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“Well, I’m not seeing many other options. My friend Camila lives on the other side of the zoo. By the time she could get out here, we’d waste half our zoo time.”
“We could call Dad.”
And let Aiden hear about how shitty my car is? No, thank you. Knowing him, he’d probably try to leave his car here from now on and take the bus himself. It would be just like him to do something like that.
“We don’t want to bother him.”
“But I want togo,” Sophie whines.
“I know that, but if we can’t Uber, and you won’t take the bus, I don’t see how we’ll be able to—”
I pause, an idea striking me. It might be a bad one, since I’ve only just begun to win brownie points with the person I have in mind, but I think to myself that this could be a chance to earn more, if I play my cards right.
“Hey, Soph,” I say, turning to flash her a grin. “What time does your aunt’s shop open?”
—
Thanks for coming to get us,” I say again as we climb into Iris’s car. “You’re really saving us here.”
“It’s fine,” Iris says. “I don’t want Sophie on the bus.”
What do these people have against the bus?
I decide it’s not the time to try to gain the answer to that question.
“And you’re sure you won’t come with us?”
“I would,” Iris says, and I think she actually means it, based on her tone. “But I don’t have anyone to cover for me until this afternoon. I only have two other employees right now.”
“Wow, that sounds tough. Is it crazy busy?”
Iris nods. “We’re getting into the fall wedding season, so we’ve had a lot of orders. I’m doing my best to keep up with the staff I have. I can’t really afford to hire anyone else at the moment.”
“I’m sorry,” I say lamely, not knowing what else to say.
“It’s fine.” Iris shrugs. “Just part of it.” She eyes me from the side as she pulls out onto the main highway. “Was this your idea?”
“Oh... yeah. I have a friend from school who has a niece Sophie’s age. I thought...” I stop myself, glancing back at Sophie, who is listening curiously. “I mean, my friend asked me if I knew anyone around the same age as her niece that might want to have a zoo day with them.”
Iris gives me a knowing look, and then surprises me by actuallysmiling, like she knows exactly what I’m not saying. “That sounds fun.”
“Have you ever been?”
“Oh, yeah,” Iris says. “Rebecca and I took Sophie when she was, what... six?”
Sophie shrugs. “Maybe. I was little. I remember petting a giraffe!”
“We did the wildlife safari,” Iris clarifies. “Rebecca was obsessed with the giraffes.”
There’s a wistfulness to her tone, her expression far away, and I see the minute she catches it, quickly masking her features to that of her usual indifferent look.
“That sounds like a great time,” I note.
Iris nods. “It was. I think I have a picture of the three of us somewhere with a giraffe.”
“I’d love to see it sometime.”
Iris eyes me again. “I’ll try to find it next time.”
