Special Delivery!

by Sue Stauffacher

  “Now that he’s fed and feels a little safer, he’ll be looking around. And it’s possible he could imprint on one of us.”

  “Ew.” Aaliyah crossed her arms. “You mean, like, on our clothes?”

  “No, Aaliyah. ‘Imprint’ means he could think that we’re, well, like his mama or his daddy or his … Moms.” Daddy set the crow’s box on a chair, which he then pushed to face the wall. He turned back to Mrs. Sampson.

  “Now I need to figure out where we’re going to put the little guy while he’s building up his strength. We just filled up our bird enclosure with ducklings.”

  “I’m confused.” Mrs. Sampson sat down at the table and looked around as if the thought had just occurred to her: Where did you all come from? “Don’t babies stay in the nest until they’re ready to fly?”

  “No,” Daddy and Grandma said together. They were used to this question.

  “When people see a crow this big that can’t fly, they think there must be something wrong with it,” Daddy said. “So here are the signs to look for. (1) Is it bleeding? (2) Is it dragging a wing? (3) Is it in immediate danger? You responded to number three. You rescued the baby crow from the cat.”

  “But if it can’t fly, won’t it be in danger until it can?”

  “Yes, but it can’t learn to fly until it goes through the fledgling phase. Now, let me explain just a few things about crow biology—”

  Grandma Alice smacked her hands on the table. “I’m parched,” she said. “Can I get myself a glass of water?”

  “Of course,” Mrs. Sampson said. “There’s a jelly jar in the cupboard over the sink. That’s what I use.”

  “Anybody else want water?”

  “Yes. Thank you, Mom.”

  Aaliyah stood at the window. “The court is far enough away from the mailbox.… We could still get a little practice in.…”

  Like Grandma, Aaliyah didn’t enjoy listening to Daddy’s educational speeches. In fact, the only person who did seem interested was Mrs. Sampson. Wen tugged on Keisha’s shorts and nodded toward the window.

  “Baby birds have many natural predators. Cats … hawks, of course, and raccoons, and snakes, who also go after the eggs.”

  Grandma came back into the room and put jelly jars of water in front of her son and Mrs. Sampson. She stood there looking at her son, her hands on her hips.

  “So, a wild cat will search for food night after night. Eventually, it will find a nest. But if the birds are moving around like this little guy here, there is a much better chance for survival. And yet, you have to take into account—”

  “Oh my goodness, look at the time,” Grandma interrupted Daddy. “We’ve still got to go see about a skunk!”

  Daddy looked around, surprised. “Is it that late?” He glanced at his watch. “Well, I guess it is.”

  “Funny how time flies even when the crows don’t,” Grandma replied, heading for the door. The girls followed after her.

  Outside, they climbed into the backseat, and Keisha watched out the window. It was a few minutes before Daddy said good-bye to Mrs. Sampson. “Where’s the crow?” she asked as Daddy got in the cab.

  He turned the key in the ignition and the engine rattled a few seconds before starting up. “Sometimes you have to explore the gray area.”

  “What’s the gray area?” Wen wanted to know.

  “The gray area was in her cupboard,” Grandma said. “Stale crackers and miller moths everywhere. And her milk was past the sell-by date.”

  “Maybe that’s why she seemed so tired.” Keisha stared out the window, wondering how one little old lady could keep a big house like that in order.

  Daddy adjusted the rearview mirror so he could see Wen. “The gray area is not right and not wrong … not black and not white. Mrs. Sampson used to be a nurse, and now she has learned how to nurse a crow. It will be less stressful for the crow if he can stay at her house and not have to move in with a bunch of ducklings.”

  “So why is that gray?” Aaliyah asked. “Why isn’t it right?”

  “Long story,” Grandma replied.

  Keisha knew what was wrong about it. Mrs. Sampson was not a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. Officially it was against the law for her to take care of the little crow. People did it all the time and they often did it wrong, so the law was made to protect animals from being mistreated, even by accident, and to protect people from possibly getting hurt by caring for dangerous wild animals.

  Keisha waited until they had dropped off Aaliyah and Wen before asking Daddy more about the gray area.

