For the Love of Pete

by Debby Mayne

  Pamela gave him a curious look but followed his lead, gesturing for everyone else to do the same. Less than a minute later, Pete was back in the dining room with Andy and his bird.

  “Good job getting everyone out of here. All that commotion made things worse.” Andy handed Pete a bag of carrots.

  “I saw that.” Pete glanced up at Murray whose head bobbed as he stepped side-to-side on top of the china cabinet. “Looks like he’s still a bit anxious.”

  “Maybe you can lure him down. All the noise frightened Murray, and I couldn’t get everyone to leave us alone.” Andy rubbed his shoulder. “Been holding my arm up so long it’s starting to creak.”

  Pete nodded as he pulled out a carrot and extended it toward Murray. “Want a carrot, Murray?”

  Andy cleared his throat. “Ask him if he wants candy.”

  “But—”

  “Go ahead.” Andy nodded toward his bird. “He’ll probably take it.”

  Pete turned back and looked Murray in the eye. “Want some candy?”

  Murray’s sidestepping and head bobbing quickened. “Murray wants candy . . . squawk . . . Murray wants candy.”

  “Then here ya go. I have just what Murray wants.”

  Andy nudged Pete. “Slowly pull the carrot stick toward you so he’ll get close enough for us to get him down.”

  A noise erupted from the doorway, causing Murray to flap his wings and skitter to the other side of the cabinet. Andy scowled, but Pete used his free hand to motion everyone to back away.

  He started over, trying to lure Murray down. Andy remained right by his side, still occasionally rubbing and working his shoulder. Pete knew it was up to him, so he had to be persistent.

  “Murray wants candy . . . squawk . . . Murray wants candy.”

  “Then come and get it,” Pete said as he showed Murray the carrot stick and slowly pulled it closer.

  “Come and get it, folks . . . squawk . . . while supplies last.”

  Pete cast a curious glance in Andy’s direction. Andy nodded. “He likes commercials.”

  Murray studied the carrot, bobbed his head a few more times, and trotted closer to the edge. Pete held his breath as Murray’s beak came toward the carrot. He wasn’t sure if he should grab Murray with the other hand or pull the carrot a little closer.

  “Don’t make any sudden moves,” Andy whispered. “You’ve almost got him.”

  Now Pete knew why Andy’s shoulder was sore. He resisted the urge to relax his arm since Murray was so close to getting the carrot.

  “Talk really nicely to him. He likes sweet talk.”

  “Sweet talk?”

  “Yeah. Tell him how handsome he is.”

  Pete glanced down at Andy and saw he was serious. “Okay, I’ll give that a try.” He wiggled the carrot in front of Murray. “Come and get your . . . candy, you handsome fella.”

  “Hello, handsome . . . squawk . . . lookin’ good.” Murray paused and then let out a human-sounding sigh. “Keeps you fresh all day.”

  “What?” Pete nearly dropped the carrot when he looked back down at Murray’s master.

  Andy gestured for Pete to turn back around. “I already told you; it’s those commercials.”

  Pete couldn’t help but laugh. “Murray, do you watch too much TV?” He wiggled the carrot again. The ridiculousness of the situation had diffused some of the tension in Pete’s shoulder.

  “Change the channel . . . squawk!” Murray grabbed the carrot, flapped his wings, and hopped down onto Pete’s shoulder. “Murray wants candy!”

  “Hold still,” Andy whispered as he slowly reached for Murray. “Got him!”

  Applause erupted from the other room, until Pete glared at all the faces in the doorway. “Hold it down, people. You’ll scare him.”

  Once Andy put Murray back into his cage, everyone joined them in the dining room. Pete glanced around until his gaze settled on Bethany, and when he saw her smiling, he felt as though all was right in the world.

  “Good job, son,” Pete’s dad said. “I thought your mother might have a heart attack with that bird prancing around on top of her best dishes.”

  Pete looked at Andy who bent over the cage and made silly baby talk to his bird. He turned back to his dad. “Maybe we need to give them some privacy.”

