by A. E. Radley
“Rebecca said I worked too hard,” Olivia said with a soft smile. She turned her head away to look out of the window. “I work more now than I did then.”
“How come?”
Olivia shrugged. “Because it’s there.”
“What do you mean?”
Olivia let out a breath, gathering her thoughts. “I do it because I don’t know what else to do. I go to the office every day because it’s there. I do the work because it’s on my desk. My father instilled a strong work ethic in me. I work until there is no more work to do, or until I must rest,” She smiled, realising now she had verbalised it, how it must sound. “In order to do more work.”
“If something else was there, would you maybe work less?” Emily asked.
She looked at Emily warily.
“No expectations,” Emily explained. “And I’m not referring to me or him,” She indicated her son, who was busy chatting to himself about everything outside on the street. “I’m just asking if you found other things that you enjoyed in life, would you work less? Are you in a position to be able to work less?”
Olivia considered the possibility. “Yes, I think I would work less.”
“Maybe you should explore that,” Emily said casually as she looked towards Henry. “We only get one life, you need to make the most of it and enjoy it while you can.”
“We’re going to see giraffes!” Henry shouted excitedly to the driver.
“Giraffes? That sounds like fun,” the taxi driver called back.
“Yes, it’s amazing!” Henry agreed before turning his attention back outside.
A few minutes later, the taxi pulled up by the Regent’s Park zoo entrance. Olivia handed the driver money and told him to keep the change. The driver seemed very pleased and wished them well before driving away.
Henry was looking at Emily with a very serious expression. “Are we sure they will be in?”
“Um, yes, I think so. Why do you ask?”
“Because all the other giraffes are on vacation and I don’t want to come all this way for nothing,” he said with a sigh.
The women laughed and Olivia led them to a small building beside the gate. There, a staff member checked a clipboard before opening up the gate for them.
Inside the zoo, Henry looked around in awe at all the exhibits and animals that they could see on the way to the giraffe house. Olivia led the way explaining to Emily that the zoo ran a lot of night-time events and that was why she was so familiar with the layout and not, as Emily joked, that she secretly spent all her spare time in the zoo.
Walking with a five-year-old seemed to take five times longer than walking on her own, which would normally annoy Olivia, but seeing Henry’s reaction to the animals made up for it. However, she was anxious to get to the giraffe enclosure so she could see his expression when he finally came face to kneecap with his idols.
They finally rounded the final corner and started walking towards the giraffe house. The outside area seemed to be empty of the majestic animals until, suddenly, a giraffe stepped through the arched gateway that led into the high-ceilinged house. It walked slowly into the outside enclosure and Olivia turned around to see the look on Henry’s face.
What she saw was not at all what she expected. She had expected smiles and excitement, even happy laughter. Instead, Henry came to a skidding halt before the enormous animal. A look Olivia could only describe as fear flitted across his face and he burst into tears.
Emily scooped him up and held him tight. “Shush, it’s okay, Henry,” she whispered.
Olivia looked on in complete bewilderment, looking from Henry to the giraffe and back again. She had no idea what had gone wrong. Emily walked away from the enclosure and sat Henry on a nearby bench. Olivia followed and sat beside her as Henry continued to cry and hold onto his mother with terror.
“Everything is okay,” Emily whispered into his hair as she cuddled him closely.
“I—I d—don’t like th—them,” Henry stuttered between tears.
“But it’s a giraffe,” Olivia pointed to the animal that could be seen in the distance. “You love giraffes!”
Emily gently rocked the upset boy as she spoke, “Henry has only ever seen cartoon giraffes, giraffes in books, giraffes on television, giraffe balloons, giraffes on hoodies,” She tickled his tummy gently as she said the last point. “He’s never seen a real one and I think he is a little surprised at how big they are. Is that right, Henry?”
Henry snivelled and sniffed as he agreed with a nod.
“But he knows they’re big,” Olivia whispered. “He knows everything about them.”
