Page 4 of Talk Birdie to Me

Dating wasn’t at all like math, which made it even more unsettling for her.

“So what was so horrible about this date anyway?” Taylor picked up the calico and held her close, nuzzling her face against the cat’s head. “Besides you ordering boring food to eat with a hot guy?”

“I didn’t say it was horrible,” Geena said. “It just wasn’t a match.”

“Why not? How can you know so fast if he didn’t do anything awful besides being a slightly messy eater?”

It was a little more than slightly, but Geena wasn’t going to belabor that point. Not when there was plenty of other evidence for her case.

“He’s an animal trainer,” she said. “And he spent half the date talking about all the places he’s lived.”

Liz and Taylor looked at each other in confusion. Then they both looked back at Geena.

“I don’t get it,” Taylor said. “Why are those bad?”

Geena couldn’t believe she had to explain this. “He won’t want to settle down with a boring accountant who likes tea and cozies.”

Liz chuckled. “I thought we established he doesn’t have to be Mr. Forever.”

Taylor petted the cat, still comfy in her arms. “Good luck teaching that lesson to her.”

“Speaking of animals that aren’t ours, I almost forgot why I came in here.” Liz snapped her fingers in recognition. “Would the two of you have time to run to the zoo?”

“The zoo?” Geena asked. “What for?”

Her sister’s eyes lit up. “Yes! Of course. I love the zoo!”

“They asked if we could take in some kind of bird. I don’t have a foster for it yet, but I’d still like to get a peek to make sure everything’s okay health-wise. And Geena, if you could get a couple of photos of it out there, that would be great. Then we could work on posts before it goes to the foster. Maybe we could even have someone lined up as a foster-to-adopt situation. Save everyone some time.”

Geena appreciated Liz’s commitment to efficiency. But she didn’t appreciate the zoo as much as her sister did. Taylor had always wanted to go to the zoo every year for her birthday. Their parents took them to every zoo in the state, and any out-of-state vacations had to include a visit to the local zoo wherever they were.

It was kind of fun when they were kids, but grown up Geena couldn’t get past the smells.

“I don’t know…”

“Oh, come on,” Taylor said. “You already admitted you were free this afternoon.”

“But there are still a lot of kittens to photograph.”

“They aren’t going anywhere,” Liz said. “And I’ve got a bunch of applicants waiting for kittens already, so we’ll probably move through this batch quickly, anyway. I think we have enough for posts this week.”

“Please.” Taylor drew out the word and clapped her hands together. “I’ll owe you one.”

Taylor already had a running tab of favors, but Geena wasn’t calling her to settle up anytime soon. What was another one on the list?

Besides. Taylor was right. Geena didn’t have anything better to do.

“Okay. Let’s go see this bird.”

2

The grey parrot ducked its head and wandered from one side of the perch to the other. He kept his gaze on Cody, who peered at him through the gigantic cage.

“How’s he doing?” Lauren entered the room and stood beside him. “At least he doesn’t look too pissed off.”

“He’s definitely not happy about being in here.”

They’d relocated the African grey to the meal prep room earlier that afternoon. While this had been their best option given the circumstances, it couldn’t be a permanent option for him.

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