Roger

Roger

This is my one-hundredth story, and I wanted it to be something special. I've worked on this story for several months, or more correctly I wrote the first third easily and struggled to turn the corner with the last two thirds. I hope you like it.

There is nothing even remotely resembling sex in this story. This is the non-erotic category, and I am taking that idea to the limit here.

This is just a story about a young family, the grandparents, and Roger.

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Like most families today, Maggie and her family had moved away from the town where she grew up because her husband's work dictated where they could live. They both regretted it, but there was little they could do. If they had their way, their kids, Becky and Billy, would see their grandparents often. Grandparents and grandchildren have a special relationship and both Maggie and Daniel had this explained to them in careful and detailed language; a grandparent's job is to spoil the grandchildren. Grandparents have no other responsibility and grandchildren exist for the sole purpose of being told that they are cherished. Both Maggie and Daniel agreed, and so the miles that separated them from their parents were an obstacle they would overcome as often as possible.

Maggie's parents were Carol and William, or Grammy and Pop-Pop to the kids. Maggie and Daniel had named their son after her father and their daughter after his mother. It was a bit of a reversal from tradition, but that made it all the more deliberate and loving. Daniel and Maggie promised that if they had another daughter they would name her Carol, but nobody was expecting that to happen; it seems that two rambunctious children in a two-career family is already a full-time commitment. Grammy and Pop-Pop were still too young for retirement, while Maggie and Daniel were building their careers, so getting together was a matter of committing vacations and holidays to family time. It was a small sacrifice, and nobody objected, least of all Becky and Billy.

This week was one of those times. It was summer and the kids were off from school. Grammy and Pop-Pop had decided to take their vacation with the kids. They had packed the car and driven across three states to get there while Maggie and Daniel prepared for their arrival. The guest room was made up with their finest bedspread, a vase of freshly cut flowers, and a bowl of scented, dried leaves and spices. Maggie had bought some of her mother's favorite foods and Daniel made certain there would be steaks cooked on the grill at least some nights while his father-in-law visited. The children were told to be on their best behavior knowing full well that Pop-Pop would get them wound up and running around within minutes of their arrival.

Maggie and Daniel's family lived in the more distant outskirts of a moderate-sized city. They had deliberately chosen to move beyond the cookie-cutter homes of the suburbs and found an older home on a small cul-de-sac surrounded by family farms. It suited them perfectly. While Maggie had grown up in the city, she had always been one to search out whatever woods or fields she could find and was an avid animal lover. Sadly, what passed for woods and fields in the city were parks that were less safe for a young girl than her parents wanted, so she had decided to raise her family in the countryside. Daniel had agreed despite having a long commute each day and felt the tradeoff was more than worthwhile.

William and Carol had spent Wednesday night about 150 miles short of their destination and arrived relatively fresh, fed, and rested by late Thursday morning. It was a reunion that both pleased the adults and excited the children, although Daniel was already at work and would not be home until evening. There were hugs and kisses all around with extras showered on the grandchildren. Maggie soon took a back seat to her children as they regaled their grandparents with stories of school and sports, friends and adventures, and every TV show they had watched in the past few months. Both William and Carol seemed mesmerized by it all, or at least they were amused.

In time, and I mean after a long time, the kids could sit still no longer, and they heard the call of the outdoors. They needed to run and play. That gave Maggie the time she wanted to sit and talk with her parents.

"Okay, Mags, how is the family? Is everything good?"

"Well, you saw them! Any more energy and their feet won't even touch the ground!"

"Everything good with Daniel?"

Maggie smiled. Her mom was a worrier. "Yes, mom, everything is great. Daniel is a wonderful husband and father. I couldn't ask for better."

"And the job's okay?"

"Both jobs are doing fine. Really, life is so normal it's almost boring."

"Oh, Mags, don't ever let complacency sneak into your marriage. One minute you're taking your husband for granted and the next..."

Carol was interrupted by her daughter's laughter. "Mom, trust me, I don't take Daniel for granted. Everything is good."

Carol felt satisfied. She was a worrier by nature, but the grandkids were happy, and she'd checked on her daughter's life. Things were as they should be, and all was good. Now she could relax.

