She looked neither like herself nor like a bird, but something in the middle of transforming.
The bathroom door squeaked open.
Corinthia turned from the mirror and unlatched the stall door.“The zipper,” she said, as Stevie bounded in.
“Turn around,” Stevie said.
Corinthia obeyed, and heard the long, metallic zipper slide closed.There was a snap as Stevie closed the final button that disguised the zipper with a cover of blue fur.
“All set,” Stevie said.
“Do I put the head on first, or the mittens?”
“Maybe the head first, so it’s easy to adjust.”
Corinthia stared the bird head in the eyes, then lifted it off the hook.She held it over her head, realizing she was also holding her breath, and had to start breathing purposely before lowering the bird head over her own.Immediately she lost most of her field of vision, and what she had left was filtered through an almost opaque mesh.“Is it straight?”she asked.
Stevie stepped back and peered at Corinthia.“I think so.”
“I feel like the taxidermied hawk.”
“You look amazing,” Stevie said.“Now the mittens.”
Corinthia held out her hands and allowed Stevie to maneuver the mittens onto them.“Stop enjoying this.”
“I really can’t.”
“At least try topretendyou’re not enjoying this.”
“I’m not that good of an actress.”
Corinthia turned toward the mirror again, to see—as best she could—the final effect.“This is not what I imagined it would be like to be a bird,” she said.
“How often have you imagined it?”
“I’ve had dreams about it for days.”Corinthia turned her head a little to the left and right, trying to see through the wide-set bird eyes.“There was a lot more flying involved.”Just remembering the feeling of flight made her forget, for one airy moment, the weight of the costume.
“Come on,” Stevie said, gathering up Corinthia’s things.“Time for all scrub jays to take flight.Boy, your purse is heavier than normal,” she added.
“I brought a book,” Corinthia said, gruffly, not sharing that it was actually a gift-wrapped present for Rosemary.She allowed Stevie to take her arm and guide out of the stall, out of the bathroom, and finally outside, into the exuberance of the Wildlife Festival.
The eco-buggy was parked out front.The buggy itself was a large trailer, open to the air, with built-in wooden benches along the sides and a metal roof to provide shade from the sun.It was hitched to a truck, ready to carry passengers through the Refuge on the widest of the white sand trails.
Upbeat pop music filled the air.Aromas of food made it through the breathing holes in the costume head and mixed with the smell of the suit, which made Corinthia feel a bit ill.Thank goodness the fall day had dawned cool and stayed cool, or Corinthia would have been roasted like a chicken.
There were pop-up tents in every direction in the parking lot, but she could not make out the details very well.She simply let Stevie guide her to the tent with the photo backdrop depicting the Refuge.
When at last she had reached the proper tent, she found George, the certified forest bathing guide, waiting.He would be her helper, as Stevie had to gallivant off to the Refuge to lead the hikes.There was a folding chair for each of them.Corinthia decided—virtuously, she thought—that she would remain standing for as long as she could, since the costume was shown to its best effect when standing, and wouldn’t it look odd for a scrub jay to sit in a folding chair?She owed something to the people who attended, and if it resulted in sore feet or sore everything, she was willing to sacrifice.No one would ever say Corinthia did not do her duty.
She was spotted almost immediately by every family with young children in the vicinity.They all converged into an impromptu line, which George managed with good humor.
For a while, Corinthia smiled for every photo, until she realized no one could see her smile, and at last she allowed her tired facial muscles to relax.
She did not know when to expect Rosemary, and she couldn’t see, so every new person approaching was a mystery that resolved into disappointment when they were not Rosemary.
Every so often George coaxed her to go inside, to take off the costume head and mittens, to rest and drink chilled, brightly-colored sports drinks.Then it was time to suit up again.
Because she could not see a clock or her own phone to tell the time, she asked George to let her know when it was almost time for the scheduled raptor demonstration.She would need time to undress and time to walk over to the high school athletic field across the street, which was the only space large enough to hold the demonstration.
