Page 46 of Night and Day
Her eyes shone with excitement. “Can I come?”
Oh, goodness. He’d just been looking to create a bit of distance, to breathe away the hard-on that was draining the blood from his brain. “Sure. Deke won’t mind.” He gestured towards the hallway, and she followed him.
Deke’s room was cluttered with clothes, comic books and an odd collection of cables on his desk but, to Izzy’s relief, he spotted no dirty underwear or vintage pornography. Casanova’s cage stood by the window, a large rectangular one with two hanging swings, several perches and colourful toys affixed to the bars. Casanova sat on the edge of his feeder, working on a shrivelled slice of orange. Izzy added some pellets into his bowl and cut up an apple he found on Deke’s desk, replacing the old orange slices with fresh fruit.
“Beautiful girl!” Casanova exclaimed, sinking his beak into one of them.
“He looks so happy!” Mia gushed, leaning so close her nose was nearly touching the bars. “Hey, Casanova! You’re a handsome fellow, aren’t you?”
“How’reyoudoing?” The parrot croaked.
“Oh, my God! Has he been watchingFriends? That sounds exactly like Joey!”
“It’s one of Deke’s favourite shows,” Izzy admitted, his mouth twitching. He’d never seen anyone so excited about Deke’s pet, especially a female visitor. This was probably the response Deke had been hoping for when, a couple of weeks ago, he’d finally brought a woman around, but he’d come on a little too strong and received an entirely different reaction. Izzy felt for the guy.
“I love him!” Mia sighed. “I wish I could keep a pet. I’ve never settled long enough to even consider it.”
“Yeah, it’s tricky if you’re renting. Deke wanted to get a teacup pig, but our landlord is only okay with an aquarium or a ‘tidy bird’, as he said.”
“You’re very tidy, aren’t you?” Mia cooed at Casanova.
“You’re gorgeous!” He bellowed back.
Mia fanned herself, her grin turning silly. “Oh, man, you’re smooth!”
Izzy chuckled. “If you were to settle down, what would you go for? A cat or a dog or something else?”
Mia pursed her lips. “I don’t know. I used to think I wanted a little dog, like a miniature schnauzer or a pug, but now I’m thinking I want... what is he again?” She pointed at Casanova.
“African Grey parrot.”
“Yes!” She grinned at the cage. “I’d get one just like you. A female one! And I’d bring her around for a playdate!”
“Beautiful girl!” Casanova chorused, clearly excited about the idea.
Warmth flooded Izzy’s chest and he looked away. If only it was that easy, if only she lived down the road and could turn up for a visit with her bird. He could feel himself falling for this girl, and everything about that sucked. She couldn’t pop over from Finland for a playdate.
They were already doomed.
“That parrot cost more than my car,” he said.
“What?” Mia’s gaze flicked from him to the bird and back. “How could Deke afford that? I mean... he said he does volunteer work.”
“His parents have money.” Izzy wove his fingers through the bird cage, feeling exposed. “They pay part of our rent. In turn, I sort of watch over him.” Izzy looked up, hoping for the right words to fall into his mouth. “Deke was born a bit different.”
Mia’s eyebrows lifted in curiosity. “How?”
Izzy expelled a huff. “He... um... he has learning difficulties and doesn’t read social cues very well. He says what’s on his mind without considering the consequences and people get offended. But I’ve kind of grown used to him.”
“So, you’re his guardian in a way?”
Izzy shook his head. “I’m just looking out for the guy.”
Mia slid her teeth across her bottom lip, her eyes crinkling. “I really like him. I like how he doesn’t seem to care what anyone else thinks. Like he’s... free.”
“Yeah. Sometimes, I look at him creating things and I feel a bit jealous. Nothing stops him. There’s no voice in his head shooting down ideas and making him feel like shit. Other people do that, though.”
Mia smiled wistfully. “He seems happy.”
