Chapter 9: Uno
When they stopped by Bia, Carla and Tiago were impressed by their new temporary accommodation. The low but spacious house in Rio and even more so the spacious hollow in the Amazon where they had decided to live permanently was completely different from what they were seeing now and to Blu's delight - they looked really excited to be living here for a week.
"I'll get dibs on the room upstairs right away," said a confident Tiago rubbing his wings while leaning out of Fernando's shoulder as much as he could to see the first floor of the house. Blu laughed seeing Tiago's excitement for the house, he did not want to drain his energy by telling him that they would all sleep on the 1st floor because of the 1st room that was unused (assuming Iza had not disposed of it). Jewel, seeing her children's enthusiasm, did not hide her positive emotions either. Yes, the freezing cold repelled her a little from the place, but on the other hand...it's always something new! She felt completely alone in Rio and was lost until she met the love of her life - namely Blu. Mainly thanks to him, she saw Minnesote positively and was set for a positive holiday experience.
"Fernando and I will take the luggage and you go home," communicated Tulio. The women, as instructed, took the parrots with them and headed to the flat and the men opened the boot to take their belongings.
Iza unlocked the door with her key and let Linde inside first. Blu, sitting on her shoulder, looked around the whole floor with exultation, inhaling the air nostalgically while wandering around in his mind recalling old times when they still lived here. He tried to recall as many details of the place as possible to associate if anything had changed, but to his surprise there was really very little change! Yes, the offers to borrow had changed, because now, in addition to books, Izabella borrowed films and games, but apart from that, nothing had changed! The layout of the furniture was the same, it was the same, the layout of the computer on the desk (even though it was a different, newer one) remained the same! Sadly, his cage that had stood by the windowsill had disappeared, but he was full of the belief that Iza had hidden it somewhere to take it out for a suitable occasion like this.
"Wow...everything is just as it was...amazing!" Said Linda, also overjoyed at this fact, looking around the house. Like Blu she wanted to see if anything had changed, but to her delight she didn't see much change.
"Why change something that works? Yes, I've expanded the assertion a bit and changed to newer equipment, but other than that it's all the same," replied Iza. And indeed it probably was, because it was hard to see any other striking changes.
"I really appreciate that you haven't changed the signboard...it's really important to me," added Linda. The sight of the blue feather-shaped signboard warmed the woman's heart.
"You know, it might surprise you, but I wanted to do it, but when I thought those logos would disappear from the glass...I felt a kind of sadness and in the end I didn't do it," explained Iza. At this time, the women standing in the rental car were joined by Tiago and Fernando, who were holding wet luggage, which drew Linda's attention.
"What happened to the luggage? They are all wet...and they have snow on the bottom?" Linda asked with slight embarrassment. Tulio laughed awkwardly shrugging his shoulders.
"We're not quite used to the conditions here," explained Fernando uncertainly. Linda suspiciously leaned out from behind them to see the entrance to the house. Just as she had guessed, she saw the outlines of two men snowing! She laughed correcting her glasses touching Tulia's arm, just as she assumed, it was all wet!
"Hahaha, I remember the first time you were here you blew away nicely too. Let's go upstairs now okay? We need to dry our jackets" Linda replied. They all headed up the spiral staircase to see their flat where they would be living. Behind Fernando and Tulie, wet footprints were forming on the panels, making it a little slippery.
Once they had made their way to the 1st floor Blu immediately glanced at the wall that was next to the stairs. Still on it was a sticker that read "Reserved parking for Blu", and next to it stood the three cars he loved to drive around the house when he was little!
"Parking for Blu! Haha, you didn't even take that off, do you remember Blu when you liked to drive them ?" Linda asked. Blu nodded in slight embarrassment with a movement of his head. He didn't want anyone to say it out loud, he immediately heard his children's giggles, but they were quickly cut short by Jewel, who looked at them with her aggressive look that could make even Blu weak!
"Yes, I didn't take it off, I generally tried to change as little as possible in this house, after all it's your flat and I liked everything about it anyway, so I didn't feel the need to change anything" explained Iza. Facing the stairs, there were 2 doors to the left and right and 1 to the front. The first left door led to the kitchen, the second to Linda's bedroom. On the right 1 door led to the living room, the 2nd to the room that was empty when Linda and Blu lived here and opposite them was the bathroom.
