Jennifer laughed at the look on Grant’s face.“Hey, handsome,” she replied before she turned back to Grant.“I should have warned you about Harry.”
“Who the hell is Harry?”Grant said in a controlled, cool voice, one eyebrow cocked.
She chuckled again.“Not who,what.Follow me, and I’ll introduce you.”
They moved around and behind the counter.A huge, colorful bird was in the corner on top of a large birdcage.Jesus.He’d never been this close to a bird this size.
Jennifer set her things down, walked up to it, then put out her hand and waited.“Hello, handsome Harry.Have you been a good boy?”
The bird delicately clutched onto the side of her hand to perch there and started to spread his feathers as if to show how beautiful he was.“Yes,sexy lady,” the voice said.
He couldn’t believe she was having a conversation with the bird, and it seemed to understand.
“What kind of bird is he?”he asked.
She stroked the bird’s chest with the back of her other hand and smiled when Harry bobbed his head up and down in a sort of dance and flapped his wings.
“Harry is an Amazon Scarlett Macaw.”
“How did an Amazon bird get here?”Grant watched the two of them together.She amazed him with how she handled a bird a third her size.Whenever he thought she couldn’t be more beautiful, she did something to increase his attraction.Her hair hung in a thick braid down her back that he wanted to wrap around his hand.Her red t-shirt and baggy jeans should have detracted from her beauty, but it drove him crazy to get his hands on her and see how they would fit around her waist or if she had enough meat on her to be able to cushion him when he finally got on top of her and fucked her senseless.
“Unfortunately, poachers will kill the parents and take the fledglings to sell here in the United States.They do this with a lot of different species, not just birds.And once in captivity, giving them their freedom back in the wild is next to impossible.We’re not sure if he was born free or in captivity.Now he’s stuck with us.”
“Can’t someone adopt him?”
She chuckled.“We’ve tried a few times, but they always bring him back because he won’t settle down and becomes mean.These types of birds tend to connect with one main person and tolerate others.It seems I’m the lucky one.”Jennifer smiled.
“Why is he still here and not at your place?”Grant smiled at the animation on her face and the sparkle in her eyes when she talked about animals.He prayed she would eventually light up like that when she saw or talked about him.
“A few reasons.One, he can get a little loud and the neighbors would complain, and two, I see him more if I keep him here.I’m very rarely home.”
“She’s my lover,” Harry said before he made a kissing sound.
A startled laugh burst from Grant.“You’re a lucky bird, Harry.How did he come to be here with you?”
Jennifer’s mouth turned down as she placed him back on top of his cage and then turned to fill his food bowl.
“His last owners had to give him up when they moved into a retirement home.The man had a small stroke, and his wife couldn’t care for him at home.It was devastating for all three of them.They’d had Harry for over twenty years.These types of birds can live to fifty.So, I could keep him for twenty or more years.”
“That’s like having a kid,” he remarked.“Except you can throw them out at eighteen.”
Or before,she thought.Jennifer turned away and headed down a long hallway before she stepped into a small room filled with cages.“I try to take him to see them a few times a month.”
“I bet they appreciate that.”Had he ever met a sweeter person?Did he deserve someone like her?
She nodded distractedly as she continued down the clean hallway and opened a gray metal door.“Right now, we have only two rabbits and one guinea pig.”She very efficiently opened each silver cage to remove the water bowls before she filled their food dishes.Each animal had a specific type of food in a container on top of its cage.After she cleaned the bowls in a small sink in the corner, she filled them and put them back in the cages.She took the animals out one by one and carefully inspected them.
“What are you doing?”he asked.
“I always check them over.If you find an injury or problem early, it’s easier to take care of.”
Grant silently stood, leaned against the door, and watched, amazed at how easily she made it look and how relaxed she was here.He never had a pet growing up.It was hard enough to feed him and his sister.He couldn’t ever remember holding a cat, dog, or hamster.His gaze roamed the room and noted how clean it was with a hint of pine-scented cleaner.In fact, he hadn’t yet caught a hint of animals in the building.Although the walls were gray concrete blocks, she’d put up colorful posters to add interest and color to otherwise drab walls.
“Okay.Let’s get to the cats.We have a little more than ten percent in the feline section, but we always have more cats than dogs.”She started at one end and did the same thing she did in the other room.
“Have you always had pets?”
“No, never my own, but I found strays and made sure they went to a place that would take care of them,” she said softly as she kept walking.
