He'd missed Ezra, but by the time he realized how much, he hadn't been sure what to say. How did you get back in touch with someone after you walked out of their life?
Apparently, you let them rescue you from an angry bird.
“We need to clean that scratch,” Ezra said, nodding to Mike's face. “There's a first aid kit inside. If you wanna go sit in the kitchen, I'll settle Millie back in and come clean you up?”
“Millie?” Mike asked. Such an innocent name for a bird that'd just taken a piece out of him.
“Short for Millennium,” Ezra said, a smile playing around his lips.
“Because she's a kind of falcon, right,” Mike said, smiling wryly in return. Puns. Of course. “Nothing ever changes around here, huh?”
“You'd be surprised,” Ezra said. “But I guess you'll see soon enough. Head on inside and I'll be with you in a minute.”
Mike looked again at the reddish-brown kestrel snuggled close to Ezra's chest, clearly happy now that she was close to him.
Nice for some, he supposed. Ezra loved birds. Ofcourseshe felt safe with him.
“No rush, I've got plenty of blood,” Mike said, avoiding the temptation to touch his cheek again. It stung, but he knew the salt from his fingertips would only make it worse.
“Yeah, but itissupposed to be on the inside. Don't worry. I took a first aid course once. I also know how to do CPR.”
“I'll take your word for it and hope it never comes up,” Mike said, taking a step toward the porch. It was sostrangeto be here again, but it felt good.
It felt a little like coming home, though Mike wasn't sure he had any right to feel that way.
“Hey, Ezra?” he spoke up as Ezra started to turn away.
“Mm?” Ezra asked, stroking under Millie's chin.
“Good to see you again,” he said. There were a thousand other things he wanted to say—neededto say—but that felt like the most important one right now.
A warm, smile spread over Ezra's face, bright enough to make Mike's heart flutter in his chest. “Good to see you, too,” he said, turning toward the side of the house and heading around the corner as Mike watched.
He headed for the kitchen, eager to see what the place was like these days.
