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“What if I just stuff one up my shirt and walk out? Do you think that would work?”
Nancy stares at her girlfriend for a moment, trying to gauge if Robin is serious or not. She appears to be genuinely considering it. “If it were a package of chips at a convenience store you might, might , be able to get away with that. But these are birds, Robin. Live, exotic birds. Security would be on you before you got within six feet of the exit and we’d spend the rest of the night in the ER getting you vaccinated against whatever diseases they have.”
“You don’t have to be such a spoilsport about it.” Robin pouts. “Steve and Eddie would totally help me steal the birds, if they were here.”
“Well then it’s a good thing they’re not.” Would the immunity they’d been promised from the feds after the latest batch of Upside Down Bullshit cover the atempted theft of engagered wild animals from the Indianapolis Zoo? Nancy didn’t want to find out.
Robin goes back to leaning on the wooden railing that surrounded the bird enclosure. The entire thing was covered in netting that kept them from flying away but let guests look down onto the manufactured habitat recreation and spot the bright colored species with ease. This enclosure was home to two different kinds, one mostly white and green, the other red.
The net would probably also stop Robin from tumbling into the fake pond below. Even if she lost her balance and pitched in face first, Nancy’s girlfriend had survived another dimension filled with demons, torture at the hands of the Russian military, and several jobs in customer service. She could handle a few birds from Africa. Nancy wanders away to read the information plaque.
Though brief, it’s very informative.
Once Robin is convinced to leave the ibis exhibit, they find a place to sit down and eat the sandwiches they’d brought with them. For dessert, they split the chocolate bar Robin’s been carrying around in her pocket all day.
The two of them spend nearly six hours total wandering the zoo and then riding on the train. Robin doesn’t suggest any more heists and Nancy reads every bit of information available about every animal they stop to observe.
At the gorilla exhibit, some kid calls the apes monkeys and Nancy corrects him without thinking. This leads to an impromptu lecture on the difference that the kid only stands still long enough to listen to because the gorilla is moving behind the glass and he’s enraptured. Robin mimes taking notes on the subject though, until Nancy throws the bit of fish food still left in her pockets from the hatchery at her.
Laughing, Robin tries to dodge the stinky pellets. Her clothes still smell of them when they get in the car to head home.
“Good date idea then?”
“Wonderful, babe.” Robin says, “Although it would have been better if you let me keep one of the birds. Some of them were really small, and cute. I totally could have smuggled a dove out.”
Nancy reaches across the center console to take Robin’s hand in her own. “Sorry, but I’m at my limit for cute birds.”