“Actually, I love mornings,” I informed him. “Most mornings I visit the gym in the apartment basement, trying to beat the other residents to the treadmill. Most of the guys who are down there at that time are working with weights, so I can almost always catch a free machine.”
We were chatting about gym equipment when we stepped out into the early morning mist. “Oh, no,” I said. “Hair frizz weather.”
Timothy laughed. “That sounds delightful.”
He walked us over to a large black limo, and the chauffeur standing next to the vehicle opened the door for us.
“What is this? I thought we were driving,” I sputtered, staggered from the surprise of such a thing.
“We’re going by car, I think I said.”
I smiled at the chauffeur, then slid inside. The seats smelled of genuine leather. I was sure that someone had just treated it. Cara used to rub her fancy purse with the same substance and told me the odor reminded her of a saddlery. Inside the limo, I smiled as I wondered if I should start searching for a horse.
“Wow,” I gushed after Timothy climbed in. “I’ve never been in a limo before. I missed that at my high school graduation. Some of the kids rented one, the kind with windows on the ceiling, so they could stand up and shout at people as they drove by.” I was smiling at the memory. I’d never really been into such frivolity. That was what rich kids did, not kids like me, living with a grandmother whose budget was tight.
“I’m delighted to offer you a first. Life should be filled with such new experiences. Today will be a new experience for me. I’ve never visited the San Francisco Zoo. What should we see first?”
We’d already fastened our seat belts, but Timothy offered me a refrigerated drink, which I refused. Drinking a liquid would mean needing to use a restroom, and San Francisco was a long, long drive. More than an hour, if I remember correctly.
Timothy spread out a map of the zoo that he’d found online.
I pointed. “I usually head for the cat kingdom, but on the way we pass the Lemur Forest and the African Savanna animals. I love to stop and admire the gorillas.”
“That sounds like an excellent plan,” Timothy agreed.