Page 58 of Pigeon

“Whoop whoop!” Prissy shouts.

“Then let’s get her things gathered up. Any problems, you know you can call me anytime,” Ivy tells Axel. “You said you bought some stuff already, but do you have everything you need?”

“I have way more than Prissy will ever need. We’re well stocked up, and Ava helped with the food items, so Prissy gets all the vitamins and minerals she’ll need to be healthy. We’re ready,” Axel answers confidently.

“Did Margie warn you that, um, some birds can be destructive?” Ivy asks carefully.

“Telling tales, Ivy!” Prissy barks.

“Quit worrying. We’re ready to give Prissy a great home.”

“Okay, Axel. Going to miss you around here, Miss P.,” Ivy tells the bird that I know she’s become attached to.

“Loves you much,” Prissy responds.

Axel and his new friend leave the rescue shortly after to start Prissy’s new life. I watch as Ivy waves them off with a grin, then finds a quiet corner and sinks to the floor. Concerned, I watch her bow her head and lay it on her crossed arms supported by her raised knees. A few minutes later, I see Ivy raise her head, wipe the tears from her cheeks, and stand. She gets back to work, but the normal bounce in her step is missing. It finally dawns on me how attached Ivy gets to the animals she cares for and the cost of letting that happen.

Lying in bed in the darkness, Ivy’s head against my chest, she speaks. I knew she wasn’t asleep, and I also knew she’d talk when she was ready, so I waited. The subject she decides to talk about causes my body to tense and my temper to flare, but I remain silent so she can say what she wants me to know.

“Once my grandparents passed, Ted would barge into my bedroom or bathroom anytime he chose to. He caught me half-dressed a few times, and the look on his face scared me. He’s groped my breasts and other parts before, and once, I punched him in the face for it. I paid for that, though. Some of his comments made me sick to my stomach, especially when he was drunk. I learned to pick my times carefully as to when I’d shower. I usually slide a chair under the door when I do. I didn’t feel safe in the home I grew up in until you stayed there with me. He’s got problems, Pigeon, and they’re the kind that I can’t fix for him.”

I listen carefully to every word that leaves her mouth, and not one of them makes me think Ted is redeemable. Ted isn’t only a bully. He’s a pervert. I personally feel that the only way to fix someone like that is with lead.

“Would you hate me forever if I killed him?” I ask into the silence.

Ivy gives a small laugh before going still. After a few seconds, she asks, “You’re serious, aren’t you?”

“Yes. Absolutely.”

Ivy takes a long breath before speaking again.

“He’s sick, Pigeon. I’m not sure if that means he should be put down for it, though.”

“We have different beliefs about that, Ivy.”

“My mom’s sick, but she deserves the best life I can give her,” Ivy whispers.

“Different kind of sickness, honey. She doesn’t know right from wrong when her illness takes over. Ted most certainly does but chooses to do what he wants instead. He’s selfish and strikes out when he knows there won’t be consequences for himself.”

“True. I just wish he’d leave the area, and I could get on with my life without looking over my shoulder.”

“You say the word, and I’ll make that happen. In the meantime, you’re supposed to be learning to live free and without fear,” I remind her.

“Can we change the subject now?” she asks.

“Yep.”

“I’ve told you my biggest secrets, things that I’m embarrassed about and ashamed of, but I know next to nothing about you except that you love to play,” Ivy states.

“You have nothing, absolutely nothing to be embarrassed or ashamed about, Ivy. Ted’s crimes, not yours. Let him carry that responsibility because it’s not yours,” I say firmly before softening my tone and asking, “What do you want to know about me?”

“Everything,” she says with a laugh. “How about your name? I’m having dirty sexual thoughts about a guy who I only know as Pigeon.”

I bark out a laugh at her wording, ignore my initial reaction of wanting to hear more about these dirty sexual thoughts she’s having, and give her what she’s asking for.

“My legal name isElijah Hayes,but I only answer to Pigeon. My dad named me Elijah, and I have no use for him, so shedding it was not a hardship. My parents are religious fanatics, and we don’t see eye to eye on anything. I have no issue with religion, but the way my parents live and breathe it, we never got along. Dad uses the parts of his religion that suit him and reinterprets the parts that don’t, so they excuse his behavior. Hespent years trying to beat his beliefs into me and the devil out.My mom is a sheep and does everything she’s ordered to do. My brother is as much of a dick as my dad is but hides it better.”

“I’m so sorry you grew up in that type of family. My grandparents gave me an amazing life, and I know how lucky I was to have them. Do you have any contact with your family now?”

---