  Andy straightened and shook his head. “That’s not necessary. I think it’s time for Murray and me to make our exit.” He glanced at Pamela. “Want to come with us, or would you like me to come back and get you later?”

  “I’ll take her home later if she wants to stick around,” Pete said.

  Andy’s chin jutted, and he squared his shoulders. “I said I’d come back and get her. She came with me, and she can leave with me.”

  “I really don’t mind.”

  “But I do.” Andy stared him down as he lifted the birdcage. Pete suspected he might be worried about losing Pamela over his bad-boy bird’s antics.

  Bethany couldn’t believe what she saw—two grown men arguing over who would take Pamela home. She leaned over to see Pamela’s reaction, and she wasn’t surprised at the woman’s smile of satisfaction.

  “Now boys, you don’t have to fight over me. Pete, I appreciate your offer, but Andy’s right. He can come back and pick me up since it was his idea to bring Murray here in the first place.” She shook her head as she glared at Andy. “You know he’s okay with a few people, but he’s such a bad bird in crowds.”

  Murray squawked. “Bad birdie.”

  “That’s right, Murray.” Pamela turned and shook her finger at him. “And I’m going to have a long talk with you later.”

  “Yes, ma’am, anything you say . . . squawk!”

  Murray hung his head and lifted his wing to cover his face. Bethany had to bite the insides of her cheeks to keep from laughing, until she noticed Pamela glaring at her.

  With all the finger-shaking, Bethany wanted to hide for fear she’d be next. But she wasn’t. Pamela walked Andy and Murray out to the car, leaving everyone inside to rehash the Murray incident as though it affected the universe.

  Pete sidled up beside her. “It sure doesn’t take much to get people riled around here, does it?” He grinned. “No telling what folks would do if something really bad happened.”

  The sight of another car pulling to a stop outside the window grabbed their attention. Pete leaned over to see who it was. “It’s Bailey. Looks like we made the news.” He squinted. “I wonder how she found out.”

  “Oh, I’m sure someone here might have called.” Bethany chuckled as she glanced around at all the guilty faces. “Maybe even more than one person, but I bet Bailey’s thrilled to cover this story.” She made a face. “Not.”

  “Oh, Bailey’s a trooper. We all know she’s a better reporter than what she has to cover, but she seems to take it in stride.”

  Yes, that was one of the things Bethany appreciated about Bailey. “I’ll let her in.”

  Over the next hour, guests took their turns relaying their side of the Murray story to Bailey McCullough, reporter for the Bloomfield Gazette. She once worked as a hard news reporter for a larger newspaper before moving back to Bloomfield to be with family. Now she was the society columnist and covered stories the senior reporter didn’t want. Bethany wasn’t sure where this event fit, but she suspected somewhere in the middle.

  At first, Bailey appeared amused during the interviews, but by the time she got to Bethany and Pete, her amusement had turned into obvious annoyance.

  “So you’re the hero of the day,” she said sarcastically.

  Pete expelled a breath in a half-laugh, half-frustrated sort of way. “Not exactly hero. More like the only person who didn’t mind risking getting pecked by a delinquent bird.”

  Bailey stopped writing, glanced up at Pete, and then turned to Bethany. The corners of her lips twitched, and when Bethany smil
ed back, she giggled. Bethany joined her, and they both laughed so hard tears ran down their cheeks.

  Chapter 22

  Pamela kissed Andy on the cheek. “I’ll call you when I’m ready to leave,” she said. “You really need to stop forcing Murray on people who don’t appreciate him.”

  “What am I supposed to do?” He gave her a helpless look.

  “Let’s put our heads together and figure out a solution. We can’t continue like this.” She sighed. “It’s hard to believe it’ll take two of us to outsmart a bird with bad social skills.”

  “I’m starting to think I should find him a better home.”

  “No.” Pamela shook her head. “You can’t do any such thing. He might be annoying, but deep down, you love that bird.”

  Andy frowned and tilted his head. “You’re right. He isn’t a bad bird, except when he doesn’t get the attention he wants.”

