The Christian Bachelorette

Week 3: Cooper's Date

"Welcome to Dream Rescue Center! My name is Ali, and I will be your personally tour guide." Her smile is extremely contagious and I love her Australian accent. "Here at Dream Rescue we take in all the animals that no one else wants, hence the name, and give them a brand new start if we can help it. Is there any particular animal you guys would like to see?"

"I have to see the monkeys. I mean if that's okay, but monkeys are my preference." Cooper states and I smile. If he was an animal, he would be a monkey.

Ali giggles. "Yes, we will see the monkeys." She begins to walk backwards. "If you follow me, we will meet the zoo's mascot." We follow Ali up to a small bridge to cross the river and a goat meets us there. "This is Nanny," Ali beams and pets the goat between her horns. "You are welcome to pet her, but she will follow you everywhere if you do." Cooper had already started petting her just before Ali gave us the warning, and he gives me a sheepish look. I laugh and ask Ali what animal is next. She grins and walks to the middle of the bridge. "Our river otters are cuddly and adorable. They usually swim together and here are two coming now!"

I lean against the banister and watch as two river otters come floating in our direction. They look as if they are holding hands and I quickly take a picture with my phone. "They are so cute!"

The next animals we see are on the smaller side. Then we entered the bird habitat. Cooper had two birds fly and land on his shoulder. He also pretended to be a flamingo. After that we saw the red pandas. They are also adorable. I fast walked by the bears and only gave them a quick glance. Ali and Cooper jogged to catch up to me in front of the leopards. I glance at Ali and point to the leopard strolling in the shade of a tree. "Can you tell me more about her?"

Ali gives me a small nod. "Her name's Delilah. Her leg had been caught in a poacher's trap. Thank God someone found her before the poachers did. Her leg had to be amputated because it was hurt too badly. She will never be able to go back in the wild, but we can give her a good and safe life." Ali sighs, "That's the hard part about working here. You get to know all the animals. You get attached. When you're ready, our next stop is the giraffes. You can feed them if you are up for it."

I smile appreciatively and gaze at Delilah one more time. I watch her yawn after lying down under the tree. I reluctantly leave and head toward the giraffes with Cooper and Ali. The giraffes were really big, but I enjoyed feeding one. The monkeys were next and one came right up to Cooper. He played around with it for a few minutes and I sat and watched until Ali said that we still had one more stop. Our last stop was the elephants and Cooper petted one.

We left the zoo and went to a small diner close by. We talked about all the animals and which ones were our favorite and least favorite. We also talked about random things while we ate. Cooper was easy to talk to and good company. We were currently sipping on our milkshakes.

"Hey, Addie?" He questions nervously as he fidgets with his straw.

"Yes."

"I need to tell you something because I want to be honest and open, but I don't want you to be upset or sad." He says anxiously.

"Cooper, I want you to be honest and open with me. I'll be okay. You can tell me." I try to reassure him.

He nods and takes a breath. "You are so great and wonderful, but I can only see us being friends."

I nod with a small smile. "Me too, Cooper." He sighs in relief. "Would have thought we would be okay with being friend-zoned," I laugh.

He laughs too. "I was going to say that I see you like a sister, but I didn't want to take that risk."

I mock gasp. "Cooper!"

He raises his hands in defense. "I didn't do it!"

Once I get back to my house, I decide to relax from all the walking Cooper and I did. I begin a Disney movie marathon and cuddle up with Belle. I end up falling asleep during the third movie, Wall-E. I wake up and glance at my phone. 11:46PM. I stumble upstairs and collapse into my bed.

The next morning I wake up feeling rested. I read in Psalms before going downstairs. Belle is in a playful mood and is running around everywhere. I chuckle and give her some puppy food in her bowl. I search through my food to find something to eat for breakfast, but nothing seems to catch my eye or spark my appetite.

I sigh and there is a knock at the door. Who is that? I hope it isn't Victoria because I'm still in my pajamas. I open the door and am pleasantly surprised. "Joseph!" I grin.

"Good morning, Adelaide," he smiles softly for a moment. He has a nice smile. "Do you have some free time today?" He questions. "I know you are busy so it's okay if you don't have any free time." He rambles.

I smile and I nod. "I have a few hours to kill."

He looks shocked for a few seconds before he nods. "Would you like to go eat breakfast with me?"

I nod and continue smiling. "I just need to change first. I'll only be a few minutes. You are welcome to come in."

He shakes his head shyly. "I'll wait out here."

"Okay. I'll be back." I say before closing the door and running upstairs. I throw on my favorite pair of skinny jeans, a yellow t-shirt that says faith over fear, and white high top Vans. I quickly brush my teeth and grab a white scrunchie to put my hair up when we eat. I put deodorant on and run back downstairs. I open the door and Joseph turns with a look of surprise.

"That was fast," he comments.

I am about to walk out the door, but I stop. "I forgot my phone." I state and slightly jog over to the living room where I had left it last night. I walk back to Joseph and close the door this time.

"Ready?"

I nod with a smile. We walk to the truck and he opens the door for me before going over to the driver's side. I glance at the time on my phone. 10:03AM. "Do you mind if I call and talk to my grandmother?"

He shakes his head and begins to drive. I smile appreciatively and call Two-Mama.

"Good morning, little bird!" Her voice echoes in my ear and for a moment a deep feeling of sadness erupts from my heart. I miss her so much.

"Good morning."

"What's the agenda today?"

"I'm on my way to eat breakfast with Joseph and I have a meeting with Victoria later. What's on your agenda?"

"Grocery shopping if I can trust Poppa to not get into trouble while I'm gone."

"Take him with you," I grin.

"Heavens no! He tries to race people on those electric scooters! It's embarrassing." I giggle. She scoffs. "Adelaide, quit getting me all riled up. You are raising my blood pressure young lady."

"Yes, ma'am. I'll talk to you after my meeting, okay?"

"You better, little bird."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

I hang up and text Reece that Belle is at my house if he wants to go get her.

"Do you talk to her every day?" Joseph questions softly.

"Yes, and I'm in trouble if I don't," I respond. "I miss them."

"Iknow how you feel."