on the ground, then rubbed the area of his anatomy that had been attacked.
“Damn it, that really hurt,” he said, glowering at Polly. “Not only that, but your stupid bird made me look like a fool in front of the students.”
“It wasn’t Jazzy’s fault.” Polly poked her nose in the air and folded her arms beneath her breasts. “He was frightened. I mean, heavens, so was I. One minute I was giving my nifty little speech and the next thing I knew the students went berserk. What did I do wrong?”
Joe sighed and picked up the cage.
“Come on, Polly,” he said. “I’ll walk you to your car. I purposely invited men to be the speakers today. I know there’s limited parking around the school, and it wasn’t my intention to have a woman wandering alone in this section of town.”
Polly laughed. “No one would dare bother me. I have an attack bird for protection.” She glanced up at Joe’s stormy expression. “Sorry. I was just trying to lighten the mood here. Look at the bright side, Joe. Jazzy could have clamped on to your...your person and refused to let go. Now that would have been very embarrassing.” She nodded decisively.
“Your car, Polly?” Joe said, no hint of a smile on his face.
Polly moved around him. “Okay, fine. It’s two blocks away.”
Joe fell in step beside Polly as they left the school grounds. Jazzy was blessedly silent.
“Well?” Polly asked finally, after they’d gone a half a block without speaking. “Are you going to tell me what giant mistake I made during my speech?”
“You don’t have even the slightest clue, do you?” Joe glared at Polly, then shook his head. “You just don’t get it.”
“Obviously not.”
“Look, you started out just fine, really great, in fact. You hit those kids where they live with your story of having a dream, but realizing you didn’t have the financial resources to achieve it. You definitely had their interest and full attention.”
“Hooray for me,” Polly said dryly. “It sure didn’t last long.”
“You were stopped short of your goal, your dream,” Joe continued, “but found a way to be connected to the field you wanted to be in. Then? Hell, you blew it.”
“What did I do?” Polly said, nearly yelling.
“Jazzy’s owners are in Europe for six months? This stupid bird cost thousands of dollars? Come on, Polly, get real.”
“What I said was true.”
“And that’s the problem. Don’t you see?” Joe said, none too quietly. “In the eyes of those kids you sold out. You struggled, you settled for less than you originally dreamed of, then you ran, did not walk, into the world of the idle rich.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Polly said. “The Dogwoods offered me a job and I took it. That’s what most people do when they need to pay the rent and buy food. What difference does it make where I’m employed to enable me to use the skills I worked so hard to obtain?”
“It makes a very big difference, Ms. Chapman. You could be with an open veterinary clinic in a low-income neighborhood. Or the Humane Society. Or be the veterinary technician for one of those organizations that finds families for homeless animals.
“But, oh, no, not you. You’re baby-sitting idiot birds that cost more than some of those kids’ parents make in six months. You copped out on your roots, on who you are, and those students knew it.”
“Call the cops,” Jazzy said. “Call the cops.”
Polly stopped walking, causing Joe to halt his step. She looked up at him, her blue eyes flashing with anger.
“Wait just a minute here,” she said. “You agree with those kids, don’t you? You’re expressing your own views about me, as well as theirs. Right? Isn’t that right, Joe? You’re standing in judgment of me, just like those students did.”
“Damn straight I am. You were in a position to give something back to the world you came from. Instead? You’re hobnobbing with the rich and famous, who go to Europe for six months and think spending thousands of dollars on a bird is chump change. Yeah, I agree with the students of Abraham Lincoln High School. You sold out, Polly Chapman.”
“And you’re certifiably insane, Joe Dillon.”
Polly spun around and started off again. Joe strode after her.
“Totally nuts, that’s what you are,” Polly raged on. “Oh-h-h, you’re infuriating. How dare you pass judgment on me? You’ve got a lot of nerve, do you know that? I work very hard for my paycheck and... No, forget it. I’m not justifying myself and my existence to you. You don’t know the first thing about me.”
“I know every word you said in your crummy speech, lady.”
“Well, excuse me to hell and back for making a living, Mr. Dillon, for keeping a roof over my head and food on my table.”
“Hell, I can’t get through to you, make you understand. I’m wasting my breath.”
“Oh, yes, do save your breath. I’m sure it takes an extra dose to be so full of hot air.” Polly executed an indignant little sniff. “You talk the talk, but do you walk the walk?”
“Meaning?”
“Does the lack of a wedding ring on your hand indicate that you’re single?”
“Yes.”
“So, you’re a single man, who has probably been teaching for a dozen years, or more. I imagine that adds up to what would be considered a sizable salary in this particular neighborhood.
“You arrive at Abraham Lincoln high every morning with your holier-than-thou attitude. But at day’s end? What part of town do you drive home to, Joe? What cushy, comfortable section of Tucson do you live in?”
Polly stomped off the curb and around to the driver’s side of her van, pulling her keys from her pocket as she went
“Well, that question is easy enough to answer,” Joe said, coming up behind her.
Polly unlocked the door. “Do tell.”
“What a convenient coincidence. You’re parked in front of the house I rent. This is the cushy part of Tucson where I reside, Ms. Chapman. I talk the talk and, by damn, I walk the walk.”
Polly opened her mouth with every intention of telling Joe that his sense of humor left a lot to be desired. She snapped her mouth closed again in the next instant, as the thought struck her that maybe he wasn’t kidding about her being parked in front of his house.
She moved to the left to enable her to see the structure in question clearly, her eyes widening.
The house was a small wood frame with several different-colored shingles on the roof. It was obviously old, but appeared well cared for. It was painted beige with dark brown trim, had a narrow porch that held two lawn chairs, and the minuscule front