Emily looked at Olivia seriously. “He’s five. He doesn’t know what facts and figures mean. Besides, that giraffe is like, fifteen feet tall, Henry is just a metre. He’s never seen an animal that big.”
“I want to go home,” Henry said looking at his mother with a red and puffy face.
“Okay,” Emily said as she brushed the mussed hair from his forehead. “But I’m a little tired at the moment. Can we stay here a little while? Just until I feel better?”
Henry looked at her hesitantly and nodded.
“Thank you,” Emily smiled at him. “We’ll just ignore that big old giraffe over there. He’s all locked away in his enclosure anyway, so he can’t come over here and steal our ice cream.”
Henry sniffled and ran the back of his hand across his nose. “We’re having ice cream?”
“I think so,” Emily said. “That’s what people do when they go to the zoo, I think, don’t they Olivia?”
“Oh, y-yes, that’s right,” Olivia replied, watching the interaction between them with fascination and a little confusion.
“Would you like ice cream?” Emily asked Henry. “We’ll have to eat it here.”
Henry angled his head around to see the large giraffe in its enclosure and analysed the safety of the situation before slowly nodding.
“Okay, can you stay here with Olivia and I’ll get some,” Emily said. She was already transferring him from her own lap to Olivia’s. “You want anything?”
Olivia took a hold of Henry as he was deposited on her knee and shook her head. “No, thank you.”
“Okay, back soon,” Emily smiled as she headed off.
Henry turned around to watch her leave and then regarded the giraffe with a furrowed brow. Olivia gently held him in place.
“I’m sorry you don’t like the giraffe,” Olivia said. “I thought you would.”
Henry remained silent as he looked at the giraffe enclosure, checking that the animal wasn’t about to get any closer. Olivia realised she had little else to say and decided to also remain silent until she saw Emily return with two ice cream cones.
“Can you sit on the bench, Henry?” Emily requested, and he climbed off Olivia and sat beside her with his hands outstretched and his eyes focused on the ice cream.
Emily handed him the cone and then sat on the other side of Olivia as she ate hers.
“Why are we eating ice cream?” Olivia suddenly asked, fed up with not understanding what was unfolding around her.
“To give him some time to adjust,” Emily said quietly so only she could hear.
“And then we’re going to leave?” Olivia whispered back with confusion. “I thought he would like the giraffes.”
“He will. He just wasn’t expecting them to be so big and so real. Sometimes kids imagine things and then when they see them for real, it’s so different that it’s a little scary.”
“So…we’re not leaving?”
“We’ll see how he gets on,” Emily said. “He’ll come around.”
“I upset him,” Olivia said quietly, angry at herself.
“He’s a child,” Emily replied. “He’s unpredictable, sometimes he gets upset. Sometimes about silly stuff. Sometimes about nothing.”
“I wanted to do something nice for him,” Olivia said with a sigh. “But I terrified him.”
“You didn’t terrify him, the giraffe did. And,
as I said, he’s a child. These things happen.”
“But I wanted to do the right thing.”
“And you did,” Emily replied. “Things may not always go the way you think they will but it’s the intention that matters. Besides…” She grinned. “Look…”
Olivia turned around to see Henry had left the bench. He was slowly walking towards the giraffe enclosure with a curious tilt of the head, steadily licking his ice cream. Olivia smiled.
“Ten bucks says he’ll cry when we tell him it’s time to go home,” Emily bet.
Olivia was about to reply when Henry turned around, looked at them, and giggled. “A giraffe! Look!”
CHAPTER 27
“Help!” Henry giggled. He held the leafy branch with both hands and looked over at Olivia with a smile.
Olivia wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly while the giraffe reached forward and roughly pulled a mouthful of leaves off of the branch.
Emily was filming the moment on her mobile phone through fits of giggles as she watched the large animal easily pull both Henry and Olivia forward in its exuberance to eat the leaves.
“I had no idea they were so strong,” Olivia looked over at Emily filming them.
