Chapter 4 #2
There was a break in traffic and he was able to finally make some headway. It took a good twenty more minutes before they pulled off the freeway. Soon Avery would know exactly where they were going. Luckily Avery had been focused on the traffic and not the signs along the freeway.
“Do me a favor and close your eyes,” Jace requested.
Avery frowned. “But I want to see where—”
“I promise you’ll know soon. I’ve been working on this surprise for a long time.” Excitement raced through him. All the planning and research boiled down to this surprise moment.
Avery huffed but he did close his eyes.
Jace grinned as he turned down the road that would lead them to the front gates of the San Diego Zoo. Avery was going to lose his mind.
Jace had worked for over a year to set up the nursery.
When Avery had spotted Jared, his stuffed giraffe, sitting on the bed the first night, Jace knew they had a connection.
Avery loved watching the zoo and aquarium shows on TV.
They’d recorded every episode and Avery had watched them multiple times.
When Jace began to research zoos to take his boy to, the reviews and articles kept returning him to San Diego. Jace had a grand plan to someday take Jace to every zoo in the country. A pipe dream, probably. He’d never be able to afford it, but he would try.
“Can I open my eyes yet?” Avery asked. He was wiggling in his seat and Jace knew it had to be hard for his boy to not peek.
“Almost,” Jace told him.
“Daddy! Not fair!”
Jace chuckled. “I know.” Avery was so damn cute but Jace had a plan. Following the road and the many signs that teased all they were going to see, the front gates finally came into view. Jace pulled over to the side so if anyone else pulled up, they wouldn’t be in the way of any other vehicles.
“Are we there?” Avery’s voice was high with excitement.
“Just about,” Jace said. He pulled out his phone and found the video. He wanted to remember this moment. “Take a deep breath.” Jace pressed Play. “Count to five then open your eyes.”
Avery sucked in a long breath before he blew it out. He’d stopped wiggling as well. “One, two, three, four…” Avery took another deep breath. “Five.”
He opened his eyes and blinked. Then blinked again.
“Jace,” Avery whispered.
“Yes, boy?” Jace had expected screaming and maybe even tears. Not this strange voice coming from his boy.
“Jace.”
Growing concerned, Jace began to lower his phone.
“It’s the zoo,” Avery said quietly.
“It is.”
“We’re at the freaking zoo!” Avery shouted. He tried to jump across the console but his seatbelt held him in place. “Daddy! Daddy!” Avery fought to unbuckle his seatbelt.
That was the excitement he wanted to see. He stopped his phone and reached out to calm his boy.
“That seatbelt needs to stay on until we park.”
“We have to see the giraffes,” Avery exclaimed. “And the monkeys, and lions, and penguins, and… and…”
“We’re going to see them all,” Jace promised. “We have two whole days to spend here.”
Avery finally managed to tear his gaze from the gates up ahead. “Two days?”
Jace nodded as he smiled so wide that his cheeks were starting to ache.
Giving his boy this trip meant the world to him.
Avery had been alone for so long, having only himself to rely on.
Even when life had gotten hard and he’d barely been surviving, Avery had never given up.
The boy deserved the world. This was just the first stop on what Jace hoped was many more vacations.
Avery looked back to the gates as he sniffled. Jace undid his seatbelt and reached over for his boy’s hand. “Overwhelmed?” He had expected this might happen. Had even discussed with Grant and Byron on how Avery might react. This was a big moment for his boy.
“You brought me all the way to California for this, didn’t you?”
“I did.”
“I love you so much! Thank you.” Avery seemed much calmer than Jace expected. The initial bouncing seemed to have been pushed down by whatever Avery was feeling now.
“Are you okay?”
Avery nodded. “Yes. This trip was already amazing and now this seems like a dream. I’m scared I’ll wake up in my tiny cold apartment and none of this really happened.”
“It’s happening. My baby boy is going to spend two days at the zoo with all his favorite animals. As soon as we get inside. So let’s do that.” Jace gave Avery’s hand one last squeeze before he reattached his seatbelt. He put the rental car in gear and started to drive forward.
As they passed under the big arch, Avery’s eyes were huge while looking around.
Having their vacation in the middle of a work week, in May, when school was still in session helped them find a parking spot close to the entrance. Jace parked and exited the vehicle, making sure to snag his backpack from the backseat. He rushed around the car and opened Avery’s door.
As soon as he had Avery’s belt undone, Avery launched himself forward. Jace rocked back, almost falling as Avery practically tackled him.
Chuckling, Jace patted Avery’s back. “It’s okay.” He held Avery close, giving his boy plenty of time to collect himself. It didn’t take long before Avery began to squirm. “Are you ready?”
“Yes please,” Avery said, straightening.
Jace closed the passenger door before he took Avery’s hand.
“Where are we going to go first? Can we see the giraffes first? No, last, we should see them last.”
Jace let Avery ramble on as he led them to the gates. He dug out his phone with his free hand to pull up their online tickets. Once they reached the gates, there was only a small line ahead of them.
Avery remained quiet as he waited until they were granted access. Finally through the gates, Avery stood looking around. Wide-eyed and in shock.
“Look over here,” Jace directed. “We can get a map of the entire zoo so we can make a plan for the day.”
“I don’t know what I want to see first,” Avery whispered. He was starting to panic and Jace wouldn’t allow that. This was going to be a fun day. No worries for his little one.
“It’s a good thing Daddy is here then.” He grasped Avery’s hand pulling him along.
Jace picked up one of the maps available before tugging Avery to a bench.
He opened the map and smiled. It was the same as the one he’d practically memorized online.
He’d wanted his boy’s opinion but if it was too much for Avery to decide, Jace knew just what to do.