She just didn’t know what those terms were.
Molly had an hour or so before she needed to check in at the office. Her phone had died during the night and although she didn’t know exactly what time it was, she was relieved she didn’t have the battery life to call Bale. She didn’t really have any right to interrogate him about his whereabouts—or his whyabouts when it came to Violet.
She could always use the sound of the chopper returning to the farm as an indication she needed to head over to the office. Molly glanced at her tree house model. Every minute in the tree fort gave her new inspiration. But actually working on the project was not the same as getting one idea after another. When Professor Cambridge asked her about her thesis at the gym, it put the situation in stark relief—her dissertation was due in November and it was now June. She had so many new ideas she wanted to implement—she wanted to rearrange rooms and redirect plumbing—but she had to face it: even if she stuck to her original plan, she was behind schedule.
Molly tried to give Galileo as much time as she could outside the cage, but she could only hold off nature’s call for so long. She got Galileo settled back in his cage, covered it, and secured the lean-to. In only two days, Molly had figured out how to get down the ladder without having to watch every step. She knew which ones were just waiting to take her down.
As she walked to the office with her toiletries bag and phone paraphernalia, she slowed to watch a fawn nibbling at a Douglas Fir. Molly pretended to ignore the animal, hoping it would not run away. The deer pricked up her ears and stood perfectly still as Molly walked by, but it didn’t run. Molly loved her new neighbors.
Molly beat Manny to the office. After a quick trip to the bathroom to freshen up and pull on a clean T-shirt, she plugged in her phone and she brewed a serviceable pot of coffee. As soon as her phone was sufficiently charged, she checked it, hoping there would be a message from Bale.
There wasn’t.
Maybe Molly should reach out to Bale? He might be surprised to hear from her when she didn’t need anything, she thought ruefully. Molly wondered if she hadn’t been a very good friend to Bale.
The doorknob to the office turned. Molly’s pulse started to quicken, but it was Manny, not Quinn, who walked in.
“Early, again?” Manny asked. He looked at the coffee pot. “And you made coffee. Nice.”
Manny put a white paper bag on the counter and poured himself a cup. He took a sip and made a face.
“This is pretty weak,” he said.
“It is not. It’s the same strength I used to make at Crabby’s.”
“That might be why we closed,” Manny said.
Catching a glimpse of Molly’s affirmation words on her hand, he added, “Maybe you should write ‘Make better coffee.’”
Molly was about to say something, but saw Manny was teasing.
“Donuts,” he said, indicating the white bag. “Got ’em at Gilbert’s for free.”
Molly suddenly realized she was starving. She reached into the bag and pulled out a glazed old-fashioned.
“Why were they free?” Molly asked, popping half the donut in her mouth.
“’Cause they’re super old.”
“This is horrible,” Molly said, coughing on the cement-like donut.
“A perfect complement to your lousy coffee,” Manny said. “Anyway, they aren’t for humans. They’re for the deer.”
“Do deer like donuts?”
“Deer will pretty much eat anything,” Manny said. “But I’m trying to put food out in the forest behind the farm, so they don’t eat the trees.”
“I don’t think feeding donuts to deer is a good idea,” Molly said. “On the farm or not.”
Thinking back to this morning, when she watched the fawn delicately munching away on the evergreen, she felt a pang of guilt. Of course, Quinn would not have the warm-and-fuzzies about his trees being eaten.
“Well, if the deer keep stripping the trees, they’re going to be…”
“What?” Molly’s insides flipped.
“Let’s just say it would be better for them if they stayed off the farm,” Manny said. He arched his eyebrow significantly. “And for me, too.”
Molly was confused. She could well imagine the fate of the deer—at least when hunting season started in September. But what could possibly happen to Manny?
“Quinn wouldn’t fire you, would he?”
“If those deer don’t stop eating the trees, Quinn won’t have to fire me, because I’ll quit.”
“I don’t think the deer mean anything personally,” Molly said. “Why would you quit?”
“Some of us don’t have the luxury of strolling around the farm looking for pine cones.”
Ouch.
“And fir cones,” Molly added, knowing how lame that sounded. “I still have no idea what you’re going on about.”
“Have you ever heard…have you ever smelled the deer deterrent Quinn uses?”
Molly shook her head.
“I didn’t think so,” Manny continued. “Let me tell you, it’s strong enough to keep the most insatiable deer from the trees. And if the deer start winning, it’ll be my job to smear the stuff around. And I’m already doing most of the heavy lifting around here.”
“What about scarecrows?” Molly asked suddenly, ignoring Manny’s verbal jab. “Can we put up scarecrows?”
“Why would we do that? Scarecrows scare, well, crows. Not deer.”
“I’ll research this,” Molly willed herself not to say it, but she failed. “I’m sure there is something we can do.”
“Don’t strain yourself,” Manny said as he headed out of the office.
Molly stared after him. She wasn’t sure exactly what Manny did around the tree farm. She had to admit, gathering pine cones was going to be good job security until December, but, while it would take away from her tree house model, she knew she could take on some more responsibility.
