Chapter 24 Ivy
Ivy
“You have got to go with him to Canterbury. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Val says.
“This trip with my family is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” I insist.
Val continues, ignoring me, “Or, really, it wouldn’t have to be once in a lifetime if you would let yourself love him. He could bring you here any time you wanted.”
“Val!”
“Just go. And pack a bag. What if the next place his aunt sends you is out there and you need to stay the night?”
“Val.”
“Oooo, pack the red dress. You never know when you might need something fancy.”
“Oh my gosh.”
“And don’t forget toothpaste,” she calls as I’m walking out of her and Micah’s room.
Do I want to go with Alex? Yes. I really do, and that’s why I needed my sister to tell me no.
To tell me to be responsible and stay with my family.
Although, I have no idea why I expected she would.
Driving out into England with a handsome near-stranger sounds exactly like something she would actively promote.
It was late when I got back to the hotel last night, so I didn’t have a chance to mention what Alex proposed until this morning, after breakfast, while we were getting ready to go to the London Zoo, where we planned to spend the day.
I don’t know why I told Alex we had morning plans.
We had day plans. It was almost like I wanted to leave myself an opening, but not simply say yes.
I love zoos, but I’m excited at the prospect of seeing more of England. And, of seeing more of Alex. I’ve got to tamp that down a bit.
IVY
Hey. You were right. Val is practically forcing me to go with you.
He answers almost instantly.
ALEXANDER
Glad to hear you’re going against your will. It only hurts a little…
I roll my eyes, but it also makes me smile.
IVY
I have to make sure you stay humble.
ALEXANDER
You’ve been humbling me from the beginning.
ALEXANDER
I like it.
I wonder if I’m the only person to ever humble him.
IVY
Could we leave at 2?
ALEXANDER
Sure. I’ll pick you up.
ALEXANDER
You might want to pack a bag, just in case. I’m assuming we’ll be back tonight, but if she has planned a place nearby, it would be nice to be able to take care of it. If you’re okay with it.
IVY
Wasn’t it a couple of days between the last two riddles?
ALEXANDER
It was, but as much as my aunt was a loon, she was practical. But who knows, I’m assuming we will be back tonight.
IVY
Okay. I’ll grab some things.
ALEXANDER
Maybe the red dress?
IVY
You and Val should join forces.
ALEXANDER
Thanks for the tip.
IVY
I’m so thankful you don’t have her number.
ALEXANDER
Who says I don’t?
“Val! Does Alex have your number?” I call across the hotel room.
“No,” she calls from the living area.
IVY
See you at 2.
ALEXANDER
*big smile emoji*
The London Zoo is beautiful and thoughtfully laid out, and I think I recognize some spots from seeing them in movies. I’m so excited to be here, and I’m trying to see as much as I can before I have to leave.
But there is a gorilla nursing a baby by the observation window, and we can’t seem to move on from them. It’s truly the coolest thing. Juniper gasps when the mother slings the baby into the crook of her arm, and they run off. Baby gorillas are not fragile.
We go next to see the Galapagos tortoises and I’m so stoked to see them. Only we get there and there isn’t a way to touch them. They are behind glass and nets.
“What in the world? I want to touch them,” I gasp. “What if it’s bad to touch them and the zoo where I touched them before was doing the wrong thing? I could have unknowingly passed some sort of disease to them. They are so old.”
“Some of these are younger than we are,” Micah says, looking up at a sign.
“What? Are you serious?” I look and, sure enough, two of them were born almost ten years after me.
I thought Galapagos tortoises were all like a hundred years old.
Which, now that I’m thinking about it, doesn’t make any sense.
New ones have to be born, and believe it or not, they aren’t born already a hundred years old.
“This says they can live to be well over a hundred,” Val says, pointing to an informational sign. “So if you come back when you are a hundred and ten, you can celebrate the youngest one’s birthday.”
I laugh. “Yes, I’m sure my hundred-and-ten-year-old self will be up for going to London to visit a zoo.” I lean my elbows on the fence, trying to figure out which one is which. “I wonder if the zoo does birthday parties for big milestones like that. Seems like great marketing.”
When no one responds, I stand to find that my family has moved on. I don’t leave right away because I think I have identified the youngest tortoise, and he is ever so slowly walking my way. He turns, though, and pulls his front end on top of one of the others, who doesn’t even seem to notice.
“You guys are weird,” I call. “I’ll see you in eighty years.”