Birdy

"Goodmorning and Merry Christmas, Mr. Johnson." Jefferey's landlord said in the lobby of his apartment building as Jefferey was exiting.

"Morning and you too, Ms. Miller," Jefferey replied and walked out the double doors.

Jefferey was a very wealthy man. He loved his lavish life and could often be selfish. He never shared any of his money and often made his money from lying, cheating, or stealing.

As Jefferey was walking along the sidewalk, he saw a little old man in front of him. He walked very slowly due to his old age. This of course made Jefferey angry.

"Why don't you go to the nursing home? I'm late for breakfast at the diner!" Jefferey snapped at the old man.

"What did you say, sonny? I'm sorry, but I can hear very well." The old man said with a smile.

"I said I was late!" Jefferey yelled. Everyone passing by looked at Jefferey.

"Oh, I'm sorry, son. Old-timers like me don't get around like you young folks." The old man said thinking of when he used to be young.

"It's fine, sir," Jefferey said bitterly.

"No, no, call me Bruce," Bruce said and started walking beside Jefferey.

"I'm Jefferey. Now if you don't mind, I have a lot of things to do. It was nice meeting you, Bruce." Jeffery said in a dry tone and walked off.

"Ah, those young'uns," Bruce muttered to himself with a chuckle.

The end of the day finally came. Jefferey was relieved to go home. He was tired from working all day. Jefferey was on his way back to his apartment when he remembered the old man, Bruce. Ugh, why am I thinking about a little old man that just slowed my day down? He thought to himself as he arrived at the double doors of his building. Suddenly, some paramedics were taking a man into an ambulance. Ms. Miller stood and watched. Jefferey took a closer look and noticed it was Bruce. His eyes widened and he wondered what was wrong.

"Jeff!" Bruce tried calling out. The men with him looked a Jefferey. Jefferey walked to Bruce.

"Yes, Bruce?" Jefferey said and furrowed his eyebrows.

"Please, you're my only hope. I asked Ms. Miller about everyone in our building. She asked if anyone could take care of my dove while I stay at the hospital for a few weeks. Nobody could, you're the only one who hasn't said if you could or couldn't, but please. My dove won't live without proper care."

"I don't know, Bruce. I'm not so good with animals." Jefferey skeptically said.

"Please. You're my last hope." Bruce begged Jefferey.

"We have to go." The paramedic budged in.

"Alright, alright. I will." Jefferey rolled his eyes.

"Thank you, son. The dove's name is Birdy. I named her after my wife." Bruce said as he was taken into the ambulance.

Jefferey and Ms. Miller walked back into the building together.

“How am I supposed to take care of this bird? I’ve never had a pet in my entire life. I don’t like animals.” Jefferey complained to Ms. Miller.

“Then why did you accept?” Ms. Miller asked him with a raised brow.

“Well. Well, I can’t let the thing die.” Jefferey said and looked at the ground, surprised at what just came out of his mouth.

“Ah, I see. So you do have a heart after all.” Ms. Miller smirked and went into her office, leaving Jefferey to himself. Jefferey was shocked. Was he that heartless?

That evening, Jefferey took the key to Bruce’s apartment and walked inside. It was a spotless living space. Everything looked vintage, but it was clean. He looked around for Birdy. Suddenly, he heard some noises in Bruce’s bedroom. He opened the door and found Birdy. She was a white dove in a metal birdcage. Birdy started cooing and became unsteady in her cage. Jefferey grabbed the cage and the birdseed. He locked the door to the apartment and walked back to his apartment. Jefferey sat the cage on his coffee table along with the birdseed. 

“Birdy, huh? Let’s see how you are, Birdy.” Jefferey said as he opened the door to the cage and reached inside to pet her.  

“Ouch!” Jefferey instantly pulled back his hand after she pecked him on his small wound. Birdy cooed softly and hopped on the small little swing within the cage. “You wanna be mean, you little brat?” Jefferey scolded Birdy. 

Jefferey sat Birdy’s cage on the kitchen counter. He got a measuring cup and scooped up some birdseed. He poured it into her feeder and forgetting to shut the door to her cage, Jefferey went to the sink to give her some water. Birdy instantly saw the open door. She flew out of the cage and into the openness of his apartment. Jefferey had not noticed she flew out until he felt something strange on his head. He looked at the cage. Panicking, Jefferey looked around and saw Birdy sitting on the top of the chair in the living room. He slowly lifted his hand to feel what was on his head. His hand touched something soft and wet. Jefferey brought his fingers back down and saw that Birdy left him a gift on his head. He was disgusted, furious, and wanted a shower desperately. He had to catch Birdy first.

“Come here Birdy.” Jefferey softly said inching closer to her. She kept still, looking at him. Jefferey was an inch away from catching her when she darted out into his bedroom. He cursed and ran after her, closing the door of the bedroom. Birdy flew around and perched on top of his TV. Jefferey, falling for Birdy’s trick, tried catching her. He missed and crashed onto his TV, breaking it.  

Two hours later, Birdy was finally back in her cage. Jefferey managed to cause some damage in his room after chasing Birdy. 

“You’re a clever one, aren’t you, Birdy?” He glared at her in the cage pecking at her birdseed. 

Two weeks went by and Birdy and Jefferey accepted each other finally. Ms. Miller told Jefferey that it would be a lot longer. She got a call from the hospital saying that Bruce would need a month before he could come home. Even when he came home, he would need someone to take care of him. Jefferey felt bad for him, but he often forgot about Bruce and thought more of Birdy. He started taking the cage with him everywhere. To work, to shop, to the diner, and even out on walks to the park. His liking of Birdy started to grow.

One day, Jefferey opened the cage door and she hopped out. Instead of flying away, perched on his shoulder. She started softly cooing and rubbed her head against his neck. From that moment on, Birdy and Jefferey became best friends. 

The month had finally gone by and Bruce had returned. Jefferey was sad to give Birdy back, but he understood he had to. Birdy became very uneasy in Bruce’s apartment and wasn’t the way Bruce remembered Birdy. She stopped eating as much and wasn’t cheerful. Bruce knew birdy had gotten attached and unhealthy. Birdy had gained weight over the month. Jefferey had been feeding Birdy too much birdseed. 

A knock on the door startled Bruce. 

“Come in,” Bruce said loudly. 

“Dad! How are you feeling?” Bruce’s daughter ran inside.

“Lara! I’m okay. Are you ready to take me with you?” 

“Of course! Do you have your bags?” Lara asked Bruce.

“I do. Now let’s go before traffic gets bad. Here are Birdy’s things.” Bruce handed her Birdseed and some other small items to Lara.

Lara chuckled and took Birdy’s things to her car. She came back for Bruce’s bags and saw Jefferey speaking to her father. Lara got done with her father’s stuff and came back to see who he was talking to.

“Hi, I’m Lara. Bruce’s daughter.” She smiled at Jefferey.

“I’m Jefferey. A friend of your father’s.” Jefferey tried smiling back.

“Anyways, Jeff, I can give you my address if Birdy means that much to you.” Bruce smiled and wrote down his address.

“Thank you, Bruce. Take care.” Jefferey said and took the note. He waved and walked back to his apartment.