“Thank you, Andrew,” I said. “The drive was wonderful. You’re an excellent . . .”
“Enough apple polishing, Penelope. He knows you were asleep the whole time and didn’t pay any attention to his driving,” Timothy said, clapping Andrew on the back with a fond pat.
“Thank you, Ma’am,” Andrew said with a huge grin.
Timothy and he exchanged friendly looks a second before the chauffeur gave a stiff bow, closed the door, and stepped back into the front seat of the limo.
“He doesn’t get breakfast?”
“Judy told me that you’re always concerned with others. That’s a nice attribute, Penelope, but isn’t coffee calling?”
The Smothered Egg had scrumptious omelets with pancakes on the side. Their coffee was made with filtered water, and I could tell that their brewers used top quality coffee beans. The bathroom had been pristine. And the restaurant in general was sparkling clean. It was a great place to stop.
I was also delighted to see that Andrew had come in to have breakfast. I wondered if Timothy would pick up his chauffeur’s check. Was that the way it was normally dealt with? I never got to determine that because when we were ready to go, I found out that Andrew had already paid our tab. What was up with that? Did Andrew have Timothy’s credit care or something?
We loaded back into the limo. Traffic was still light, but the zoo didn’t open until ten o’clock, so we had time for Andrew to drive us through Golden Gate Park. Timothy wanted to see the buffaloes in the Bison Paddock. I’d never heard of wild animals being corralled in the middle of a big city. I scoffed at Timothy’s words, but he was right.
When Andrew got us close enough to see the sign directing us Bison Paddock, we had to get out of the car because the road was closed to traffic, but it wasn’t far to walk. Seeing a whole herd of buffaloes was beyond belief. I mean we were in the land of skyscrapers, in one of the most populated cities in California.
But there they were. Most of the shaggy beasts were grazing, but a few were sleeping, or chewing their cuds like their cousins, the cows. I think all of them had long, pointed horns, which made me glad that the bison weren’t free to roam about the park.
A crowd of tourists were crowding in to watch the animals. Many of the people were speaking in foreign languages and snapping pictures and selfies right and left. I wasn’t sure I’d want to turn my back on horned wild creatures, but while Timothy and I were standing there by the fence, no one got backstabbed.
When Timothy and I returned to the limo, we were both laughing and breathless, too. Buffalos in the middle of a city like San Francisco? It was bizarre, but absolutely cool.