Chapter Nineteen #2
She dozed off and on. Sometime after midnight exhaustion forced her to the bed where she slept fitfully—the balcony doors
wide-open to welcome Ramon, should he fly in. She woke up at three and went downstairs to take her shift of patrolling the
mostly sleeping teens. As always a few diehards were watching the movies and eating popcorn. They waved at her, then returned
their attention to the screen.
The food and, more importantly for the adults, the coffee arrived on time. Jax waited until the teens left and the cleaning
crew was working to go up to her apartment and shower as she prepared for another long day. She was supposed to move in with
the kids tomorrow and didn’t know what to do about that. She needed to be with them but felt awful about not waiting for Ramon.
She knew Gentry and Xander would agree to sleep in the store for a few nights, but if their parrot didn’t come home, they
would be sad and upset.
There was no good answer, she thought. In her head she understood she had to get on with her life and be the mother her children
needed. But her heart still belonged to Ramon. It always would, even if he was gone forever—something she might have to start
to accept.
She went into the store and began that part of her day. Her staff arrived, all of them talking cheerfully and asking about
the sleepover. She answered as best she could, faking her way through smiling and laughing when on the inside, she felt sick
and empty. No one who was interested in selling him would wait so long to get him listed. She was sure wherever he was, he
was being difficult because he was scared and upset. The two of them had been together nearly thirty years. She and the bookstore
and her family and friends were all he knew.
If he was somewhere in town he would have been spotted. People had been looking for days and no one had seen him. Which meant whoever had taken him was planning on keeping him. Or if they had wanted to sell him, something bad had happened and he was either injured or dead.
She told herself not to cry. The tears wouldn’t help Ramon or herself. She had to deal with the ugly truth and figure out
how to start mourning the most amazing bird she’d ever—
“Jax! Jax!” one of her employees screamed. “Jax, it’s Ramon!”
She ran through the store, ducking around people, moving as fast as she could, then burst through the open front door and
onto the sidewalk. Several people pointed down the street where she saw her big, beautiful parrot walking toward the store,
a scraggly orange cat at his side.
“Ramon!” she called. “Ramon!”
He saw her and immediately flew toward her. “Jax!” He landed on her outstretched hand, then hurried to her shoulder and pressed
his head against her cheek.
“You’re okay,” she breathed, touching him all over. He was thin but she couldn’t feel any open wounds and his wings seemed
intact. “Tell me you’re okay.”
“I love you.”
“Yes, I love you, too, but what happened? You left. You’ve never left me before.” She looked at him. “Ramon, you scared me
so much.”
He squawked and flew down to the ground to stand by the skinny cat who was eyeing them all warily.
“I knew when I met you an adventure was going to happen,” he said proudly.
Jax stared at him blankly. “Are you talking about me or the cat?”
“He’s quoting Winnie-the-Pooh,” someone said.
She turned and saw they’d collected a good-sized crowd of customers and employees.
She looked from her parrot to the cat and back. “Is that what this was about? Getting your own cat?” She remembered the debacle
that was introducing him to Lucy. “You realized you wanted a friend?”
He flew back to her shoulder and nuzzled her hair. “Stay gold, Ponyboy.”
Everyone laughed.
Cheryl showed up and began shooing everyone away. “All right, that’s enough. Give Ramon and his new friend some room.”
People drifted away. Cheryl offered Jax a quick hug.
“He came home.”
“He did and I’m relieved. Later I’ll be pissed that he left in the first place. He’s never done that before, so there will
be a stern talking-to for sure.” She sat on the sidewalk and held out her fingers to the cat. “Hey there. You look hungry.
Are you lost or are you a stray?”
The cat didn’t answer—not exactly a surprise. She turned to Ramon. “Does he belong to someone? Did you steal a cat?”
Her parrot gave her a little side-eye. “Breakfast, please.”
“Okay, but then we have to talk about the cat.”
