Taking care to prevent any birds from flying out,...
By risertwv, 10:05Taking care to prevent any birds from flying out, the two
of them slipped into the cage, Naoko hosing down the dirt and Reiko
scrubbing the floor of the cage with a deck brushThe spray sparkled
in the glare of the morning sunThe peacocks flapped around the cage
to avoid getting splashedA turkey raised its head and glowered at me
like a crotchety old man, while a parrot on the perch above screeched
its displeasure and beat its wingsReiko meowed at the parrot, which
slunk over to the far corner but soon was calling: "Thank you!"
"Crazy!" "Shithead!"
"I wonder who taught him that kind of language?" said Naoko with a
sigh"Not me," said Reiko"I would never do such a thing She started
meowing again, and the parrot mulberry bags shut upLaughing, Reiko explained, "This guy once had a run-in with a catNow he's scared to death of them
When they had finished cleaning, the two set down their tools and
went around filling each of the feedersSplashing its way through
puddles on the floor, the turkey darted to its feed box and plunged its
head in, too obsessed with eating to be bothered by Naoko's smacks
on its tail"Do you do this every morning?" I asked Naoko"Every morning!" she said"They usually give this job to new womenLike to see the rabbits?"
"Sure," I saidThe rabbit hutch was behind the aviarySome ten
rabbits lay inside, asleep in the strawNaoko swept up their droppings,
put feed in their box, and picked up one of the babies, rubbing gold gucci watches it
against her cheek"Isn't it precious?" she gushedThe warm, little ball
of fur cringed in my arms, twitching its nose"Don't worry, he won't hurt you," she said to the rabbit, stroking its
head with her finger and smiling at meIt was such a radiant smile,
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without a trace of shadow, that I couldn't help smiling myselfAnd
what about Naoko last night? I wonderedI knew for certain that it
had been the real Naoko and not a dream: she had definitely taken her
clothes off and shown her naked body to meReiko whistled a lovely rendition of "Proud Mary" as she stuffed a
plastic bag with the debris they had gathered and tied the openingI
helped them carry the tools and feed bag to the shed"Morning is my favourite time of chanel jewelry day," said Naoko"It's like
everything's starting out fresh and newI begin to get sad around noon
time, and I hate it when the sun goes downI live with those same
feelings clay aster day"And while you're living with those feelings, you youngsters get old
just like me," said Reiko with a smile"You're thinking about how it's
morning now or night and the next thing you know, you're old
"But you like getting old," said Naoko"Not really," said Reiko"But I sure don't wish I was young again"Because it's such a pain in the neck!" she saidThen she tossed her
broom in and closed the door of the shed, whistling "Proud Mary" all
the whileBack at the flat, the women changed their boots for tennis shoes and
said they were omega planet ocean watches going to the farmReiko suggested I stayed behind
with a book or something because the work would be no fun to watch
and they would be doing it as part of a group"And while you're
waiting you can wash the pile of dirty underwear we left by the sink,"
she added"You're kidding," I said, taken aback"Of course I am," she laughedIsn't he, Naoko?"
"He really is," said Naoko, laughing with her"I'll work on my German," I said with a sigh"Yeah, do your homework like a good boy," said Reiko164
"We'll be back before lunch
The two of them went out titteringI heard the footsteps and voices of
a number of people walking by downstairsI went into the bathroom and washed my face again, then borrowed a
nail clipper and trimmed my louis vuitton diaper bags n


