Maria
stepped into her kitchen from the carport door.
A fragrance she didn’t recognize floated around the room. It was nice but a little strong. Hmmm.
Who did that remind her of?
“Emily!”
“Don’t take
your love to town,” almost a whisper, came softly from around the corner to the
bedroom.
Now
what? Not sure she wanted to know,
she followed the direction of the voice into her bedroom. She practically ran into a huge birdcage with
a large gray bird staring its bright beady eyes at her. It said, “Oh my love, you are beautiful.
Awk,” in a soft little voice. She
stepped back in surprise and heard something clatter in the bathroom. A makeup tube came rolling through the doorway. She stooped to pick it up.
Emily sat
at Maria’s counter looking in Maria’s makeup mirror, using Maria’s makeup. “Ooo, cherie, we must find you better
cosmetics.”
“There’s
nothing wrong with my cosmetics,” Maria said, then blinked her eyes at her
cousin’s outfit. Emily was dressed in
shimmering lavender. She looked like a
glitzy snake. From neck to shoes she was
covered in super thin spandex, her spectacular body, twenty three-inch-waist,
thirty-eight-inch-chest, and thirty-four-inch-hips seemingly sheathed in a
slick purple balloon. “You look like an
ice cream soda. Why is a bird in my
bedroom?”
“He’s not
just a bird, sweetpea, he’s an African Grey Parrot—tres valuable. Emily dusted her cheeks with a fat makeup
brush. “He needs to be in a bedroom so
he doesn’t get upset.” She smiled at her
reflection, stood up from the little dressing table stool and tossed her black
waterfall of hair over her shoulder.
Fascinated,
Maria asked dumbly, “Why would he get upset being in a living room? Where did you get him anyway?"
“He’s very
sensitive, ma cherie. I’m off to work
now.” She tucked away the makeup tubes
and vials, turned off the bathroom light, and sidled past Maria toward the
birdcage. The bird cocked its soft gray
head and said quietly, “don’t touch me,” and blinked its eyes.
Emily's giggle hadn't changed since she was four
years old. “Don’t worry about me, I’ll
be back late, but I can find my way in." Emily grabbed Maria’s shoulders
and kissed her cheek. “Au revoir.” She picked up a waiting bag and went out the
carport door.
Maria sat
stunned on the corner of the bed and watched the bird. "What a peach!" Epifanio
blurted. He made her smile in spite of
how she felt. Betty Albee was not even thirty five yet. Maria wondered again if that hole out in the
woods could be involved in Betty’s death.
In a cemetery that could hold any type of dead things, truth be
told. Probably only a coincidence, but
what a great place to hide a body.
Maria’s father said there was no such thing as a coincidence.
Maria was
greeted with a conversational, “You’ve been keeping this from me,” when she
walked into her bedroom. She turned to
see the parrot hunched on his perch.
“Lights out, darling,” he said.
