1
KELLAN
“She’s the only one of my girls that isn’t laying,” Miss Lackney taps her foot on the floor. “I can’t afford any more freeloaders.”
I shake a few mealworms into the bowl in front of Geraldine. “Unfortunately, Gerry’s going to have to find another way to make rent.”
“Another way?” She gestures emphatically to the fowl. “I just need her to stop holding my damn breakfast hostage.”
“Well, I’m afraid that’s a lot to ask of ‘em.”
“It’s her only job! I provide the food and shelter; she provides the eggs!”
“Except that she can’t.”
“Hen menopause?”
“Nope. It’s because she is actually a he.”
Miss Lackney stares blankly at me, then at Geraldine. “No…that can’t be right.”
“With some, it’s harder to tell.” I don’t tell her that in Geraldine’s case, it was obvious. “He can still be of use protecting the flock.”
“That doesn’t make me my breakfast.”
“No, it doesn’t, but he’s not useless.”
“No, he’s not.” She sighs. “In fact, he’s just been promoted to dinner.”
My eyebrows shoot up my forehead. “Dinner?”
She opens the carrier, grabs Geraldine, and shoves him inside. “I’m sure there’s a YouTube that’ll show me how to prep him.”
As she yanks the zipper closed, I grab her wrist gently. “Let’s not be hasty. There’s hardly any meat on Gerry, and it’d be a shame to disrupt the flock.”
“Ain’t no one getting a free ride in my pen.”
“He’ll end up being a lot of work for very little reward.”
She yanks her wrist free and grabs the carrier. “Learning a new skill will be reward enough.”
I pull out my wallet and take out a twenty. “Here, I’ll buy Gerry off of you, and you can buy three rotisserie chickens from the grocer. It’ll save you a lot of work, and you’ll get more food out of it.”
She glares down at the bill, then over at Gerry’s carrier. “Is he some rare chicken that’s worth something? Like the cats born with two faces?”
“I wouldn’t call him rare.” I shrug. “I just think there’s a lot of life left in him, and it’d be a shame if he ended up on a dinner plate before his time.”
“Fine.” She grabs the money and takes Gerry from his carrier, shoving him in my arms. “Enjoy your new basement baby.”
She exits the clinic, leaving me with a new pet.
I set Gerry down on the exam table and give him a handful of seeds, mumbling, “I sure hope my other roosers like you.”
A voicemail comes through. The area code tells me who it’s from. I know I should delete it and block the number, but something inside me forces my thumb to hit PLAY.
Kell, please pick up the phone. I’m not the same person I was years ago. I regret what I did, but I can’t take it back. Just give me another chance. We could be happy together.
I press my eyes closed, letting old memories wash over me. It’s too easy to get lost in the past, when smiles were plentiful and I thought I had my whole damn world mapped out. My self-enforced celebacy doesn’t help matters.