  “I know that technically it’s not right, but we don’t have the staff for all these cases, Key. Since she used to be a nurse, Mrs. Sampson can help us out on this one. And it’s good for older people to have some purpose. This one time is okay.” Daddy turned into the alley behind their house.

  “It won’t take long, will it?” Keisha asked.

  “My guess is two to three days and he’ll be ready to try the great outdoors again. I just want to keep the little guy quiet, get some protein in him and make sure he’s hydrated. I think I’ll wait on the hardware store for now. Might be time for a little R&R in the CFH.” Daddy whistled a little tune to himself. Thinking about rest and relaxation in the Carter family hammock always made Daddy happy.

  As the truck pulled to a stop in their driveway, Keisha wondered what would make Mrs. Sampson happy enough to whistle.

  Chapter 5

  “Oh, no, you don’t, Mr. Carter,” Mama said, handing Paulo to Daddy just as he was heading for the hammock. “Sticky babies are your responsibility.”

  Razi took the baby from Daddy and held him up. “Paulo doesn’t want Daddy! Paulo votes for me!” Razi blew raspberries on Paulo’s stomach until he giggled. “See?”

  Grandma Alice wanted her turn with baby Paulo. She held out her arms. “You know as well as I do, Razi Carter, that your daddy is the best one in the family for bathing babies.”

  Grandma looked Razi up and down. “I must say you look fine in your dress shirt.”

  “Mama says I can wear the clip-on tie, like I do at church.” Razi twisted his fingers together. “But not until we get to the center. Grandma, you put it in your purse.”

  Grandma checked her watch. “You’re ready for the ceremony, but we’ve still got an hour to go.” She looked at Mama, then at Daddy. “Can we swirl him in plastic wrap until it’s time?”

  “I tried to get him to wait.” Mama fingered Razi’s hair and rubbed behind his ears. “He wanted to get dressed an hour ago.”

  “Well, speaking of stomachs,” Grandma said, tickling Paulo’s tummy. “We’ve got laundry to fold, animal pens to clean, a baby to bathe and tummies to fill, though we can’t call it lunch. It’s too late for that. Maybe linner or dunch. And if anyone’s going to get some R&R, it’s going to be me. I have to rest my beauty, after all.”

  “Dunch!” Razi said. “I vote for dunch!”

  “I will get the dunch,” Mama said.

  “I’ll take the laundry off the line,” Keisha offered.

  “And we, my friend,” Daddy said to the baby as he took Paulo from Grandma, “have a date with some soap bubbles and a tub filled with water. And because your older brother is an almost-official member of Wild 4-Ever, I am going to let him be my bath master apprentice today.”

  Daddy loved bath time because he liked making up stories and he always said bath time was the best time for imagining.

  Paulo, who didn’t mind being fed by anyone who was available, would sit in the tub with a little frown on his face and his fists closed tight if Mama or Keisha ran the bathwater. For some reason, Daddy got in a habit of wearing a fake mustache while he started the bathwater. Then he would give an elaborate sneeze and the mustache would stick to the wet tile. Paulo laughed and laughed.

  “What does an ‘apprentice’ mean, Daddy?” Razi asked, jumping up and down and tugging on Daddy’s T-shirt. “What does an apprentice do?”

  “It’s the junior version of something.�
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  “It’s settled.” Grandma planted a kiss on Paulo’s head. “Just don’t let Razi immerse himself in his field of study, Fred. I ironed that shirt.”

  And then—snip, snap, clip clap, as Grandma Alice liked to say—it was time for Grandma, Razi and Keisha to hold hands and walk to the Baxter Community Center for the Wild 4-Ever Club meeting. Mama and Daddy would wait for Mr. Sanders and wheel Paulo over in the stroller. Then they would sit in the back and be the proud parents, Mama told Razi.

  “When will Mama and Daddy come? What if the baby cries?” Razi asked as they walked. He was getting all his worrying done ahead of time.

  “Carmelo’s coming,” Keisha told him, “so they won’t cry. They will goo-goo and ga-ga at each other.”

  “It’s easy to have fun when you’re a baby,” Razi said. “Keisha, will you say the pledge with me?”

  Grandma, Razi and Keisha stopped for the light at James Street. Keisha waited until they had crossed to say, “You know it, Razi! I know you do. Tell it to me right now.”