Ramon moved next to his new friend and used his wings to urge him forward, into the store. The cat went slowly, sniffing and
turning his head as if checking for danger.
Together they went inside. Cheryl kept pace with them.
“I don’t suppose you kept any cat food from when you had Lucy,” she said.
“No. Ryleigh took it all.”
“Not a problem. I’ll send Marie to the store for a couple of cans of something to tide him over while we figure out what to
do.”
Ramon flapped his wings. “Breakfast now!”
Jax laughed. “Okay, I get it.” She glanced at Cheryl. “Can you watch the cat while I take Ramon upstairs and get him breakfast?”
“Of course.” Cheryl knelt by the cat and lightly petted it. The cat sniffed her hand before moving a little closer for more
attention. “He or she seems to be friendly enough, so not feral. That’s something.”
“It might still belong to someone. We’re going to have to figure that out. But in the meantime . . .” She held out her hand. “Come on, you. Breakfast awaits.”
Ramon flew to her and together they went upstairs. Once in his room, she quickly put together his custom mixture along with
a little fresh fruit. She would weigh him later, but if she had to guess, she would say he’d lost at least a few ounces—a
lot when he only weighed a pound.
She put out the food but instead of leaving, she stayed to watch him eat while making a quick call to let Gentry and Xander
know he was all right. They insisted on pictures which she quickly sent. Ramon dug in as if he were starving, which he probably
was. When she was done with her call she sank onto the floor, her back against the wall, and watched him.
He was home. She felt relief, and the bands of worry and fear around her heart eased some, but under that was the residual
of all the pain she’d felt knowing she could have lost him. She told herself she was fine, that there were people she had
to notify. Marcus, her computer expert, and they should put out an announcement on Port Palmas Talks so the town could stop worrying.
But instead of doing any of that, she pulled her knees to her chest and gave in to the tears that unexpectedly overwhelmed
her. They quickly turned into sobs that she couldn’t control. Her breath came in gasps as she let go of all the horrible emotions
she’d been forced to deal with.
Ramon flew over and landed next to her, then flapped his wings, as if trying to get her attention.
“I’m okay,” she managed, unable to stop crying. “It’s j-just everything.”
He flapped his wings again, then hopped on her knee. “My love is true.”
“I know.”
Marcus walked in and immediately crossed to her. He sank next to her and pulled her close.
“It’s okay,” he murmured. “He’s home. Ramon is home.”
She pressed her face into his shoulder and continued to cry. Tears poured out of her, making her body shake for what felt
like hours but was probably only a couple of minutes. Finally they slowed and she was able to catch her breath. She sniffed
a couple of times and raised her head.
“Cheryl texted you?”
He nodded. “You okay?”
“I will be. I don’t know what that was.”
“You’ve been dealing with a bunch of—” He glanced at Ramon. “A bunch of really bad things for a few days. You’re emotionally
drained. Him being home is happy and that means you can finally stop trying to hold it all together.”
He got up. “I’ll be right back.”
He returned a few seconds later with a box of tissues. After he handed it to her, he looked at the parrot.
“You have some explaining to do, young man.”
Ramon flew to him, then pressed his beak against him cheek. “Mr. Darcy.”
“Everyone was worried. Your mom went on the news to tell everyone you were gone. Don’t do that again.”
Ramon hung his head. “Sorry.”
Marcus frowned. “Does he know what I’m saying?”
“Some of it. I don’t know how much.”
Marcus walked Ramon back to his feeding perch. The parrot climbed on and began to eat again, occasionally glancing at Jax
as if to make sure she was all right.
“There’s a cat?” Marcus asked.
“He showed up with one. It’s thin and looks a little banged up. I don’t know if it’s a stray or if it’s someone’s cat and
Ramon took him.”
“He didn’t take him. The cat would have to agree to go with him.” He flashed her a grin. “How exactly do they communicate?”
“I have no idea.”
“But he got the cat to follow him here.” He glanced at the parrot. “He’s quite the guy.”
“He is. Now if only he would tell me where he’s been all this time.”