Maggie and her parents continued to talk as her parents decompressed from their drive.

As Carol and Maggie talked, and William quietly considered excusing himself to find the grandchildren again, Carol caught sight of a dark shadow moving in her peripheral vision. She turned without alarm and immediately began to scream.

"Maggie, Maggie, there's a... there's a..."

As her mother screamed Maggie could hear the footprints of her children running through the house yelling, "Grammy, Pop-Pop, this is Roger! He's our friend!"

"Oh my God, Maggie, what is it? Get it out! Get it out!" Carol was screaming in terror as she tried to protect herself and get away while Roger continued to walk calmly toward her as if nothing were amiss. William was concerned and moved to protect his wife, but he was trying to remain calm.

"Mom, mom, it's okay. It's just Roger."

"Maggie, he's a... he's a..."

"Vulture, yes. It's okay mom. Roger is quite tame."

Carol looked at her daughter with her eyes wide and her mouth open. "You let that thing in the house?!"

"No, not all the time." Turning to her children, she said, "Kids, I told you to keep Roger out of the house while Grammy and Pop-Pop are here."

Together, almost as a chorus, they said, "But we wanted them to meet Roger!"

"They can meet Roger out on the porch, or better still in his pen."

"Okay! Come on, Roger."

Roger seemed momentarily puzzled, even disappointed. Then as if on command, he turned and walked behind the kids and out onto the screened porch at the back of the house.

Carol finally became calm enough to speak and looked at her daughter as if Maggie had finally lost her mind. "I know you've always had a soft spot for animals, but couldn't you just have a dog like a normal person?"

Maggie knew her mother well and tried not to smile too much. "It's okay, mom. We found Roger when he was still young. He'd been attacked by a larger animal and his wing was badly broken. The vet set his wing, and in time it healed, but he'll never be able to fly again. If we released him into the wild, he wouldn't survive."

Carol was looking at her daughter as if she'd finally lost her mind. "But he's a... a..."

"Vulture. Yes, mom, we know." A small chuckle slipped out despite Maggie's best effort to control herself.

"What about the kids? Don't you worry what that animal might do?"

Maggie thought about telling her mother that vultures seldom kill and prefer things that are already dead but reconsidered the idea immediately. "Roger has never hurt anyone in the family. He's really quite affectionate."

"Oh! That's disgusting!"

Maggie glanced at her father and could see that even he was having his doubts. "Why don't I fix some lunch and we can talk?"

"Is that thing out there?"

"No, mom. The kids took him out on the porch. We can eat in the kitchen."

Carol held her husband's arm and was very wary as she followed her daughter into the kitchen. She tried to busy herself by assisting her daughter in the preparation of lunch, but all the time she kept glancing out the back window. Becky and Billy were on the back porch petting that animal, that thing, as if it were a family pet! Billy was holding a Lincoln Log for Roger to see, a toy that she and William had given him a year earlier. She watched as Billy tossed the wooden toy across the floor and Roger quickly hopped after it, picking it up in his beak, tossing and turning it in the air for a moment in case it was something to eat, and then hopping back to dropped it at Billy's knee.

Maggie was watching alongside her mother. "Oh, yeah, they taught him to fetch! Birds are very smart."

"But he's a..."

"Yes, mom, we know. Would you like a salad with lunch?"

"What? Oh, no, a sandwich is fine. I'm not sure I can eat, anyway."

With that, Maggie walked to the back door and called, "Billy, Becky, put Roger in his pen and come in for lunch."

"Okay, mom!"

That was when Carol noticed the screened pen behind the back porch and the door that went between the two.

Billy opened the door and Becky called out, "Come on, Roger. Get in your pen!"

Without hesitation or complaint, Roger hopped across the floor and through the door into his outdoor pen. The kids closed the door and clamored into the kitchen.

"Don't forget to wash your hands."

Both kids dutifully ran to the bathroom as Maggie turned to her mother and said, "Well, he might be a member of the family, but he's still an animal." With that, she turned away and smiled knowing that she had rattled her mother just enough to enjoy their lunch.

