The mess that isn’t going to clean itself.
“Perhaps you could hold him while I take care of it?” I ask.
Preferably before it soaks through the material and onto my skin.
Just the thought of it makes my skin crawl.
Lucy steps forward to take the rabbit, and I immediately peel my shirt off, careful to keep the mess contained as I pull it over my head.
“Well.” Lucy glances at Tallulah. “At least a fresh shirt is only a few steps away.”
Leave it to Lucy to see the silver lining in bird shit.
“Should we try that picture one more time?” she asks, offering me the rabbit.
“You’ve got to be kidding.”
She frowns. “Not at all. It’s the least you can do, since you scared Nibbles half to death. You need to console him. Show him everything is fine.”
My eye twitches.
“I scared him?” I’m overreacting. I know it, but I can’t seem to rein it in. I mean, what kind of shitty karma am I rocking right now, anyway? “I’m the victim here,” I remind her. “I’m the one who got shit-bombed.”
Lucy snorts and presses Nibbles gently to my chest, leaving me no choice but to take him. “You’ve been blessed. When a bird defecates on you, it’s supposed to bring good luck.”
Now I’ve heard it all.
“Great,” I mutter, stroking the top of the rabbit’s head. “Maybe this means the ad agency has found the perfect spokesperson for Triada’s new ad campaign.”
“One can hope,” Lucy chirps, lining up the shot. “Now, smile pretty and say pigeon poo.”
I force a smile, and the longer I stand here running my fingers through Nibbles’s soft fur, the less effort it takes.
Which is when I realize I’ve been standing here far too long for a simple picture.
I look at Lucy—really look at her—but she just stares at me, eyes locked on my torso, unmoving.
Great. Am I about to get another dose of karmic justice? I’ve already lost my shirt. I can’t afford to lose my pants, too.
“Is everything okay?”
“What?” Lucy blinks and shakes her head, as if dislodging whatever it was that distracted her.
“You were just standing there.”
“Sorry. My phone was glitching.”
“Want me to take a look?” I’m not as good with tech as Beck, but I’m handy enough.
“Nope.” She taps the screen a few times and gives me a thumbs-up. “It’s all good now.”
I return Nibbles to his owner, and we say our goodbyes before heading back to the Airstream.
Lucy starts to get in the Jeep, and I remind her I need to get a clean shirt from the trailer.
“Right.” There’s a flush in her cheeks when she tosses me the keys. “How could I have forgotten?”
“No worries. It’s not every day you see your boss receive a blessing from above, let alone parade around half naked.”
