Chapter 5
Stella’s Uncle Malcolm turned up on Saturday, just before midday, as he’d promised.
Jade, who was in reception when he arrived, was pretty sure she’d have recognised him, even if he hadn’t introduced himself as soon as he walked in.
He had wild white hair and a long beard, and reminded her of Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings. Warmth shone out of him as he fixed bright blue eyes on her.
‘I have an appointment with a bachelor who goes by the name of Mrrrr Spock. And a wonderrrful woman called Jade,’ he began, his accent not quite so evident in person as it was on the phone, but still there. ‘Would that be you by any chance?’
‘I’m Jade, yes. And I’m guessing you’re Stella’s Uncle Malcolm?’
‘Malcolm Williams at your service.’ He held out his hand and Jade shook it. His hand was as warm as the rest of him.
‘I was half expecting to see a parrot on your shoulder,’ she said, making a pretence that she was looking behind him.
‘Tallulah’s safely at home. It’s a long job introducing parrots and I understand it’s best done on neutral territory.
Cages in the same room for a while so they can slowly adjust. I brought her photo to show him though.
You can see it too if you like?’ He pulled out a dogeared snapshot of a blue and yellow parrot and showed Jade. ‘Gorgeous, isn’t she?’
Jade’s lips quirked as she agreed that Tallulah was indeed gorgeous.
Her owner was quite a character too, she decided as Malcolm put his hands back in his pockets, rocked back on his heels and scanned the room.
His gaze came to rest on the four-foot-high bird cage in the corner of reception.
‘Mr Spock doesn’t appear to be at home.’ He gave the room another quick scan.
‘Has he succumbed to a bout of stage fright at the prospect of meeting a lady friend and gone into hiding?’
‘He’s behind you,’ Jade said, knowing Mr Spock would be instantly triggered into a reply.
‘Oh, no, he isn’t,’ the parrot called out, on cue, although he was in fact sitting over the door of the reception, because it was a handy place to keep an eye on any visitors who came in.
Malcolm spun round. ‘There you are. I’ve heard so much about you.’
Mr Spock gave a little squawk before going uncharacteristically quiet, as man and bird studied each other, both with their heads on one side.
‘That’s definitely not like him,’ Jade said, laughing. ‘He’s not normally lost for words.’
‘He’s sizing me up. Parrots are extremely intelligent. Do you know how old he is?’
‘His previous owner thought about thirty. But they live a long time, don’t they? Sometimes as long as forty or fifty years.’
‘That’s right. And I know what you’re thinking. He might very well outlive an old codger like me. Same as Talky Tallulah. But I’ve made provision in my will. Stella’s promised to look after Tallulah if I happen to pop my clogs before me parrot. She loves animals. As you may have noticed last week.’
He made a chuck-chucking sound and took a couple of steps away from Mr Spock and to his right, and the parrot’s curious eyes followed the movement. Then a few seconds later, to Jade’s surprise, Mr Spock hopped a couple of feet closer towards Malcolm.
That was a good sign. He seemed to have made up his mind already that Malcolm wasn’t a threat.
Half an hour later, Mr Spock was taking treats from Malcolm, which was even more amazing. Jade had never seen him bond with anyone so quickly.
‘I think you’ve passed your home check with flying colours,’ Jade told him. ‘If that’s not a contradiction in terms being as you’re not actually at home. I’m more than happy for you to take him back for a trial and see if Tallulah accepts him. It’s slowly, slowly, isn’t it?’
‘Thirty days, according to what I’ve read. You start off with their cages in the same room but not too close and then give them plenty of time to get used to each other’s presence.’
‘Does Tallulah come out of her cage much? As you can see, Mr Spock likes a bit of freedom. He always has.’
‘She has the run of the lounge and the conservatory. And the back garden, in summer. That parrot is as spoiled as they come.’
Jade smiled. ‘Sounds amazing.’
They discussed diet and some other bits and pieces and Jade gave Malcolm a list of Mr Spock’s favourite treats, and then finally Jade got out the adoption form they used for rehoming animals and they went through the official side.
‘If you find for any reason that it doesn’t work out, if he and Talky Tallulah don’t hit it off, you will bring him back to us, won’t you?
We’ll refund your rehoming fee, naturally. ’
‘Of course I will.’ His blue eyes sobered and his face went a little solemn.
‘If it’s too much of a trip for you we’ll come and pick him up, too,’ Jade added, wanting to make sure all bases were covered.
‘Agreed.’
They shook hands again, and then it was just a question of catching Mr Spock, which they managed without too much difficulty, and putting him in a small travel-sized crate, which Jade told Malcolm he could return by post if he wanted to as it would fold down to nothing.
The biggest job was dismantling the enormous bird cage that had been in reception so long that the room looked terribly empty without it.
‘I’m really going to miss you,’ Jade told the parrot as they walked out to Malcolm’s car for the final time.
‘You’re welcome to come visit any time you like,’ Malcolm murmured. ‘Seriously. You’ve got the address.’
