Pets in Prospect - Malcolm D. Welshman [84]
‘Liza’s fine,’ he replied to my enquiry. ‘Such a sweet creature. We think the world of her. Only …’ He hesitated. ‘Well … she is rather vociferous. So much noise from such a little bird. Tends to break the concentration … you know … when working on the next sermon.’ The corner of his mouth twitched. A tic beat above his eye. ‘But then you did warn us.’ A tired smile flickered across his face and his hands trembled as he picked up the parrot mix. ‘Still, we do try letting her out as much as possible. In fact, she was on my shoulder this morning while I prepared tomorrow’s lesson. At least it kept her quiet and enabled me to get on with my business.’
And to judge from what I saw, it had allowed Liza to get on with hers. As Reverend Charles turned to leave the shop, I could see dollops of white splattered down the back of his cassock. But that was Liza for you – life with her always did mean business.
EXOTIC CHANCER
Although it wasn’t yet 5 November, Crystal burst in one morning all flash and sparkle – fizzing with such energy it would have put a Catherine wheel to shame. I, on the other hand, was more like a damp squib, with the reason for my lack of spark the routine ops listed in the day-book awaiting my attention.
‘Morning, Paul,’ she said brightly and flashed me one of her smiles … a smile that usually got my ticker racing. But not today; my heart wasn’t in it. ‘What glorious weather,’ she added, striding energetically across to the window to gaze out, rubbing her dainty hands together.
Yes, I thought, it certainly is – a crisp morning with a cool blue sky. The sort of day to get out of doors if one possibly could. And Crystal certainly would; she’d soon be off on her weekly visit to Westcott’s Wildlife Park. Hence her bubbly mood … and hence my flat one. She’d be out there striding round the zoo inspecting a range of interesting animals while I’d be in here shuffling round the ops table working my way through the spays, castrations and dentals – the only high point the abscess on a poodle’s anal sphincter that was going to need lancing. Nothing to get my teeth into there – certainly not where the poodle’s posterior was concerned.
Eric had warned me that Crystal tended to hog all the zoo work. Well, he was right. Since starting at Prospect House, I’d never got within a whisker of seeing the Wildlife Park. I was just left to wallow here and I was beginning to find it a bit of a bore.
I managed a curt ‘Morning’ in reply before Crystal whizzed up to reception to confer with Beryl over her schedule for the day once she returned from the zoo. Then whoosh … she was gone.
‘Never mind, Paul,’ said Beryl giving me a sympathetic, one-eyed look as I watched Crystal’s car roar down the drive. ‘I’ve got Mr Hargreaves coming in to see you this afternoon. You always find him a challenge.’
That was true. If I needed a client to light my fuse, then I guess Mr Hargreaves was the one most likely to put a match to it and put some sparkle in my life. I’d first met him a couple of months back when he was quick to inform me his hobby was herpetology and that he had a small collection of reptiles and amphibians. I expressed some interest – more as a PR exercise rather than as a genuine fascination for such creatures – but he took it to mean I was as enthusiastic as he was and began turning up time after time with some unusual species or other.
Unfortunately, he had an irritating habit of always referring to them by their Latin names. Perhaps if I hadn’t recognised his Tarentola mauritanica on that first encounter, he wouldn’t have come back to see me, but I recognised it was a gecko and that impressed him. So, much to my consternation, the flow of reptiles and amphibians continued. Often, he came in just for advice.
‘I’ve got this Pseudemys floridana on approval. Do you think I should buy it?’ His tall, twig-like body would bend over the table while I glumly watched