CHAPTER 14
“Good morning. Good morning. Good morning!” I was awoken by the sounds of Chloe outside my room and, for a moment, when I rolled over and looked around, I didn’t know where I was. But it all came back to me quickly when I looked at the Spider-Man duvet that was pulled up around me.
I climbed out of bed. I had slept in my underwear last night, so as not to crease the only clothes I had. I raised my arm and took a sniff. I was going to need deodorant today, and I was also going to need to try and wash out some of the bloodstains around the collar of my shirt, or else I might look like a serial killer.
The only things I owned in the entire world right now were the few clothes I had on my back, the toothbrush and toothpaste and a strange keyring that I’d placed on the bedside table and was currently looking at.
I slipped my clothes back on and strolled out of the room. The smell of coffee hit me and something inside my brain instantly switched on. Like a Dubai skyscraper, switched ON! I smiled. I didn’t know much about myself, but I knew Ilovedcoffee. I could feel it with every inch of my being right now. I moved a little quicker down that passage to the small kitchen that Noah was busy in, that we had spent half an hour in last night cleaning up.
“Hey,” he said when I came in. There was an awkward vibe for a few seconds, had been since that countertop swing, but he broke it with an upbeat offer of coffee.
“Yes! Please! I think I love coffee!”
Noah poured a cup and then paused. “You know how you take it?”
“Um . . .” I stared at the sugar and milk on the table. “I have no idea, actually.”
Noah pushed the coffee in front of me and then leaned across the counter. “Well, have fun experimenting.”
I sipped the coffee and cringed. “No, definitely not black.” I picked up the milk carton and splashed some in, then took another sip and thought about it.
“More?” Noah asked.
“Yes! Definitely!” I tipped more milk into the coffee and sipped again. “Definitely sugar.” I picked up a spoon, dropped it in and stirred. “More,” I said, after carefully considering the flavor in my mouth. Three spoons later, and it was perfect! Sweet and milky and not too hot.
“Oh my God, mmmmmmmmmm . . .” I moaned as I sipped it, as if this was the thing I’d been waiting for and craving and wanting more than anything. “Mmmmm . . . Sooo good. Aaahhhhh.” I moaned longer and louder this time, but stopped immediately when I saw the strange look on Noah’s face.
“Was that a bit much?” I asked, feeling embarrassed now.
“Well, you officially know one thing about yourself, so that’s positive. You love coffee!”
“Coffee, coffee!” Chloe squawked from her cage by the window, and I jumped.
I eyed her suspiciously for a while, trying to gauge her feelings towards me. She didn’t seem to be showing any signs of aggression this morning, but still, I think it was better I remained on the opposite side of the room. “How long have you had her? African Grey parrots can live for sixty years. Don’t ask me how I know that, though.”
“African Grey. African Grey,” Chloe repeated, and Noah laughed.
“Yes, you are.” He walked up to her and offered up a slice of apple. “I’ve only had her for two years.” He said that with such a sweet tone in his voice. You could see he really cared for this bird. But there was also something beneath that tone, something a little sadder, and I wondered what it was.
“Where was she before you?”
“Uh . . .” He hesitated.
“You don’t have to tell me.”
“No, it’s not a secret. Two years ago I was called out to an old-age home. When I got there, this guy, Peter was his name, was having a severe heart attack. I was pretty sure he wouldn’t make it, he already had a pacemaker and underlying cardiac issues, and I’m sure he knew that too. Just before he died—it must have taken him every last ounce of his strength—he grabbed my arm and told me to make sure Chloe was taken care of. I didn’t know what he was talking about until I found out who Chloe was. He didn’t have any family. He was all alone, except for her. So . . . I took her. I knew nothing about parrots, didn’t even think I liked them, but here we are. Two years later and . . .” He gave Chloe a scratch and she tilted her neck back, almost all the way round. “I love her. She’s a cutie. Don’t I?”
Chloe whistled and bobbed her head up and down again. “Love you! Love you!”
“That’s very sweet of you,” I said, slightly in awe of Noah’s obvious kindness. “To take her in when she needed it the most.” On the surface, I was taking about the parrot, but really, I was talking about myself, and Noah knew it because he turned and met my gaze.
“Pleasure.” Our eyes zoned in on each other like arrows to a target and, after what felt like an incredibly awkward second, I went back to sipping my coffee. I walked around the room again, not on Chloe’s side, though, noticing for the first time the things I hadn’t seen last night.
“What’s this?” I pointed at what looked like it had been a pot plant in a previous, more hydrated life. I scanned the room. “And another one. And another.”
“I’m not very good at keeping plants alive. People and parrots are far easier.”
“But that’s because they’re in the wrong places.” I put my coffee down and started moving them around. “This one needs sun. You can’t have it in the shade like this.” I moved what looked like it had been a snake plant, once upon a very long time ago, to a sunny spot on the windowsill. “And as for this, too much sun. It needs semi-shade. And as for this succulent, just because it’s a water-wise plant doesn’t mean it never needs water.” I walked to the kitchen, filled a glass up and gave the thirsty plants some water.