“My money is totally on the giraffe!” Emily laughed back. The zoo keeper prepared another branch as Henry finally gave up and let go of the one in his hands. It was immediately whisked away by the adult male giraffe.
A smaller, though still quite enormous, giraffe quickly took its place and Henry anxiously proffered the new branch for it to munch.
The young, female keeper smiled at Henry. “As you’re so good with the giraffes maybe you would like to come and see inside the giraffe house?”
Of course, Olivia had already discussed with the managers of the zoo what special access she could obtain for Henry that would be both safe and educational for him. He looked at the keeper with amazement and managed to move his head in agreement. The keeper smiled and held out her hand. “Come on then, your mummy can finish feeding the giraffe.”
Olivia was about to state that she was not Henry’s mother when he thrust the branch at her and took the keeper’s hand.
“We’ll be just over there.” The girl smiled before heading off with Henry through the doors of the giraffe house.
Emily came over to where a distracted Olivia stood watching them walk away.
“I know they have long necks but you have to help them out a little,” Emily indicated the giraffe who was straining to reach the branch in Olivia’s hand.
“Oh,” Olivia lifted the branch for the giraffe to eat. It pulled hard and she was dragged forward, much to Emily’s amusement.
“It looks easier than it is,” Olivia said as she played an impromptu game of tug-o-war with the giraffe, causing Emily to laugh even more. The giraffe tugged and Olivia surged forward. Emily grabbed for her and the two women fought to stand their ground. They both giggled at the ridiculousness of the situation and eventually Emily suggested, “Let go on the count of three. One, two, three!”
The giraffe moved away with its prize. From the viewing platform, they could see down into the giraffe house where Henry was watching a keeper clean the enclosure while his companion explained things to him.
“I can’t believe the change in him,” Olivia said with a smile.
“Kids are resilient.”
“He was terrified before, now he is happily feeding them.”
“You’ll come to realise that kids can be like that about a lot of things.”
“Erratic and unreliable?” Olivia questioned grumpily, still not over the shock that her perfect surprise for Henry had caused the boy to cry in fear.
“Yes, I suppose that’s one way to describe it.”
“She thought I was Henry’s mother.” Olivia indicated the keeper with a nod of her head.
“Yes, she did.” Emily nodded, watching Henry giggling as the keeper spoke to him.
“I’m sorry,” Olivia said quietly.
Emily frowned and turned to look at Olivia. “Why are you sorry?”
“Because you’re his mother and she thought I was. I think it’s because Henry and I have the same hair colour,” Olivia explained.
“There’s nothing to apologise for. If we’re all out together then people will sometimes think that you’re his mom or that we’re both his mom It happens, it doesn’t matter.”
Olivia towards looked towards Henry with a thoughtful expression.
“Unless it bothers you that someone might think you’re his mother?” Emily asked gently.
“No, quite the opposite.”
Suddenly, heavy rain drops started to fall and they hurried towards the door to the giraffe house. Despite only having been out in the rain for a few seconds, they were both soaked by the force of the downpour.
Emily chuckled and pushed strands of long, blonde hair away from her face and attempted to swipe at some of the damp from her jacket.
“I don’t like being wet,” Olivia stood uncomfortably and brushed away the drops of water from her face.
Emily reached out and softly wiped away a trickle of water running down her cheek before smoothing back the thick, dark hair. She tucked a particularly stubborn strand behind Olivia’s ear. They both paused, looking deeply into each other’s eyes. They both hesitated, and it seemed the rain on the metal roof thundered louder than her heart, then Olivia cupped Emily’s face and softly kissed the fullness of her mouth, still damp from the rain. Emily leaned into the kiss, her lips moving instinctively under Olivia’s. The thought that their mouths were warm and fitted together perfectly, flitted through Olivia’s mind—and then Emily was breaking the kiss, moving away, taking a small step back.
“I’m sorry,” Olivia whispered. “I—I just…”
“It’s my fault,” Emily looked flustered and vaguely apologetic. “I know I must be giving you mixed signals.”
