The Pelican

SURPRISES

CHAPTER 18 - JULIA

The last few days had been quiet and blissfully uneventful. Temperatures were slowly beginning to warm up, at least during the day. Julia stepped out of the house into the warm glow of the late afternoon sun, and a slight breeze from the ocean played with her hair. She made herself comfortable on the swing, her favorite feature of the house, with a sandwich and a bottle of water resting on her lap. She wasn't hungry, she hadn't been for some time, but it was time for dinner, and she knew she had to at least try and keep up her strength. She had refused treatment, but she wasn't going to give up on life. The late afternoon sun brushed across her face. Breathing deeply, she closed her eyes and absorbed the warmth that was spreading across her skin. She took a few more breaths, inhaling the salty sea air, before opening her eyes.

Carter was walking Digger by the water. The two of them were an integral part of the daily routine along the beach that Julia had already tuned into. The sun was low above the horizon, about an hour from setting.

Prompted by a swooping sound to her right, Julia turned her head just in time to see the brown pelican land on a boulder close by the house. Although she had seen him fly and land before, his massive wingspan was still impressive, especially when he flexed his wings. He carefully folded and tucked them neatly against his sides, shifting from side to side to get comfortable before settling down. He looked straight at Julia and tilted his head, a silent greeting reserved for her.

"Hi there. You're back again. Where's the rest of your buddies, huh?" Enjoying the company, Julia took a bite of her sandwich, chewed and swallowed without really tasting anything. "Not feeling social today? That's alright, neither am I." Julia opened the water bottle and took a sip.

"Birdy! Birdy!" Julia almost choked. A pony-tailed girl, three, maybe four years old, came running around the corner of the house. Her hooded pink sweater and colorful rubber boots were the only bright specks of color against the grays and browns of the dry sandy landscape. She had spotted the pelican and was headed straight for him. Before Julia had a chance to get up and slow her down, she tripped in the deep sand and fell to her knees then, with a thud, onto her tummy.

"Oops!" was her only response, no scream, no tears.

On motherly autopilot, Julia had already jumped off the swing and hurried towards the girl. By the time she reached her, the girl was sitting up, brushing the sand out of her face, then off her tummy. Julia knelt down beside her, genuinely concerned. "You OK honey?

"Didn't hurt." The rubber boots made it a bit of a struggle to get up, but with Julia's help, she got to her feet, and they both shook the sand off her leggings.

"Where's your mom?" Julia asked.

"Mommy's at work." The girl responded as if it was the most natural thing on earth that she was running around the beach all alone.

"So you're here all by yourself?"

"Ya." She either didn't hear the concern in Julia's voice or chose to ignore it. Looking right past Julia, she pointed over her shoulder and exclaimed, "birdy!"

Julia turned and was surprised to see that the pelican was still sitting on his boulder. All the commotion should, by all accounts, have scared it away. "Yes, it is, it's a pelican. What's your name honey?"

"Lizzy. Pecan! Pretty pecan!" Of course, Ally's daughter. She should have known. Julia couldn't help but correct her, "PE-LI-CAN."

But Lizzy was adamant, "PE-CAN!" Faster than Julia could react, she broke away and ran towards the bird.

"Don't! You'll scare him away!"

Lizzy stopped just short of touching the pelican and tilted her head as she examined him with the curiosity only a small child could display. The pelican looked at her, intrigued and not at all frightened. He paused, then tilted his head in the same direction. As if following an unwritten script only the two of them knew, Lizzy leaned her head the other way and giggled as the pelican copied her.