Birds, Secrets, and Love

Chapter 8

Medical staff buzzed around like worker bees in their busy hive. Tessa almost got lost in the confusing off-white corridors, but kept searching despite her fatigue. She gasped in delight when she found the information desk. "Hi, can you please tell me what room number George Olives is in?", Tessa asked, exasperated. "Ah, yes, the handsome young man. He was just admitted to the third floor. Room 312," the auxiliary volunteer said. Tessa grinned at the kind woman's description of George and ran to the elevator. "Thanks!," she called to the woman as the elevator's doors came together.

She sprinted down the hallway and bumped into a pair of familiar faces. It was Mr. and Mrs. Olives! "Oof! Sorry- Donna? Louis?," Tessa exclaimed. "Tessa?!", the old couple said in unison. "Are you here to see George too?," Donna Olives asked. "Yeah, I just came straight from the farm. It was horrible. How is he?," Tessa responded. "We don't know yet, the nurse said the doctor should be out soon with a status update," Louis Olives announced. Donna took this opportunity to interrogate her. "So, how long have you been in town? You've been in New York, right?," Donna asked. "Yeah, I work at Agatha Poplar's fashion headquarters in NY. I've been here for just a couple days. I'm going to stay until the festival," Tessa responded. Donna and Louis nodded. "Oh! Then you'll get to see George's butterfly display!," Donna clapped her hands excitedly. Tessa scrunched her face in confusion. "Display?? George didn't say anything about a display-,"she started until she got interrupted by the door opening. The door revealed an older doctor, carrying a pile of files. Tessa raised her eyebrows in surprise when she noticed how similar he looked to the aloof old man from the park. It couldn't be the same man, right...?

"How is he?," Donna asked, her face expressing extreme amounts of worry. "After all of our tests, we've decided that it is just a simple fracture. He'll be good as new in a couple months," The old man with an MD responded. George's parents both let out sighs of relief. Suddenly, two nurses walked out of the room. "I just can't believe it was only a fracture!," one whispered to the other. "I know, right? I thought he wouldn't ever be able to move his arm again! Talk about a miracle!", the other whispered back.'A miracle!?', Tessa thought, 'that fall must have been worse than it looked! And what's with this old guy? Is this the senior citizen that caused me to lose my beloved pet for half the day...?'. "Can we go see him?", she asked. "Sure, just know that he's on painkillers. He might be a little loopy," the doctor said. Tessa nodded and rushed into the room

It was a blank, white hospital room. With one bed in the middle and a small nightstand to the left. It looked a little too clean and polished, it was almost creepy. George looked completely fine, besides a green cast on his right arm. He was busy reading the label on a medicine bottle. "Hey Georgie, how are you doing," she said as she approached the stiff bed. "Better than I thought I would be. It's been a long night, I just want to go back to the hotel," he admitted. The doctor and George's parents filed in. "My boy!," Donna charged towards George and gave him a hug. "You said you were going back to a hotel? I don't think it's a good idea for you to be unsupervised", the doctor said. "Oh, well then mom, dad, can I stay with you guys?", George asked after being momentarily strangled by his mom. "Gosh, sorry honey! The house is being remodeled!," Louis replied. "Oh...", George sighed. "Hey, why don't you come to my parents house? There's a guest room with your name on it!," Tessa suggested, happy to be of some use. "That...would actually be amazing! Thanks Tessa," George sighed with relief. The next couple of minutes went by in a blur. It was nearing 1:00am so George's parents left. The doctor said all of his testing was done so he could go home now. Tessa helped him into his sportscar and they drove to Tessa's parents' guest house. It was too late in the night for chit-chat. They both slumped to their rooms and passed out immediately from the eventful day.

Tessa woke to the sounds of screaming. She was frozen in fear until she got the courage to put on a robe and investigate. In the kitchen, she saw Holly holding a frying pan like a weapon, and George holding up his one good hand in defense. 'Oh no! I forgot to tell Holly we have a visitor!', Tessa thought. "Whoa, whoa! Holly, put that down!", she shouted as she grabbed the frying pan from her panicked friend. "You know the intruder??," Holly asked, bewildered. "Yes! This is George, and he's definitely not an intruder!", Tessa responded. "Wait a second...this is the George?!", Holly asked, pointing at the disgruntled man in a wrinkled suit. George looked too tired to understand what was happening. "Let me explain...". Tessa began from the beginning of the highschool reunion and described their traumatic night. Holly nodded in silence while she listened. In the background, George poured himself some Frosted Mini Wheats and enjoyed the sugary wheat squares. He occasionally fact-checked and added details from his perspective of the night.

"My goodness! I can't believe all that was going on while I was sleeping!," Holly exclaimed. Suddenly, a doorbell rang out throughout the house. "...Are you expecting someone?," Holly questioned. 'DAMIANO!!,' Tessa remembered, 'That's right! I have that bird massaging lesson today!'. "Umm, yes. I totally forgot but that guy from the bird preserve is coming over to teach me some things", she explained. Holly gave her a look and then walked back to her room. "Have fun!", she called from the hallway. Tessa opened the front door and let in the beautiful Italian. George looked up from his cereal and stared at him. The atmosphere grew tense. "Who are you?," George asked, pointing with his spoon. "George, meet Damiano. He's here to give me bird massaging lessons. It's for Mouse," Tessa introduced. "Nice to meet you.", Damiano said as his eyes explored the house, "Lovely home! Are you her brother?". "Nope, but I'm her lifelong best friend. I find it strange that she's never mentioned you...," George responded sassily. "George! What's gotten into you? I think you should take a nap", Tessa said, "Sorry about him. He's on painkillers". George slurped up the rest of his Frosted Mini Wheats and washed the bowl, then sulked off to the guest room. "Soooo...Let's go see how Mouse is doing", Tessa transitioned awkwardly. Damiano nodded and followed.

Mouse was cooing happily at the sight of Damiano when he pulled him out of his cage. Tessa took out a small notebook to take notes on the massage tips. "The first step is to gently grasp the bird so that the body is supported, make sure he's comfortable," Damiano whispered as he handled the falcon. Tessa scribbled in her notebook. "Now, squish and rub his sides," He explained. Mouse sighed in relaxation. Tessa giggled and nodded. "He looks so happy," she said. Damiano continued to massage Mouse for a half hour. Mouse happily fell asleep and Tessa felt invigorated with the information she learned.

"Since the lesson was supposed to be a full hour, do you want me to show you how to bake bird treats?," Damiano asked. "That would be wonderful!," Tessa said as they filed back into the kitchen. Damiano opened his satchel and rummaged inside. He pulled out several bottles of seeds. "Do I have permission to raid the fridge?", he laughed.