  Pamela shrugged and gestured toward the Sprocketts’ house. “Which is any time he’s in a crowd.”

  Andy nodded. “True.” Murray squawked. “I guess I better get on home so he can watch his shows. That’ll calm him down.”

  “Oh, brother.” She turned to head back inside the house, but Andy took hold of her arm and spun her around. “What?”

  “Pamela . . .” The look on Andy’s face was different, almost fearful. “I know this is a rather odd place and time, but I wondered . . .”

  She swallowed hard as she realized something big was about to happen. “What did you wonder?”

  “You and I . . . well, we’ve been together for quite some time now, and we’re not exactly teenagers, and—” He cut off his sentence and grimaced. “Would you consider marr—”

  She lifted her fingers to his lips to him. “You were right, Andy. This is definitely not the place and time, so let’s table that thought until later.”

  He smiled and let out a sigh of relief. She was fully aware they were both straddling the line of wanting to make their relationship permanent and fearful of making a mistake. Something so monumental as a lifelong plan deserved a conversation they didn’t have time for at the moment.

  “Let me know when you’re ready to go home.”

  “I will.”

  “I’m sorry about Murray.”

  “I know.” Pamela stepped back from the car and watched Andy pull away. He’d never been good with timing, something she found endearing. That was one more reason they were good together.

  As his car turned the corner, she thought about Murray’s misbehavior in public. He was actually a good companion one-on-one. She wondered how much of the problem was Murray’s and how much was Andy’s fault for giving in. Seriously? Making sure a mouthy parrot didn’t miss his favorite TV shows would make any stranger wonder about Andy’s sanity.

  Pamela walked up the sidewalk and paused before opening the front door. No telling how many people witnessed her talk with Andy and whether they guessed about what had almost happened. She’d lived in Bloomfield long enough to know that no one minded their own business. Maybe one of these days she’d discuss that in one of the garden club meetings. She might even consider hiring an etiquette expert to come in.

  As she took her first step inside, the noise from the kitchen at the back of the house let her know no one had watched from the window as she’d suspected. In an odd sort of way, she resented their lack of curiosity. After all, Murray had livened up the party.

  Before rejoining the group, she darted into the dining room and checked herself out in the buffet mirror. Her hair still held its shape, but her lipstick had feathered a bit in the creases of her mouth. She reached into her purse and refreshed it.

  The instant she joined the people in the kitchen, folks pounced on her, wanting to know if Andy and Murray were okay. What she suspected they really wanted to know was if she and Andy were getting along.

  “Oh, Andy’s just fine, but Murray might be in trouble.” She turned to Bailey. “Did you have a chance to talk to everyone else yet?”

  Bailey nodded and patted the tote that hung from her shoulder. “Yep. I got it all here.”

  “Okay, now I can tell you what I know.”

  Bailey smiled. “Thanks, but I have what I need. As it is, most won’t even make it into the article.”

  Disappointment swelled in Pamela’s chest. She hadn’t been interviewed, even though she was closer to Murray than anyone else in the house. She walked away so no one would see her sulking, but Bailey followed and tugged at her arm.

  “I changed my mind. I would like to ask you a few questions a little bit later.” Bailey smiled as she spoke in a lowered voice. “But first, why don’t you get something to eat? After that craziness, I bet you’re half starved.”

  Oh, so that was it. Bailey was just being considerate. She grinned back at the reporter. “Thanks, I’ll do that.”

  As always, there was so much food in Gertie’s kitchen, it overflowed from the island to the countertops. Some people sat at the kitchen table, but since it was unseasonably warm, a few of them had carried their plates out to the picnic table in the backyard.

  “How about the blessing?” Pamela asked.

  “Pete said it.” Bethany grinned with pride as Pete stood behind her with a red face.

  Pamela stared at Bethany and Pete as they looked at each other before quickly glancing away. She never ceased to be amazed by how adults acted like teenagers when they were about to fall in love.

