AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Would you mind taking a photo with me and my kids and…” her voice broke as she noticed Isaac.
“I’ll take it,” Kyla offered, as Isaac and I both got into the frame. We smiled for a few moments until Kyla said, “Got it,” and passed the camera back to the woman. She scrolled through the pictures and grinned.
“Thanks!”
I assumed that would be the end of it, but our photo had drawn the attention of other zoo patrons, and half an hour later, we were still posing for photos. After a while, one of the attendants came over. He was probably in his early twenties, but still had the lanky build of a teenager.
“Would you like to hold a koala?”
I looked at Kyla, waiting for her advice. The marsupials looked fluffy and cuddly, but I knew they had massive claws. She shrugged and gave me a helpless look.
“Don’t they all have chlamydia?” she asked the attendant, and my mouth dropped open as he laughed.
“Sometimes, but it’s a different strain than the one humans have, and you can’t catch it from holding one. We’ve got plenty of hand washing facilities though, and we recommend using them after interacting with any animal.”
I nudged Kyla and, as soon as the attendant was out of earshot, said, “What’s wrong with the animals in your country? Giant spiders, eight out of ten of the world’s most venomoussnakes, tiny bears with sexually transmitted diseases... at least these guys are cute.” I crouched next to a wallaby and poured some pellets into the palm of my hand. It sniffed me, then leaned forward to nibble the food.
Kyla gave me a wry smile.
“Just wait until one jumps in front of your car when you’re driving on the highway.”
I looked at Isaac.
“Why did Britain want to colonize this place again?”
He shrugged.
“Beats me. The U.K. might be cold, but at least we don’t have anything more deadly than the badger.”
The attendant returned holding a branch that had a sleeping koala nestled in its branches. It didn’t wake up even when the attendant peeled it off the branch and placed it in my arms.
“Are they drugged or something?”
“Koalas sleep for up to twenty hours a day,” the attendant explained. “They have to, so their digestive systems can break down the eucalyptus leaves that they eat.”
I smiled as Kyla snapped more photos of me, Isaac, and the koala for everyone who asked.
“Do you want to hold this guy?” I asked Isaac. He took it stiffly and grimaced as another family stood alongside us for a photo.
“I feel like I’m holding someone else’s baby.”
“You don’t like babies?” I couldn’t imagine anyone not liking them — their fat little arms and legs, their squishy faces. I’d always wanted a family of my own, but I’d avoided serious relationships because, after growing up in the spotlight, I was wary of bringing my own kid into that world.
“Just other people’s,” Isaac clarified. “I’m always worried I’m going to break them somehow. I’m sure I would love my own.”
Finally, the crowd thinned, and we were free to explore again. We fed the wallabies that loped around us, searched for more koalas in the trees, and took selfies with an emu that strutted up to us like a coworker who wanted to hear the latest workplace gossip.
When we were ready to leave, Isaac and I followed the attendant to the shed, where he showed us how the zookeepers scrubbed their hands, wrists, and arms after handling animals.
My stomach rumbled.
“Is there anywhere to eat here?”
Kyla examined the map.
“The zoo’s cafe closed half an hour ago. There’s a restaurant in the valley, but it’s super expensive…”
“Is it good?” Isaac asked and Kyla looked at the ground.
