Then she went to the atrium to feed Kiki, just in case Seth didn’t get back as soon as she thought he would.

“You’re going to be okay in Seth’s hands,” she told the bird as she poured fresh birdseed into the feeder. “He’ll take good care of you. I’ll alert Maxi that I’ve left, too, so he can follow up and make sure of it.”

As usual, the bird was more interested in playing than eating. Kiki was smart enough to realize that the food stayed even after her human friend was gone, so Tia started throwing the ball. “I can’t hang out for very long,” she told Kiki, but she spent twenty minutes playing with Maxi’s parrot anyway, just because she wanted to be fair and do her part, before adding some extra pumpkin seeds to Kiki’s feed, for good measure.

“I have to go now,” she told the bird. “I know you don’t like Seth as much as me, but Maxi will be back before you know it.”

She was just letting herself out when Kiki squawked as though she was distressed and said, “I love Tia.”

The bird had learned what she’d been trying to teach her all along? Anyone with any knowledge of parrots would say Kiki had no understanding of what she said. She was just mimicking what she’d been painstakingly taught the past few weeks. Tia understood that. But it brought tears to her eyes, anyway.

“Thank you, Kiki,” she murmured. “That’s exactly what I needed to hear. Happy New Year.”

Thirty

On the off chance Tia was still in the Bay Area, Seth had a hard time making himself leave. He couldn’t imagine driving home without her. But he’d searched for so long, with no results. He had to assume she was the one who’d left without him.

And if that was the case—what did it mean?

He was afraid to find out.

I don’t know what to do. Please let me know you’re okay.

He’d texted her that message just before he left, but despite checking his phone over and over again, he hadn’t gotten a response to that, either. She must’ve turned off her cell—or it was out of battery—because now when he tried calling her, it didn’t even ring before transferring to voice mail.

If something had happened to her, he’d never forgive himself.