  Razi took a big breath. He stopped walking. He put his hand over his heart. “I pledge my head to clearer thinking, my heart to greater loyal—”

  Grandma elbowed Keisha. “Don’t mouth the words,” she whispered. “It’s so amateur.” Keisha had practiced with Razi so many times, she couldn’t help it.

  Razi blew the air out through his nose. He didn’t like to be interrupted. “My hands to larger service and my health to better living for my …” Razi put up three fingers on one hand and one on the other. He studied his hands, waiting for the answer to come to him. “Three Cs and a W. Key?”

  Brrrng, brrrng. A bicyclist swung around them and called out, “Passing on your right.”

  “My club, my community, my country and my world.”

  “Razi, that’s perfect!” Keisha hugged him. “Say it just like that, okay?”

  Razi bowed to the east and bowed to the west. “Okay, Key. I will.”

  They took each other’s hands again and kept walking.

  “Do you think Bob will wear his blue shirt tonight?” Grandma wondered out loud.

  “Yes!” Razi shouted. He was still excited that he’d gotten the pledge right.

  Grandma had a special interest in Big Bob, which Keisha knew, for a fact, because Grandma told her so as they sat on the porch looking at fireflies a few nights ago. Big Bob was Grandma’s special some—

  “Well, what do you think, Keisha?”

  “I don’t know,” Keisha said. “I think he wore it last Saturday.”

  “He knows I like it,” Grandma said. Grandma was talking and walking, but she had stopped seeing what was in front of her. Keisha had to tug her arm to keep her from running into a couple walking the other way.

  “Aren’t they sweet?” Grandma said. “I wonder how they met.”

  Then Grandma gave a big sigh and put her free hand against her cheek. They came to the last cross street before arriving at the center.

  Grandma took hold of Keisha’s shoulders. “Do you like these shoes with this dress?” she asked. “Now I’m not sure.”

  “Grandma!” Keisha said. “Look into my eyes. You. Are. Style.”

  “Thanks, sweetie.” Grandma pinched her cheeks to make them rosy as apples. “Let’s go get Razi inducted.”

  As they proceeded up the steps, Wen ran down to greet them. She was in one of the dresses her grandma Nei-Nei had sewed for her. It had a big bow in the back, and the ends of the bow fluttered around Wen as she ran toward them.

  “You look like a kite,” Razi told Wen.

  “That’s what I wanted to tell you, Razi. The box kite came! From my grandpa’s family in China. Mr. Sanders delivered it today!”

  “Ooh, can we go fly it, Grandma?” One of Razi’s favorite things to do in the park was fly kites with Wen.

  “Not now,” Grandma said, smoothing her hands down the front of her dress. “Heavens to Betsey Johnson, Razi. Let’s get your priorities straight. Bob is waiting in there.”

  Wen and the Carters were the first to arrive, but it didn’t take long until everyone was there: Aaliyah, Jorge, Marcus, Zack, Zeke and a dozen other kids. Animals were very popular as a club choice this year. Mama scooped up baby Carmelo as soon as she saw Jorge and took him to the back where Daddy had baby Paulo. They were soon joined by Mr. Sanders, who had told Razi that morning at breakfast that he always liked to be present when his colleagues were in special ceremonies.

  “What’s a colleague?” Razi wanted to know.

  “People who work together,” Mr. Sanders said. “I deliver the mail and you take it in the house.”

  “Oh. Can we get ice cream after at Jersey Junction? Can we?”

  Razi knew that Mr. Sanders loved Jersey Junction.

  As soon as everyone was settled, they recited the Pledge of Allegiance.

  Big Bob said, “The next order of business for our 4-H Wild 4-Ever Club is to recite the 4-H Pledge. But tonight we are inducting a new member into Wild 4-Ever, so first we’ll do our activity—building nest platforms for next spring—then we’ll have the business portion of the meeting, and we’ll conclude by having Razi recite the pledge at his induction.”

  Razi stood up, his arms straight as arrows at his sides. “I pledge my head—”

  “Not yet!” Keisha whispered, pulling him back down by his belt. Everyone giggled.

