We walked through the lizard, iguana and snake area, and even gaped at the amazing frogs, but that was our shortest visit of all. Neither one of us cared to stay and watch them for long.
I think we were both getting tired by the koala crossing, and I never liked to stay long at the flamingo encampment. The smell always gave me a headache. I was sorry we didn’t make it to the prairie dog and meerkat areas, but I’d be back. Timothy said he was willing to come again too, “Only to see you ooh and aah over the animal’s cuteness,” he told me, but I think he’d actually enjoyed the zoo as much as I had.
Timothy spoke into his phone, letting Andrew know we were heading out, and so by the time we made it back to the main entrance, we had only a few minutes to wait before our driver pulled up.
We weren’t the only ones exiting, so Andrew again didn’t get out of the car to open the door for us. A frowning guard was looking like he was about to write out a ticket if we didn’t scurry away from the gate. (We managed to insert ourselves without Andrew’s door holding just fine.)
There was a bit of traffic bottle nosing as we approached the exit, but we were back on the major road within minutes. Timothy handed me a water bottle, and I sank deep into the seat, enjoying the luxury of relaxing on comfortable seats.
“Thank you for sharing the zoo with me,” Timothy said.
“What? I’m the one who needs to thank you for a perfect day. You paid for everything and you put up with my needing to spend time bench-watching some of the animals. The next date is on me. I don’t think it’s right for you to have to be . . .”
“If your pride disturbs your pleasure, I will permit it, but money is not an issue for me. It is my delight to bring you joy. I told you that.”
I sighed. Sometimes Timothy was just too good to believe.
I was getting sleepy again. It was the motion of the car. I don’t know how other people keep wide awake. But Andrew pulled off onto a side street, slowed down, then stopped in front of a nice-looking restaurant.
“Dinnertime,” Timothy said.
“Okay — if you let me pay.”