“Someone needs to tell Snowball that’s not the way to a lady’s heart.” I snort. “Thanks again.” We wave goodbye and head to the next area, looking at the meerkats and naked mole rats.
“Why are those called naked? Aren’t all animals naked?”
I squeeze Evie’s hand. “You know what, that’s a great question. You should ask your uncle when we get home.”
“Okay.” She shrugs.
We move onto the pygmy hippo and gorilla exhibits before making our way to the lions and camels.
After she’s said goodbye to them, we walk to the giraffe feeding area. I purchase our tickets, and we walk in right at the allotted time.
A zookeeper greets us and kneels in front of Evie. “What’s your name?”
“Evie. Ilovegiraffes.”
The zookeeper laughs. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Evie. Can I let you in on a little secret?” Evie nods. “I love giraffes, too.” They giggle together. “Are you ready to feed one?”
She lets go of my hand and nods, bouncing on the balls of her feet like she can barely contain her excitement.
The zookeeper leads us in and introduces us to the giraffes.
When we get to the final one, Evie squeals. “I saw him earlier today.”
She smiles. “This is Jabali. His name means ‘strong as a rock’ in Swahili.” The zookeeper hands Evie a small bowl of food and motions for me to join them. “You can hold her now and feed Jabali.”
I extend my phone her way. “Do you mind taking a video?”
“Of course.” She takes it, holding it up, ready to record the moment.
I lift Evie onto my hip, and she raises the food to Jabali. He leans his head toward us, and his abnormally long tongue comes down, bringing the food from the bowl to his mouth. Evie laughs when part of his tongue grazes along her hand, leaving behind a trail of slobber. When all the food is gone, I set her back down.
The zookeeper hands back my phone before smiling at Evie. “You did a great job. He must like you.”
“I love him.” Evie hugs my leg and looks up at me with the sweetest eyes. “Can we get a mini Jabali to take home?”
“Sure.” Before we leave the zoo, I buy her a stuffed giraffe because I could never say no to a face as cute as Evie’s. We stop by Chipotle on the way home, grabbing dinner to-go for us and Tyler because I’m in a generous mood after my conversation with Darla yesterday.
By the time we make it back, Tyler is getting out of his car, likely having just gotten home from work. I would be lying if I didn’t admit how good he looks in his scrubs.
“Uncle Ty, look at what Ms. Kelsey got me.” Evie gets out of the car and runs to him, holding her newest prized possession up in the air.
“Wow, that’s cute. What’s its name?”
“Jabali. Just like the giraffe I fed at the zoo.”
He raises an eyebrow, turning at me. “She got to feed one?”
I nod. “I got it on video so you can send it to Tess.”
His whole demeanor softens. “That was really thoughtful.”
Evie tugs on the bottom of his scrubs top. “I got to seeallthe animals in Africa. I can’t wait to talk to Mom and see if she’s seen any of them in the wild.”
Tyler looks at me while Evie hugs his pant leg. He mouthsthank you. I know he’s thanking me for more than taking her to the zoo. If she was off around me all week, missing her mama, I’m sure she was even more sad around her uncle.
When Evie pulls back, he glances down like he’s just now seeing my outfit. “Why are you wearing”—Tyler stares at my bottoms—“pajama pants?”
“A goat stole her pants without asking.” Evie sighs. “It wasn’t very nice.”
