A/N: long chapter ahead, enjoy!
"I'm fairly certain he would," Robert said, smiling back at me. I couldn't help but get excited when talking about art. Robert did the same when he talked about animals, wildlife conservation, and photography. I appreciated that he always tried to listen, even if he may not understand every word I say when rambling about art. He always tried his best and that's what mattered.
"Well, that was nice of her to bring us lunch," Robert said once we finished our lunch with Cait, who then went off to go do more zebra stuff.
"Yeah, it sure was. It was good too, I love the sandwiches there," I said.
"Yeah, it's all good food."
"Yeah, but Robert you'll eat just about anything," I laughed.
"Yeah, that's true."
We sat there and hung out for a bit more. My mood was a bit better, and I wasn't feeling so bad about my mom being busy.
"Well, what do you reckon? Are you up for going and doing something or talking to my mum?" Robert said, breaking the silence that was only filled by the distant sounds of animal calls and my pencils on my paper.
"Well, let me text Bindi and see when she wants to do the otter demonstration. It is only around 1:00 now," I said. I texted Bindi as I mentioned, and set my phone down to wait for her response.
"Yeah, and then if you have to go do that you can talk to my mum after and then we can find something to do for the rest of the afternoon."
"Exactly. And if Bindi wants to do it a bit later, we can talk to your mum first."
"Sweet as."
I was nervous about talking to Terri. I knew she wouldn't be mean about it if she didn't like our idea or anything, but it was still nerve-wracking to think about talking to her in a professional capacity like that. Plus, I really do like the idea and think it'll be a neat thing to add to the zoo.
Bindi texted me back. I opened my phone and read the message aloud.
"Oh, that would be Bindi. 'Does 2:00 work for you? Got busy and just now about to sit and eat' she said. That'll work, and give us plenty of time to pitch our idea to your mum," I said.
"Sweet as! I reckon she might be in her office," Robert said, pushing his chair back and cleaning our mess of food wrappers and cups off of the table.
I got up and followed Robert through the halls of the Wildlife Hospital to Terri's office. The door was opened but Robert gave it a light knock to let her know we were there.
"Hey, kids! What are you two up to?" She said, looking up from her paperwork at us. I know she preferred being on hands with the animals and a part of the action, but the behind-the-scenes stuff and paperwork were all still very important to running things here at the zoo.
"Well, I'm about to do an otter demonstration with Bindi in about an hour," I said.
"And I'll find something helpful to do. But first, we had an idea we wanted to pitch to you," Robert said, as we both sat down in some of the chairs in the office.
"Oh no. With you two, there's no telling what shenanigans you are planning," Terri joked, laughing and sitting back in her chair. She set down the papers she was looking at and looked at the both of us, smiling.
"Well, hang on, we think you'll like this one," I said.
"Well, go ahead."
"Well, Ashley was talking about how much she loves art and animals and how she wants to be able to do both. I figured that she could literally do both with this idea," Robert said.
Terri raised an eyebrow. "Okay," She said, "You have my attention."
I took a deep breath. "Well, to be fair, it was mostly Robert's idea and of course, we can do it together. And Cait had a few suggestions too. But, Robert had the idea of doing painting classes with the animals. He suggested we could possibly teach some of the animals to paint- like getting an elephant to hold a paintbrush or dipping an otter's paws or a macaw's feet in paint and have them run along a canvas. It'll be all non-toxic paints of course," I started.
"And Cait suggested we could also put some paint down on the canvas itself, put a plastic wrap over it, and then put a bit of tuna or something so the cheetahs can like it off and smear the paint by doing so and essentially paint with their tongues," Robert added.
"And, if you like the idea, we can sell the paintings in the gift shop or online and include, either attached to the back of the painting or as a separate card that comes with it, a sheet that says which animal painted it, their species, status in the wild, and what we do to help that species here at Australia Zoo. And of course, the funds from it will go back to wildlife conservation. And if it's a hit with guests, we could even set up experiences where they can watch the animals paint and for the price of the experience, get to keep the painting," I finished. I took a deep breath, anticipating what Terri was going to say.
