“Don’t ‘ Now, Betty’ me.”
Janie watched as Paul picked up the tweezers. “Can I feed one?”
“Let me show you.” With the tweezers he positioned a chunk of dog food above the robin’s beak. The beak opened wide, and Paul dropped the food in. He handed Janie the tweezers. “You should see this place in spring.”
Betty opened the next cage. “Every little child finds some nestling on the ground. They touch it and poke at it until the parents won’t come around, and then they don’t know what to do with it. So, they bring them here to me. Right now, I’ve got mostly sick or injured birds. Some’ll winter over. I started this place after I retired for something to do – something helpful to do. I’m busier now than when I was working.”
Janie fed bird after bird, cleaning the tweezers between each cage. “They’re so hungry.”
Paul sat at the kitchen table and lit a cigarette. “Don’t give them too much. They don’t know when to stop. This was all I did for a couple of months besides sleep. Feed the birds, clean out their cages, and repeat. When’re the twins coming?” A crow, the only bird not in a cage, hopped to Paul’s shoulder. When he raised his cigarette to his lips the crow pecked at his fingers. He shooed it away but it flapped back to him. “Stop that, Mac.”
“They’ll be here for supper. Put that damn bird outside if you want to smoke in peace. Mac will not abide cigarettes. I ought to rent him out to one of those quit-smoking places.” Betty put a lid on the dog food and returned it to the refrigerator. “You kids like a drink with me?”
The kitchen might have been filled with birds in cages, but it wasn’t any dirtier or smellier than a veterinarian’s office. White eyelet curtains hung in the window above the sink. Janie smelled something good cooking. The cabinets were too high for Betty to reach, but she had a stepping stool she kicked into place. She took an old-fashioned glass cocktail shaker and a bottle of vermouth out of a cabinet. From the gold refrigerator she brought out vodka, 7 U P, cocktail onions, green olives, and maraschino cherries. She handed Paul a beer, made herself a martini, and then made Janie a Shirley Temple without asking, as if she knew Janie was underaged.
“My dad used to make me these when I’d go to his work,” Janie said.
“Your daddy a bartender?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I was, too. Hardest working people in the world. Except for bird ladies and mothers. I must be a glutton for punishment because I’ve done all three.” Betty sipped her drink and lit a cigarette. Mac squawked and fluttered to the window. Betty slid the window open and the bird flew to a fir tree in the back yard. “Where’re your people from, Janie?”
“We lived in Yakima. But I don’t really have anybody anymore.”
Betty took a long look at her.
“Well, darling, now you have Paul, and you have me. And if this son of a gun gets out of hand,” she nodded toward Paul, “you just let me know and I’ll have a little come-to-Jesus with him.”
“Man, Betty – ” Paul protested, smiling at her.
“I think I hear the twins. Come on, honey, I want you to meet my boys.”
The twins turned out to be over six feet tall and two hundred pounds. They slapped Paul on the back, kissed their mother and let her fuss over them, and politely nodded to Janie. Paul and the twins settled into the living room sofa with their drinks. Janie followed Betty down the steps to the basement. She opened the door to a small room and turned on a dim light. “I want to show you something, honey.”
In a floor-to-ceiling cage was a snowy owl, the most beautiful bird Janie had ever seen. Perched on a tree stump, it stood at least two feet tall and was almost pure white with a few bars of dark brown feathers across his wings. The owl’s yellow eyes, never blinking, focused on Janie. Long black talons poked out from the feathers of its feet.
“Betty, he’s beautiful.”
The owl swiveled its head, watching them.
“He came to me about a week ago. He’s just a young ’un.” She looked at Janie. “He had a run-in with a power line, but I think he can be released this spring.”
“Can I touch him?”
“No, darlin’, he’d take your hand right off. Beautiful from a distance but not meant to hold on to.”
Janie followed Betty out. At the bottom of the stairs, Betty put her hand on Janie’s shoulder. “Let me tell you a little something I wish somebody would’ve told me. You don’t get to choose who you love, honey. You only get to choose how you love them. Some people you can love up close, and some people you got to love from a distance, or just like that bird down there, they’ll tear the heart right out of you.” Betty adjusted her scarf. “Now, let’s go on upstairs and have some dinner before those boys tear the place apart.”
JANIE AND PAUL stopped by The Habit on the way to drop her at Stella’s. Paul slipped his shades on and went in ahead of Janie. She paused at the door to tell Stella about the owl. That’s when she saw the guy from the white van.
He stood at the bar buying a beer. For a split second, Janie didn’t believe it could be the same guy, but as he turned to go back to his table she saw his face. Acne scars and stringy brown hair. Janie grabbed Stella’s arm.
“Stella, that’s the guy from the van. Right there at the bar.” She took a step back against the door. Her heart beat like she’d been running hard. For a minute she thought she’d fall down.
Stella rose off his stool. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Stella led her out the front door to the lot. “Do you see what he was driving?”
She scanned the parking lot. “There it is – the white van by the Dodge Dart.”
They went inside through the back door, where she could see the guy close enough without him seeing her. “That’s him, Stella.”
Stella unlocked the office door. “Wait here. I’ll be right back.”
STELLA TOOK A good look at the guy. Greasy brownish hair covered by an even greasier baseball cap worn backwards. The face acne scarred. Probably in his early twenties, wiry build. He wore a gray delivery jacket with a red and white name patch. Stella had seen him a few times but not often. Stella leaned across the bar next to Paul and signalled Ernie over.
Paul looked over the top of his shades at him.
Ernie asked, “What’s up?”
Stella spoke quietly. “Janie saw the dude who beat her up.”
“Where?” Paul began to stand.
Stella put his hand firmly on his arm. “Sit down. Don’t go spooking him.”
Ernie’s eyes scanned the crowd. “Who is it? It wasn’t a regular?”
Stella kept his hand on Paul’s arm. “I’ve seen him here before, but
