Love Is for the Birds

21. Jack

WHEN JACK ARRIVED AT SWEET SOMETHINGS A FEW DAYS LATER, orange and white lights flickered from the window. The overcast sky made Teddy’s festive decorations all the more inviting. He hoped that a few tourists would wander through town today.

“ Tada! ” He handed Teddy a Casper the Friendly Ghost wall hanging.

“It’s so fun.” She put a hand on her hip. “And, I’ve made my first sale.” She snapped the edges of a twenty.

“ Ka-ching, ka-ching .” He mimed counting out money and sang, “‘My baby’s got lots of money, yes she does, oh yeah.’” Teddy laughed. He twirled her and said, “I just made that up.”

Teddy sang along and danced in the orangey light. “You may have a future in music, but I wouldn’t give up on barbecue just yet.”

“I’ll hold off for now. I’ve got a more important project.”

Teddy gave him a look that landed somewhere between curious and suspicious.

“Thanks for the Casper. I always loved that cartoon.”

“It screamed Sweet Somethings”—he paused and clenched his jaw—“Okay, I can’t wait any longer. You promised me a date when the shop opened.”

“I’m trying to make a living here.”

“Tomorrow night?”

Teddy pretended to squirt him with glass cleaner and then sprayed the case of fudge to remove fingerprints. She reminded him of Angela, always working. Jack clenched his teeth. He promised himself he wouldn’t think about Angela. Yet, like the ghost of Halloween past, she frequently came to mind.

Comparing Teddy and Angela would only make things worse. Teddy had lost her mother and then her store. From what Barb said, Teddy spent her fair share of nights alone, too. Thank God they’d found Pickles.

Jack placed his hand on Teddy’s. “I want that dinner with you, alone.”

The hint of a smile formed on her face. He took in her buttery-sweet smell.

Teddy pivoted and stashed the bottle of glass cleaner below the cash register. She wore a tight tank top under her apron, and he could see the soft mounds of her breasts. Despite the fact that she stood behind the counter, he wanted to jump over and kiss her right there.

The bell over the door sounded. “Welcome to Sweet Somethings,” Teddy said. A woman and a little girl walked into the store.

“Tomorrow night? I’m not leaving until I hear a yes.” He glanced at the customers, then back at Teddy.

“Okay,” Teddy said softly.

“I want to hear you say yes .”

She rolled her eyes. “Yes.”

He lifted both hands to the ceiling. “Finally.” Jack stepped over to the woman. “You’re the witness.”

The woman laughed and nodded.

“You’re so dramatic,” Teddy said.

“I’m going now. Barb wanted some help.” He could hardly believe that after all this time, they would finally have their date. “And just to be sure you keep your word, I’m taking Pickles with me.”

“Fine.” She shooed Jack out the door. “Now go. And thanks for the Casper.”

The hurricane turned Barb’s house into part wildlife shelter, part public housing, and part city offices. Plus, the house stood next to the Animal Rehabilitation Keep. Crates of birds crowded her front porch. Pickles froze, stared, and appeared about to lunge onto one of the crates when Barb opened the door, a bag of seed in her hand.

“Better get that dog away from my birds.”

He grabbed Pickles and backed away. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s instinct for Pickles. But you should know better.” Barb motioned for him to follow her to the back of the house. “Anyway, I’m glad you came.” Barb eyed Pickles and pointed to a corner of the kitchen. “Now you lie down, and don’t say a word.”

Pickles cowered to the corner. Maybe he should join Pickles, but Barb poured him coffee into a Bird Isle mug.

“I stopped by to see Teddy,” Jack said.

“I gathered.” Barb pushed the coffee to Jack and pointed to the cream and sugar.

“She agreed to go out on a proper date with me.” He poured cream in his coffee and then waited for Barb’s response.

Barb snapped her fingers. “Congratulations.”

“Give me the truth.” He sipped his coffee. “Am I barking up the wrong tree? I don’t want to make things awkward for her.”

“She’s not as tough as she makes out to be. She’s mostly alone in this life, except her grandfather. She could use some decent company.”

“That’s what everyone says. So why did she take so long to break up with him?”