"That is a wonderful idea!" She said, her grey eyes sparkling.
"You think so?" I asked, perking up a bit. If Terri likes this idea and Robert and I can start painting with the animals, I would be ecstatic.
"Definitely! We can start with just a few of the animals and depending on how much the guests like it, teach more of the animals how to paint and then eventually move up to doing the experiences with guests where they can see the painting in action and keep the painting."
"Yeah, starting small is totally okay and we can build our way up," Robert said. I looked over at him and smiled. I never would have thought of this if it weren't for him.
"I agree. And of course, we'll clean everything up and the animals and make sure there's nothing that can harm them or get left behind in their enclosure or wherever we choose to do this," I said, trying to reassure Terri that we were going to be responsible about this.
"Well, of course. I know you two would know better than to leave behind a mess or put any of the animals at risk. Why don't you start with Queto and the otters, since they're already pretty familiar with being handled by you two?" Terri asked.
"That would be wonderful! Queto would make the cutest little footprints, and his feet would be easy to wash," I said.
"And I'm guessing you already have non-toxic paint and spare canvases?" Robert asked cheekily.
"Of course I do!" I said, laughing.
"Well, if you two want to get started on that after Christmas, I think that would be a great thing for you two to experiment with between then and the new year. And then you can design the sheets with the animal info, just make sure to include the Australia Zoo logo. And maybe put "painted by" or "artist" and then the animal's name," Terri said, making the last few suggestions.
"Oh, that's a wonderful idea! Thank you so much, Terri!" I said, getting up.
"Thanks, mum!" Robert said, getting up as well. We gave each other a small glance. We went around her desk and stood on either side of her, and then swallowed her up in a small group hug.
We all laughed, and Terri hugged us back, which was a bit awkward as she was still sitting in her chair.
"Well, is there anything else you two need?" She asked once we let go.
"No, that was it," I said.
"That was all. Thanks, mum!" Robert said.
"Of course. I'm excited to see where you two take this," she said.
We said goodbye to her and walked out of her office and out of the Wildlife Hospital, with a quick stop at the lockers so I could put my sketchbook and pencils back in.
"I'll walk you to the otter exhibit," Robert offered.
"Sure," I said and we made our way there.
"So, I've been thinking," Robert started saying as we were walking.
"Uh oh," I said jokingly. He laughed.
"No, it's nothing crazy. I just noticed you and your mum haven't put up your Christmas tree yet. What if you two did that to spend some time together?"
"Yeah, that would work, assuming she gets home at a normal time," I said, laughing lightly.
"That's a fair point," Robert said.
We walked the rest of the way to the otter exhibit and went into the connected keeper building. I checked my watch and saw that it was almost 2, so Bindi would be here any moment.
"Hey, you got this. I'll be there in the crowd watching," Robert said, giving me a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Thank you. See you after," I said back, watching him walk out of the small building.
I went ahead and took out the fish from the little fridge and started breaking it up into smaller pieces that Bindi and I could give to the otters.
"G'day!" Came Bindi's cheerful voice as she walked into the small building. I turned around to see her gently closing the door behind her.
"G'day! I'm getting their fish prepped now," I said.
"Sweet as! As soon as we're done with that we can get started. I think just a little bit more fish and we'll be set."
"Perfect," I said, breaking some more fish up. "That looks like enough, right?"
"Yep! That'll be plenty," Bindi said as she opened a small cupboard and pulled out two little buckets and filled them with the chopped fish. "Ready?"
"Ready!" I said.
I followed Bindi through the door that connects the keeper building to the exhibit and we walked through. Bindi of course had on a little clip-on microphone so she could talk to the crowd. I opted not to have one for this training session.
"G'day everyone! I'm here with Ashley," Bindi started, addressing the crowd. I gave a slight wave as she introduced me. "Today we are doing a little training session with our Asian small-clawed otters. We do these little training sessions as a form of enrichment for these little guys, and they love it! These sessions are simple, we just direct them to a few "stations" around the exhibit here and give them a little fishy treat as a reward."
I stood by Bindi as she gave her explanation to the crowd. Once she finished talking she looked over to me and gave a small nod, and with that, we started.
