Anastasia

Twelve

"But what about the ice age? Why don't you guys have Sid the sloth here? He was a significant part of that point in time,"

Anastasia laughed softly at the silly question.

She enjoyed hearing all the questions her tour groups had.

Sometimes people never spoke. Sometimes people asked questions like this teenage boy.

She liked them all.

"Well, our museum does like to honor every corner of history, but unfortunately during our research, we found no evidence of Sid the Sloth being a significant part of history." She explained as gently as she could. "If it's any consolation, I think Sid should be held in high esteem."

The boy smiled and nodded proudly. "You know your stuff, lady."

People like him made her job worthwhile, and though she loved it entirely, they made it more exciting when she wasn't researching her favorite animals.

"Here we have the Smilodon, or Saber-Toothed Tiger. Diego, I believe his name was in Ice Age," She said motioning to the Tiger.

"Yeah! That's him! Man, this place is cool! I'm ready to see Manny now!" The boy hurried by Anastasia in search of the Wooly Mammoths.

His mother and sister followed with the same excitement that warmed Anastasia's heart.

She loved seeing families.

The museum allowed her the sweet opportunity to see all kinds of people and families.

Another reason why it was worthwhile.

"Now how come you ain't shared this Ice Age information the first time, chère? A man's gotta come twice to learn something this important,"

No way.

Anastasia turned around and found Austin.

A smile grew on her face at the familiar man. She enjoyed seeing him. He was delightful, a little weird, but still delightful.

"Austin, you silly man."

He smiled while wiggling his brows. "No hug this time, chère? Just when I think we're getting somewhere," He sucked his teeth and shook his head, his eyes sparkling with joy.

She rolled her eyes and hugged the tall annoying man. "Is that your way of saying you enjoy hugs? It's okay to be straight about it," She told him.

He shrugged and wrapped his arms around her. "Now, chère, I told you I was mysterious. It ain't mysterious for me to come out and say it," He teased, his hand brushing her hair as he released her.

It was soft.

He wanted to touch it again, but he wasn't about the break the rule.

And he wanted another hug, but he wasn't pushing it.

"And I told you it's random, not mysterious." She corrected him with a teasing smile. "I didn't see you when I started the tour. It's hard to hide such a tall man," She noted as they walked.

"You didn't see me because I ain't showed up til like four minutes ago,"

She hummed. "What are you doing here?"

He stopped walking and motioned to her grandly. "Oh, I don't know, just to see this little lady called Chère Randolph. I asked about you at the desk, they said you were touring some folks."

She rolled her eyes at the name. "I don't know if I believe you about the name, Austin. My coworkers only know me as Anastasia. Not chère, but I think it's sweet you showed up even if my shift is over now," She explained while observing the family she toured.