"View From the Backporch" Ep. 2 Part 3 www.fjwilson.net

“He’s under the lady statue… probably in a huff.”  Amy flew away.  It was important that Bomber handle this herself. 

“Come on out you big baby.”  Bomber laughed and called Justin Bubbles.

“You better watch yourself, my dear, Big O is ready to avenge your disgusting act and is just waiting for me to give the word.”  He huffed h is big bluff.

“Come on Bubbles, you know I was just upset.  I would never do anything to hurt you, you know that.”  She lighted under a Caladium leaf and looked into the cool dark cave formed by the colorful leaves.  She waited until she saw movement before she spoke again.

“Come on Bubbles, we’re friends.  Remember the time I told you where to find the new lettuce growing out by the fence?”

Justin Bubbles walked out of his hiding place and looked over at Bomber.

“Why are you sitting this close to the ground?  Didn’t I tell you Big O has his eye on you?  You’re asking for trouble little bird, trouble you can’t handle.”

“Do you forgive me, Bubbles?  Amy’s mad at me, and I don’t want anyone to be mad at me, even you.”  Suddenly Big O appeared rubbing his coat against the bottom of the statue, calm as pudding and scary as hell.  Bomber took off into the air just as Big O reached his long paw and knocked her to the ground.

“Why are you such a bloody bully?”  Justin Bubbles yelled at Big O.

Within the blink of an eye, Big O’s paw came down and held Bomber fast to the ground.   Things happened fast after that.  Amy and her brother saw the attack from the top of the Dogwood tree and both dived bombed at the same time pecking and pulling Big O’s scarred ears.  Justin Bubbles moved faster than he’d ever moved in his life and positioned himself under Big O’s stomach and raised himself as high as his legs would stretch.  Bill began to shake the branch of Bull’s nest and quicker than quick Bull was out of his safe place and down the big Oak’s trunk sinking his teeth into Big O’s tail.  Big O had been in worse predicaments than this, he was barely inconvenienced with this little army’s attack.  He kicked a back leg up and under Justin’s shell and made a long scratch on the beautiful design, but Justin was not going to be bullied anymore.  He held his ground and pretty soon, Big O was wrapped around Justin Bubbles’ big shell like a bear skin rug.  His feet were just off the ground but he was still kicking, trying to get traction.  Lil Bit fell/jumped from a lower limb of the Dogwood onto Big O’s back, sunk her teeth into his neck and held on for dear life.  This last attack finally made Big O mad as a hornet and he began to fight back in earnest.  The first thing he did was to scream and arch his back giving him leverage to claw into the big shell and pounce onto the moving and diving Amy.  Bomber tried to move but couldn’t.  Justin Bubbles crawled over Bomber and protected her from further attack with his body and shell and tried to become part of the rocks surrounding the statue.  If Big O discovered where Bomber was hiding, it would be hell to pay for both creatures.

“Die you Nazi monster.”  Bomber screamed from under the big shell.

“Shut up you blithering idiot.”  Justine Bubbles yelled at Bomber.

“Do you plan to die today?  Or would you prefer to wait a few days longer?”  Bubbles said in a loud whisper with his head almost in the dirt under his shell.

“What the hell is happening here?”  Jake the Pine Snake had seen it all but didn’t want to be bothered with another backyard drama.  Life was supposed to be full of eating and scaring humans, not watching neighbor fight neighbor and friend eat friend.  He slithered out from around the pond and took a bite out of Big O’s leg before he slithered as fast as he could into the pond.

Big O turned and managed to catch Lil Bit by her back leg and shook her off of his back and under his two front paws.  Before Bull could help, they all heard the sound of the neighbor’s pie pan banging on another pie pan, Big O’s dinner bell and call to come home to supper.  Before creatures could catch a deep breath, Big O had shaken them all off into the yard and sprinted under the fence into this own back yard.  He wanted to stay and win this battle, but a man has to eat and he’d never been late to dinner in his long life and he didn’t plan to be late today.  These fools could wait.

“Get off me Justin.”  Bomber said and twisted to get out from under him.

“Oh, sorry, love.  Can you manage now?”  He said as he crawled to the side and let her up. 

“Yes, I was just winded.  Thank you Justin, you saved my life.”  She fluttered over him and checked out the damage done his shell.  It was pretty bad, but it was not for her to tell him.  He’d been through enough today with out realizing his shell was scarred forever.

“Oh my goodness, Justin.  Look what the cat did to your shell.”  It was precious calling from a limb of Bill.

“Hush, Precious, Justin just saved a life.”  He looked at Justin who was indeed very upset over his shell.

“Justin, you have to realize that is a badge of honor that will be with you always.  How many turtles do you know who’ve saved a Hummingbird from a big dangerous cat?”  Amy said as she watched Justin’s whole demeanor change from sorrow to proud.

Within a few minutes all the creatures in the yard were paying homage to Justin with bits of greenery and young turnip leaves.  Pretty soon a party was going on and creatures were laughing and re-telling the story of Big O getting his comeuppance.  But all in the back yard knew Big O was only in the next yard having dinner; he would be back and he would want revenge.

“But today. He’s gone and life is good.”  Lil Bit whispered to Bull as she gave him a big peanut she’d taken from the feeder on the porch.

Bull looked up to his nest, yep… Precious was watching.  Life is good?  That’s debatable, Bull thought to himself.

I will be editing my third novel for a few days.  The creatures in the back yard will return then.  Please come back.