Finally inside the zoo itself, we moved aside and consulted a map that he’d swiped from a tiered stand. “Where are those things you want to see?” he asked.
“They’re not things, they’re wild cats. Pallas’ cats, to be precise. They’re at the southern side of the zoo.” I pointed to the correct spot on the map. “We’ll make our way around to them eventually. I also really want to see the bush dogs, leopards, and red pandas.”
“I didn’t think they’d have bush dogs in zoos.”
Something about the way he’d said it made me ask, “Have you ever been to a zoo before?”
He didn’t look up from the map. “I went to one on a school field trip when I was about seven, but I don’t remember much about it.”
I swallowed hard. Compassion welled up inside me. He might have come from a wealthy family who could afford to take him and his brothers to all sorts of places, but I often got the impression that there’d been no “family time” like daytrips.
Knowing any display of sympathy wouldn’t be welcome, I asked, “What about you? What animals do you want to see?”
“None.”
“Come on, there has to be at least one animal you like.”
He shrugged. “Rhinos.”
“I can see why. They’re just you all over. Formidable and determined and moody.” I turned left. “Come on, this way.”
We walked along the sidewalks, passing enclosure after enclosure. It wasn’t always easy to get a good look inside them or to snap decent pictures, since so many people gathered near the plastic fences. But Dane had a way of getting crowds to part—people just tended to move out of his way, like they sensed a predator coming or something—and then he’d usher me to the front, which was ace.
Some animals dozed. Some paced or sat eating. Others played and ran and swam.
Dane and I, well, we had an eventful morning. We held our breath while walking through the pungent-smelling monkey house. We shivered in the cold air of the penguin house while watching them get fed. We did a fast tour of the bat cave, which stunk like a rancid ass. And, little by little, Dane began to loosen up.
Instead of just staying at my side like a bodyguard, he pointed things out, read information signs, asked questions, found the difficult-to-spot animals for me. I wouldn’t go as far as to say he was having fun, but he was engaging. He didn’t even complain when I took a few selfies of us here and there.
Although I was saddened to know he’d only ever been to a zoo once and that he barely remembered the experience, I kind of liked that I got to see his expression when he saw some animals properly for the first time. Seeing them on TV wasn’t the same.
“Aw, look at the baby meerkats.” I snapped a few pictures of them. “Dane, I can’t take this level of cuteness. You can’t tell me your heart isn’t melting right now.”
“Can’t I?”
“No. Even the adults are cute.”
“Hmm.” There was something strangely endearing about the way he looked at them as if he didn’t really know what to make of them.
“Did you know that a group of meerkats is actually called a mob?”
“A mob?”
“Yep.” Noticing that a little toddler with pigtails was looking up at Dane like he was a fairytale prince, I felt my mouth twitch. “A little girl is staring at you all starry-eyed,” I whispered.
“And the man behind you keeps looking at your ass.” Dane palmed said ass, the bold bastard. “Let’s move before I kill him.”
“One more pic—”
“You’ll have no memory left on your phone before this day is over. Come on.” He took me by my wrist and began leading me toward the next enclosure.
I gasped. “Look over there, zebras! They’re—oh. Oh.” I turned away. “I’ll take photos of them later.”
Dane glanced down at me, his eyes smiling. “When two of them aren’t mating, you mean?”
“I’m no prude, okay, but I can’t watch animals go at it. It feels weird. I like to pretend the storks deliver the babies. Ooh, I see flamingos. Did you know they’re not naturally pink? It’s their diet that causes them to turn from white to pink.”
“Thanks for clearing that up. The mystery’s been bothering me for years.”
I blinked. “Did you just make an attempt at humor?”
His brows drew together. “If I wanted to make you laugh, I could make you laugh.”