‘Thank you.’ She swallowed. This was crazy getting upset over a parrot who was going off to the best home ever as far as she could see, where he’d have some company of his own kind too, but she couldn’t help it. He was going to leave such a big hole.
‘I’ll send you updates on how he’s doing, don’t worry,’ Malcolm told her, patting her arm, and clearly aware of her feelings.
‘Thanks.’ Jade swiped a tear from her face. ‘I’m sorry. I don’t usually get so emotional.’
‘It’s fine, me duck. Don’t you be worrying. I’d be the same if I had to say goodbye to my Tallulah. And I’ll let you know when we’re safely back too. I’ll send you one of those What’s Up messages.’
‘Er, thank you.’ She waved them off from the gate and then went back into reception where she discovered Finn had just come down for a break from a commission of Stonehenge he was painting.
‘Sorry, I got engrossed. I meant to come down earlier.’ He looked at her face. ‘How did it go with Mr Spock and Stella’s Uncle Malcolm?’
She told him. ‘I don’t know why I’m so upset. It’s crazy. That’s why I set up this place. So I could help find unwanted animals their forever homes.’
‘Yes, but some of our residents make more of an impact than others, don’t they, and they leave more of a hole?’
‘They do. Literally in his case.’
They both glanced at the empty space in the corner of reception where the huge bronze cage had been.
There was a scattering of sawdust on the floor and something colourful lying in the corner.
Jade went and picked it up and saw it was a multicoloured string of beads, red, yellow, gold and blue, dangling down from a clip.
One of Mr Spock’s toys. It must have fallen out of the cage when they’d dismantled it.
She sighed and put it in her pocket.
‘Do you need a hug?’ Finn joined her.
‘Yes, please. And thank you for being lovely. How’s the commission going?’ She went into his arms.
‘You’re pretty lovely yourself.’ Finn kissed her hair. ‘And slowly. I’m struggling to get the sky right. Have you got a lot still to do out here or are you coming in for a sandwich?’
Jade glanced out of the window and saw Dawn was heading up the yard in their direction with a purposeful expression on her face. ‘I’ll just have a quick catch-up with Dawn. I’ll be in in two ticks.’
‘I’ll make the sandwiches.’
Jade was expecting Dawn, who was middle aged and motherly but definitely no-nonsense and practical too, to make some glib remark about it being good to see the back of that pesky potty-mouthed parrot, which was what she usually called Mr Spock.
But she didn’t do this. She just touched Jade’s arm briefly and smiled.
‘I’m glad he’s got a good home.’
‘How do you know he has?’
‘Because you’d never have let him go unless it was a gold-standard, top-notch, five-star home he was off to. That’s how.’
Jade nodded. ‘You know me so well. Have you had your lunch yet?’
‘I have. So you go in for yours. But before you do I wanted to ask you something. Did the guy in that blue Astra that was parked outside earlier come in?’
‘No, I don’t think so. What blue Astra?’
‘Tatty-looking thing. The car, not the guy. I saw him drive by when I was doing the dog walking and then when I came up to reception just before your chap arrived, he was sitting outside.’
‘Was he? I didn’t see anyone.’
‘Oh.’ Dawn frowned. ‘Must have changed his mind then, about whatever it was he wanted. Funny! I think I might have seen him parked there once before.’
There were only two parking spaces on the other side of the gates outside Duck Pond Cottage. Sometimes people parked there if the ice-cream van was across the lane but it wasn’t today.
‘Maybe he’s visiting someone in one of the houses further up,’ Jade suggested.
‘Yeah. I expect that’s it.’ Dawn’s sunny smile returned. ‘Right, be off with you. Go and get lunch. I’ll answer the phone if it rings.’
‘Thanks.’ Jade went into the cottage where she discovered that Finn had made her favourite sandwiches. Mashed up hard-boiled egg with mayonnaise, marmite and grated cheese.
‘Thanks,’ she said as he presented her with the plate, trying not to wrinkle his nose. ‘Although I still can’t fathom how that works as a filling. It looks disgusting.’
‘It’s delicious.’
‘Even Mickey wouldn’t touch the bit I dropped on the floor.’
Jade laughed. ‘You two don’t know what you’re missing.’
Finn broke off a piece of his sandwich, which according to the packet on the side contained thick-cut smoked ham, and gave it to Mickey, who wolfed it down in seconds.
‘Oh, I think we do. There’s a salted caramel KitKat for afters if you fancy it.
Special edition. It’s the last one in the cupboard. I saved it for you.’
Jade didn’t reply, but she was touched. Finn wasn’t big on emotional declarations of love. His father, Ray, a retired miner, wasn’t big on them either, but he was brilliant at showing her how much he cared.
When she went back out to reception after lunch she noticed that Dawn had swept up the sawdust that had fallen out of Mr Spock’s cage and had moved things around slightly so that the gap was no longer so obvious as it had been before.
Jade made a mental note to thank her next time she saw her. She was so lucky that the people who were closest to her knew that love was something you did, not something you talked about. Love was a series of little acts of kindness.
Love’s not a noun, it’s a verb. Jade was sure she had seen that on a fridge magnet once, written inside a red cartoon heart. It was so true.