  Chapter 23

  Bethany noticed something different about Pamela after she left Andy outside. Her demeanor was more subdued, and she didn’t have an answer for everything. She hoped Pamela was all right.

  “Isn’t this delicious?” Bethany asked.

  Pamela shrugged. “Food’s always good here.”

  Wow. Something had definitely happened. Maybe she should try another approach.

  “I’m looking forward to the festival.”

  Pamela lifted an eyebrow and snorted. “Are you really? I mean, won’t it be difficult to see people walking off with all that stuff you used to hoard?”

  In spite of the harshness of the comment, relief flooded Bethany to know Pamela hadn’t lost all of her spunk. “I’m over that. In fact, I feel free now that I don’t have it taking up so much space in my house.”

  Pamela’s eyes narrowed, as she looked Bethany in the eye. When she opened her mouth, Bethany braced herself for another dig.

  “I think I’ll get some dessert now,” Pamela said. She glanced at Bethany’s dessert plate that still had some of the remnants of cherry pie and chocolate cake. “Which was better?”

  “I’m more of a pie person, so I liked the cherry pie.”

  Pamela pulled away. “Then I’ll get the chocolate cake.”

  All was right in Bloomfield. Whatever had bugged Pamela when she first came back inside had obviously faded.

  Now that almost everyone had finished eating, the conversations grew louder. Lacy ran around with another little girl—her cousin Kelsey—who was staying with Gina and Jeremy for the weekend. Any doubts Bethany might have had about moving back to Bloomfield were now replaced with the joy of family and friends who loved each other in spite of quirks and disagreements.

  Naomi’s voice startled Bethany. “Having fun?”

  Bethany nodded. “This is really nice, and it brings back so many memories.”

  “Of Charlie?”

  “A little.” Bethany met her mother’s gaze. “But more than anything, of hanging out with friends, eating Mrs. Sprockett out of house and home, and watching the dynamics of so many different but wonderful personalities coming together like this.”

  “You’ve always been observant.” Naomi chuckled. “Even back in the day when you were a cheerleader, I noticed you standing back quite a bit and watching others. There were times I thought you might even become a writer.”

 
“I’ll stick to writing in my journal.” She grimaced. “Those people were probably right. I might have been shy.”

  Naomi shook her head. “I don’t even like that word. Shy. What does it really mean?” She paused. “When people say the word, it’s usually a negative jab. Why can’t people accept that not everyone is a blowhard?” Her gaze darted to Pamela, but it didn’t linger. She turned back to Bethany. “I’ve never seen you cower or be afraid to talk to people, so I definitely wouldn’t call you shy.”

  Bethany started to tell her mother there were times she inwardly cowered, but Pete appeared and grinned at Naomi. “Now that the commotion has died down, this is quite nice,” he remarked. “It reminds me of being a teenager again.”

  “Why that’s exactly what Bethany just said.” Naomi took each of them by the arm and pulled them closer together. “So why don’t the two of you reminisce, and I’ll go see what kind of trouble I can start with someone else?”

  Pete and Bethany both laughed as Naomi sauntered toward Pamela. “Your mom’s hilarious.”

  Bethany tilted a look up at Pete. “Even more so when she’s with Pamela. You should see them go at it during garden club meetings. Talk about competitive.”

  “Pamela needs to listen to Naomi’s words of wisdom.”

  Bethany shrugged. “They both get things done in their own ways.”

  Pete opened his mouth, but before anything came out, Lacy and her cousin plowed right into his backside. He leaned over and tousled their hair. “Whoa there, girls. You need to be more careful indoors.” He squatted down to their level. “Why don’t we go outside and play?”

  Lacy jumped up and down, clapping her hands, and her cousin followed. Gina gave him the thumbs-up, so he took both of them by their hands and guided them toward the back door.

  Once the three of them left the kitchen, Gina stepped over to Bethany. “It’s so much easier being a parent here than it was back home. We had my mom and dad, but that was about it. Everything was up to Jeremy and me . . .” She grimaced. “But mostly me the last few months with him away at work most of the time.”