Goodess

Michael had originally asked to meet you because he wanted to donate to your wildlife rescue.

That was the official reason, anyway. The real reason was that he’d been watching your animal show for months and had developed the biggest crush imaginable.

So when he finally arrived at your rescue center, he was trying very hard to act normal.

It lasted about thirty seconds. “Would you like to help feed the kangaroos?” you asked.

“Yes.”

“Would you like to hold a baby koala?”

“Yes.”

“Would you like—”

“Yes.”

You laughed while Michael followed you around the entire day like an excited puppy.

Years later, not much had changed.

One afternoon, the two of you were helping treat an injured kookaburra. You carefully wrapped the bird’s wing while Michael sat beside you holding supplies and listening intently.

“So this little guy should be okay?” he asked. “Yep. A few weeks of rest and he’ll be flying again.”Michael smiled immediately.

“Good.”

You glanced over at him and couldn’t help smiling too. For someone who was one of the biggest stars in the world, he looked happiest sitting in the dirt beside you with bird feathers stuck to his shirt.

When the rescue was finished, you both sat quietly outside the enclosure. The kookaburra gave a loud call from its perch.

Michael squeezed your hand. “You know,” he said softly, “seeing how much you love animals is one of the reasons I fell in love with you.”

You raised an eyebrow.

“One of the reasons?”

He grinned.

“The other reason was watching you break up a kookaburra fight on television.” You immediately started laughing.

“Michael!”

“What? It was impressive!” The bird squawked loudly as if agreeing with him. And somehow that only made the two of you laugh harder.

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