Page 19 of The Cocky for Cody
With a gush of air I let out a sigh. “Jesus, you scared me. What a relief you’re going to be okay.”
“Thanks to you,” Cody said, trying to itch beneath the bandage wrapped tightly around his head. “I’m sorry, that was stupid of me. That must have been pretty frightening for you. But you kept your head together and got me to safety. I’m proud of you.”
“It’s Kevin you should be proud of. He’s the one who went and got help.”
As though I’d just summoned a demon, Kevin suddenly appeared in the open window of the room, perching himself on the sill and trotting anxiously up and down. “Squark!Are you okay? What did the doc say? You’re not gonna die on me, are you Cody? Please don’t die!”
“I’m gonna be just fine,” Cody smiled. “And I have you and Brooks to thank for it. Who could have guessed the two of you would one day save my life?”
“Hedidn’t save your life,” Kevin squawked, tipping his aggravated head feathers in my direction. “He did nothing but freak out and fall apart. Talk about a drama queen! All he did was make the whole situation worse. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s the one who pushed you in the first place!”
“Now, now, Kevin,” said Cody firmly. “I think it’s time you buried the hatchet.”
“There’s a hatchet buried somewhere on the island? Where? It might come in handy.”
“Kevin! Don’t be naughty. Can’t you at least try to be polite?”
Kevin huffed and ruffled his feathers. “Fine. I’ll try to be polite. But when isheleaving? I’m not sure how long I can pretend to be nice to him.”
“Actually, we’llbothbe leaving soon. I think Mulligan’s Mill is calling us back.”
“What?” Kevin screeched. “You’re leaving me again?!”
“Don’t worry, we’ll be back,” Cody said, trying to calm his cocky down. “We’ll always come back. The beach shack is as much Brooks’ home as it is mine now… and yours, of course.”
“So not only are you asking me to be polite, you’re now asking me to share?” Kevin turned his back on us. “Oh brother, this is gonna be a disaster. Now I know how Paul and George and Ringo felt when Yoko came along. Why you couldn’t just leave things the way they were is beyond me. Humans… can’t live with ’em, can’t live without ’em…”
Still muttering to himself, Kevin flapped his wings and launched himself off the windowsill and into the sky.
Cody and I both breathed a sigh of relief before he turned to me and said, “Now, where were we?”
“I don’t remember, but I have a feeling you were about to tell me you love me for saving your life.”
Cody smirked playfully. “I was?”
“Uh-huh. I’m certain of it.”
He leaned forward and pressed his lips against mine, then said, “I love you, Brooks Beresford.”
“And I love you, Cody Cameron.” We kissed again, before I added, “Just promise me one thing.”
“Oh yeah? What’s that?”
“Promise me cockatoos can’t fly all the way from Australia to Wisconsin. I don’t think Mulligan’s Mill is ready for the likes of Kevin.”
Cody laughed. “I don’t think Kevin has that much energy. Besides, he has to save his strength for trashing the shack in preparation for our return.”
I laughed too… even though I knew he wasn’t joking.
When we headed out the door of the beach shack, our luggage in hand, I said to Cody, “I haven’t seen Kevin the past few days.”
“Don’t worry, he’ll be here the second he hears this door close.
Sure enough, the moment the door clicked shut we heard a squawk in the sky…
Then the loud flap of wings coming from inside the shack…
Then a lamp falling over…
