by Rosa Jordan
11
HOME IN THE WILD
For Wendy, the week and the wedding seemed to pass in a blur. She supposed the wedding was a success because everybody said so, but she was glad when it was over.
“I guess I’m like a wild animal,” she told Kyle. “When I feel like I’m being stared at, I get nervous.”
“Speaking of animals, when are you going to bring over the ones you left at the apartment?” Kyle asked.
“Right now,” Wendy said. “This afternoon.”
“Do you need my help?”
“No, Danny’s all the help I need. And the animals are used to him.”
• • •
When Wendy arrived at the apartment, she found Danny where she expected to him to be, out in the backyard with the animals.
“We’re not going to take your raccoons out to the farm,” Wendy said. “They’re old enough to be released. Shall we do that first?”
Danny looked at her as if she had slapped him. “Not take them to the farm?”
“No. Get the pet carrier off the back porch, and we’ll take them to that state park I told you about. Then we’ll come back and move the others to the farm.”
Wendy walked over to look at the raccoons. When she turned around, Danny had disappeared.
“Danny?” she called, but he didn’t answer.
She got the carrier herself, put some food in it, and set it in the pen. The little raccoons rushed in, and she quickly closed the door. Then she picked it up and carried it out to the car, still wondering what had become of Danny.
She saw him sitting on the curb, hunched in a way that told her he was miserable. Wendy didn’t have to ask what was wrong. She knew he was mad at her, just as she had been mad at her mother when she made Wendy get rid of Bandit. Still, it annoyed her that Danny was acting like this. After all, she had told him from the start that the little raccoons would be released as soon as they were old enough to look after themselves.
“Come on, Danny!” she called sharply.
He didn’t move.
For a minute Wendy sat in the car, thinking she just might go without him. Then she remembered how much time Danny had spent taking care of the little raccoons. He probably couldn’t help getting attached to them.
Wendy sighed, got out of the car, and went and sat down on the curb next to Danny. “I know you love them,” she said. “But wild animals aren’t toys. They have feelings, too. We should do what’s best for them, not just what makes us feel good.”
She waited a minute, then said, “Why don’t you ride out to the state park with me and take a look at the area where we’re going to release them. I think you’ll see how much happier they’ll be there than they could ever be living in a cage.”
Danny pushed the hair out of his eyes, stood up, and got into the car. On the hour-long drive to the park he stared straight ahead and didn’t say a word. Wendy remained silent, also, because she couldn’t think of anything to say. She knew Danny understood why the raccoons needed to be released. It was just that all those good reasons didn’t stop his heart from hurting at the thought of losing them.
Wendy knew the park well and avoided the part set aside for camping and picnicking, instead driving down a dirt track to a place where a small stream widened out to form a dark pool where fish collected.
She parked the car and turned to Danny. “This is it. Pretty, huh?”
“It’s okay,” Danny mumbled, without lifting his head to look around.
“Get the carrier out of the back and set them free.”
“Me?” He glanced up sharply.
“You’re the one who saved their lives. You ought to be the one to give them back their freedom.”
Slowly, Danny got out of the car, went to the back, and lifted the carrier out. “What now?”
“Pick a spot,” Wendy said. “Open it and stand back.”
For the first time, Danny looked carefully around the area. He walked down to the pond, and looked at the big old trees with their branches hanging out over the water.
“Here,” he said at last.
He put the carrier on the ground and peered in at the two raccoon kits. Wendy, waiting by the car, could see his lips moving. She knew he was saying goodbye.
At last, Danny opened the door of the carrier and backed away. The raccoons scurried out, took a quick look around, and headed for the nearest tree. Up they went, climbing faster than a cat. Only when they reached the first branch and had their arms wrapped securely around it did they stop and look down.
“Wow!” Danny exclaimed. “Can they ever climb! Where did they learn that?”
Wendy walked over to where she could see the raccoons up in the tree. “Their mother might’ve taught them to do that when they were really small. Or maybe climbing comes natural to them when they’re scared.”
“Why would they be scared of me?” Danny sounded hurt. “I’ve never been mean to them.”
“It’s not you they’re afraid of,” Wendy explained. “It’s being in a strange place.” She glanced at the carrier, “And they’re probably afraid of being put back in a cage.”
Danny looked at the small carrier. and back up at the little raccoons, whose four black eyes were looking down at him. “I guess it’ll be more fun for them, living in the wild,” he said finally.
“For sure,” Wendy said. “I mean, would you rather live here —” She waved toward the creek, the pond, and the big trees that surrounded them. “Or in a cage?”
One of the raccoons went a little way out on a branch overhanging the water and looked down. A small smile tugged at the corner of Danny’s mouth. “You said raccoons fish, right?”
“They can,” Wendy agreed. “And I don’t know if you noticed, but over there’s an old crabapple tree. They’ll have no trouble finding food here.”
“They’ll definitely like it here,” Danny said, then grinned at Wendy. “But I’d rather live on your farm.”
