Summer Down Under by Alison Pensy

clear up and wash the dishes.
Sam walked over to Lucrecia. As she did, the bird started bobbing
her head excitedly as Sam got closer.
    “Hop aboard,” she said, holding out her arm
for the bird. Lucrecia didn’t hesitate. The little bird climbed on
Sam’s wrist, then crab-walked her way up Sam’s arm and settled down
next to her right ear. Sam’s grin nearly stretched from ear to ear.
She loved birds and now had made a friend with one who sat happily
on her shoulder.
    Daniel and Sam cleared the plates and made
their way to the bath sized sink in the kitchen. To Sam’s dismay,
there was no dishwasher included in the array of appliances.
    “I’ll wash if you dry?” she asked Daniel. He
nodded his agreement. No sooner had the sink filled up with hot
soapy water, Lucrecia was climbing down Sam’s shoulder and hanging
onto her sweatshirt just below the neckline.
    Sam looked down at her and laughed. “I’m
guessing you want a shower?” she asked the bird. She dipped her
hands in the soapy water and lifted them above Lucrecia to sprinkle
droplets over her head. Lucrecia showed her appreciation by bobbing
her head and started flapping her wings and squawking her approval.
Sam could see that she was going to get soaked, too, playing this
game, but it made her laugh. The bird looked so cute.
    After playing with her for a few minutes, Sam
got back to work on the dishes. She and Daniel worked well as the
dish washing team and had the dishes washed, dried and put away in
no time.
    “Come on,” Daniel said. “I’ll show you the
rest of the house.”
    Lucrecia climbed back onto Sam’s shoulder,
and they followed Daniel down the corridor. They wandered straight
through the dining room and exited through a door on the other side
that led outdoors.
    “The house is very old by Aussie standards,”
Daniel explained. “It has been added onto over the generations.
This part of the house was added about fifty years ago.”
    The whole house was encircled by a covered
deck. Daniel pointed to several rooms that were used as guest
rooms, each having their own separate entrance from the deck. They
walked a bit further and passed a door that Daniel told her was his
parent’s room. It was almost the size of another small house, and
was completely self-contained with its own bathroom and living
room.
    Passing his parent’s room, they carried on
down the deck until it ended with a door that was closed. Daniel
opened the door and waited for Sam to walk through it.
    “Thank you,” she said, to which he inclined
his head.
    “This is our screened in poolroom leading to
the swimming pool outside,” he announced. He was obviously very
proud of this area of the homestead. Sam looked around in awe. The
screen room was huge just like every other room in this palace in
the outback. The sun was just setting, and they walked through the
door that led straight outside to the swimming pool.
    She had seen it from the air, but, up close,
the pool was spectacular, and the water, calm and inviting. To the
left of it, she could see the tennis court; a high chain link fence
surrounded it to keep the stray balls in and the kangaroos out. The
air outside was becoming cool. The seasons in Australia were
reversed and although it was the beginning of June, they were
headed into their coolest months.
    As they watched the sun go down, Daniel
explained that the climate there was rather like a dessert climate.
It could get cold at night, but during the day it could still be
very warm.
    “It’s so beautiful out here.” Sam whispered,
not wanting to spoil the tranquility of the moment.
    “I think so.” Daniel agreed. “It’s my home,
and one day I hope to find someone who will love it as much as I do
and will stand by my side when I take it over from my parents.”
    He turned to look at Sam, his eyes searching
her soul. She held his gaze for a moment before looking away. The
chill in the air reached through her clothes, but she couldn’t
decide if it was