We each directed the otters to different stations by pointing to the spot and saying "station". The otter would then go to the station and stand up on its back feet and reach up for their treats. We directed the otters to different stations every time, the crowd "aww-ing" at the otters. I glanced up at the crowd and I could see Robert looking down into the exhibit, that cheeky grin on his face. I smiled slightly.
We finished the training session with the otters and Bindi said a little thank you to the crowd. The crowd slowly dispersed as Bindi and I played with the otters some more. I heard the sound of clapping from the walkway that looked over the otter exhibit. I looked up to see Robert slowly clapping and smiling.
"That was great!" He said, looking at Bindi and me.
"You think everything she does is great," Bindi said after a quick look around to check that none of the crowd was left in earshot. I could feel my cheeks warm up and turn red.
"I mean, you're not wrong. However, you two and the otters did really well," Robert said back.
"Well, thank you, Robert," Bindi and I said at the same time. We turned and looked at each other, laughing at ourselves.
I followed Bindi into the keeper building, where we cleaned up the cutting board and knife we used, as well as rinsed out the small buckets we used.
"You did really great, Ash," Bindi said as we were finishing cleaning up. "Have you thought about joining the zoo full-time or what you wanted to do?"
I let out a soft sigh. "Everyone keeps asking me that, but I still don't know. I definitely feel like I belong here at the zoo, and your family is so welcoming and it's almost like an honour to know your family and kind of be a part of it," I said, "But I could never forgive myself if I were to give up art, it's an outlet for me and such a passion of mine. I mean, you wouldn't expect Robert to give up photography, right?"
"No, I definitely wouldn't. Besides, if he was ever given that ultimatum, he wouldn't do it either. I'm sure you could find a way to do both, and if you can't find one on your own, you have all of us here to help you figure it out," Bindi said, putting a hand on my shoulder.
"Yeah, I'm sure I can figure something out, even if I need to use the collective brain power of everyone else as well," I said, laughing. "I guess for now I'll continue on like I am, helping out at the zoo and doing art in my free time and figure out the big picture somewhat soon."
"Hey, you have time, don't stress too much about it. Especially with the holidays. But I know my brother will be there for you and he'll support you no matter what it is you choose. He really likes you, Ashley."
"Oh really? You think so?" I said sarcastically.
"Maybe just a little bit," she said back, jokingly. We laughed and she pulled me in for a hug.
"You're like the big sister I've always wanted," I said, hugging her tightly.
"Hey, if things go right, I will be your big sister," she said, winking at me.
"Okay, Bindi, that's a little too far in the future," I said.
"Well, we better get back out there or Robert is going to worry about something happening to one of us. I'm sure he's waiting to whisk you away on your next adventure."
I liked hanging out with Bindi and talking with her. She was like the big sister I've always wanted, and growing up she was like my best friend, even though she was a few years older than me. She wasn't the type to be like "oh you're younger than me and can't hang out" or whatever, she always included Robert and me in her childhood antics. As kids, the three of us were always together, so it was always easy to find us if either of our mums needed us.
We found Robert still standing at the railing that looked into the otter enclosure, but he was joined by Chandler and a babbling baby Grace. Grace was looking down at the otters and excitedly trying to talk. Robert was crouched down next to her, pointing at the otters.
"Those are otters, Grace. Do you see them?" Robert was saying to her. I loved watching him interact with her, and I loved seeing Grace experience things for the first time.
"Say hi to the otters, Grace," Chandler said, prompting Grace to excitedly wave at the otters.
"I didn't know you too were out here," Bindi said as we got closer to them. Grace quickly turned around and excitedly ran towards her. Bindi scooped her up.
"Yeah, we were starting to get a little worried, you two took so long in the keeper building," Robert said, standing up.
"Oh, we were just talking," I said, tickling Grace's belly and making her giggle.
"Girl stuff?" Chandler asked.
Bindi and I looked at each other. "Girl stuff," we said at the same time.
"Well, what's the plan for the rest of the day?" I asked, looking at Robert.
"Whatever you want to do. I was thinking after Christmas we could start the animal painting classes?" Robert replied.