  Fortunately, the next part of the meeting was the activity—building a nesting cone for mourning doves—and Razi helped Big Bob draw circles on the hardware mesh. The older kids got to cut out the circles with special wire-cutting scissors. After they did that, they cut out a pie-wedge-shaped piece so they could bend the mesh into a cone. Then they had to put electrical tape all around the sharp parts so the birds wouldn’t get scratched.

  Mourning doves were good at cooing, but they were not good at building nests. Their nests broke a lot. The children could take the cones home and put them in a good hiding place—a tree or a bush—six feet above the ground. That would help the mama’s nest stay together.

  As soon as the cones were stacked by the door and all the cleanup was done, Big Bob began the business portion of the meeting. Razi tried to stay still and quiet. He was sitting in one of the chairs, Keisha was next and Grandma was on the other side. This part of the meeting never lasted long. Keisha did spider fingers on Razi’s back to help him stay still, then she let him play with his clip-on tie. After that, he made the church and the steeple with his fingers.

  But enough was enough for Razi. During new business, he started waving his hand madly in the air. It looked like he was swatting at a bee or something. “Oh! Oh!” he said.

  “Razi?” Big Bob pointed to him.

  “I have a question,” Razi said.

  “Is it new business?” Big Bob asked.

  “I think so,” Razi said.

  “Okay. Go.”

  “Why do pigs have such big noses and such little eyes?” Razi asked.

  There was a big silence and a little look that passed between Grandma and Keisha. Keisha scooched one inch closer to Grandma and one inch farther away from Razi. Did he have to ask every question that came into his mind?

  “I’m sorry, Razi. Help me understand how that connects to our subject tonight. Weren’t we talking about birds?”

  Another long silence. Razi looked around. He seemed, all of a sudden, miserable.

  “Are you saying you want to put pig noses on our next agenda?” Bob asked.

  “I think I know,” Jorge said.

  Everyone turned to look at Jorge.

  Jorge never said anything. At least not that Keisha could remember. Jorge was the quietest, Wen was the second quietest and she was the third quietest in Wild 4-Ever.

  “It’s like birds have big beaks … like crows, and little eyes. Why is that?”

  “Yes!” Razi said. “Why is that, Big Bob?”

  “Well,” Big Bob said. “I don’t know. Alice. Do you have any suggestions?”

  Grandma Alice
saw that everyone was now looking at her. She sat up straight.

  “Crows,” she said, after thinking about it for a minute. She stopped. Then she started again. “Like other birds with big beaks, crows take advantage of the largeness … of their mouthparts to eat large things … dead things … such as those things found on the side of the road.”

  “That is disgusting,” Aaliyah said. And she gave her “eeww” look.

  “While it may be disgusting,” Grandma replied, “it is opportunistic and therefore increases survival rates. Nature, Miss Aaliyah, doesn’t give a rattlesnake’s rear end whether you think it’s disgusting or not. It is what it is.”

  “Thank you, Alice.” Grandma and Big Bob gazed into each other’s eyes for a long time. “We are all smarter because of you.”

  Jorge raised his hand to ask when they were going to have the ceremony. “I have some things I want to ask Razi about animals,” Jorge said. “But I’m not sure it’s legal until he’s a member.”

  Razi stood once again with his straight-arrow arms and everyone knew: this was his big moment. “I pledge my head to clearer thinking, my heart to greater loyalty, my hands to larger service and my health to better living.…”

  Everyone held their breath.

  Razi looked around wide-eyed. “For my club, my communitymyworldandmycountry,” he finished.

  “Hurrah!” Mr. Sanders shouted. And even though Razi put the W right in the middle of the three Cs, he got a standing ovation anyway.

  Big Bob hurried things up to the end of the program, probably so he could spend more time with Grandma over refreshments, which, Keisha had to admit, had gotten a lot sweeter since their crush. Tonight it was cinnamon twists and apple tarts.

  During refreshments, Razi got hugs and kisses and handshakes and claps on the back. He walked around on his tiptoes a lot.

  Jorge told Razi, “You did a good job. I can never remember the ‘hands to larger service’ part. I don’t know why. I guess I just don’t want to give my hands to anybody. It seems weird.”

  “Me too,” Razi said, pushing his shoulder into Jorge’s shoulder as he bit down on his cinnamon twist.