"'...member of the family' my ass!" Carol mumbled. "You had a dog growing up, but he was still a dog, not a member of the family!"

"Oh I don't know. I always liked it when Butch would sit by the table during dinner." William had found his voice, not to his wife's amusement.

Looking at her husband with disapproval, Carol said, "I guess we know where she gets it." That was her last comment on the subject for the time being.

Thankfully, the kids returned, and the adults set about making sandwiches for the youngsters. There is a common difference between the sandwiches that adults make for children and those they make for themselves, and that difference is lettuce and tomato. Not many children want their baloney sandwich contaminated by lettuce or tomato and most don't care for mayonnaise, either. For that matter, plenty of adults can do better than baloney, so the kids had baloney and the adults had a BLT. This was an egalitarian table, at least today, and everyone got the sandwich they wanted.

"Mom, can we take some lettuce and tomato to Roger after we eat?"

"I don't know. Roger eats mostly meat, but you can give him a small amount along with some baloney later and see if he eats it. Don't try to force him. Let him choose." That seemed to please both children and they set about consuming their lunch.

Carol didn't have much to say, but she was thinking a great deal.

The afternoon passed uneventfully with Carol keeping a close eye on her grandchildren. They were all too happy to spend their time with her and Pop-Pop playing games and telling of their adventures. More importantly, Carol kept them busy and away from Roger.

It was about six o'clock that evening when Daniel finally got home from his job. He greeted his in-laws with genuine affection, poured everyone a glass of whatever they liked, and settled into the process of reconnecting with his wife's parents. Things did not remain calm for long.

Carol started in. "Will you please tell me how you allow your family to have a thing like that?"

Daniel was momentarily confused, so Maggie explained, "Mom met Roger."

"Oh!" Knowing his mother-in-law, Daniel couldn't help but laugh, but tried not to let it show. He failed.

"This is not funny! That thing could be carrying disease. And what happens if it turns on the kids? It's a wild animal. What happens if it sees them eating and wants their food? I saw that beak."

"Mom, he's been to the vet and has a clean bill of health. Plus, he's well-fed. Roger does beg from the table occasionally, but he doesn't eat that much and he's never aggressive. He just paces back and forth until we toss him a small piece of whatever we're eating."

Daniel looked at his mother-in-law, and in an effort to placate her said, "I admit I wasn't in favor of it when we brought him home from the vet, but he kinda grows on you. We kept him in a cage originally, but we had to take him out to check his bandages and treat his broken wing. He was always so gentle that in time we just let him wander around on the porch. Then one day the kids brought him into the house, and nothing happened, so one thing led to another and..."

Carol liked exactly none of what she was hearing. As far as she was concerned, Roger was a danger to her babies. That's how she viewed her grandchildren. She didn't know how, but she would see to it that Roger was gone before she left.

Daniel asked a seemingly innocent question and soon regretted it. "Mom, have you actually met Roger? He's very friendly."

"Oh, we met! He practically attacked me right here in the living room!"

Maggie subtly shook her head to her husband, denying there had ever been an attack.

"I saw that!" Carol snapped to her daughter.

Maggie was busted and could do little more than smile.

"Come on. Let me introduce you." Daniel was definitely not picking up on the not-so-subtle cues his mother-in-law was providing.

Reluctantly, they all walked out to the back porch. Daniel opened the door to Roger's pen and Carol stepped back in terror.

Daniel bent down, held out his arm, and said, "Come here, Roger!"

Roger hopped across his pen and with a flap of his wings he was soon perched on Daniel's arm. Daniel straightened, stroked Roger on the back of his head, and brought him out for Carol to see. "He's really quite gentle."

Unfortunately, he was also quite friendly, and Roger wanted to meet Carol. Without an invitation, Roger jumped from Daniel's arm. Although unable to fly significantly, Roger could flap his wings and add a few feet to any jump. It was with that large, flapping motion that he headed for Carol at eye level expecting Carol to hold out her arm for him to land. She didn't. Instead, she turned screaming and ran back into the house. Roger was left to land ungracefully on the floor, and he expressed his disappointment for all to hear. Roger's displeasure did not add harmony to the failed interaction or to Carol's opinion of him.

