Page 14 of Serving my Dragon
“I will need to learn it. Does your television have little people inside that communicate in it?”
“I have English channels, but I don’t understand, how did you learn so quick?”
“Because I am intelligent. More intelligent than your kind.” I’d have sworn Pollita smirked before digging her face into the food.
Kayleigh sat beside me. “What’s she been saying?”
“She claims the television taught her how to speak Spanish while we were gone.”
“What a smart girl.” Kayleigh slid to the floor beside Pollita. “Can you say my name? I’m Kayleigh.” She poked herself in the chest.
Pollita paused before snorting. “Kayleigh.” She glanced at me. “Matias.” She eyed the plate. “Delicioso.”
An excited Kayleigh bounced and clapped her hands. “Oh, how marvelous. I didn’t know Peru had lizards that could talk like parrots.”
We didn’t. This was astounding and unheard of. Exactly what had I found?
“I think I need to go to bed.” Perhaps I was already asleep and dreaming. “Good night, Kayleigh. Good night, Pollita.”
Pollita belched in reply, whereas I stumbled into my room and collapsed on my bed. In the morning, I’d wake and probably discover everything had been a dream. Pity, because I quite enjoyed Kayleigh’s company.
The booze and excitement of the day helped me to crash into a deep sleep. I woke well past dawn. Despite my vivid recollection of the talking lizard and Kayleigh, I decided it must have been my overreactive imagination plaguing my slumber. An omen about my upcoming trip to the canyon? Maybe. Perhaps I shouldn’t go.
Wearing only my boxers, I wandered out to the kitchen to make some coffee, the one thing I could manage on my own.
I stopped dead in the doorway, staring.
Kayleigh turned from the stove once more wearing my shirt and—given her long, bare legs—possibly nothing else. She beamed as she chirped, “Morning, Matias.”
Sitting on a chair, wearing a pink ribbon around her neck, was Pollita, who flicked her tongue before saying in perfect English, “Finally. He awakes.” Then to Kayleigh, “Now can we eat?”
I staggered a few paces back and collapsed on the couch. Kayleigh emerged a few moments later with a plate holding one of her delicious sandwiches and a coffee.
“You look like you need this more than Polly,” she stated, sitting beside me.
“I thought I dreamed it all,” I admitted after taking a fortifying sip. “Meeting you. Pollita.”
“Not a dream, silly.” She giggled. “Pretty amazing, actually. I left the television on an English-speaking channel last night and this morning Polly was speaking it. She’s got some gaps in her vocabulary, obviously, but I taught her the alphabet while I was making breakfast. She wants me to show her how to read. She learns really fast.”
“But she shouldn’t be able to do that,” I exclaimed in between bites. “It’s not normal. None of this is.”
“Including me?”
I paused in my eating. “Even you. I mean, people don’t go out on a hike and return with a talking lizard and a beautiful woman who has amnesia.”
“You think I’m beautiful?” Her smile almost put me on my knees, especially since she didn’t give the impression of being coy, not with that pink hue staining her cheeks.
“You are drop-dead gorgeous, so I have to wonder how you ended up in the canyon. How you got amnesia. How no one has reported you gone.”
Her lips turned down and I hated myself for causing that. “It does seem strange. Perhaps we should check your email and see if Sally answered.”
“Yes. We should.” Anything to bring back her bubbly smile. I quickly wolfed down the rest of the sandwich and grabbed my laptop as Pollita entered the living room and declared, “You are my official chef.”
“Why thank you, Polly.” Kayleigh beamed.
“As for you, I’ve yet to decide your role. I would have said protector, but your home lacks weapons and proper security,” Pollita uttered with evident disapproval.
“Because most people don’t keep weapons out in the open. Fear not. I can defend this house.”
