Page 70 of There Once was a Dancer
“Look and see,” he replied, grinning like a mad man.
I eyeballed him for a few seconds and then carried it over to the couch, setting it on the coffee table before pulling the drapeoff. Inside a small cage, were two tiny, brightly colored birds. One was yellow and the other green. They had orange beaks and the moment I uncovered them, they began to chirp. I lit up with happiness as I watched them flitting along a perch which was actually a smooth stick running horizontally across the cage. I laughed in delight as one of them jumped toward me, wrapping tiny little feet around one of the cage’s front bars. He cocked his head to the side, waggling it back and forth as he eyeballed me with shiny, black eyes, chirping as he greeted me.
“Oh, Marcello, the birds are so cute.” I reached down to stick a finger through the cage. The little bird jumped back onto the perch and began arguing with his companion. It made me laugh. For the first time since I’d been in the safehouse, I felt truly happy.
“The green one is Pippin and the yellow one is Thor,” Marcello said, pointing to each one, “but you can call them whatever you want.”
I laughed, looking into the cage as I held my finger out to the green guy. “Hola, Pippin.” He jumped to the front of the cage and then back on the perch, repeating the little action over and over, as if saying hello right back. I watched them for a few minutes, thinking about how much Rex would like them, and wondering how Lola would react if she ever got the chance to see them. When I glanced up at Marcello, he was watching me. “Thank you for present, Marcello. I love them.”
He shrugged. “I know it has to be lonely up here on the hill, so I wanted to bring you something to brighten your day. He pointed at a small, plastic box in the cage. “They have food here, but you’ll have to get more after this is gone.” He reached into his jacket and withdrew a small bag of birdseed, handing it to me. “Just change their water and the liner for the cage every day and keep them out of the heat. It’s too hot outside, so keep themin the house. They really like sunshine so you can put the cage near the window unless it’s really hot there. They like to watch other birds during the day…and make sure you cover them at night so they can sleep.”
I nodded. “I love them, Marcello. Is nice present.”
I looked up as Mamá walked back in carrying a tray. When she saw the cage, she began to laugh. I took the tray from her as she bent over to examine the birds the way I’d done. “Los pajaros son tan dulces!”
“Si, Mamá, the birds they are sweet,” I agreed.
“Pippin and Thor,” Marcello said, pointing to each bird.
“Aye, Dios mio!” she exclaimed, clapping her hands together with a girly laugh. “Precioso.” She looked at my friend. “Gracias…thank you, Marcello.” She handed a coffee cup to him, and pointed at the cream and sugar, but he waved her off.
“Gracias.”
“De nada.” She handed me a cup after pouring a little cream in.
“Gracias, Mamá.”
She nodded then looked at Marcello. “Are you hungry? I have a lot of food.”
Marcello smiled and rubbed his belly. “Oh, no thank you, Mrs. Adams. I ate.”
“Okay. I go to kitchen.” She smiled sweetly and left us.
“Your mom is really nice.”
I looked up from the birds which I’d been watching, fascinated by their endless energy. “She is good lady.”
He stared at me before sighing and taking a sip of coffee before sitting back. “I know you want to ask me about Rex. Go ahead.”
I felt tears prick the back of my eyes at the mention of his name, but I held them at bay as I managed to nod. “Si. How is he?”
He blew out a long breath. “He’s coping…better, I guess.” When I opened my mouth to ask the burning question, he held up a hand, shaking his head. “No, he still can’t walk. Candy and Mickey saw him today. He has no feeling below the waist yet, but everyone is still hopeful the paralysis isn’t permanent. The doctor sees him every day and they do tests. They still seem to think it’s spinal shock. The spinal cord wasn’t transected—cut—and they say that’s very good news. It might take time for the nerves to heal, so there is hope. We’re all hoping for a good outcome. You understand, don’t you, Cachi?”
“Si, Marcello. I understand.”
“Anyway…” He trailed off, looking around the room. “For now, all we can do is pray.”
“And the cartel?” I wanted any news I could get. I really wanted to go home. Maybe if I was closer to Rex, he’d let me visit. I hated the way we’d parted, especially how angry he’d been the last time I’d seen him.
He smiled. “We’re making progress. Hopefully, we’ll be able to finish that situation soon, but I can’t talk about it, Cachi. I’m really sorry.”
I nodded. “Okay, you tell me if we can go home, yes?”
“As soon as it’s safe, I promise.”
I nodded, setting down the coffee cup as I stood. “Come outside. You see garden.”
“Oh, okay.” Marcello set down his cup and followed me out to the backyard. I was very proud of my efforts. I showed him the flower beds I’d planted. Right now, they were little more than tiny sprouts coming up through the dirt from seeds, but I carefully read off the names on the seed packages I’d stapled to painter’s sticks marking where they were. I pointed out the small orange, lemon, and kumquat bushes someone had picked up from a local nursery for me. And showed him the small apple tree which I’d found after hacking through the twisted bushes that had surrounded it. “I never knew you were a gardener, Cachi,” Marcello said.
