She knew she was going to have to figure out what she was going to do about his running away, but not just now. She was happy to have him home apparently unharmed.
Cheryl walked over and smiled at her. “Feeling better?”
“Much. I guess I needed to sleep.”
“Imagine that. A human who requires sleep. What will they think of next?”
“Very funny. What’s been happening here?”
“The usual bookstore kind of stuff. Marcus is at the vet with the cat. He should be back soon. I’ve put out a notice onPort Palmas Talksthat Ramon is back where he belongs, but asked for people to give you two a little space, so expect a crowd over the next few days. I also texted with Shawna to let her know you were resting. She said the kids were insistent about coming over, but that they would wait.”
Jax impulsively hugged the older woman. “Thank you for everything. You’re amazing.”
“I know. I’m a gift.”
They continued to talk about business. A few minutes later, Ramon flew down the stairs and headed for Jax. He landed on her outstretched hand and walked up to her shoulder.
“Home now.”
“You are,” she said, still unable to grasp that he’d left on his own and that he was back. “You scared all of us. Don’t do that again.”
He bobbed his head, as if in agreement. Jax hoped that was true. She didn’t want to have to worry about him disappearing again. Hopefully his leaving had only been about finding his own cat.
A mom and her young son walked over. The little boy pointed at Ramon.
“We all prayed for you,” he said. “Every night.”
“Thank you,” Jax said. “I know it helped.”
The boy beamed.
“Here be treasure, matey,” Ramon told him.
“You are a treasure to us,” the mom said, then patted Jax’s arm. “I know you were worried. Hopefully you can relax now.”
“I appreciate that.”
Several more customers approached. Jax chatted with everyone, grateful for the support. When she was finally alone, she set Ramon on a shelf, then texted Harris to ask if he wanted to bring the kids by. Seconds later her phone rang.
“Hi,” she said. “I’m up, so whenever you want to come by.”
“How are you feeling?”
“Better.” She watched her parrot fly over to greet several customers. “The trick is going to be trying to get work done while keeping an eye on my wayward bird.”
“It’ll take a few days for you to relax, but you’ll get there. The store is his home.”
“If only he would remember that. So about the kids.”
“They want to see him,” Harris said. “Why don’t we come by at dinnertime and bring takeout?”
The unusual offer was surprising. She and Harris had dinner with their children every Sunday when they handed off their weeks, but otherwise rarely spent any time together. Most of their contact was about logistics and was dealt with via text.
“That would be nice,” she said. “I never did get in food here this week and I don’t want to leave him even for a minute.”
“I get that. The kids mentioned something about a sleepover at the store. How would you feel about that?”
“I’m in,” she said happily. “I’d love to have the kids here tonight if you wouldn’t mind. The TVs are still set up from the teen event so we could have a movie marathon.” She almost said he and Shawna could hang out with them but then stopped herself, thinking that was just too weird. Plus Shawna was not a Ramon fan.
