“Yes we do.”
I almost laughed at Tom’s extremely weary answer, but Libe went right back to giving me the run down on the best of the zoo.
“My favorites are the penguins and the puffins, and second favorites, the goats and the donkeys because we can feed and pet them.”
She turned around and pointed towards an indoor exhibit. “The penguins are there. It’s a little smelly, but you just have to power through it.” I burst out laughing at that, and she stared at me like she had no idea what was so damn funny. Then she gave her dad a look that said, “This one may be too dumb to get another invitation to the zoo.”
After a moment she climbed down from the bench, gave me her little hand and started tugging me in the direction of the penguins.
As we walked over to the exhibit, I glanced up and found Tom watching me with laughter in his eyes. I was holding Libe’s hand and in the other had the lemur, who she’d informed me was named Bobby.
“What?” I asked feeling self-conscious.
He shook his head. “Nothing, I’m just glad you’re here.” He bent down and kissed my head.
“I’m glad I’m here, too.”
“Me, too!” Libe piped in, not about to be left out of the conversation.
Libe had me in stitches as we moved around the exhibit. She was a riot, offering me some facts about the animals, and just being generally sassy and amazing. At the moment she had Bobby and Pinkie Pie shoved against the glass and was giving them a lesson on puffin eating habits.
Tom and I were standing there listening to her hilarious monologue when an older woman approached us and bent down to talk to Libe.
“Oh that’s so cute, are those your little friends? A horsey and a monkey.”
Libe’s head swiveled up to look at the lady and her stank face was so fucking epic I almost died. She held up her arms, showing the lady the stuffed animals. “This is a ring-tailed lemur and his name is Bobby.” Then she extended the arm with the pony. “Andthis is Pinkie Pie. She’s a magical pony. I don’t like monkeys.” With that she was done with the woman’s foolishness.
When she turned around, she gave Tom and me a look that said,“Can you believe I’m out here dealing with these basic bitches while I’m trying talk to these damn puffins?” Then she walked off to the next exhibit. The lady just stared after her as Tom tried to offer an apology without losing his shit.
This kid was my soul mate.
The day at the zoo was great. It was a pleasure to see Tom with Libertad. He was a fantastic father, engaged without being overprotective. He spoke to her like a human being and it was beautiful to watch. I knew I was half in love with him at the end of the day, when he picked her up as we were leaving the zoo, and then grabbed my hand. Like it was the most natural thing in the world.
As we got close to the sea lion exhibit, Libe lifted her head up, popping her thumb out of her mouth. “Daddy, we need a selfie!” I let go of Tom’s hand so I could cover the grin that broke out on my face. This kid did the most.
Tom shook his head as he tried very hard to keep a straight face. “Libertad, you don’t even have a phone. What are you going to do with a selfie?”
She cut her eyes at him like the tiny savage she was and turned to me. “We always take selfies so my daddy can send them to my abue and my nana.” She said the last words like she knew Tom was playing with fire by not documenting every precious moment with Libe for the grandparents.
Tom straightened up then, barely holding it together from his kid’s antics. He seemed like he was going to say something when Libe spoke up again.
“I want a photo with Milo and Pinkie. I want to put it on my smiles walls.”
I raised an eyebrow at that and Tom’s eyes widened, before launching into an explanation. “Because Libe has two bedrooms, in each one she has lots of photos of all her favorite things. So she can be with them every night.”
The looks Tom kept sending me were making my knees weak. For all I knew, Libe had everyone under the sun on that smiles wall, but this all felt so fucking huge.
“I’d love to take a selfie.” I said, sounding completely breathless, but Libe immediately took charge of the situation. She got Tom’s phone out of his coat pocket and within seconds, we were trying to find a spot for the photo. I moved closer to Tom as Libe put her little arm around my head. “Take the selfie, Daddy!”
We both laughed at her bossy tone and big grin. Tom held his arm out and we all looked up, smiling at the camera. After a few tries, Tom brought the phone down and when he looked at it, his face shone.
“Let me see it, Daddy,” Libe said, reaching for the phone.
“Libertad, paciencia por favor. What do you say?”
“Please.” She said grudgingly, her little hands twitching to grab the phone.
When Tom handed her the phone, she turned so I could see it, too. I could barely speak through the wave of emotion that crashed into me. “I like it.”