“Me, too,” Wendy said, with a laugh. “So let’s get back and move the rest of the critters out there. Next week we’ll let that old possum go, and the week after that, the fox should be well enough for release. But don’t worry, Danny — it won’t take any time to replace those animals with others that need us just as much.”
12
RED RIVER RANCH
Kyle worked such long hours, and took so few days off, that Wendy didn’t know how they would ever have got the fence finished if Danny hadn’t helped them. Just as important to Wendy was the fact that he was often around when she had to go shopping, and didn’t mind going with her.
But Wendy felt nervous even when Danny was with her. Once, crossing a mall parking lot, a man had tapped her on the shoulder. It scared her so bad she almost screamed. But all the man said was, “Hey, lady, you left your headlights on.”
She knew that if she ever was in real danger, Danny was too young to protect her, but still, she felt safer when he was with her. And usually he was, because for the rest of the summer, he came out to the farm almost every day. Wendy tried to pay him for his help but he wouldn’t take any money.
“I make money when I come out here, anyway,” he explained. “I walk out on one side of the road, then back to town on the other side, and find cans for recycling.”
Still, Wendy wanted to do something repay him. One day she said to Kyle, “I was thinking, before summer ends, I’d like to take Danny to Red River Ranch. As a way of thanking him for his help.”
Kyle looked puzzled. “Red River Ranch? Isn’t that a zoo or something?”
“Sort of. They’ve got over three hundred animals. Mostly exotics that can’t go back to the wild for one reason or another. I’ve heard that they offer wildlife rehab classes there, too, where you can learn how to look after orphaned and injured wildlife.
”
Kyle laughed. “You need a class? What is it you don’t already know?”
“Oh, lots of things,” Wendy said. “Besides, I’d like to get a wildlife rehab license. For that I’d have to take classes.”
“So do you plan to sign up for some?”
“I don’t know,” she replied. “First I’d like to see what their facility is like. If it’s nice, and the animals are well cared for, well, maybe.” Maybe, she thought to herself. If I can stand sitting in a class with a bunch of people I don’t know without freaking out.
• • •
Red River Ranch was twice as big as Wendy and Kyle’s ten-acre farm. The first thing she and Danny saw when they got out of the car was a fenced field where donkeys, sheep, goats, and ponies were mixed in with more exotic species like deer, antelope, and llamas. There were also ducks, geese, and peacocks roaming about. One of the male peacocks had his tail feathers spread out. It glittered in the sunshine, so gorgeous it caused Wendy to catch her breath.
“I’m going to get some peacocks,” Wendy told Danny. Her reason for wanting peacocks wasn’t just because they were beautiful. There was another reason, having to do with something she had read about peacocks on the Internet. But she did not mention it to Danny.
They followed the path to the ranch office, where Wendy bought a ticket for each of them. They had just passed through the turnstile and were standing in the shade of a tree, trying to decide where to go first when, just behind Wendy, a husky male voice said, “Hey, gorgeous! Gimme a kiss!”
Wendy jumped about a mile high. Danny whirled around, too. Then both of them nearly fell down laughing. The voice came from a big red, yellow, and blue parrot. It repeated the same “Hey, gorgeous” line over about ten times, and might have gone on forever, or at least as long as Wendy and Danny were willing to listen. But just then a teenager, wearing a name tag that identified him as Ron, waved them over to join a group of visitors he was about to guide through the park.
Ron paused at each cage, explaining something about the animals inside and how they came to be at Red River Ranch. Most of them had been donated by people who got them for pets, then didn’t want them around when they found out how much trouble they were to take care of.
“But four cougars!” Wendy remarked. “Why so many?”
“Like I said, people get animals when they’re little and cute. Once they get big and dangerous, or expensive to feed, they dump them. The llamas you saw when you came in, that bobcat over there, and the parrot back there, they’re all animals the owners wanted to get rid of.”
Ron motioned toward the tree where, even though they were a good distance away, they could still hear the parrot. It was no longer talking, just making random squawks mixed with ear-splitting screeches. “Hear that? He also mimics the fire alarm, police sirens, a screaming woman, you name it. It goes on all day long. Parrots can live up to eighty years. Not many people will put up with that kind of racket for eighty minutes, let alone years!”
Wendy and Danny dawdled at the big cat enclosures, and the tour went on without them. The lions and tigers were in pens the size of a large front yard, with trees for shade. The big cats couldn’t have been as happy there as they would have been in the wild, but the enclosures weren’t as bad as the small cages in some zoos.
“Would you like to have one of those?” Danny asked.
Wendy shook her head. “I’ve been bitten and scratched enough to know that even small animals can hurt you. But ones big enough to kill a person, well, that’s not a risk I’d want to take.”
They walked on, and were just passing a windowless building with a sign on the door that read: “Nursery. Authorized Personnel Only” when they heard a scream, followed by a girl’s voice. “Oh please, don’t! Ouch! You’re hurting me!”
Danny gave Wendy a frightened, wide-eyed look. “That’s no bird!”
