(The characters in this story are entirely fictional and have no connection with any persons living or dead.)
I had these lovebirds, two of them. They were the cutest things. Mostly green, with a spots of red on their heads.
I'd keep them out on the back patio on days when the temperature wasn't too hot or cold. They loved it out there. One day I looked out the back window to see a wild sparrow hawk sitting on top the cage. The lovebirds were going crazy. The hawk, I guess, had given up on getting inside, and was considering its options. When I went out the back door it flew away.
I didn't give that much more thought, until the fateful day I looked out to see a mass of feathers swooshing around inside the cage, which was out on the patio once more. I knew immediately that my lovebirds had gone to heaven. I rushed out to see the small hawk struggling to get out of the cage, but unable to. It was screeching to high heaven. So now I had lost two small birds, and gained a larger bird. No way I was going to release it!
That same day, a person came to my front door. I knew I had new neighbors, since the people across my back fence had sold their place and there was a different small SUV in the driveway. So this person introduced himself/herself as that neighbor, by the name of Lindsey, and apologized, because he/she had heard all the agonized hawk cries and wondered what was going on.
I say "he/she" because initially I couldn't tell what the person's sex was. Well, from now on I'll say "she" because her voice was a little higher in pitch than the usual male's and "she" was wearing tiny earrings. Now, one could say that many males would fit into that category too, but I went with "she" for the time being.
Her flannel shirt didn't reveal any telltale breasts underneath, but it was quite loose. I thought I detected a slight expansion of hips under her similarly loose trousers, but then I have an over-active imagination. There was some acne on her face, which seemed out of place at her age, which I pegged at 30 (I'm 38).
"Hi Lindsey, I'm Louise. It's so nice to meet a new neighbor! Well, what you heard was the sparrow hawk that got into my lovebird cage, devoured them, then couldn't make an exit."
"Oh, my gosh," she replied, showing genuine concern. "Is it injured?"
"No, just lost a few feathers. Of course, it's very jittery."
"So, what're you going to do with it, release it?" Lindsey was refreshingly enthusiastic and alert.
"Heck no! I'm keeping it ..... I've thought I'd build, or have somebody build, a walk-in cage. Have to find out what its diet is."
Lindsey at first started a lecture on how it's best to release wild animals back to the wild, then politely caught herself, and started on a new tack of what hawks like to eat. She said she was an avid birdwatcher and said she was familiar with all the hawks in the area. She asked if she could see the bird.
"Of course."
I showed her the way to the back door, and followed her lanky gait. Her hair was closely cropped around her head in a pleasing way.
"Oh, yes!" she said. "It's commonly called a sparrow hawk but we call it a kestrel. It's a beautiful bird, isn't it?"
"Sorry, I dislike it too much at the moment to appreciate it."
After a lot of banter about birds, I invited her inside for some coffee. I took a liking to her, I confess. With strangers, I usually decide whether I like or dislike them within a few minutes. But this one thing kept bugging me: was Lindsey a woman or man? I absolutely had to know.
So, we were talking. She was a physical ed teacher at a middle school in the next city over. I guess that explained her leanness and physical well-being. I started out a little search by asking if she lived alone, or ....
"Oh" -- she seemed a little flustered -- "my partner and I broke up a while back, and we were renting. I'd saved up enough to finally go home-hunting, and this new place was something I could afford."
No partner name was mentioned. I was recalling a woman phy-ed teacher I was acquainted with in the past who was mannish and a lesbian. Lindsey didn't seem overly mannish, but then she certainly wasn't girly-girly, either! So I was intrigued. A bit gender-neutral. Maybe she was one of these new people who identified as "they" -- of indeterminate sex.
Naturally, she was interested in where I was coming from. I related that my husband Frank had died from a military accident on a nearby air base. I told her about my working for a real estate title company.
"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear about the accident," Lindsey said, concerned. "Do you have any children?"
"Two. Both in college out of state. And you, any children?"
"Oh, no. I don't think I'll ever get into the children game. Wrong word! What I mean .... "
"Oh, I understand! It is kind of a game, to be sure. But yeah, I'd do it again. My kids turned out fine."
After more friendly banter, before leaving, Lindsey invited me to join her on a birdwatching trip sometime, with her group. I told her that sometimes I took photos of birds with my DSLR, so I would be interested.