"Do NOT eat sheep placenta," I tell him.
He nods at me, as if he understands what I just said. Then he tromps over to the placenta, starts to lick it, takes a part of the gooey, bloody thing in his mouth and tugs at it. I can't look any more.
If only Jessica were here, we could have a huge laugh at the whole grody situation. But she's not.
I walk over to where the newborn sheep are. A baby lamb stumbles over to me and I pet it with my hand.
"Hey sweetheart," I say.
"Baa," it whines back, which makes me smile.
I think it's the first time I've smiled since Matan put the flowers in my hair.
"Don't get too attached, he's going to be killed soon."
My heart sinks and my smile fades as quickly as it appeared. I turn to Snotty while I pick up the baby lamb.
"What?" I say.
"We have them slaughtered at three months old. That one's a boy so he'll be one of the first to go."
I look into the eyes of the small, helpless newborn and pull it closer to me protectively.
I'm a carnivore. Although meeting the animal I'm going to eat up close and personal makes me sick to my stomach. He's so cute. How can I even think about the poor guy being slaughtered? Maybe I won't cut out carbs after all.
Matan comes trotting up the lane with Doda Yucky behind him. He's naked, as usual. What's funny is I'm getting so used to seeing the kid naked that it doesn't even faze me.
He comes into the pen and runs around with the lambs. He's screeching in delight as he runs and tries to catch them.
After a minute the lambs start running after him. But it's not to play, I realize they think his little pee-wee is another baby bottle nipple. He's laughing and running away from the lambs that are trying to get milk out of his thingy like it's a game. Looking around, I notice Doda Yucky is laughing, as well as the rest of the people who have now stopped shearing the sheep.
I run over to Matan and pick his naked little body up to protect him from the perverted lambs.
After I carry him back to safety, I say very loudly to anyone who can hear me, "That. Is. Not. Okay."
Matan isn't fazed, neither is anyone else. They're still laughing. Doda Yucky talks to Uncle Chime before she and Matan trot happily back to the house, thank goodness.
The razors start up again, all the men except for Ron bending over the poor sheep. He says something to Uncle Chime in Hebrew before coming over to me.
"I have a job for you," he says.
CHAPTER 14
Determination and skill is half of the job. Dumb luck is the other half.
I follow him to the other end of the enclosure, which is thankfully in the shade.
"When the sheeps are done being sheared, herd them into this pen."
I look over at the skinny, bare-assed animal. Man, they looked so fat, puffy, and large with all that fuzzy hair, it's unbelievable how much smaller and vulnerable they look after a shave. I can just sense their self-consciousness as a shiver runs through my bones.
But I'm determined to help. I think. Don't screw this up, Amy. My eyes wander to Snotty, feeding the baby animals with bottles of milk. That looks like fun. Why do I get stuck with herding the bare-assed ones into a pen?
What if they start getting frisky with me? Worse, what if they start getting frisky with each other? Blech!
"You able to do it?" Ron asks.
"Of course," I say with more conviction than I feel. "Piece of cake," I add.
If I do this, maybe he'll be proud of me.
Uncle Chime lets one of the sheep go and it struggles to its feet. It's a male one, I can tell by the dangling thing in between its legs. And he's staring at me from the corner of the pen.
"Go on," I say.
But above the buzzing of the shearing I bet he can't hear me.
The sheep stares at me with his big, spooky, gray eyes. I wonder if he'll charge me. I move a step closer. He doesn't move.
"Go on," I say a bit louder this time.
Sincerely hoping nobody is watching me, I take another step toward the animal.
He backs up.
"This way, dummy," I say.
The thing won't listen to me. Damn. I look over at Ron, but thankfully he's not paying attention.
It's me against the sheep. Did I say the thing looked small and vulnerable after being shaved? I take that back. Before I step toward the menacing four-legged, bare-assed sheep with a dangling thing between its legs, out of the corner of my eye I see another sheep stand up. It heads next to the first one. Now I have two to deal with.
Avi stands up and heads over to get another fuzzy, fur-filled sheep to shear. As he does, our eyes meet. I still haven't forgiven him for the snake-guts incident. It's unbelievable he won't apologize for watching me while I was as naked as the sheep he's shearing. Kind of ironic, isn't it? I plead to him with my eyes, Help me.
He looks back at me with contempt. Not on your life, Amy. You're on your own. Jerk. Not that he actually voiced those words, but I know he was thinking it.
Screw him. I take another step toward the two sheep. Maybe if I channel their psyche they'll do what I want. I open my eyes wide and look at the bigger one intently. Go inside the pen, I urge with my mind. Focus, Amy, I tell myself. I put my fingertips on my temples in order to channel my thoughts to the damn four-legged creature who's looking at me like I'm a nutcase.
I feel a presence standing beside me. Turning abruptly, I almost knock into Avi. The confused expression on his face, with furrowed eyebrows and chocolate irises, tells me he thinks I'm a mashed potato (which, just in case you aren't familiar with the slang term, means a brainless human being).