She had trouble believing he’d just been flying around Port Palmas without anyone seeing him. Yes, he was gray and not colorful
like a Macaw but surely someone would have noticed a parrot sitting in a tree.
“What happens next?” he asked. “Are you keeping the cat?”
“I don’t know. I guess, if it’s a stray. I’m not sure how we find out if someone’s looking for him.” There were probably ways
but her brain felt fuzzy.
“I’ll take him to the vet.” He paused. “Or her. Let’s see if it has a chip or not and get it examined.”
Jax shook her head. “Thank you, but you’re busy with a business to run.”
He offered her a gentle smile. “It’s Saturday. I have a former client who’s a vet on the other side of town. I’ll make a call
and see if I can get in today to get the cat checked out. In the meantime I’ll tell Cheryl to post something on Port Palmas Talks and have our computer friend check for any missing cat posts online.”
He was making all the sense in the world, she thought, grateful for him spelling out what had to be done. “All that sounds
good,” she said, thinking she should get up but suddenly overwhelmed by exhaustion.
Marcus frowned. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I’m just tired. I haven’t slept since he’s been gone.”
“That was nearly a week ago.”
“Was it? The days kind of blurred for me.”
He walked over and held out his hands. “Come on.”
“What?” she asked even as she took his hands and he pulled her to her feet.
“You’re going to bed.”
“I can’t. The bookstore needs me.”
“No, it doesn’t.”
“Ramon needs me. I have to keep an eye on him. What if he flies away again?”
“He has what he went looking for,” Marcus said, leading her out of the room. “I’ll have them shut the front door and put out
a sign telling people to be careful about going in and out. Just until you get a little rest.”
“But Ramon,” she began.
“Is fine. You can leave your apartment door open so he can fly in and see you. After I call my vet friend, I’ll help Cheryl
get the word out about his return and his new cat friend. We’ll handle it.”
He stopped in front of the stairs. “Can you make it up there by yourself or do you need me to help?”
“You want to put me to bed?” she asked, feeling confused but also realizing she did have to get some sleep.
“In a manner of speaking.” His tone was teasing as he lightly kissed her. “But not today.”
“While I’m intrigued, I couldn’t possibly, you know, do that right now.”
He smiled. “I wasn’t asking.” He pointed to the stairs. “Go sleep.”
She nodded, then managed to get to the apartment and into her bedroom. She kicked off her shoes, then fell on the bed fully
dressed.
Just for a few minutes, she told herself. Then she would be fine.
But it was nearly four hours later when she surfaced. Afternoon sunlight poured into the room. For a second Jax had no idea where she was or what day it was, then the memories returned and she nearly burst into happy tears when she saw Ramon watching her from the small perch in the corner.
“You’re still here,” she said, sitting up.
He flew over and nuzzled her cheek and ear. “I wish I had done everything with you.”
She laughed as she stroked him. “How can you remember that? I know it’s wrong, but I never liked The Great Gatsby and I couldn’t have read it to you more than twice.”
“Snacks now.”
“Are you hungry? What have you been eating these past few days? Did someone take you in or were you surviving on what you
could find yourself?” Although the latter seemed doubtful. Ramon was a smart bird but she couldn’t imagine him foraging for
his meals. He was kind of an indoor guy.
She got out of bed and walked to the bathroom. Ramon watched her freshen up, then together they went to the second floor where
she dished up a healthy snack. As she waited with him while he ate, she thought about how horrible the last few days had been
and how so many people had been there for her. Now that her world had righted, she needed to make sure she thanked every one
of them—especially Marcus. The man had been a rock. She’d never been in a relationship where she could trust the other person
to take charge. With Harris, she’d made all the decisions—well, except for getting a divorce. That had been on him.
As the thought formed, she had a nagging sense of something important being just out of reach. She tried to figure out what
it was, but nothing came to her. Later, she promised herself. When she was caught up on her sleep and truly convinced her
world had righted itself.