The Westerheights Collection : Volume II

SIBLINGS
Chapter III

Two Birds, One Stone

Joseph looked around his shop. Even though he spent every day for the past thirty-five years, surrounded by the menagerie of glass eyes staring, every once in a while, he would still get the feeling that someone was watching him, staring intently, unseen, from a darkened corner, even though he sat alone at his work station in Joseph Artemis Avery's Westerheights Taxidermy. "Enough Grandpa Joe. I promised to continue your work, and even though pops turned into a raging alchey and burnt most of the old shop to the ground, I rebuilt and have been keeping your name strong here in Westerheights so ya can damned well crawl yer scrutinizing spirit back inta what's left o' yer pine box, and quit creepin' me out with your damned spirit stare." He pulled a handkerchief from his plaid shirts breast pocket and dabbed his forehead, pushed his slim rimmed glasses back up the bridge of his nose, stuffed the handkerchief back in his plaid shirt pocket and leaned in close to the crimson feathering of the one eyed cardinal, frozen in an eternally silent spring song.

Adjusting his magnifier, Joseph picked up a small, delicate looking brush and began to apply special oils around the eye socket of the cardinal, taking extra care not to let the oils soil the pristine feathers. He placed the brush on a small clip over a drip plate, and picking up the long, scissor handled tweezers, he unhinged the locking mechanism allowing the tweezers to spring open. Picking up a small glass eye, he brought it under the magnifier, and with the seasoned swiftness of decades, locked the mounting pin protruding from the back of the glass eye into the firm grip of the tweezers. Picking up a second brush, he dipped it into an adhesive solution and ran a slim track of it around the outer rim of the glass eye, and double checked for coverage as the cardinal's eye shimmered at him under the light ring of the magnifier. He sucked a bit of air through his teeth. "Yup." Reaching under the bird with his free hand, he opened a barely visible slit in the underside of the bird, and gingerly, guided the glass eye, grasped in the firm lock of the tweezers up, into the depths of the semi form filled birds body, and with the slightest pressure, pushed it into the waiting empty socket. The oiled flesh gave, slightly expanding, and giving the cardinal an almost comically shocked look. Joseph relieved the pressure a little, the eye sank back, and the cardinal's shocked look turned to one of natural, bird like cheer. Joseph held the tweezers as steady as he could and maneuvered a mounted clamp in to place and attached it to the scissor tweezers. Tightening the clamp screw by hand little by little, he adjusted the angle until satisfied with the silently singing cardinal's gaze, and gave the clamp screw a final twist with his precision screwdriver. Still leaning in close to the magnifier, he scrutinized his work as he pulled out his handkerchief and wiped his brow once again. He cleared his throat and coughed.

The ashtray on his desk has not seen a cigarette butt in twenty seven years. Having quit smoking two years after his grandfathers lung cancer diagnosis, Joseph's ashtray now holds a collection of different sized, and colored glass eyes of his trade, glaring out at the room surrounding the ashtray in their many unseeing directions. Silent. Staring, though never witness to the many years of sweat and persistence Joseph put in, many times carrying on far into the wee hours of the morning, studying, and working to carry on his grandfather's trade. Never seeing the many tears shed by Joseph as he watched his father continue to try to drink away the sadness and fill the emptiness the loss of his father left him with the many liters of dark Jamaican rum that was his vice. The single silver bell hanging by the door jingled cheerily, alerting Joseph of a new potential customer. He wiped his brow again, stuffed his handkerchief back in his pocket, removed his glasses and set them on their case next to the ashtray full of unseeing eyes.

Penny placed her oversized purse on the low sales counter and watched as Joseph placed his glasses down and spun his stool at his work station located at the back end of the bird, and beast laden taxidermy shop. She opened the side pouch on her purse, produced a small object wrapped in a delicate, red silk handkerchief, and placed it gently on the counter beside her bag.

"Good morning. Miss Penny is it?" Joseph smiled and stood as he waved to the lady at the counter. Though he wore glasses and used a magnifier for his delicate work, he had much better vision when it came to picking out the details on the faces of those at a distance, and his memory, easily photographic, or in the event you do not believe such a talent exists, Eidetic.

"Your memory serves you better than mine, and I just finished reading your sign. I am so sorry, is it Artemis, or Joseph?" Penny blushed slightly.

"My Grandfather was Artemis, and I bear his given name Joseph, but you may call me Joe." He smiled, bowed his head slightly, and tipped his imaginary hat.

"Sorry Joe, I am horrible with names and even worse with appointments. I tried my best to get here sooner but was having troubles with my sister, she is real fussy when I have to go out. Not much of an effect on my memory with names, but can be a bit of a hassle when it comes to making appointments on time." unaware, she caressed the silk kerchief wrapped object on the counter, and cocked her head a little to the right, lost, but for a moment, in thoughts of the past.

"Is this the specimen you mentioned last week?" Joseph asked, gesturing to the silk wrapped object on his counter.

"Mmmm?" coming back from distant thoughts, Penny looked as though she was slightly startled and not quite exactly sure where she was for a moment. "Wha... OH! Oh, oh my yes, I am so sorry. Still so much to do today, and trying to remember when my next appointment is." Gently, she began to unwrap the object on the counter. "Supposed to pick up my new glasses today."

"I am sure they will bring out the brightness in your eyes, though it is likely people may no longer notice your beautiful freckles if they are so distracted by your deep hazels Miss Penny." He smiled as Penny blushed, causing the freckles to become much less prominent. He found himself wondering why he had never noticed them before. Looking back down at the counter, his smile widened as he saw the pristine specimen lying on the counter. "Amazing."

"Yes," Penny agreed, gingerly folding the silk kerchief and placing it back in her purse. "poor thing hit my window. There are so many Cardinals around our property. Such lovely birds to watch, and their song, so blissful. I am picking up some mesh shades to put in the big bay window while I am in town today in hopes that they will cut down the visibility enough to deter any more accidents."

Continued...