"Quite a spacious house," said Tiago then rose to look around the flat, followed closely by his sisters. Jewel and Blu remained side by side with the people heading for the living room to sit down. Izabella touched the radiator on the wall to check it was warm, then took jackets from them to hang them on it. The living room was quite spacious, there was a sofa against the left wall, opposite it a chest of drawers on which stood a TV and next to the chest of drawers two wardrobes. The black walls with the white furniture gave a perfect contrast and thus matched each other perfectly. In the middle of the room was a classic wooden round table, which was covered with a white tablecloth. The panels on the floor didn't need any carpet, they looked nice enough on their own that it was a shame to cover them up.
"Wait a minute I'll make us some coffee, surely you must be tired from this journey, coffee will put you back on your feet" suggested Iza, everyone nodded at the suggestion, so a moment later the woman disappeared into the kitchen.
"Let's go see how our kids are playing" suggested Jewel. She and Blu took to the air to look for their children, who were neither in the kitchen nor in Linda's room. The bathroom door was closed, only the door to the empty room was slightly ajar. The parrots flew through the slightly ajar door and saw a room that was completely unrecognisable to Blu! The room that had all white walls and brown floor and that was where the room decor ended was now covered with grey panels on the wall, the floor was finished in brown and the room had a computer, a bed, bookshelves and on the other side of the room was a large cage for the parrots in which there was sand and two trunks imitating tree trunks with nests. Under the window was a small sofa where Tiago, Bia and Carla were sitting. The girls were talking to each other while Tiago was juggling a small ball in the air, which he launched towards Blu when he spotted him. Blu with his reflexes took the ball in his claws laughing. He looked around the room and was really impressed with how the room had changed! Linda didn't move the room because there was absolutely no need to do so. It was just her and Blu in the flat, so this room was not necessary for them. It was only Iza who thought it was worth redecorating it in some meaningful way.
"Iza really made an effort" thought Blu appreciatively. She even appreciated that the parrots were also guests in the house and thought of a place to sleep. A cage for half a room should be enough, there was enough straw and stands on which to stand.
"It's really not too bad here! It could be warmer...because it's really cold here, but overall, it's quite cosy" Carla communicated.
"It's extra here! It's nice to take a break from the jungle and its tropical climate. Ah, finally you can kick a ball around without sweating!" Added Tiago enthusiastically while juggling the ball.
"You guys are right. It's a great place to take a break from our everyday lives and try something new...and for some, old, right darling?" Jewel asked. Blu was happy to hear his family's praise of the place. He was a little worried that they would be disgusted and negative about living here, but fortunately it turned out to be the complete opposite!
"Well...yes, it's certainly good to be back here...after so many years" replied an exultant Blu.
Moments later, Linda joined the room with Tulie and Fernando. The woman looked in awe at the room she had left as an empty room and now sees what potential it had!
"Wow, Iza, really great job! It looks phenomenal! Aww, you even took care of our parrots! You're a sweetheart!" Said Linda with a smile as she saw the room.
"Of course I took care of them! After all, I know how much they mean to you. After all, they have to sleep somewhere! " replied Iza.
"Wow, really this cage is well prepared! They have everything they need, well done" confirmed Tulio, after a short inspection. As an ornithologist with a slight obsession with birds, he could best tell if this cage had everything the parrots needed.
"But enough about me, tell me what you have in Brazil! It makes me terribly curious!" Iza said. The family of people returned to the living room to talk about the events in Rio, and Blu came up with the idea of showing for his family how, in his young years, he spent his free winter evenings not just at the TV or computer.
In the evening, at around 7 p.m. when the sun had almost completely gone over the horizon and the wind had started to pick up there was a warm and pleasant atmosphere in the house. The Monteiro family chatted to Iza about Rio, telling her how Blu and Jewel had died and how they had met Fernando in the circumstances. Meanwhile, Blu was looking through his games drawer and saw a pack of cards for his one of his favourite card games 'UNO'. He had happened to see people playing it a few times in Rio but had never managed to play it with his family. Therefore, he took out a deck, sorted it and suggested a short game. Of course, the children as well as Jewel agreed to a game of Uno. The trip to Minnesota was a sort of break from all the chores or the constant sitting on the smartphone, computer and dancing in the club. It was a very different kind of holiday...more of a family holiday.
Blu explained the rules about the cards and how they work and dealt the first round of cards. Of course, in the first game he was no match for him winning easily, but this did not discourage the family from playing. So one game turned into a dozen if not dozens! Blu was impressed by how quickly they were learning the game, the further the game went the more problems he had with winning! Until there was a final fateful turn in which he lost (probably the worst option) to Tiago, who took to the air with his energy making a triumphant barrel roll in the air which caused Blu to quietly growl at the sight. Only Jewel noticed his reaction, she giggled quietly and kissed him on the side of his beak saying:
"You can't always win."
