Rio 3: Reconciliation

The Proposal

Blu was about half-way home when he was interrupted by Roberto, who seemed a bit anxious. Blu figured that he had at least a little bit of time to divert his attention to Roberto  who led Blu aside to a Brazil nut tree. "Blu I need to ask you something that is important to me. You don't mind my asking you, do ya?"

"What's on your mind, Roberto?"

"Well, when you came back with Jewel, I'd been kind of obsessed with her. I know you noticed; I sensed your jealousy at the time. I'm over that now. But what I need to ask is, how will I find the perfect bird for me, like you have your Jewel?"

Blu put his wing on Roberto's shoulder and said, "The answer to that is really simple. Just be yourself. You know how to attract the right kind of attention. It worked well on Jewel; it'll work just as well with the right bird."

"I figured you'd say that, Blu, but I wanted to ask anyway. You see, nobody else around here seems to notice me anymore since my fiasco with the... you know what's... that tried to take our home away."

"Just be patient, Roberto. Someday, somebody will notice you." Blu gave him a wink with that statement.

"Thanks, Blu. You're a great friend. See ya later."

When Roberto left, Blu remained on the tree branch with Eduardo's words echoing in his head. You are well qualified to be a leader.

---------------

Blu arrived in the entrance to his hollow several minutes later, noticing that Jewel was standing in the same location that she was in when Blu left. "What's going on? You had something to talk about?" Blu asked.

"It's about the kids."

Oh, boy. Here we go. "What did they do now?"

"Oh, nothing. They've been behaving as far as I've been told, except for Tiago, of course. Blu, I think we should let them wander a little farther. They're growing bored of doing the same thing every day; let's let them explore a little more."

Blu grew a bit concerned. "Jewel, I don't think that is a very good idea. It's too dangerous for them to be alone in the jungle, let alone past the border."

Jewel backed off from Blu a little. "Blu, they need their independence. They are growing up, after all; don't you remember Stacey, Tiago's girlfriend? He's at that age now."

"Don't you remember the problems I told you about when we first came here? Alligators? Anacondas?" Blu tried to use that as a cover for the real reason he wanted them to stay closer to home.

Jewel expressed a bit of understanding, but still didn't seem to believe Blu's explanation. "Ok. You win, for now." Jewel walked up to Blu and hugged him tight. Blu looked down at Jewel, then looked up again, still pondering Eduardo's words.

"Hey, Jewel, I have an idea." Jewel lifted her head from Blu's shoulder. "Remember that offer you made? How about we take that trip to Rio?"

Jewel just smiled and placed her head back on Blu's shoulder. "Only on one condition. Let's ask Daddy to come with us."

"And if he refuses?"

"We'll persuade him to come. He might actually need a little time away from the forest."

---------------

Eduardo was standing by the benches in the Pit of Doom, watching his newly formed team of players practice their moves. "Pass it Roberto!" He shouted. "There you go. That's how you do it."

Blu met Eduardo as he turned to get a sip of water. "Hello, Eddy. How's the practice going?"

"It's getting better. They still fumble every now and then, but they're getting the hang of what you call soccer. What brings you here? You've considered the offer?"

"I think about it a lot. Still haven't made up my mind about it though. Listen, Eddy, I have something I'd like to ask you on behalf on Jewel."

"What's that?"

"Well, Jewel proposed last year that we could do summers in Rio, and I took her up on that offer. But she wants you to come along with us. Maybe you could see the sights, and we could tell you our story while we give you the tour of the city."

Eduardo pondered Blu's proposal to visit Rio, but, like Blu, he just couldn't make up his mind. "Blu, I don't think I should go. I have to tend to the tribe."

"Already taken care of that, Eddy. Mimi and Roberto both said they would watch over the tribe for you."

"You know I still don't have much of a fondness for humans, right?"

"We will try our best to avoid the human areas. Come on, Eduardo. Do this for Jewel. Please come with us to Rio."

It took a little more time, but Eduardo finally gave in and agreed to go with them to Rio de Janeiro.