“Allegedly, Aunt Ed. Innocent until proven guilty Richard keeps reminding me.”
“But the bad guy confessed,” Edwina said.
“He told Richard he only confessed because he was afraid the cops were going to beat him up.” She shrugged. “Now he says he’s not guilty.”
“And I suppose him being seen leaving Mrs. Bean’s house at the time of the murder, her belongings found in his car and his blood a DNA match to some that was taken from the crime scene is all allegedly,” Edwina replied.
Debbie Sue raised her head from studying Jake, “I heard Buddy talking to somebody on the phone. There’s some problem with how the DNA was obtained. They may have to throw it out.”
Crap, Sandi thought. So that’s what Richard is working on.
Aunt Ed’s hands rested on her skinny hips, her arms akimbo. “I sure as hell hope Richard doesn’t get him off.”
Jake fluffed his entire body and screeched, “Dickhead. Dickhead.”
“Did he say dickhead?” Debbie Sue asked, round-eyed.
Sandi’s face flushed with embarrassment. “I’m afraid he did. That’s what he calls Richard. Don’t ask me why.”
Aunt Ed broke into peals of laughter. She grabbed a Kleenex from her station and wiped away tears, then moved close to the cage and squatted to eye level with the bird. “Maybe he’s got a sixth sense. Maybe you’ll do after all, Jake. A plain-spoken bird could come in handy. What do you think, Jake-O? Want to go home with me?”
Jake turned his head sharply and stared at her for several seconds. “Not tonight, Q-Tip. I ain’t had that much to drink.”
Sandi slapped her palm against her mouth. “Oh, my Lord, Aunt Ed. I’m so sorry. Like I told you, I never know what’s going to come out of his mouth.” She turned to Jake and pointed her finger at his beak. “Bad Bird. That was ugly.”
Jake squawked. “Ugly. Tits, balls, fuck, shit...”
***
Later, as her aunt snipped away at her hair, Sandi made eye contact with her in the mirror. “Where are you going to keep Jake, Aunt Ed?”
“In his cage, I guess.”
“I was going to talk to you about that. He needs more space than that. At my house, he has his own room. I turned my guest bedroom that I was using for an office into his room. I was hoping that since you and Vic don’t have kids living with you, maybe you’d have that much space to give him.”
“Hells bells, it never dawned on me that he’d have to have his own room. I guess he could have my craft room. I’d have to move out all my stuff. I mean, I would want him crapping all over everything. He does crap like normal birds, right?”
“Of course, he does. There’s nothing abnormal about him, Aunt Ed.”
“You’ve got plenty of room, Ed,” Debbie Sue said. “You’ve got one whole bedroom that has nothing in it but your clothes and shoes.”
Edwina sighed. “Sandi, I don’t want you worrying yourself about this bird. I’m a grown woman. I can figure out how to take care of it ... er, him.”
“And if she can’t, I can,” Debbie Sue added.
They were trying to reassure her, Sandi knew. But she couldn’t keep from worrying.
An hour later, her red hair perfectly trimmed and shining, she prepared to leave the Styling Station. Even before they left home in Midland, she had steeled herself to say good-bye to Jake, but as she stood at the salon’s front door ready to leave, a lump formed in her throat and tears burned her eyes. She might break into a wail any minute.
This was what happened when she parted from all of her foster “children.” She formed a bond of love with each precious life she was appointed to watch over and each separation was a bittersweet event.
“Now, don’t cry, hon,” Edwina said, starting to sniff. “You know Vic and I will give him a good home.”
Debbie Sue’s eyes, too, had misted over. “And if they don’t, I will.”
Believing that her charges were going to homes that would give them as much love as she had given them had always been the only balm that made Sandi feel better. But today, that belief didn’t lessen the pain of parting with Jake. “I know”—her voice hitched—“It’s just that he needs so much attention and I’m afraid you’ll run out of patience with him. And I’m going to miss him so much.”
“Wellll,” Edwina said, pulling her into a hug and patting her shoulder. “It’ll be okay. Vic won’t get tired of him. And if you want to come see him, he’ll be just a few miles down the road.”
“I know.” Sandi pulled herself together. Barely holding her tears in check, she parted from Edwina’s hug and picked up the plastic tub. “I’ve brought you his toys and the parrot mash he likes and some of the treats I sell in my shop.”
“Parrot mash? Yuck. No wonder he went for beer and pizza.”
“Oh, Aunt Ed, please don’t feed him food like that. It’s so bad for him. The parrot mash is organic. It’s what he’s supposed to eat. I get it from one of my wholesalers. I’ll continue to get it and send it to you every month. It’s the least I can do for Jake. And for you, too.”
“That’s all he eats, huh?”
“That and some vegetables. He needs a variety of things. I also put some homemade parrot bread in the tub. I bake it in my shop in the form of muffins and sell it to bird owners. I baked for Jake a couple of days ago, so he still has a few little muffins left.”
“Wait a minute. You bake muffins for him?”
“Uh-oh,” Debbie Sue said, looking as if she was deep in thought. “Ed uses her oven for storing her shoes. But that’s not a problem,” she added quickly. “She can use mine. Just be sure to leave us the recipe.”
Sandi nodded. “I put the recipe in this tub. One a day is usually enough. He also