Both of them grabbed for the doorknob at once. Danny’s hand closed on it first. He swung open the door and stepped inside. Then he stopped so suddenly that Wendy, right on his heels, bumped into him.
Sitting on the floor was a girl with frizzy red hair that stuck out in all directions. She was trying to hold a squirming lion cub the size of a fat puppy, while another cub was climbing on her back. It was the one digging its claws into her back that was causing her to howl. She looked up as Danny and Wendy came through the door. “I just can’t handle both of them,” she said in a near-tears voice. “They bite, they scratch, and this one just won’t take the bottle.”
Wendy captured the cub on the girl’s back, and took one of the bottles that had been prepared for feeding. Holding the cub firmly against her body with her forearm, she grasped its chin between her fingers, and forced the nipple into its mouth.
“I thought you’d have been here long ago,” the girl said sulkily. “Mrs. McDermont just stayed a minute and left without telling me half of what I need to know. She said she’d send another volunteer to help, but — what took you so long, anyway?”
“We’re not —” Danny started to say, but Wendy gave him a look and shook her head slightly. He fell silent.
“Is the park short-handed?” Wendy asked, her eyes fixed on the lion cub, who was now sucking greedily. It was the first time she had ever held a baby lion, and she was totally thrilled.
“You have to ask?” The girl’s voice took on a tired whine. “I don’t know where you’ve been all day, but I’ve been working flat-out since six this morning. Over with the hoofstock, which I can tell you, is a lot easier to look after than these stupid lion cubs.” She stared at the one in Wendy’s lap. “I couldn’t get it to take the bottle for me. How did you do it?”
Wendy shrugged. “I guess I’ve got a knack for it.” In fact, she couldn’t remember when she hadn’t known how to feed baby animals who needed the milk but resisted because they didn’t like the taste of the formula or the rubber nipple because it was not nearly as nice as their own mother’s.
“How long have you been working here?” Wendy asked.
“Since the beginning of summer. My name’s Karen, by the way. What’s yours?”
“Wendy Collins.”
Wendy finished feeding the first lion cub, and turned her attention to the next one. Danny watched intently, as if he was memorizing every detail of the cubs and how she was handling them.
Karen didn’t really seem to notice Danny until she finally glanced over at him and said, “I didn’t think they took volunteers as young as you.”
“I’m … just visiting,” Danny said.
“He’s with me,” Wendy said quickly. She looked around the room. “This place is a mess. They sure don’t spend much time cleaning, do they?”
“Who’s got the time?” Karen snorted. “We’re way too short-handed to clean up every five minutes after animals that have never heard of toilet training. Come on, let’s put these vicious little darlings back in their cage.”
“I’ll help clean the nursery,” Wendy offered. She reached in her purse, pulled out some money, and turned to Danny. “But I’m just about as hungry as those cubs were. Would you mind going to get us something to eat?”
“What shall I get?” Danny asked.
“Anything you want. Vegetarian pizza for me.”
“Okay.”
As she helped clean up the nursery, Wendy asked Karen a lot of questions about how the park was run and what her work there involved. The more she learned, the more excited she got.
“Thanks,” she told Karen when they finished cleaning the cages and hosing down the cement-floored room.
“Thank you,” Karen said, running a hand through her mop of tangled red curls. “You were a lifesaver.”
“Just another animal lover,” Wendy said, laughing, and went outside where she could see Danny waiting with the pizza box.
They found a shady
spot under a tree on a small hill that overlooked the animal enclosures. As they munched on their pizza, Wendy said, “Karen told me they’re real short on help. I’d love to volunteer here.”
“So, are you going to?” Danny asked.
“I don’t know,” Wendy said slowly. “For one thing, it’s a long drive.”
Danny nodded. “And for another thing, there’s a lot of people around.”
Wendy shot him a look, wondering why he would have brought that up. It was like he had read her mind and knew that being around strangers would bother her more than the drive.
As if he was still reading her mind, or at least her feelings, he added, “You don’t like that.”
“How did you know?”
“By the way you are when we go to town. ’Specially on Saturdays, when there are a lot of men in the stores.”
Wendy was silent. Danny said very little about himself, and rarely asked questions about anything that wasn’t related to animals. Yet he had figured out something about her that even Kyle hadn’t noticed.
“You’re right,” Wendy admitted. “I quit work at the bank because I get freaked out around men I don’t know. I don’t know if I could handle working here.”
“I’d like to work here, too,” Danny said wistfully. “But they’d never hire an eleven-year-old.”
“Probably not.” Wendy smiled over at him. “But I’ve got news for you, Danny. You’re not going to stay eleven years old forever.”
Danny sighed. “I know. But sometimes it seems like it.”
13
HOOFSTOCK
After Wendy had been married a year, she decided she just had to do something to get over her fear of strangers. It wasn’t that she needed to start working a regular job, because she had managed to find a number of small businesses that would pay her to do their accounts. This she could do at home on the computer. But it seemed like the more she stayed out on the farm, the jumpier she got when she had to go to town to get fencing supplies or feed for the animals.