Chapter 41: Moira

Gary and Saralinda were 'on' something, and were tracking it down. They were seeing some kind of bird flitting through the jungle undergrowth. It was probably just another Silktail, though the way they stood made me think it might be something rarer. I feared Jake and I might scare it away, so I held back. Jake stopped beside me.

"What are they looking at?" he muttered.

"Not sure, but I figure we'll just get in the way if we try to go up there right now."

I was sweating like a pig in the heat and humidity, and with the climb. It was okay, though. In the tropics, you just have to be willing to get all hot and sweaty.

"She's really getting into this birding stuff, isn't she," said Jake.

I nodded. "You'd better get used to it."

His gaze jumped from Saralinda to me. We locked eyes for several seconds as I smirked. He finally looked away and scratched his head.

"You'd better not just be playing with her, Jake.

His eyes were back on the two birdwatchers. Saralinda was vibrating with excitement. It must have been a 'life bird' for her.

"Never," said Jake, softly.

Saralinda turned, and made subtle but almost frantic motions to us to get closer. She wanted us to see too, so Jake and I crept forward as fast as we could.

"Giant Honeyeater," she whispered loudly as we approached. "It's, like, twenty feet in, just below eye level, and it's just sitting there on a branch. Just to the left of that purple flower. See it?"

I saw it — maybe a bit smaller than a robin, olive green, and with a thin, down-curved bill. Kind of cool, I guess. Jake couldn't find it. Gary took over trying to describe where to look, while Saralinda fussed beside them.

"It just hopped right a bit. Do you see it, Jake?"

"Oh, there it is," Jake whispered, finally getting a bead on it. "Wow, it is cool. What's it called again?"

"Giant Honeyeater," said Gary, patiently. "They're usually well up in the canopy, so it's great to see one so low down. Usually, I just hear them overhead, and maybe get a glimpse of their belly."

"Whoops, he flew... ," said Jake, watching through his binoculars as the bird flew upward from branch to branch, until it was high above us.

"Hear it? That's its song," said Gary, and we all listened to the calls.

"Oooh,": said Gary, interrupting himself, "I think I just heard a Bush-warbler," and he and Saralinda started to move further up the trail. Jake and I followed not too far behind.

As we walked, I tuned my ears to the bird calls and other jungle noises around us, but I was also very aware of Jake beside me. We weren't done talking. Two or three times, I sensed that Jake was about to speak, but nothing came out.

Finally, I broke the silence. "I love her, Jake..."

"Is that another Silktail?" Jake asked, pointing up to a branch ahead, and seemingly ignoring my last statement. I nodded in confirmation. "They're cool looking."

We silently watched the Silktail until it flew off, and only then did Jake continue.

"I won't get into a pissing match over which one of us loves her more. She needs to be loved, and we love her."

"And, Lord knows, she loves us back, doesn't she."

Jake nodded. "Has Gary noticed? Is he going to be ticked off at me?"

"He knows, and he doesn't seem upset. She loves him too, you know."

"Yeah, well, she told me that it was 'complicated' with Gary. I don't think she's in love with him."

"Maybe not, but there is something between them. I mean, look at them," I added, nodding towards the pair in front of us on the trail.

Gary had his left hand on the small of Saralinda's back, and he was pointing into a bush, and talking to her gently. Then he started to gesture with his hands, and Sarlinda looked at him, puzzling out what he was saying. He pointed again, still talking, and Saralinda looked with her binoculars. I knew what Gary was saying — not specifically, but the kind of thing Gary was saying. He was describing field marks or behavior. Maybe the bird has a ring around its eye, or it wings extend well beyond the body towards the end of the tail, or there are spots on the underside of the tail, or a pointed beak. Maybe its call is a "chup", or a "whisk" sound. These are the things that birdwatchers use to identify the birds. Saralinda was soaking it up like a four-year-old studying the differences between a Tyrannosaurus and an Allosaurus. She gave him a big smile of understanding, before pointing at another bird and starting the conversation anew.

"How's Gary doing?" Jake asked, a bit out of the blue.

"Huh? Oh, coping I guess. Getting out birding with Saralinda is good for him. It's something he loves to do, and he's tickled to have Saralinda so excited about learning.

Jake shrugged. "I mean, the whole 'Kate' thing, and Joanne leaving — I figured he'd probably be taking things a bit hard. And Saralinda seemed to be pushing you to spend time with Gary. At least, that was her excuse for spending time with me. She said she thinks Gary and you should get married."

I goggled at Jake. "Married?" I muttered in confusion. I mean, Lord knows I'd fantasized about it sometimes. But what I blurted out was, "That's not in my contract."

"Yeah, yeah. I know," said Jake, ruefully. "That's not the way things are supposed to happen; not the way Gary has had things all set up. But with Kate and Joanne gone ... Meh, it's none of my business, is it. I just work for the guy."