Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Mooch

I have a neighbor who seems to think it's perfectly acceptable behavior to show up at my door unannounced and hang around for as long as it takes until I give in and offer him a meal. I haven't heard from him for months, but he showed up for supper tonight with no advance notice and no apologies.

I know he's just using me, but I was glad to see him anyway. It isn't as if I've forgotten how persistent he was the last time he stayed around for a while. He was demanding and messy, and the timing of his visits was often inconvenient. He was even something of a stalker. I felt trapped in my own home when I looked out to see him pacing in my carport, stretching tall to try to peer through my windows. Despite all that, I can't seem to find it in my heart to turn him down.

I'd heard he was back in the neighborhood. When Butch and Kadi started barking incessantly this evening, it crossed my mind that he might be the reason for their excitement. I cautiously raised one slat in the blinds and peeked out, and there he was. He'd spotted the movement and was looking right back at me.

So here we go again. It'll be just like it was last year and the year before that. He'll pop in when he feels like it, and I'll feed him. He'll take what he wants from me, for as long as he wants it, and in the end he'll do what he always does: he'll go home to the mother of his children. And I know that's as it should be.

He's lucky he's so good looking or I wouldn't put up with this at all.


14 comments:

  1. lol! I wonder what the advice columnists would make of this dead-end relationship?

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  2. I remember reading about the last time he showed up. He is a beauty, isn't he? So much more handsome than the male turkey on my blog! LOL!

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  3. Velvet! You are a hoot!!! Laughing here in South Korea!!!

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  4. you didn't fool me before the photo came in view i knew it was Mr Pea Cock.

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  5. I'm with Patsy! I KNEW the Peacock was back! I've been stalking our hill looking for babies in our flock.

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  6. Beautiful photos Velvet, that blue is the most beatiful blue I've ever seen. And you captured it! Only nature could produce that.

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  7. Ahhh, what a grand gent he is. Try and get a picture of him "in bloom" if you can. How tame is he? Simply breathtaking and he knows it! LOL

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  8. He looks pretty proud of himself, doesn't he? Get it? Proud as a Peacock? Sometimes I crack myself up.

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  9. I was pondering your little moocher and wondered why he doesn't bring his whole family around since you're good for a free meal and all... But MAYBE, there's some reason he doesn't want his wife to meet you. Yep, I bet he has a crush on our Velvet!

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  10. You usually don't fool me, but you got me this time.

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  11. Oh Velvet! I completely fell for that! Smarty pants peacock to know who's most likely to cater to him. What a pretty boy.

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  12. He certainly is handsome.
    I'm sure if a gorgeous hunk like that showed up at my door unannounced, I'd provide some supper too!

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  13. Oh, he is so beautiful. Your Dandy has returned to his bedroom...let him in, Velvet. To have a handsome friend come around once in a while for a quickie is great when he is such a looker...

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  14. Janet, believe it or not, I've been in at least one dead-end relationship that was worse than this one. Or maybe it's just that my expectations aren't so high in this one.

    Nan16, I made a quickie visit the other day and saw your pretty turkey picture, but I was in a rush and just doing a sort of blog-reading "drive-by." I need to go back and read more about him.

    Becky, I'm glad I made you laugh. You might be my farthest-away visitor ever. Hmm. Now I'm gonna have to research whether North Korea is farther away than Australia.

    Patsy, if anyone's gonna recognize a domestic-fowl story, it's gonna be you. I think you have some kind of feather radar.

    CreekHiker, you know me too well. I hope you find "peababies" and take photos of them. I'd love to see them. Regarding Mr. Pea and his crushes, I can't fool myself that we have a special relationship. He's here a lot, but he works the whole neighborhood.

    Robbin, isn't that blue amazing? The peacock has so many different colors and patterns of feathers that it's hard to know where to look.

    Val, I got some new pictures of him yesterday and will post them for you this afternoon. He's tame enough that he'll take food from my hand, but he keeps enough distance between us that it wouldn't be possible to reach out and touch him.

    Betty, you crack me up, too. Whoever was the first person to coin the "proud as a peacock" phrase had obviously had close personal encounters with these big birds.

    Mike and Kat, I'm glad I gotcha!

    Ex-Shammickite and Sister-Three: I've read all the stories about what happens when you kiss a frog. Do you think the same magic might apply to kissing a peacock? If I can ever get him to hold still long enough, I'll let you know.

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