CHAPTER FIVE #4
Maybe it was because I was always so busy, running around the property working, but I’d never taken the time to just sit and listen to the birds before. It was lovely and peaceful, and without even realizing it I closed my eyes so all I had to do was listen.
Five minutes turned into ten, then ten into fifteen. Nobody had said a thing.
It wasn’t until a loud crow came and perched right on a branch above us, determined to have its voice heard, and drowned out the rest of the birds, that Mabel finally paused the app.
“We need to go, kiddo,” Lennox said, easily unfolding his long limbs and standing up. He offered me his hand without hesitation, and I took it, secretly ogling his biceps that popped when he hauled me up.
Mabel stood up as well, and so did Austin. My kid wasted no time resuming his favorite activity, this time roping in his principal. They tossed the Hacky Sack back and forth as we accompanied Lennox and Mabel back to their truck. I hadn’t even been expecting to do that; it just sort of … happened.
“Thanks for showing me your bird app,” Austin said to Mabel. “That’s super cool.”
Mabel nodded. “You are welcome. Please let me know if you see a Northern flicker. The app says they were in the trees, but I didn’t see one. They are among my favorite birds. Scientific name is Colaptes.”
Austin wrinkled his nose. “I don’t know what a flicker looks like.”
Mabel’s fingers flew across the screen of her phone for a moment, then she held it up to my son. “Like that.”
“Oh!” Austin said. “I see those guys all the time. That’s a kind of woodpecker, right?”
Mabel nodded.
“What is your favorite bird?” he asked her. “Mine is the peregrine falcon because it’s the fastest bird in the world. Mom took us to a falconry place on the mainland last year—”
“I read about that place.” Mabel turned to her dad. “We need to go there, Dad. It’s only an hour outside of Seattle.”
Austin was nodding enthusiastically. “I’d totally go again. They let you wear this big, long leather glove, and the bird comes and lands on your arm. You can feed it too.”
Mabel’s head bobbed as well. “But to answer your question, I don’t actually have a favorite bird.
There are too many remarkable and notable birds to narrow it down to one.
At the moment, I have this bird—” she held up her phone to show Austin.
“The turquoise-browed motmot, as my wallpaper. I like this bird because the colorful feathers aren’t just restricted to the males.
They also have these unique tail feathers.
And inherent knowledge to avoid poisonous snakes and only eat the non-poisonous ones.
I call that clever. I like clever animals. ”
Austin nodded some more. “Me too.” His nose wrinkled again. “What’s a dumb animal?”
Lennox and I both snorted, and our lips wiggled as we tried to hide our smiles. I was sure we could both come up with a half dozen or more dumb members of our own species.
“Koalas,” Mabel said without hesitation. “They’re idiots.”
“Mabel,” Lennox scolded.
She looked at him like he was crazy. “Well, they are. They’re smooth-brained.
You take the leaves off a eucalyptus tree and a koala won’t know that it can eat the leaves.
They have to be on the tree for the idiot to eat it.
” Her head shook, and she made a disgusted face.
“I don’t have patience or energy for dumb animals. ”
“Me either,” Austin agreed. “I didn’t know that about koalas.”
Mabel stood up straight, her eyes alert as they darted around the property, but almost refused to meet Austin’s gaze, even though I could tell he was trying to make eye contact with her. “Let’s go, Dad.”
Austin blinked at me, confused by the quick change in subject and her demeanor.
I gently shook my head and smiled, telling him silently to let it go.
Lennox gave both of us an apologetic grimace. “All right, Mabes, let’s go. Thanks for the tour of the winery and the glass of wine.” A wariness glimmered in his brown gaze for a moment as he pinned it on me, before flicking it toward the barn. Was he still thinking about the wolfsbane?
Shit.
Maybe we needed to move it. Or get rid of it altogether.
All I could do at this point was smile as he steered his daughter toward the passenger door while he stepped around the grill to the driver’s side.
“You can come back and bring your app again if you want,” Austin offered. “I’ve seen lots of hummingbirds and robins around the property too.”
Mabel was sitting in the passenger seat now and buckling her belt. “Hummingbirds and robins aren’t rare or exciting.”
I could see my son’s excitement deflate like a popped balloon. “Oh.”
Lennox gave him a sympathetic smile as he swung in behind the steering wheel. “That was very kind of you to offer, Austin. Wasn’t it kind of him, Mabel?”
She glanced at her dad. “I don’t know. He was just telling me about the birds he sees in his yard. Common birds that we see everywhere. How was that kind?”
Austin looked at me, still confused.
I rested my hand on his shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.
“See you at school on Monday, Austin. Hacky Sack on the four square at recess?”
My kid perked up. “Yes, please.”
Lennox grinned at both of us, turned over the ignition of his truck, and Austin and I watched them pull away.
Once they were out of sight, we wandered back to the property. “Why was she so rude?” he asked. “Did I do something wrong?”
I let out a sigh and draped my arm around his shoulder. “You did nothing wrong, sweetheart. She wasn’t rude per se; she just doesn’t always understand social structure, and when or how to say things that are kind versus just straight factual.”
His brows furrowed for a second. “Is she autistic?”
I glanced at him in surprise. “She is, yes. How did you know?”
He shrugged. “You saying that stuff about her not understanding social stuff, and her being a little rude. It clicked for me. Luca in my class is autistic too, and they act the same in a few ways. Luca’s not as smart as Mabel, but he likes rules and routine, and is obsessed with trains and the color red.
He can also be rude sometimes. Like … his words are sharp, not soft, if that makes sense.
He doesn’t necessarily want to cut with them, but they’re sharp anyway. ”
That’s right. I had totally forgotten about Luca in Austin’s class.
I ran my hand over the back of his head, marveling at my son’s emotional understanding and acceptance of others. “I totally get what you’re saying.”
“Luca’s cool though. Really great at drawing trains.”
"She probably should have just thanked you for the offer rather than let you know she’s not interested in seeing hummingbirds or robins,” I said. “Or at least delivered it differently. Her dad says they’re working on her delivery of things.”
“Yeah. I mean, I don’t know what birds excite her. Maybe she likes crows?” He started to kick around the Hacky Sack. “I did like that app though. It was cool.”
We were back under the madrona tree and the crow from earlier was gone.
“Can you download the app? Mabel said it was free.”
Nodding, I pulled out my phone and downloaded it. Then, we started to record the various birds in the surrounding trees, while my son taught me how to Hacky Sack and I ignored the unease in Lennox’s eyes when he discovered the wolfsbane.
My cousins and I had some decisions to make.