The Duck (4)(Marla) (Review Duck 3 if necessary) :)

The next day, my friend Kayla called. “Hi!” she said. “I know this is short notice, but are you busy? I thought you might want to come over for pizza tonight. Do you want to come over around 6:00?”

The thought of not making dinner was very appealing. The thought of not being in the house for a while was also appealing.

“That sounds great. Do you want me to bring a salad?”

“Sure, if you want. Oh, and by the way, my cousin is here, too. See you in an hour. Bye!” She flung the words out quickly and hung up before I could reply.
Well, great. Was she trying to set me up with someone? She had done it once before. The guy had been okay; we just didn’t have much in common. It never turned into a romance.

Later, I stood in my cousin’s kitchen, a container of salad from the grocery store in my hand.

“So glad you could come,” said Kayla. “This is Mike.”

Mike was rugged. Good looking. He offered an apologetic smile to me. “Nice to meet you, Amelia. What are we going to do with this cousin of mine?”

I smiled. At least he had a way of making an awkward moment somewhat less awkward. “Hi, Mike. I have no idea what to do about Kayla.”

Kayla remained silent, but she was smiling.

The doorbell rang. The pizza had arrived.

As we ate, the conversation was surprisingly easy and relaxed.

At one point, Kayla said, “So, Amelia, Mike recently bought a small farm.”

“Really?” I asked.

Mike nodded. “It’s very small. The property has a house, a barn, and a small pond. Right now, I have two goats, but I hope to get a few more animals. I don’t want a lot. It’s been a dream of mine for a while now to work from home and have little farm.

“Wow, that sounds great,” I replied.

“Show her the pictures, Mike!” said Kayla excitedly.

Mike pulled out his phone, unlocked it, and pulled up some photos. “Here,” he said, handing it to me.

The photos showed a very charming house, along with the barn and pond. I saw a few fruit trees as well.

“Lovely,” I said sincerely.

“I told him about Felix,” blurted Kayla.

I felt my cheeks warm with embarrassment. Just what had she told him?

Across the table, Mike grinned. “How is he?” he asked.

I sighed. To tell or not to tell. After a moment, I said, “Well, Felix is good, but he invited a duck that I assume his girlfriend into the house.”

Kayla hooted with laughter. “You’ve got to be kidding! That is hilarious.”

I found myself laughing too. “The trouble now is that I just don’t know what to do,” I said.

Mike rubbed the back of his head before saying, “Let me ask you something. Do you want Felix to stay, or do you want him to go?”

I took a moment to answer. “I don’t mind that he’s there, but I don’t think I want to live with a house full of ducks.”

“Would he be happy on a farm? I don’t have ducks yet.”

“Maybe. How comfortable is the barn? He’s gotten quite used to living in a house.”

“The barn is in great shape,” answered Mike. “And you’d be welcome to visit the ducks any time.”

Kayla looked from me to Mike, a wicked little smile playing on her lips.
“Stop it, Kayla,” we said simultaneously. Then we had to laugh.


………….

The next few days were uncomfortable. Felix tried to sit with me a few times, but it would last only a few minutes. Ms. Entitled would waddle down the hall, walk up to us, and glare at Felix. Then with fixed stare, she’d tilt her head. Clearly, she was in charge. Felix would give me a look that I can only call apologetic as he left and waddled down the hall with her. I tried once to get her out of the house, but it didn’t work. She planted herself in the middle of the kitchen and put her wings up at me. The glint in her eyes was not kind. It was frightening experience, and I realized that I’d have to call Mike.

When Mike came over to meet the ducks, Felix seemed to like him right away. Ms. Entitled just stood there, head held high, and she refused to make eye contact with anyone. After a brief visit, we led Felix outside to Mike’s truck. Ms. Entitled held back at first and then followed in “fine, whatever” attitude. He had a crate in the back.

“I doubt that they will get in the crate,” I told him.

Mike set the crate on the ground. The ducks showed no interest. Mike opened the door to the backseat of the truck. Felix took a peek inside, then waddled backwards a few steps. Then he flew inside. Ms. Entitled stretched one foot, then the other. She stared at the ground. She yawned. Then she looked from Mike to the truck. He leaned down to gently pick her up and place her inside.
“Well,” I thought to myself, “that could have been worse.”

The drive took less than an hour. We listened to the radio, and the ducks seemed content in the backseat.

When we arrived, we let the ducks out of the truck. They waddled around, looking happy and proud. Felix whispered something to her, and then he came back to me. He stared a moment, but it was a friendly stare. Then he put his head on my hand as he had done once before. He stepped back, and then he turned and waddled to his girlfriend.

I felt a little something tug at my heart, and I realized that I was going to miss Felix. I looked away, but Mike saw that my eyes were filling with tears.
“Hey, it’s okay. You are welcome to visit whenever you want,” he said.

“Thanks. I might take you up on that.”

Mike gave me a tour of the farm, and we enjoyed a picnic outside. We watched the pair of ducks as they continued to waddle around together. Before Mike drove me home, I walked up to Felix and said, “Well, it was fun, wasn’t it? I plan to visit you every now and then.”

Felix waddled closer to me and then touched my leg with his wing. It was a duck hug, I suppose, and I had to smile. “You’re pretty adorable, Felix. See you soon,” I said.

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