“I think she really decided when her mother died, but she just never had the energy to deal with him.” Barb paused and turned her eyes away. “Anyway, it’s her story to tell.”

He knew all about not having enough energy to deal with things like emotions. As for Daniel, Barb reiterated what Pops had already told him.

“You asking my advice?”

“I believe I am.” Jack confided in Jimbo every now and then, but he always made a joke about everything. Talking to Barb felt more productive. “She didn’t say anything, but I think Angie’s name on the barbecue wagons sends the wrong message.”

“You mean those barn-red wagons with the flaming letters of your wife’s name?”

Barb made no attempt to hide the sarcasm in her voice.

“Yeah, those.”

“Well, honestly, she did point them out to me,” Barb said. “She doesn’t want to get involved with a man who is in love with someone else. I get that. Not a one of my three husbands could be trusted, so I’ll admit, I’m cynical.” She gulped her coffee.

“I’m not like that.”

“Maybe, maybe not.” Barb shrugged. “Time will tell.”

“You’re not very encouraging.”

“I like you. Teddy likes you. Stick around town.” She glanced over at Pickles and shook her head. “Though you don’t have sense enough to know not to bring a dog to a bird sanctuary.”

“What can I say?”

“You’re out of practice. Become the official dog walker if you have to. Give Teddy some time.” Barb stood. “You’re a smart man. You’ll figure out something.” She grabbed a sack of fish from the refrigerator. “You need to decide what’s more important, the past, or the future. And Teddy needs to decide what’s more important, her guilt, or her happiness.”

“I never dated anyone but Angela. This is a whole new world.”

“You’ve got your own charm, Shaughness.” Barb slapped him on the shoulder. “If I were younger and not so cynical, I’d teach you a thing or two.”

“I’ll consider that a compliment.” He touched the tip of his cap.

“If you’re finished whining about your life, come on out here and give me a hand.”

Barb must have sent some sort of telepathic message to Pickles because she didn’t budge.

Outside her house, Barb had a small office adjacent to the aviary, the bird cages, and the tanks for the birds and turtles. Maps of the wetlands hung on the wall behind her desk. Red push pins marked areas of devastation. Yellow push pins identified work areas in progress, and just two green push pins indicated completed work. Photos of Whooping Cranes crowded the other walls. Metal cases of photographic equipment packed the shelves. The equipment must have been worth thousands of dollars.

“You’re lucky the equipment survived the storm.” He ran his hand over one of the cases.

“You got that right. I sweated birdseed.” Barb grabbed her bag of fish and headed outside. She stopped in front of six cages of brown pelicans. “These birds were rescued by concerned citizens. They came in here exhausted and windblown from the hurricane.”

“What do you do for them?” The orange bill of the bird in front of him must have been a foot long.

“Mostly just feed them.” Barb opened the bag and dangled a filet before the pelican. When the patient unlocked its giant bill, Barb dropped the fish into the pelican’s transparent pouch. “We go through a lot of frozen fish.”

The bird gulped, and then opened its beak for a few seconds. Blood vessels crisscrossed like a road map over the skin of the pouch.

“Sometimes we mend a broken wing,” Barb said. “Pelicans dive for their food, so if they are weak, they can’t feed themselves very well.”

When they finished feeding the birds, Barb donned a pair of gloves and lifted a cage. “Take that next one. We’re going to move them to a larger cage.”

One by one, he and Barb moved the six pelicans into an enclosure with an above-ground pool of water. When they opened the cage, the birds walked out. Immediately, they all headed to the water. Three of them were able to hop up onto the pool’s edge. The other three, walked up a ramp to access the water. Water blasted into the pool from a four-inch pipe, keeping the water aerated for live minnows.

“Once they can catch these fish, and we’re sure they can fly, we release them. I’m thinking next week.”

“She got one.” One of the birds scooped a minnow into its pouch.

The pelicans circled the tank, catching the minnows. The big guy climbed up a perch, dove, and skidded over the water.

“They just need a little exercise,” Barb said. “When we release them, we can use your truck. You can bring Teddy. That would be a nice bonding opportunity.”

“That would be wonderful.” Totally entertained by watching the pelicans skim the water for minnows, he had almost forgotten about Teddy and Pickles.