“This house is yours, yes?”
“Yup. My grandmother left it to me, along with the sanctuary. This is my mother’s mother, and it pissed off my father that she didn’t leave it to my mother. I think she did that on purpose, though. Dad has always wanted the land. If she’d left it to my mom, he would have made her sell it so he could develop it.”
“Develop?” I look around. “We are nowhere. Excuse my English, you know what I mean.”
“Yes. It’s very rural, but the land has its own water supply—a creek that runs from the mountains to the north. It would be a great place for a data center or something like that. I think I could get a fortune for it, but I don’t care about the money. I care about the memories and keeping the sanctuary alive.”
“Does it cost a lot of money to run the sanctuary?”
She nods. “I mean, not an exorbitant amount, and we bring in a decent amount with tours and our annual fundraiser. But that’s to pay the two full-time staff who take care of the birds, feed the birds, keep up with the grounds. Stuff like that. I have to pay the property taxes, the utilities…it’s quite a bit. I’d like to have two charity events a year, but it takes a lot of planning and I just haven’t had time.”
“Maybe we can help,” I say thoughtfully. “The team. Maybe bring some of the birds to the arena before a game. People can pay to play with them, take pictures, something like that? And a few of the players can be there to do…what do they call it? Community outreach? I will help.”
“You’re sweet,” she whispers. “And I would love that.”
“Next season,” I say firmly. “In the fall we will make this happen. After this season is over, we will talk to someone in PR.”
“Okay. Thank you.” She stares off at something in the distance. “I have so many memories here from when I was growing up. My grandmother used to take me to the sanctuary and I learned to not just love the birds but appreciate them. Some of them, like the albino peacocks, are very rare. People come from all over the world to see them.”
“I would like to see them,” I say.
“You don’t have to pretend to love birds,” she says softly.
“I am not pretending. I do not know anything about birds but I am curious about the albino peacocks. And the kookaburra. My father was excited about this and so are you. If it is important to you, I would like to know more.”
“Don’t get me started talking about the birds—I can go on forever!”
“I can talk forever about hockey. Is okay.”
I finish my plate and take a second helping of the salad. It’s delicious. I have to remember to thank Serena.
But right now, I want to show my wife how much I appreciate her thoughtful surprise.
“We can walk?” I ask after we’ve finished eating. I get to my feet and hold out my hand.
“Sure.” She puts everything back in the basket and closes it before standing up and taking my hand.
It’s a beautiful day, not too hot or humid yet, and we walk in silence along the line of trees.
“Which way is sanctuary?” I ask.
She points. “On the other side of those trees.”
“How many acres?”
“Almost a hundred.”
I let out a low whistle. “That’s nice.”
“Someday, I want to retire here.”
“I understand this. It’s beautiful.”
“And relaxing. The only thing missing is a pool. Maybe someday.”
“I am glad our new house has a pool. We will relax together.”
She nods thoughtfully. “I’m looking forward to that.”
