“Would it be easier to take care of a kangaroo than an elephant?” she asked Tori, assuming the answer was yes.
“Um…” Tori looked at her as if she couldn’t believe Charlie had actually asked that. “Definitely.”
“But Griffin likes elephants,” Maddie pointed out. “So, why would you get him a kangaroo?”
More importantly, how would she get him a kangaroo?
“He likes it all,” Tori said to Maddie. But she was watching Charlie. “He’s very fond of tigers. He loves zebras. He loves lemurs too. He really loves lemurs. They’re endangered, you know.”
Lemurs. Those were much smaller than elephants. And they were endangered. That meant Griffin could care for something that really needed him.
“Could lemurs be a part of a petting zoo?” Maddie asked. “Can people interact with them?”
“Maybe,” Tori said after a moment. “I know there are a few places that allow people to feed and interact with them for short periods. But, like with any wild animal, we’d have to be careful and supervise it.”
Charlie nodded, still thinking. “But even just having them—and Griffin being able to take care of them—would make him happy.”
Tori’s smile was wide. “Yes. It would.”
Yes, it would.
“You wouldn’t have any idea about how to get lemurs for a park like ours, would you?” Charlie asked.
“Now it’s a park?” Zeke asked. “I thought it was a petting zoo.”
“Well, it could be a park,” Charlie said.
“Sawyer is going to roll his eyes so hard it will hurt,” Owen said.
“Oh, Sawyer will be fine,” Maddie said. “We’ll just have Charlie explain it to him. No one can say no to her.”
Charlie appreciated the vote of confidence and couldn’t help the little flip of excitement she felt in her chest. Getting Griffin a lemur sounded like the perfect idea. She wanted him to be excited about the petting zoo. But after their talk, she thought that she was possibly already at the limit of how excited he could be. He was a wonderful vet and obviously cared a lot about the animals, be it pigs or goats or otters. But that was because he was a great guy. He was doing his job, and he would feel the same way even if those animals were simply someone’s farm animals and not in a tourist attraction. In fact, making this a tourist attraction was what was making him less than enthusiastic.
Maybe lemurs could change that. She would really love to get him something he could be truly enthusiastic about. Sure, tourists would want to look at the lemurs and possibly feed and interact with them, but they would be for Griffin first and foremost.
“And yes, to answer your question,” Tori said to Charlie. “I do know someone who would know about how we could get a couple of lemurs.”
“Mitch is going to have to build an enclosure for that, right?” Zeke asked. “That would be cool.”
Charlie grinned at him. “Yes, it will be all hands on deck. As always.”
Zeke nodded, tossing another fry in his mouth and chewing. Then said, “Awesome.”
It was hard to do anything privately here, but that was awesome. Even the craziest ideas actually got considered, and when something was going to happen, everyone was willing to play a part.
“Let me make a phone call,” Tori said. “I’ll let you know later today.”
Charlie was excited. “Great. And no one says anything to Griffin.”
Owen chuckled. “Don’t worry. I’m not gonna be the one who tells him about this.”
Three days later, when the front door to the clinic opened, Charlie looked up, admittedly hoping it was Griffin. She was always hoping it was him. She had it bad.
It wasn’t him, though.
The woman was tiny, with lightly tanned skin, dark curly hair, and an instantly contagious grin. She was around Charlie’s age and walked in as if she was in exactly the right place.
“Hi,” Charlie greeted, getting to her feet. “Can I help you?”
“You’re Charlie, right?” the woman asked.
“I am.”
“Awesome!” The woman’s smile got even brighter as she approached the counter. She was dressed in blue jeans with a bright red tank top and red Converse on her feet. When she walked, she nearly bounced.
Energy seemed to radiate from her, and Charlie found herself grinning without even knowing why. “Have we met?”
The woman shook her head. “Tori called me. I’m Fiona.”
“Oh, if you’re meeting Tori, she isn’t here yet.”
“I’m sure she’s on her way. But I’m here for you,” Fiona told her and propped her elbows on the front counter.
The counter was high enough for her that she had to stretch slightly. She couldn’t have been more than five foot one, and Charlie noticed that everything about her seemed small. She had a cute turned-up nose, and her blue eyes practically twinkled. For just a moment, Charlie had the thought that Fiona reminded her of an elf. Or a sprite. Or something else with positive energy and maybe a magical touch.
“You’re here for me?” Charlie repeated. “What about?”
“I hear you’re in need of a lemur.”
Charlie’s eyes widened. “Yes, I’m interested in talking with someone who can tell me what it would take to care for a lemur at a place like ours and give more information about purchasing and licensing and all that.”
Fiona laughed, and the sound was light and happy, and Charlie found that contagious as well. She laughed too, without being really sure why.
“We’ll go over all of that when I introduce you to Larry.”
Charlie shook her head. “Who’s Larry?” Maybe Larry was the lemur expert who could help her decide if she should do this or not.
“Larry is one of the lemurs I brought you.”
Charlie stared at Fiona. “You brought me a lemur.”
“Three of them, actually. Larry, Curly, and Moe are outside just waiting to move into their new digs.”
Charlie let that sink in for a moment, then asked again, “You brought me a lemur?”
“Tori said you wanted to get some lemurs for Griffin. I am one thousand percent on board with that idea. So I brought you some.” Fiona said it as if it was the most obvious thing. Almost as if she had just brought Charlie a new pair of shoes to try on. Something simple and not at all crazy.
“You just brought them? I don’t know anything about lemurs.”
“But Griffin does,” Fiona said.
“Griffin doesn’t know that we’re getting lemurs,” Charlie said, feeling a tiny bubble of panic rising in her chest. She had intended to do a lot more homework. She never went into a presentation without being fully prepared. And presenting the idea of lemurs to Griffin seemed like something she needed to be very prepared for.
“Griffin Foster needs to be shaken up out of his boring, trying-to-be-a-normal-guy routine, and I think a hot blonde and lemurs are exactly what he needs,” Fiona told her.
“Wait, do you know Griffin?”
Fiona nodded. “Oh, sure. Griffin and I were in Zambia together.”
This woman had been in Zambia with Griffin? The place he loved so much? The place that had shown him what he wanted to do with his life?