At around 7.30p.m. Iza and Linda prepared one of Blu's favourite childhood dishes - maple syrup pancakes. Blu often prepared them at home in Rio for his family, but here in Minnesota using Linda's mum's old recipe they tasted different...better. They were sweeter, the pancakes were plumper, more intense in flavour, and the maple syrup had a thicker consistency compared to the one in Rio.
The parrots flew from the room they would be sleeping in to the living room, where Fernando and Tulio were already waiting for the food, which was served moments later by the women. The men each got five pancakes and the parrots one, of course they had the option of adding more if they so wished.
"Your childhood food...are the pancakes you make for us in Rio?" Asked a perplexed Carla looking at the food. At first glance it was no different to what she had eaten in Rio.
"Try it and you'll see what the difference is," explained Blu. Carla took a bite of the syrup-laden pancake with slight disappointment and immediately felt the difference in taste. The pancakes actually tasted completely different, better, sweeter... plumper! Her taste buds immediately communicated the good news about the taste, which immediately appealed to Carla, who muttered quietly while swallowing a bite.
"Even though I'm not fond of human food...I have to admit that this is really good," agreed Jewel. Even though she was used to humans, she tried to avoid human food as much as possible, preferring to eat simple but natural foods like nuts and mangoes.
"Honey, we are on holiday, you can eat whatever you want. Tomorrow I will serve you my favourite morning drink!" Proclaimed Blu.
"Is there anything better than coffee?" Asked Tiago immediately.
"Yes, there is. But that's tomorrow," replied Blu.
Fernando and Tulia's reactions were similar to Carla's in terms of taste. They too felt the difference in taste was a bigger positive towards the Minnesota pancakes. Linda had yet to see both of them eat pancakes at such a rapid pace!
"Wow, those pancakes must have really tasted good to you!" Said a surprised Linda seeing their empty plates while she was finishing her 3rd pancake!
"Yeah, well...they were really good pancakes" they replied with satisfaction.
"I'm going to take a shower and go to bed...I'm really tired from this trip" Communicated Tulio as he finished his dinner. He opened his suitcase with his clothes, grabbed his pyjamas then took his bag of hygiene products with him and headed for the bathroom.
"Good idea, I'm exhausted from this trip too...anyway, where can we sleep?" Linda asked.
"Oh, you guys can sleep in your room, I bought a double bed, I'll sleep in the living room and Fernando will sleep in the parrot room" replied Iza. She finished her portion of pancakes, then collected the dirty dishes and put them in the dishwasher closing it to let the dishes wash overnight.
Half an hour later, when the whole Monteiro family had showered everyone dispersed to their sleeping places wishing each other goodnight. Hygiene was not forgotten either by Blu, who washed his beak at bedtime. After this, the house fell into darkness as everyone started to go to bed. Everyone was tired from the plane flight, in addition, the change in climate and time zone meant that they went to bed quite early, as by 9.p.m. Mr and Mrs Monteiro were already sleepy. The situation was similar for the Blu family. They had never flown in an aeroplane so the added fear of doing so caused their energy to run out faster. From the two tree stumps in which the nests were located, the children went to sleep in one and Blu and Jewel in the other. While the children were already asleep Blu and Jewel talked a bit about the trip and plans for the future, but Blu could see that Jewel was very tired and the most she needed was rest, so he didn't want to tire her out any longer.
"I can see, honey, that you're tired," Blu said looking down at his wife (she was leaning against his chest).
"I'm a bit...this is...quite a different place. I'm not saying it's bad...but it's quite cold here, it's a different time zone and I'm a bit still in the emotions after the plane ride" explained Jewel. Blu nodded with a movement of his head then kissed her on the forehead. Jewel pulled away from him and went deep into the nest arranging herself for sleep.
"You're not going to sleep?" Jewel asked.
"Uhm...I'm going to stay up a bit longer, I'm not that sleepy" replied Blu.
"I see...good night" said Jewel.
"Good night darling" replied Blu.
Blu stood for a few more minutes at the outlet of the nest wandering in his thoughts. He never thought he'd get to see the place live again, he so wanted to see his childhood with his own eyes once more...and here he was suddenly living in it for as much as a week! It was unbelievably lucky that it happened! But it wasn't enough. He needed to show his family his old life, but at the same time, for the first time in a very long time, he felt the need to think a little about himself, to slow down in all of this and focus on himself. He wanted to remember who he was.