AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Matt snorted at Fidi’s choice of words. “Well, does anyone actuallywanttheir tank cleaned?”
“I’ll ask.”
Matt owned a few reptiles, and all of them were rescues. There was Professor X, a red-eared slider who had lost his hind legs and had a custom set of wheels made out of Legos; Captain Jack, a three-legged bearded dragon; and Maggie, a blind ball python who was very sassy.
Among Fidi’s many gifts was being able to communicate with other animals, though he seemed to understand his fellow reptiles the best.
“Maggie says good morning!” Fidi said cheerfully. “He also says you look like you need to go back to sleep.”
“Did he really say that?”
“Of course! He says you look very tired.”
“Thanks, Maggie. Very kind. Love you too.” Matt slurped more coffee. “So, no takers?”
“No.”
“Then I nominate Maggie since he’s so sweet this morning.” Matt grinned. “I still think we should change his name. I mean, we know he’s a boy now. Like, maybe Eugene? Or Pubert?”
Fidi’s eyes widened.
“What?”
“He called you a bad word.”
“Figures.”
Matt had a small tank he used for cleaning day that also served as a temporary home for some of Fidi’s rescues from time to time. With Fidi’s help, they got Maggie inside so they could handle his big tank. Fidi took out the driftwood and fake plants to wash while Matt dealt with the soiled water dish and the tank itself.
The work went much faster with Fidi’s assistance, and Matt questioned how he ever did this without him. Before he knew it, they were already moving on to Professor X’s terrarium.
The Professor’s was a little more complicated since his had a few inches of water at the bottom for his swimming area. Matt used what Fidi called the “fish vacuum,” a special hose that would suck out the water after pressure was created via a small bulb. Once the water was drained out in a bucket, Matt dumped it so they could clean the tank.
Fidi, however, was down on the floor curled around the temporary tank talking to Professor X.
“Uh-huh. Yeah, uh-huh.” Fidi was nodding along. “Don’t worry, I’ll ask him.”
“What is it?” Matt called out.
“Hold, please.”
Matt put the rocks and plants back into the tank, pausing to pick out a bit of gunk he’d missed in the gravel. He arranged the rocks on one side to create land with fresh dirt and substrate, leaving the other side as just gravel so he could fill it back up with water for the pond. Last but certainly not least, Matt made sure the ramp for Professor X to get in and out of the pond was firmly secured.
The ramp had been Fidi’s idea, based on a talk just like the one he was having right now. Matt had never been comfortable letting Professor X have a lot of water to play in because he was worried about his safety. When Fidi explained how much Professor X missed swimming, Matt got creative and built a small ramp out of popsicle sticks that worked as a dock for Professor X to use to get back up on land, wheels and all.
Matt listened to Fidi’s side of the chat while he got the filter repositioned, asking when there was a pause in the conversation, “Still holding?”
“Yes, please.”
Matt chuckled and got back to work, putting the terrarium back before he refilled the water. He’d done it the other way—filling it with water and then trying to move it—only once as one time is all it took for him to never attempt that again.
He plugged the filter back in, made sure the water was flowing through, and then he looked back to Fidi and Professor X.
“Everything’s ready,” Matt said. “I just need a turtle.”
“Oh! Right!” Fidi reared up with a grin. “He has some requests for snacks.”
“Huh?” Matt blinked. “It took that long for him to list off how many snacks he wanted?”
