From birth, Birdie Lark knew she had a special connection with animals.

It wasn’t just her goofy name from her hippie parents, who strangely hated animals in the house but fought for all sorts of wild creatures, whales and elephants and eagles and such.  It was that Birdie had a strange way with animals.  The meanest dogs melted under her touch, the most feral of cats followed her home purring.  She could train fish to dance in their tanks, squirrels to collect their own nuts rather than breaking into birdhouses and once, she even trained a ferret to cook his own supper.

But it wasn’t until that fateful night at Pemberely Pet Shop that Birdie Lane knew how entwined she was in the lives of animals, how much she needed them and they needed her.

It all started on a warm spring day after school.  Bouncing in the warm sunshine, Birdie stared at the baby blue sky.

“Frankie, let’s not go to piano lessons,” she said impulsively, threading her arm through her best friend’s.  “Let’s go have fun.”

“Doing what?” her friend asked, her green eyes wide.  A quiet Irish Catholic girl with seven brothers and sisters, Frankie normally did precisely what her always ragged mother told her.

“Let’s go get a milkshake,” Birdie whispered, a grin spreading over her freckled face.  Her brown pigtails bobbed and swung as she skipped around her friend.  “We’ll go get a milkshake and pretend we’re back in a diner in the 1950s, wearing poodle skirts and waiting to go to a dance.”

Frankie’s eyes lit up.  “Like in Grease?” Frankie had a tiny obsession with Olivia Newton John.

Birdie nodded.  “You up for it?”

Frankie nodded eagerly, her red curls bouncing.  “Mrs. Smith won’t care anyway.  She thinks I’m hopeless at piano, and that you’re talented but lazy.”

“She’s correct on both counts,” Birdie replied seriously, winning a giggle from Frankie.  “Race you there.  Whoever loses, buys!”

With shrieks of laughter, both girls bolted down the sidewalk, their backpacks banging against their shoulders with every step.  Panting, Birdie raced around her friend and pretended to trip just as she reached the entrance.  Frankie leaped inside, pumping her fists in the air.

“I win!” she cried.  “You’re buying.”

“Stupid shoelaces,” Birdie muttered, pretending to be angry.  “If I hadn’t tripped, I would have made it.”

“Woulda, coulda, shoulda,” Frankie teased.  “I want chocolate with oreos, large please.  I’ll get us a table.”

Birdie nodded and stepped up to the counter.  Outside the window, she stared at the sparrows flying against the pale blue sky.  They chirped and twittered, nesting on a branch bobbing outside the window.

“Hey Birdie.”

Birdie whirled around.  A tall thin blond with perfect white teeth and a dark tan for March beamed at her, tossing her flaxen hair behind her shoulders. Sticking her manicured hands delicately in her apron, she raised an eyebrow.  “Where’s your folks?  I thought you usually came after dinner for ice cream.”

“Mom’s teaching yoga and Dad’s teaching at the university,” Birdie replied, tossing her braids behind her shoulders.

“Think you’re a little old for those?” Tessa teased, reaching over the counter to tug her pigtail.  “Most 12 year olds are wearing makeup and heels.”

Birdie rolled her eyes.  “It keeps the hair out of my face.  Anyway, I’m here with Frankie.  We’re skipping piano for an afternoon of fun.”

“Good plan,” Tessa advised, looking longingly out the window.  “I wish I could skip.  My boyfriend’s off football practice today and graduation is in a month.”  Perking up, she beamed at Birdie.  “Did you give your dad those college essays?  What does he think?”

“You know Dad teaches environmental science, right?” Birdie replied, careful to keep her face neutral.  “He’s not exactly an English teacher.”

Tessa’s face fell.  “He thought they were terrible.”

Birdie pressed her tongue between her teeth.  “Tessa, you’re head cheerleader and salutatorian,” she reminded her.  “You’ll get those scholarships.  I wouldn’t worry at all.”

Tessa sighed and shook her head.  “You’re too young to get it, Birdie.  You’ll understand when you’re older.  The competition for scholarships…it’s cutthroat.  No one in this town has money for school.  Or anything.”  Before Birdie could say anything, Tessa flashed her fake smile she reserved for her after-school job.  “What will you have?”

“Peanut butter and Reeses’ for me, chocolate and oreos for Frankie,” Birdie said, pulling out her wallet.

Tessa grinned as she mixed up the shakes.  “Ya’ll are lucky calories don’t matter at your age.  So what else are you doing this afternoon?”

Birdie shrugged.  “Nothing, I guess.”

“You should go to the new pet store,” Tessa advised, setting the shakes on the counter.  “You like animals, right?  One just opened up on the corner of Pine and Eighth.  Pemberely Pet Shop, it’s called.”

Birdie shook her head, putting her money on the counter.  “I couldn’t go.  Pet shops are terrible for animals–they get dogs and kittens from mills designed to inbred and abuse dogs.  And they ship them in terrible conditions, treat them badly….I would just get mad.  Plus, my parents would kill me.  It’s against their ethics and stuff.”

“No, no,” Tessa argued, shaking her head.  “This is a different pet store.”

Birdie frowned.  “What do you mean?”

Tessa shrugged.  “I don’t know how to explain it.  It’s just…different.  Like you can tell the animals are all happy and healthy….it’s really hard to explain.  You’ll just have to go see it.”

Chewing on her lip, Birdie nodded and picked up the shakes.  “Thanks.”  She glanced up at Tessa.  “If you want, I bet my Dad could ask the dean…”

“Forget it.”  Shaking her head, Tessa pulled out a gossip magazine and flopped it on the counter.  Birdie picked up the shakes and crept away, a tiny knot in her stomach.  Threading through the tables, Birdie made her way over to Frankie and set her shake in front of her.

“Finally!” Frankie cried, scarfing down the shake like she hadn’t eaten in ages.  “I thought you’d left me here!”  She sucked down the milkshake greedily, her cheeks bulging like a concerned hamster.  “It’s a good thing you lost,” she mumbled around the chocolate goo.  “I didn’t have any money anyway.”

Birdie pretended she hadn’t heard anything.  Her eyes flickered to Tessa’s long face, and the night grew tighter.  Taking a long sip of her milkshake, she set the glass on the table.  “What have you heard about Pemberely Pet Shop?” she asked, rubbing her stomach.

“My dad’s doing an article on it for the newspaper,” Frankie replied, guzzling more milkshake.  “He thinks there’s something strange about it.  It’s not like any other pet shop.”

“What do you mean?” Birdie asked, taking another long sip.  “How is it different?”

Frankie shook her head.  “He didn’t say,” she replied, chocolate ice cream circling her lips and dripping off her chin.  “I think he was scared my younger brothers would want a turtle or gerbil or something.  My parents don’t want any more animals.”

Birdie felt a stab of longing, but shook it off. “Let’s go there,” she said, twirling her straw in her milkshake.  “I want to see it.  I’m really curious.”

Frankie raised an eyebrow.  “What would your parents say?  I mean, they’re all eco-friendly and stuff…”

Birdie grinned.  “I’ll just tell them I’m satisfying my natural curiosity and learning about the world around me.”  Taking a few quick gulps of her milkshake, she picked up her cup.  “Ready?”

Frankie looked mournfully at her empty glass.  “Unfortunately.”

“Let’s go.”  Grabbing their backpacks, the girls made their way toward the Pemberely Pet Shop.

They had no idea what was in store for them.

To be continued….

Stay tuned, Invisible Friends!  Tomorrow we have a new pecan pie recipe and Friday, a new Dallas Jean!  Then we have a new Land of the Flowered Bed tale!  Stay tuned!