Chapter 16
The week flew by, and on Saturday morning, Gemma was shocked when Tim announced with a gleeful grin that he was taking them to Fresno for the day. They’d gotten an extra early start on the road, and it was nearing seven forty-five in the morning.
“And what are we going to find in Fresno this weekend?” She’d only ever passed through the city as a passenger at the airport. There hadn’t really been any reason to explore the city. Until now.
“There are two things—sloths and more sloths.” Tim glanced at her, and then his body shook with laughter. “You look so confused.”
“Where are we going to find sloths in Fresno?”
As the car turned the corner, a sign welcomed them to the Fresno Zoo. Everything suddenly clicked.
“Oh, of course! The zoo!”
They shared a laugh.
A few minutes later, Tim laced his fingers through hers and they strolled up to the ticket booth.
Leaning casually against the window, Tim said, “Hello. We’re here to check in for the?.?.?.” He lowered his voice so she couldn’t hear.
“Got it. What’s the last name?”
“Lyons. Party of two.”
The worker in the booth pulled up the reservation and printed the tickets. “Here you go. Just wear the badge on the outside of your shirt. Your guide this morning is Judy.”
“Thanks,” he said.
Peeling the backing off the sticker, Gemma stuck it onto her blue jumper. After having their tickets scanned, they lingered near the entrance. She could smell the strong scent of something fishy and heard the barking of a group of excited, playful sea lions.
She tugged on Tim’s hand. “Can we start with the sea lions?”
“After the behind-the-scenes tour, yes.”
Her heart pounded wildly. He had done itagain.“Tim, you didn’t. You’ve already spoiled me to death.”
“I did. The best way to see the zoo when we’re on a tight schedule is with a tour. Plus, we won’t have to deal with all the families that’ll bombard the place once it opens. ItisSaturday. The zoo is like the number-one place families with overly-energetic kids go.”
He had valid points. Rising up onto her toes, she leaned forward and pecked him on the cheek. “Thank you.”
He sighed contentedly and rubbed the spot she’d just kissed. “A guy could get used to this.”
As they looked over a map of the zoo, Gemma made mental notes of everything she wanted to circle back to once their time with the tour guide was over—elephants, sea lions, giraffes, kangaroos, and of course, the sloth.
A woman in her mid-forties wearing a khaki-colored jacket, trousers, and button-up shirt approached. “Hi, guys. I’m Judy. You two must be my visitors this morning. If you follow me over to the golf cart, I’ll take you around back to a couple places the public doesn’t normally get to see. Since the sea lions are barking up a storm, we’ll start with them.”
“Is it just the two of us?” Gemma glanced around her, but there was no one else.
“It’s weird; normally Saturdays have full groups, but today we don’t.” Judy shrugged. “It just must be your lucky day.”
“Brilliant.” Gemma grinned.
Looking at Tim, he didn’t appear at all surprised by Judy’s words. She wondered if he’d somehow arranged the tour this way, or if it really was by fate’s own design that they were alone. Either way, she didn’t question it and happily scooted in close to Tim on the back of the golf cart.
* * *
Over the course of the morning, Gemma and Tim tossed fish to the herd of greedy sea lions, looked in at the baby tiger cubs inside the zoo’s nursery, and fed heads of lettuce to the Masai giraffes.
Inside the tropical forest enclosure, the humidity of the air rose sharply. The lens on her mobile’s camera fogged up. It was like walking into a sauna room. Judy took them to the off-exhibit area, and Gemma was surprised to see that it was just as large as the public viewing area.
