I hoisted myself up and stretched my arms just as the bedroom door flew open. Theo entered carrying a tray containing a cup of coffee and a plate of pancakes and bacon. Thomas toddled in behind him, clutching a beautiful bouquet of flowers.
“What is happening?” I laughed.
“Breakfast in bed for you because you deserve it.” Theo placed the tray on the nightstand, then lifted Thomas on the bed along with the flowers.
“These flowers are so beautiful, Thomas. Did you pick them out?”
“He did. The woman at the market was amazed when he whipped out his credit card to pay for them too.”
I shook my head, unable to hold back a laugh.
“It’s only…” I picked up my phone. “Seven twenty-three. You guys were out and about already?”
“Not by choice,” Theo asserted. “My plan was to make you breakfast, and let’s just say that turned out worse than the chicken.”
I crinkled my nose. “How is that even possible?”
“Oh believe me, it’s possible. So Thomas and I went with plan B. We went to the café down the street and got some takeout, then stopped at the market for the flowers.”
“You mean, you didn’t pick these with your own two hands?” I teased.
He shook his head. “But I did make the coffee.”
“And it’s perfect,” I said after taking a sip. “You didn’t have to do this, you know?”
“I know I didn’t. I wanted to.” His playful demeanor from moments ago had shifted to somber.
“Well, thank you,” I whispered.
Thomas stood up and was just about to jump up and down when Theo scooped him up in his arms. “So what did you want to do today? We can go to the zoo or the park…or anything else you had in mind.”
“Theo?”
“Yeah...” he replied, half paying attention to me, half paying attention to a squirming Thomas, who was trying to wiggle out of his arms.
I wanted to reply in the manner my head was telling me. I wouldn’t be going anywhere. Instead I’d be going home because this thing between us was more than likely going to end badly. Then we’d both end up resenting each other because of it, losing all hope of maintaining the promise we made to Kate about Thomas. But as I looked down at the beautiful flowers, the tray of breakfast, and the man standing beside my bed who made my heart swell whenever he was near, I couldn’t get those words out. Instead all I could manage was, “I’d love to go to the zoo.”
We spent the rest of the morning and a good part of the afternoon wandering around the zoo. I never tired of looking at the chimpanzees and their crazy antics, while Thomas was enthralled with the polar bears. Theo…well, he was just fascinated by everything. His excitement was almost as fun to watch as the chimps were. It was such a good time. So good that I hadn’t thought about the doubts I had more recently been allowing to creep in. Thomas had fallen asleep in his stroller and Theo and I took a much needed break, sitting on a bench beside some kind of exotic bird display. He stood up for a moment and walked over to the plaque that contained the information of the animals behind the cage. He did this with every exhibit we stopped at. It was like having my own personal zoo guide, as he gave me little tidbits of each animal after reading up on them. He took a seat next to me once again, and I prepped myself for my next zoology lesson.
“Do you know there are birds in there called bee-eaters? They actually eat bees. It says they remove the stingers by hitting and rubbing the bee over and over again on a hard surface.”
“Wow, that’s pretty daring! But do you think they’d be brave enough to eat your chicken?”
“Oh, that was just so wrong!” He grinned. “They wouldn’t because that would make them cannibals…get it, a chicken is a bird.”
“Oh, Theo, that was so lame.” Neither one of us was able to control our laugher.
Once our amusement faded, we sat quietly and people watched for some time. Theo finally broke the silence, taking me off guard with his question. “Why were you crying last night in your sleep?”
I stared at him blankly, wanting to deny it, but knowing it was useless. “It was just an emotional day.”
He nodded. “Do you know I went into her room this morning to check on her? It had become such a routine when I’d stay at her place.”
“Yeah. It takes a while to get used to. We’re creatures of habit.” I fixed my gaze straight ahead, not wanting to risk having him see the onset of emotion I was feeling.
“Jillian, please tell me what’s on your mind.”
“I told you, it was—”
He shook his head. He was too smart to fall for my diversion tactic, and I cared for him too much to not come clean. I exhaled sharply. “I don’t know. I’m just confused.”
“About?” He reached for my hand and rubbed his thumb over my knuckles.
“Us.” My eyes locked with his. “I’m so afraid that maybe we…” I didn’t want to finish because I knew how I was feeling for him, and nothing about that was a mistake.
“Maybe
