“I think I’ll call her Lemonberry since she’s mostly yellow like a lemon but has some blue like a blueberry,” Julia tells her grandmother. “Cute, huh?” Then she proceeds to tell the bird how spoiled she will be at her new home.
This is what Grandma wanted.
She didn’t want to hoard all the budgies to herself, but she did want to rescue them from bad situations so they could gointo good, loving ones. Julia and Agatha will love Lemonberry and give her the best life. I feel this deep in my bones.
Elias returns with one of his handmade cages. It’s truly a work of art. Inside, are a matching pair of food and water bowls attached to the side. He’s already lined the bottom with a droppings pad and has clipped some millet to the inside. Lemonberry, seemingly aware of what’s to come, eagerly hops into the cage. Julia fastens the cage door and holds the cage out in front of her, beaming brightly. She and Elias go ahead of us. Agatha pulls me aside.
“Thank you for this,” she says, eyes filling with tears. “I haven’t seen my granddaughter smile since she got injured. Surgery and physical therapy didn’t get her where she needs to be so she’s a little lost without a sport she grew up doing. Lemonberry is going to be good for her. I can’t thank you enough.”
The woman hugs me and I fight back tears.
“Maybe Lemonberry can come visit her friends sometimes,” I wobble out. “She’s welcome anytime.”
“I think Julia would like that.”
After they drive away, I stand in Elias’s driveway, hugging myself. That really shouldn’t have been so painful, but it was. It’s like letting a piece of my grandma fly away.
Elias’s enormous hand finds my back and he rubs it gently. It’s such an oddly comforting gesture that I can’t help but fold myself into him for another hug. Last night his hug warmed my soul. It does the same today.
“I’m sad,” I rasp out. “It’s just a bird.”
He chuckles. “They’re never just a bird. They’re family.”
I relax in his arms and find myself inhaling his masculine scent. Eventually, the hug goes on for longer than feels appropriate, and Elias pulls away, clearing his throat.
“Goldie’s house isn’t going to clean itself,” he rumbles. “Let’s get to work.”
I’m eager to escape these emotions and do just that.
We’re really making progress on the house. Most of the cluttered stuff has been gone through, sorted, and moved to the garage. Each room is left without personal décor. Just furniture, rugs, and lamps. Now that we’ve pulled the bulk of the items out, it’s time to scrub the cottage from top to bottom. Having been abandoned for around a year with no utilities on, there’s a lot of dust, grime, and even some animal evidence. The power still isn’t on, but thankfully there’s a nice breeze coming off the bay today. Each time it blows its way inside the windows, I get a whiff of the salty air and Grandma’s sweet strawberries.
As I work intensely on cleaning decades’ worth of sludge out of the window crevices, I think about Grandma’s column and her efforts to reach my grandpa. All she wanted was closure. The column must’ve been her admitting to herself in some way that he was gone. Because even though the sign-off was aimed toward him, it was done in a public way. If his remains ever turned up, someone might be able to search their way back to Budgie Bay.
She gave her whole life waiting for him only to die alone.
My heart aches for her as I clean. When Mom calls, I pause my cleaning to take the call.
“Hey, baby girl,” Mom says cheerfully. “How are you doing?”
I sit down on the edge of Grandma’s bed and stare out the window at the hydrangeas. “Good. Been busy getting things in order. Did you see the pictures I sent you?”
“Looks amazing,” Mom praises. “I guess you’re almost done then?”
“Not exactly. There’s still too much to do. I’m looking at about a month’s worth of work.”
“A month? Why does that feel like forever?”
I watch as a dragonfly buzzes around. It’s pretty and unbothered. What a nice life.
“You could come see me,” I say, voice sounding small like a child’s. “I miss you.”
“I miss you too, but Ron is overwhelmed right now. I can’t leave him in this state.”
I’moverwhelmed right now.
“Okay,” I mutter. “Tell him I said hello.”
She sighs. “I’ll try and get away. Promise. We’ve been looking to hire another person. I can make that a priority.”