"That went well." Maggie knew her mother's mind and had a lifelong gift for understatement.

Daniel recovered Roger and placed him back into his pen. Dinner was tense that first night and it took the rest of the evening to calm Carol to the point that she could sleep.

William and Carol retired early that first night. The stress of the drive had paled in comparison to the first day in her daughter's house, so Carol slept late that first Friday morning. The sun was up when Carol finally opened her eyes. She slowly focused, becoming aware of her surroundings, and found herself face-to-face with Roger. Her scream was heard throughout the house and brought everyone running. Roger didn't know quite what to make of all the excitement, so he proceeded to hop about flapping his wings and making the nonmelodic squawks that vultures make. The family flooded into the bedroom to find Roger standing on a chair by the window and Carol hiding under the bedsheet.

Carol was hysterical. "He attacked me! Get it! Kill it!"

Daniel retrieved Roger and quietly took him to his pen. Roger seemed relieved to be away from the excitement and to be honest he wasn't alone in that sentiment.

"Mom, I'm sorry! I don't know how Roger got in the room." Maggie had been hoping that today she might slowly give her mother a better introduction to Roger. That idea was now out the window.

William threw himself on his sword. "I'm afraid I left the door open when I got up. This is my fault." In truth, he wasn't entirely sure that he'd left the door ajar, but he felt it was best for all if he took the blame. He noticed that Becky and Billy were looking guilty, but he wasn't sure whether it was real guilt or the responsibility that children often feel when adults are yelling.

It was likely that Becky and Billy had some responsibility for allowing Roger into the house. "Sorry, Grammy." They seemed genuinely contrite, although it was unlikely that anything they did was deliberate.

Despite being terrified, Carol felt bad that her grandchildren were apologizing. It went against what she knew was the number one job of a grandparent which was to make the grandchildren feel loved and tell them that everything they do is remarkable.

The family left so Carol could get dressed in private, and as she dressed, she thought. "What a filthy beast! That hooked beak is enormous and sharp. And those beady eyes! How can they keep that thing near the children?" She wasn't sure what she would do, but for now she would watch and learn. Eventually, that thing would endanger the children and she would be there to catch it.

The day passed pleasantly with Becky and Billy playing in the above-ground pool out back while Carol and Maggie watched over them. It was time for mother and daughter to catch up, but Carol kept her eyes on Roger. He had climbed the wooden ladder that was propped against his pen and was walking back and forth across the wire fencing that formed its top. Being unable to fly, Roger felt unsafe on the ground. From atop his pen he had a commanding view of the yard and surrounding fields and could see any danger if it approached. Of course, he was equally curious about Carol. There was a new addition to the family, and he still could not understand her behavior. She screamed a lot and seemed oddly excitable.

Carol could not help but notice how Roger kept looking in their direction. She knew that thing was up to no good and she was determined to be there when it acted on those intentions. As far as she was concerned, it could not be trusted.

That evening Carol helped Maggie prepare the evening meal as Becky and Billy stayed on the porch with Roger playing fetch until dinner. When it was time, they put Roger in his pen and washed up followed by hugs and kisses from their grandparents. The excitement of that morning was forgotten, or so the children thought, and the family settled down to pot roast and potatoes. Roger later received a serving of pot roast with as little fanfare as Maggie could manage.

The evening passed pleasantly with the family playing board games and the grandchildren talking about school until eventually it was time for bed. Then one by one and two by two they excused themselves and settled in for a quiet night's sleep.

Late that night after everyone had gone to bed there was a sudden and loud commotion out back. Roger was squawking as loud as he could and there was a banging sound as if he was running into the wire sides of his pen. Everyone threw on pants or robes and raced to the back porch to find a coyote inside Roger's pen. Coyotes and vultures coexist in the wild with an uneasy truce between them. Vultures can feed on a corpse, but once the coyotes arrive, they will chase off the vultures and claim the meat for themselves. This coyote had designs on something more like chicken, and he had determined that Roger was vulnerable.

Daniel quickly grabbed a broom and entered the pen from the porch, Maggie closing the pen door behind him as Daniel drove the coyote out the side door.