“Hey, gorgeous,” Quinn said, rattling a bag from Beamer’s. “Even though you’re breaking my heart making me eat alone, I brought you your burrito.”
“Perfect,” Molly said. “I’m starving.”
She opened the bag and took a huge bite. This was much better than a stale donut. Molly thought about talking to Quinn about the deer problem but held her tongue. Maybe addressing it would just make things worse—for the deer.
She’d try to come up with a solution first. It was true this new endeavor would take away from her thesis. But it would also take her mind off her housing situation, her angry African Grey, her lack of funds, and her loaned car—not to mention Bale leaving town without letting her know. Getting her hands on a problem she might actually be able to solve might be just what she needed.
“Get you some coffee?” Molly asked, falling easily back into waitress mode.
“No thanks. I can’t stand that swill Manny makes.”
“No fear. I made this myself.”
“Music to my ears.” Quinn gave her one of his killer smiles while handing over a mug.
Their fingers touched when Molly put her hand on the mug to steady it.
Neither took their hands away.
Molly poured slower.
The sound of yelling startled them both. Molly put the coffee pot down and followed Quinn outside. Manny was running toward them as fast as his legs would carry him.
“There’s some sort of lion back in the big trees!” Manny called.
Molly got ready to run. Galileo was in the big trees! She had to save him. As she turned to go, she heard Quinn’s calm voice.
“What are you talking about?” Quinn asked. “There are no lions around here.”
“Not only a lion, but a bear,” Manny said, putting his hands on his knees and trying to breathe.
Molly and Quinn exchanged a look. Had Manny lost his mind?
“I know you don’t believe me,” Manny gulped. “But I’m right. I’ve heard enough lions and bears on Animal Galaxy to know.”
“Okay, then, let’s go take a look and figure out what’s out there,” Quinn said. “I’ll get my gun.”
Molly felt her legs go rubbery. She held onto the wall of the office for support. Galileo knew those sounds from Animal Galaxy too.
He must be in trouble.
Molly slipped away from the office as quickly as she could. Manny was paying no attention to her and Quinn was in the office. As soon as she was out of sight, Molly ran as fast as she could.
As she approached the big trees, she could hear the lion, then the bear, coming from the tree fort. She wiped away tears as she ran. As she started to climb the ladder, Galileo added his most fierce animal sound—a jaguar.
Molly pulled herself onto the platform, her heart stuck in her throat.
The door to the lean-to was open.
She raced inside and gasped.
Galileo was backed into the far corner of his cage, the sheet that usually covered him spread out on the floor. As Galileo let out one threatening sound after another, a large raccoon was trying to unlock the cage. Molly tripped over the groceries that lay sprawled on the floor. The raccoon was fearless. He had obviously been through everything in the lean-to already. He looked at Molly for an instant and went back to work on the lock.
Molly’s first impulse was to grab the raccoon by the tail, but she was afraid he might attack. She grabbed a can of hairspray, ran behind Galileo’s cage so she was looking the creature right in the eye—and sprayed.
The raccoon reared up, grabbing its eyes, and fell off the cage.
“Shoo,” Molly yelled, stamping her feel. “Shoo.”
The raccoon blinked angrily through his sticky eyes. On his way out of the lean-to, he grabbed a carrot, just to let Molly know she hadn’t won.
Molly turned to Galileo, who was still roaring, the various animal sounds bouncing off the wooden walls. Parrots could die from fright, but her father always said Galileo was too mean to die. From the fire in the African Grey’s eye, she hoped her father was right.
“I’m so sorry,” Molly said, closing the lean-to’s door and opening Galileo’s cage.
The bird wanted nothing to do with her.
Could she blame him?
Molly heard movement outside. She grabbed her can of hairspray again, then looked through a crack in the wall when she realized she heard voices. Quinn, shouldering a rifle, and Manny, gesturing wildly, were getting closer.
“Galileo,” Molly said in her sternest voice. She had to get his attention. “You have to be quiet.”
“Bite me!”
At least he was back to human sounds.
Molly went back to him. Although the cage door was open, the parrot was still pushed back against one wall.
“You need to be very quiet now,” Molly said again.
“Shit!”
“I know,” Molly whispered. “I know. This is very bad. But you can’t let anyone hear you.”
This called for more than broccoli. Molly looked around the floor and gathered a handful of sunflower seeds. She held one out to him.
He continued to go through his animal sounds.
“You need to calm down,” Molly said, waving the sunflower seeds a little more forcefully.
At last, Galileo focused on the sunflower seeds. He took one and delicately released the seed from the hull. Molly breathed easier, hoping that the men would go away now that there were no more wild animals attacking the Christmas tree farm. She crawled over to the door and listened.
“I don’t hear anything,” Quinn said from just below the tree.
What if they decide to climb the ladder? How could she explain…any of it?
“I swear, they were right here, Quinn,” Manny said defensively.
“I’m sure it was just a deer,” Quinn said. “Or a fox.”
“I don’t think so,” Manny said, but apparently losing confidence in his own hearing. “I know that a deer and a fox sound like.”