“It’s my fault. I’m not good at reading signals.”
“That may be true but I know I’m not making it any easier for you,” Emily ran her fingers through her wet hair and pushed it back behind her ears. “Like I said before, I need some time.”
“I understand and I’m here whenever you’re ready. I know I want this.”
Emily licked her lips nervously. Olivia wasn’t an open book most of the time, but here she was laying her emotions out for Emily to see.
“I think I do too,” Emily admitted, to both Olivia and herself.
“Then maybe I should be asking you out for that drink?”
Emily smiled. “That would be lovely. How would next Monday evening suit you?”
Olivia smiled brightly. “I’ll clear my schedule.”
“Good. I’ll come to your office, shall we say around six o’clock?” Emily asked.
“Yes, that sounds wonderful.”
Luckily, the rain shower was short lived and the rest of the afternoon was filled with sharing shy smiles while they spent time with Henry. After just an hour with the giraffes, Henry had declared that he wanted to be a zoo keeper when he grew up. Olivia responded by asking the female keeper about training programs, job openings, and salary guides until Emily informed her that Henry would probably change his mind several times before embarking on a career path and reminded her that he had yet to even start school yet.
As Emily had predicted, when it came time to leave, Henry didn’t want to go and folded his arms and pouted as he looked up at his mother and begged her to let him stay. The female keeper told Henry that he could stay but anyone staying after a certain time had to clean out the giraffe toilet. One look at the corner of the enclosure where the waste was stacked up had Henry’s eyebrows lifting off of his face. He agreed it was time to go.
He hugged the keeper goodbye.
“You’ve a wonderful boy,” she told Emily and Olivia. Olivia was about to correct her when Emily spoke up.
“Thank you for giving him such a wonderful time. He’ll remember this day forever.”
*
* *
On the way out of the zoo, Henry began running in a wild zigzag while Emily and Olivia casually strolled behind him, exchanging warm glances. Henry screamed in excitement as they neared the exit and rushed into the gift shop, making Emily and Olivia hurry in after him.
An entire area of the shop was dedicated to the giraffes and Henry stood staring at everything in reverence.
“Henry,” Emily said in a warning tone.
“Mommy, please,” Henry begged.
“Henry, you know that we can’t afford it,” Emily told him plainly.
“I…” Olivia started to speak.
Emily held her hand up to prevent her from saying anything else in front of Henry before addressing the boy again. “You can look but you can’t buy anything, okay?”
“Okay,” Henry said sadly and sighed before turning his attention to the cuddly toys.
Emily stepped aside and pulled Olivia with her by the elbow.
“I can buy him a gift,” Olivia said.
“I know. But he needs to learn the value of things and he needs to know that he can’t just beg to get you to buy him things. Because I get the impression you would.”
Olivia looked like she was about to argue but then considered her words and nodded. “Yes, I probably would but what’s the harm? I can buy him an eraser and a cup, I don’t see the problem.”
“The problem is that all of these things are just here to entice children. Most of it is crap and the rest of it no one really needs. The only thing it all has in common is that it’s overpriced. I want Henry to learn the value of money and to know that you have to spend it on things you need first, not things you want,” Emily explained. “And besides, what about the next time when you’re not here to buy him the eraser and the cup? Then how will he feel?”
“But if it’s a gift then surely different rules apply?”
“Not when you’re five. All Henry knows is that he either has something or he doesn’t have something.”
Olivia looked over to where Henry forlornly stared at the giraffe merchandise, taking a moment to hug a pencil case that he seemed to have taken a particular shine to.
“Think of your pig farmer client,” Emily saw the struggle on Olivia’s face not to run over and fill the shopping basket with everything Henry wanted. “You said he’s the big brother of the family and runs the business, right?” Olivia nodded, though grudgingly. Emily smiled and carried on, “Okay, so, say they were doing really badly. The pigs have…I don’t know…got blight or something.”
