I made a face. I wasn’t fond of talking about myself. It was too sad — and dull as unseasoned lima beans. “I went to school. I rode my bike. I played volleyball with my friends. There. Finished. Your turn.”
He laughed again. “That’s amazing. An academic, a two-wheeled contortionist, and an expert at ball over net. I knew you were exceptional.”
It went on and on like that — the joking around, the exchange of stories, and the laughter. There were some serious moments like when we talked about how zoos were being picketed despite the fact that they were keeping certain species from complete eradication. I defended zoos by adding that they were a well-known place for bringing injured wildlife so vets could nurse them to health and then set the animals back into their native habitat.
“People just aren’t aware of the good zoos do,” I noted, sighing wistfully.
“I think you just solved one of my next dilemmas,” Timothy said with a squeeze to the hand he was holding.
“And what is that?” I asked, disconnecting my hand so I could stand up and do a quick stretch.
Timothy, like an old-time gent, stood up, too. “Our next date, on Saturday, we can go to the zoo together. Agreed?”
I’d always been a pushover for zoos. I usually meandered among the animals by myself. It was easier than arguing that watching the animals was the important part of visiting. Even Cara and Sammy grew impatient with my need to spend quality time with the animals.
Most people treated zoos like they did art galleries: a quick walk, a glance to the left, then the right. Whoops, time to go. I liked to visit the zoo and sit on a bench, watching the animals, observing how they interacted with each other, and noting what they liked to do. Because I sat for a while, the animals sometimes even paid attention to my presence. They became as fascinated with me as I was with them.
Of course, my zoo observations also included the other visitors. I watched as couples pushed their strollers about, restless children whined for ice cream, the flirtatious teenagers, who completely ignored the zoo animals chatted loudly and kissed, the small boys who poked at each other, then raced around obstacles until a zoo official calmed them down. . . The zoo visitors were almost as interesting as the zoo animals in their individual habitats.