After Miss Martha finished her story, I stared at her in disbelief, unable to think of anything to say.

Louis put his hand on mine and rubbed it. He looked at me and said,

“I realize this may be overwhelming for you, Jessica, but please trust us when we say that it’s all true.”

After a few minutes, I silently nodded with a reassuring smile.

“So, you’re okay now?” Louis asked.

“Yes, and I have faith you and your mother are doing a good deed.”

“Thank you so much!” Louis exclaimed as he hugged me tightly.

I didn’t hug him, as my body had gone numb after attempting to digest this whole situation. On top of that, Mackenzie Billings’ orders came to mind again. As my thoughts tried to process all this information, tears formed in my eyes. Frutti stood by my side the entire time and watched me.

“Now that you have information about the flamingos, Jessica.” Miss Martha interrupted. “Can you please promise you’ll keep it a secret about the flamingoes in the backyard?

“Mom!” Louis shouted, exasperated. “I am certain Jessie will not disclose a single word to anyone, including Miss Billings.”

“Of course not, Lou-Lou, but…”

“It’s okay, you two. I’ll keep this secret.” I said.

Miss Martha and Louis smiled and sighed in relief.

“Thank you, Jessica. You’re a dear!” Miss Martha exclaimed, and immediately hugged me tightly as Louis did.

As I patted her back, however, I noticed that Frutti’s gaze seemed to become narrow, almost suspiciously. I closed my eyes in response and allowed Miss Martha to continue her hug.

.                                                                       .                                                                       .

We didn’t speak about the flamingoes for the rest of the visit and had a nice casserole dinner. Afterwards, I bid farewell and expressed gratitude to Miss Martha for a wonderful get together, followed by a playful wink in her direction.

It was dark when Louis drove me back to my apartment, and we were silent the whole way.

As I was exiting the car, Louis reached for my hand and stroked it.

“Jessie, I want to say thank you so much for everything. I’m sorry about what happened earlier. All this information is a lot to deal with.”

“Louis, it’s not your fault. You’re doing the best thing for those flamingoes. I trust you and your mother.”

He smiled and pulled me in for a kiss.

I waved goodbye to Louis until his car was out of sight, and stumbled into my house, exhausted and confused.