“I love you, Quinn,” Galileo said through his seeds.
“Be quiet,” Molly hissed, as she crawled back to the cage.
She listened. The only sound she could hear was Galileo munching. When she looked out again, the men were gone. Poor Manny. Quinn must have thought he was nuts.
She looked at Galileo.
“Who’s a good bird?” she whispered.
And who is a horrible, irresponsible human?
Chapter 19
Molly’s hands were quivering as she punched in Quinn’s phone number on her phone. She needed to have the rest of the day off to figure out what she was going to do.
It occurred to her she couldn’t very well say, “A raccoon nearly ate my bird while we’ve been hiding out in one of your bigger trees—oh, and by the way, it was my bird who scared the crap out of Manny with all the wild animal noises.”
She decided to hang up, but he answered.
“Hey, Jane,” he said.
“Hey, Quinn. So…ummm…I was thinking I might take the rest of the day to figure out a way of keeping the deer off the property.”
Way to throw the deer under the bus.
“Okay.”
Don’t elaborate. Don’t explain. Just say thanks.
“I have a couple of ideas that might work. Just…you know…going to research a few things.”
“If the problem gets bad this year, we do have that deer repellant.”
“I know. But there might be a better way. I think my engineering work might lend itself to this.”
“Your engineering work?”
“Yes. You know, I’m getting my master’s in civil engineering?”
“Huh.”
“I’m building a model of a tree house?” she offered, hoping to jog his memory. “That’s why you call me Jane?”
“Oh, yeah,” Quinn said. “I forgot that. Anyway, don’t wear yourself out. Deer repellant is effective and cheap.”
“I won’t,” she said, hoping he didn’t change his mind before she could get off the phone. “Thanks, Quinn.”
“No worries. You think on your feet. That’s why I love you.”
Molly disconnected the call. The low of him forgetting she was getting her degree and the high of hearing him say he loved her (even if he didn’t actually mean it) added to her exhaustion.
She decided she needed to change her affirmation words to:
Pithy
Succinct
Concise
Galileo kept his back to her when she approached.
“Look,” Molly said, “I know you must hate me right now. Well, I don’t know if you hate me or not, because I don’t know if parrots actually hate people, but I do know you’re disappointed in me. But not more disappointed than I am in myself. When the sun goes down, I’ll get you out of here, if you’ll just trust me one more time.”
Galileo didn’t speak. Molly could feel the tears coming. She couldn’t believe how many tears she’d shed the last few months as everything seemed to sour.
“You’ve got spunk, Molly girl,” she heard her father’s voice say.
She turned to face the cage. Galileo was looking right at her.
“Thanks,” she said, biting her lip.
She smiled and opened the latch, which was a little misshapen since the raccoon attack. She held out a sunflower seed as a peace offering. Galileo took it in his claw, then bit her.
“Okay,” Molly said, snatching her finger back. “Baby steps.”
Molly packed up her few belongings but decided she would leave everything—even the tree house model—in the lean-to instead of taking anything to the car. She didn’t want to risk being spo
tted—and she didn’t want to leave Galileo alone for even a minute.
Once she had everything packed, she did spend some time looking into the deer situation. Typing “deer” and “scarecrow” in the search engine on her phone, she managed to find some interesting ideas for making a sort of disguised water sprinkler. Her battery died just as the sun went down.
“Okay, time to go,” Molly said as she opened the cage door. “I’m going to send your cage down on the pulley. You know the drill. I need you to climb up on my shoulder and I’ll take you down the ladder.”
“Bite me.”
“This is the last time, I promise.”
Could she make this promise? She really had no idea what she was going to do or where they were going to go.
She put out her arm and Galileo climbed on. He shuffled up to her shoulder, digging in his claws a little more than necessary, she thought.
The cage stood empty, which gave Molly an idea. She stuffed the deflated pool float and a blanket inside, and then tied the perch to the outside. At least they wouldn’t be without any provisions.
Molly took the cage out to the platform and hooked it to the pulley. Being outside agitated Galileo, who screamed jungle animal obscenities in her ear.
“Knock it off,” Molly said. “You’re going to have everybody up in arms again.”
Galileo quieted, and Molly lowered the cage to the ground. She jammed a piece of wood under the doorknob of the lean-to to keep at least the weaker animals from getting inside. She was nervous about leaving the tree house model, but she had to make sure Galileo was safe before anything else.
Molly looked up at the brilliant night sky. She was going to miss living in this tree—she felt it was where she belonged. Would her tree house model ever be realized as a real edifice? She felt like a loser Geppetto wishing his damn Pinocchio could be a real boy. There was no use thinking about that now. She couldn’t even get her model finished.
She climbed down the ladder, Galileo clinging to her shoulder. This time his obscenities were in English. Molly could not believe some of the words her father had taught the bird. She unhooked the birdcage from the pulley and then sprinted to the car. She got everything inside, forgetting Galileo was still on her shoulder. She plugged in her phone and noticed she’d missed a call from her brother.
Tiny House in the Trees Page 14
