Upgrading nests

“I think Brenda needs a room for herself.”

Rosa collapsed on the deck of the nest when she came home from school after giving George a hug, Sybil a peck on the cheek and grabbing a doughnut off the kitchen counter before Julia objected. Brenda was in her crib taking her afternoon nap in Rosa’s room. Only Timmy was on the deck engrossed in watching Melody playing an intense game of pickleball with Herman a hermit crab, who had made it his goal in life to beat Melody at the game. That hadn’t happened yet. Timmy casually glanced over at his sister waving to her but not uttering a word, before he went back to watching the game.

“Hey!” he suddenly said when he realised Rosa was laying on the desk with her wings spread out and a doughnut in her left wing. “Where did you get that from?”

“Julia gave it to me,” lied Rosa as she sat up and leaned against one of the two deckchairs after taking a bite out of the doughnut. “Good,” she mumbled, “but I’m not sure what flavour it is.”

“Blueberry,” replied Timmy still watching the game.

“How do you know?” asked Rosa taking another bite.

“Because I brought them home.”

“From where?” asked Rosa wondering if at any minute either her brother or Julia were going to pounce on her and take it away. She decided to stuff her mouth with it as a precaution. “Melanie.”

“Melanie?” shouted Rosa, unaware that shouting with a mouth filled with food doesn’t end well.

“That’s gross!” he said as he tried to flick a small piece of doughnut off his jacket. Timmy was always a careful and neat dresser. He took great pride in what he wore, even if he weren’t going anywhere. “Yes, from Melanie.”

“Did you go to Surf City?” she asked, the doughnut now firmly in her stomach.

“No, she came to the school today.”

“To give you a doughnut?” interrupted Rosa.

“No, she brought doughnuts for all of us. Yours just happened to be blueberry. Nobody wanted that.”

“Why? It’s good.”

“Because it fell in the sand on my way home.”

“What!” shouted Rosa again, but this time so loudly that it caused Melody to jump and miss a shot.

Herman jumped for joy. “I won! I won! I won!” he jumped up and down and then ran off to tell his community.

Melody sank in the sand, “why me?” she moaned.

“Sorry,” Rosa shouted to Melody.

“It’s ok,” she replied getting up from the sand and brushing it off her fur. “It was bound to happen one day. I just have to practice harder, so I beat him next time.” Melody stopped for a second and looked intently at Rosa, “what are you eating?”

“A doughnut,” she replied.

“The one that fell in the sand?” Melody asked.

“I think so,” Rosa wasn’t sure what to do. Maybe she should’ve asked Julia, and she would’ve told her not to eat it, but it was too late. She promised herself she would ask next time, instead of just taking it. “How do you know?” asked Rosa.

“Because I was about to eat it when Herman came flying by and knocked it out of my paw, so I gave it to Julia to throw in the rubbish bin.”

Rosa felt even worse. Timmy was enjoying it all. Julia came out on the deck. “I agree with you Rosa. We need a bigger nest,” and then she paused for a second, “how was the doughnut?”

“Why didn’t you tell me it had sand on it?” Rosa decided it was time for her to play victim again.

“You didn’t ask me. You just took it, so I let you.”

“But you could’ve shouted after me not to because it had sand on it.”

“Yes, I could’ve but I took the sand off so it didn’t have any on it. Did it taste like sand?”

“No,” replied Rosa beginning to perk up.

“Then it didn’t. I took all the sand off.”

A few seconds later after Rosa felt much better. The sliding glass door to the deck opened and a scream went up. “Mummy!” shouted Brenda when she saw Rosa. Rosa for her part jumped up and went up to Sybil who was holding her. She rolled her eyes and gave Brenda to Rosa. Everyone laughed.

“She still thinks Rosa is her mother!” laughed Julia.

“That’s because she sleeps in the same room as Rosa, that’s why.” replied Sybil shaking her head.

“Then let her sleep in your room.”

“No!” shouted George, “that won’t work.” Julia was going to ask why, but decided against it.

“But I think we need a bigger nest,” she said to her father. “I know Rosa wants her own room back and I’m sure Brenda wants her own room as well.”

Sybil’s face lit up. “I think that’s a great idea. Then when Brenda sleeps in her own room she won’t think Rosa is her mother anymore.” She looked at George, George looked away. He didn’t want to begin paying another mortgage. They had just paid off the mortgage to the nest they were currently living in, and he was enjoying using the money that went to pay the mortgage in his business. He thought it was time to begin building his business.

But suddenly, everyone was looking at him. “Well,” said Sybil, “I think it may be time to go down to Kingfisher and Sons, don’t you?”

“Oh, I don’t want to deal them again. It was horrible dealing with them the last time.”

“Well,” replied Sybil, “they are the only real estate agents around here, unless you want to fly over to Jacksonville. And you know how they are there.”

“You’re right. They think that just because they live by the Marine base that everything should go their way. It’s just that at Kingfisher and Sons they get up in the middle of a discussion and fly off because they get hungry and have to catch some fish. Maybe the Falashas would like to open a real estate company after all Moshe and Benny are very enterprising. I should mention it to them.”

“Melainie was at my school today,” interjected Timmy and the family looked at him.

“What was she doing there?”

“She came over with her parents, because they are looking at some nests near the crab sanctuary.”

“No, impossible!” George was annoyed, “we can’t have Reform Jews moving into our neighbourhood what will ever happen next?”

“Relax dad,” replied Timmy with smirk on his face. “That’s what her parents said when the real estate agents brought them here.”

“What, that they could move into a real Jewish neighbourhood?”

“Yes dad and that it would be too far to go to work every morning.”

“So, you never said why she brought the doughnuts.”

“Dad, she’s still trying to get me to go out with her.”

“But why so many doughnuts?”

“Because she wants everyone to have one.”

“What real estate agents are they using?”

“The same,” replied Timmy, “that was until they flew off for lunch.”

“Ha, ha,” George began to laugh. “See what I mean. They just aren’t good businessmen.”

“Are there anymore doughnuts Julia? I’m hungry.”

“No, Rosa. Dinner will be ready soon anyway. And before you ask what it is, it’s beef stew.”

Rosa smiled it was her favourite.