
"You can't let your fears run your life..." I continued. "I always worry about Donnie and Charlie getting hurt on a case, but I've learned to realize that life is full of risks, and I should enjoy being with them instead of worrying all the time"
Don visited us some days later, watch a game, on a night Nat had to work late.
"Charlie told me that you closed a case" I remarked.
"Yeah" Don smiled. "We arrested the perp" He looked cheerful, and proud. Nothing gave me greater pleasure than seeing my sons happy.
A while later she came into the house, with a parrot in a cage.
"She's a brick hooouse!" it squawked and continued "Who loves ya baby?"
"I see that you've brought a guest" I told her diplomatically with a kiss, though I felt annoyed.
"I'll explain later, Babe" she promised.
"I'll hold you to that" I told her.
"Whose is it?" Don had gotten up and went closer to the bird with a puzzled look.
"Everybody lies!" it declared.
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Typical Natalie! How could she bring that bird without consulting Dad? To his credit, he was acting pretty calm about it. Jane, if we were living together would have reamed me if I had done the same thing.
"Who loves ya baby?" the bird repeated. Natalie's dog and cat were nearby, while she still held the cage.
"An acquaintance..." she told me.
"What about the cat?" I asked.
"The bird will stay in the guest room." she assured me.
"Is this acquaintance a regular?" I asked.
"You'll thank me later!" the parrot squawked. It had bright red feathers with yellow trim on the edge of its wings.
"No, someone I owed a favor to" she said.
"What kind of favor?" I asked carefully.
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Would it have killed her to consult me? That's why we've got cell phones. Why couldn't she have kept it in her clinic? They've got animals lodged there all the time for one reason or another.
"Whatever kind of favors it was...Parrots require more care than we can provide." I said. "We've already got two animals, and both of us work full time..."
"It's just until tomorrow night babe!" she insisted.
"Why don't you put it in your clinic?" Don asked the logical question.
"the owner...wouldn't hear of it"
"And you owe ...Don began, but stopped when his cell rang. He talked for a bit, hung up and said "I gotta go." So he left. That's when the arguing started.
"Owing favors doesn't change the fact that this is my house too!" I said.
"Who loves ya baby?" the bird repeated. "You're a smeghead!"
"What were you thinking?" I continued.
"Alan..."
"And don't tell me to calm down!"
"I've owed this guy a favor since before I met you" she countered.
"Couldn't you offer free meds or something?" I snorted. She still held the cage as the cat was close by, attracted by the bird's movements.
"I did!"
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"Fine! Just don't expect me to help take care of it!" Alan left the living room in a huff.
"Smeghead!" the parrot said again, while the cat still hovered. With a sigh, I watched TV with my pets and the bird, named Red Adder, who liked to put in its two cents with various things it had learned to say. Rocko would respond with barks, while the cat, stayed close by, hoping that I would get distracted long enough for her to make a move. The cage was near the coffee table.
"I can't hear myself think with that bird's yapping!" Alan complained from the dining room, where he had several blueprints spread out..
The next morning, per the owner's request, I left the radio on for the bird, who was in the guest room.
"The cat kept me up!" Alan complained as he sullenly got ready for work. "And why is the radio on?"
"To keep the bird company." I said, and continued. "Look, babe, I had no choice! The bird will be out of here before you know it. I'm sorry!"
"I gotta go" Alan mumbled, and soon he was gone.
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Don told meabout the parrot when I came into the office to help out with the case.
"Poor Dad!" I commiserated, but hoped "Maybe now he's seeing the light when it comes to that woman!"
"He wasn't too happy about it." my brother shook his head.
That night, Larry and I went there for dinner. The parrot was there, in the living room, inside its cage.
"Nat's taking care of this bird for someone." he said neutrally, but added. "Make yourselves comfortable. Dinner will be ready soon."
"I remember a professor of mine at grad school, had a parrot, though it was blue. It would always be at his office." Larry admired the animal. "This one's got a nice coat of feathers."
"Good evening!" the bird said.
"And good evening to you!" Larry said with a smile.
"Hey guys!" Nat suddenly appeared from the hallway. "I take it you've met Red Adder?"
"Does he know a lot of phrases?" my friend asked her.
"Yeah he does"
"Who loves ya, baby?" the bird squawked, and added "Gimme your brain!" It seemed to like Larry. I could tell by how it moved, and seemed animated.
Larry laughed. "Looks like your owner is a Hitchhiker's fan."
"What he needs is a ball of cotton in his beak!" Dad muttered as he came into the living room. "Anyway, dinner is ready."
"Has Red Adder been feed?" Larry asked.
"Ask Nat" Dad said with a shrug and returned to the kitchen. Was there trouble in paradise?
"Don't worry, Alan's bark is worse than his bite" my friend told the bird in a soothing voice.
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Soon, dinner was served. Alan made lasagna.
"That is really a delightful bird, Natalie!" Larry told me, while serving himself.
"They're pretty smart animals." I remarked. "Some stage magicians use them in their shows"
"Really?"
"Yeah." I nodded.
"How long is he staying with you?" Larry drank some water.
"The owner's supposed to pick him up tonight." Alan said, while drinking some more beer.
"Oh..." Larry sounded disappointed, and his facial features drooped.
After dinner, Alan, Charlie and I watched some movie on TV, while Larry, with his face resting on his hand, observed the bird with intense interest.
"Coo coo!" the parrot imitated a cuckoo clock. "Coo coo!"
"This reminds me of cuckoo clock my mother used to have." Larry remembered wistfully.
"by mennon!" the bird continued, encouraged by Larry's attention.
"You're a smart little bird, aren't you?" he teased it with a small laugh.
"I am the walrus!" Red Adder declared.
"Don't encourage the bird!" Alan complained to Larry. "I'm trying to watch the movie!"
"How could you not like this bird?" Larry asked him with a puzzled face. "It's very delightful."
Around nine in the evening, Alan flatly suggested in my ear
"Maybe you should call the owner? Hmmm?"
"Okay.." I agreed. So I did.
No one answered at any of the numbers he gave me, not even the cell!
TBC