Miles gapes, looking between us. “Are you serious right now? I mean, how? How did you even get in touch with her?”
I chuckle. “There’s this thing called Facebook. You should try it sometime.”
He laughs, swiping at his eyes. His entire posture shifts as he glances back at Sophie, like something heavy finally slid off his shoulders. I was right. He’d needed to see her.
I pull him in for a quick sideways hug. “You catch up. I’ll get our tickets.”
They follow me through the line, staying off to the side. Through the noise, I can only pick up little pieces of their conversation. Updates on Sophie’s classes, how much she hates Texas, and how she accidentally broke her roommate’s coffee table trying to learn some TikTok dances.
Miles snorts. “Why does that not surprise me?”
“Hey! I can bust a move!”
“Yeah, obviously. You busted one right through the table.”
“Miles! You did not just say that!”
Miles is glowing. There’s no other word for it. He’s so relieved and happy to be with her. I love seeing him this way.
Inside the gates, the air smells like kettle corn and roasted almonds. We pass under a big arch of multicolored balloons leading into the zoo’s main trail. After gathering a map and purchasing some drinks to carry around, Miles and Sophie drift ahead, arms still loosely linked like they never left each other.
I take a picture. Miles will want to remember this day. Maybe I can order him a blanket with him and Sophie on it too, to go with the one with us.
We see the monkeys first, which slightly terrifies Miles, and he rushes through the building. Then we stroll to the giraffes. Sophie is enamored with their graceful beauty.
“They’re so elegant,” she says.
Miles points to the tallest of the group. “I think we should call that one Carl.”
Sophie turns a blank stare at him, as if she’s offended on the creature’s behalf.
“What?”
She slants her head. “Don’t tell me you don’t remember.”
He blinks, then gasps in horror and claps a hand over his mouth. “Oh, no. I take it back!”
“You better.”
“Ex-boyfriend, I take it?”
“More like, ex-one-night stand who called me wife and told me… no,demandedthat I go make dinner.”
I grimace. “Yikes.”
“Exactly! I hightailed it out of there so fast.”
“How about Atticus then?” I say. “For a name. He can be Atticus. That’s regal and sophisticated, right?”
Miles leans into me. “I like Atticus.”
Sophie agrees. “Atticus it is.”
We wander past the lemurs and adult red pandas, naming each of them. When we find the littlest one in a pen, all three of us fawn over it.
“Oh, I want to take him home!” Sophie coos, tracing the glass. “He’s so cute.”
“She,” Miles says.
