He laughs as we walk around, darting around other patrons, other people with kids. It dawns on me that to a stranger’s eye, the three of us might appear like the perfect little family.
Ethan is now holding Weston’s hand, and he motions me over, excited. “Star!” he shrills, and I smile at the sight of a large starfish stuck to the glass. “Just like Patrick in SpongeBob,” I say. “Pretty cool.”
I venture away seconds later and turn my head to observe the two of them together. Weston points and explains, and Ethan listens attentively. Weston is a natural with him.
I spot seahorses floating leisurely, and the sight of them almost hypnotizes me. They’ve always fascinated me so much. Weston and Ethan join me, and Weston presses a hand at the small of my back. I close my eyes for a second, enjoying the slight discreet touch.
Ethan is excited to see more as we exit the exhibition. We move along to the Caribbean Reef. I’m impressed by the large round aquarium surrounded by people. The three of us wriggle our way through, and stand to observe. Ethan is in Weston’s arms, and he looks very comfortable there, more comfy than he would be in mine. Truth be told, I have a hard time holding him for too long these days. He’s getting so big and heavy.
Ethan points at the very large silver fish swimming by us, clearly fascinated.
“That’s a tarpon fish,” Weston tells him. “They live in warm waters, but they can be found as north as Nova Scotia in Canada.”
I smile. “How do you know so much about this stuff?”
He laughs. “I’m obsessed.”
“You definitely are.”
And leans into me. “And soon, I’ll know all there is to know about you too.”
“Oh, will you now?”
“All in good time. I’m not in a hurry. I look forward to all my future discoveries.”
I laugh. “Oh, damn.”
Such a nerd.
I’m busy watching them when Weston calls out, “Look, Ethan.” He points up high. “It’s a sea turtle. A big one too.”
Ethan looks up, in full awe. The sight of his sweet face almost makes me cry. If only Donovan could have known him, could have seen all his best qualities reflected in him; curiosity, kindness, and humor.
I’m teary eyed when I turn my gaze back to the aquarium just in time to see a stingray swim by. I’m not sure why exactly, but those things have always scared me to death.
The day is still young when we head to the Amazon exhibition. I’m not particularly excited about this part because I don’t like snakes very much, but I know Ethan will probably be fascinated by them.
It’s nice and warm in here. Weston still has Ethan in his arms, seemingly unaffected. I’d be dead on the floor by now. The man must work out every day. Seriously though, there’s nothing sexier than a gorgeous man holding a cute toddler. I’ve seen the stares he’s attracted. All these ladies are probably under the assumption that I’m his wife, and I kind of love that.
Mine, mine, mine, ladies.
I wince at the sight of the anaconda, but Ethan loves it. He pokes at the window, and Weston pulls his finger back and quietly tells him the big snake doesn’t like noise. It’s hard to believe that this thing could smother me and then eat me. The thought makes me tremble.
Everything in this exhibit is scary. The pirañas really freak me out, but maybe that has a little something to do with the piraña movie I saw a few years ago. I shouldn’t have watched it. It is now a phobia for life.
Next are some very scary looking spiders, and Ethan doesn’t like these at all. He fusses and Weston is quick to pull him away. He brings him to the stingrays, and I study them as I watch them swim. They look harmless enough, but they still unsettle me. Maybe it’s their weird little faces, or the fact that I know they can sting. I keep thinking about the Crocodile Hunter. I believe he was killed by a stingray.
We make our way to the Wild Reef exhibition, and Weston tells us we will love it. “There are lots of sharks,” he tells Ethan.
And he’s certainly not telling any stories. There are tons of different species of sharks. “That one’s a black-tip reef shark,” he tells us as the shark swims by us. “That’s a zebra shark,” he says to Ethan, “the one with the spots. Pretty cool, right?”
“Cool,” Ethan repeats and squeals again.
I’m mesmerized by the school of colorful striped fish, and all the species intermingled. I wonder if this is what it’s really like in a real coral reef, or if this is just a hyped version, put together for our benefit. I’m relaxed, enjoying the view, when out of nowhere, this grotesque leopard snake-like fish sneaks out from under the coral. “Yikes!”
Weston laughs. “That’s the honeycomb moray eel.”
“Kind of ugly.”