"Yeah, that sounds great," I said.
"I'm sorry, animal painting classes?" Chandler asked. I laughed slightly.
Robert and I explained our animal painting idea to Bindi and Chandler as we walked around the zoo. We also told them that Terri already gave us the go-ahead on it and our plans for it.
"Hey, there you go Ash, art and animals in one," Bindi said.
"I told her the same thing!" Robert said. We all laughed slightly.
Bindi, Chandler, and Grace said goodbye and went in a different direction. I noticed Robert and I were walking towards Roo Heaven. It was close to 3, so the sun was still bright. I figured with it still being kind of early, Robert would want to get some more work done.
"You up for Roos? I can grab some food from the keeper building and we can just sit and feed them for a bit," Robert said.
"Sure," I said, smiling slightly. "I am feeling a bit better though, today has been a pretty good day so I'm trying not to worry too much about mum, and hopefully I can talk to her tonight and we can set up the Christmas tree."
"Yeah, I'm sure everything will be fine. Just call me and let me know how it went after, and I want pictures of the Christmas tree!" Robert said cheerfully.
"Well, of course," I said, laughing slightly.
Robert and I made it to Roo Heaven. He went into the keeper building and grabbed a small bucket of food while I went and found a nice spot to sit down. I was glad that I wore my khakis today, as any fans from a distance would see me as just another keeper feeding the kangaroos with Robert.
We fed the kangaroos and then I helped Robert with some of the things he needed to do around the zoo, such as feeding some of the animals and helping clean up enclosures. The sun was setting at this point and the zoo was closed, and Robert and I were a bit sweaty from running around and taking care of animals.
We were in the Africa exhibit and had just laid down a huge pile of hay for the animals. Robert and I stopped to take a breath and I looked up at him and started laughing. He had a few pieces of hay stuck in his hair.
"What are you laughing at? He said, looking at me.
"Oh, you just got a little hay in your hair," I said, laughing more.
"Oh, do I? Is it kind of like this?" He said, before taking a handful of hay and setting it on top of my head.
"Hey!" I playfully yelled at him, throwing some more hay at him.
"I think you mean "hay"!" He yelled back, throwing more at me.
We laughed and threw hay at each other until we were practically covered. We looked at each other and kept laughing.
"Okay, I think we've had enough fun," he said, shaking himself off and pulling chunks of hay from his hair and shoulders. I did my best to clean myself off too.
"Did I get all of it?" I asked, looking back up at him.
"You missed a bit, here," he said, stepping close to me and removing some stray pieces of hay from the top of my head that I missed.
"Thanks," I said.
"Of course," he replied, now moving my hair out of my face and moving his face closer.
I moved forward and quickly kissed him and ran off, leaving him standing there.
"Hey, I wanted to make the first move!" He said jokingly and then ran after me.
I let him catch up to me, and we stood there laughing and panting.
"What else is left to do?" I asked once I caught my breath.
"That's it. Do you want to head home?" he asked. I looked up at the sky.
"Yeah, I can use a shower. Maybe my mum will be home," I said.
We walked towards the exit of the zoo that lead to the path to our houses. I didn't have much to say, and I think Robert respected that as he didn't say much either. He did reach out to hold my hand though, which made me smile.
Once we got to the exit, we noticed Bindi, Chandler, and Terri walking that way too. Robert let go of my hand, and I figured he just didn't want to be too touchy-feely around his family yet which I understood.
"Oh, there you two are," Terri said as we caught up to them.
"Yeah we were helping feed the African animals," Robert explained.
"That explains the hay on your back," Chandler said, laughing, and brushed it off of Robert's back.
"Yeah, we had a bit of a hay fight," I said, laughing. "Oh, Terri, did my mum leave already?"
"Yeah, she did rescue today and she left maybe 30 minutes before we started heading this way. She said she had a quick errand to run but wouldn't be too long," Terri said.
I nodded, and Robert and I fell behind his family as we walked down the path to our houses. He reached out and held my hand again, giving it 3 little squeezes. I squeezed back.
We made it to my house, and Robert's family continued on to theirs.
"Let me know how it goes," Robert said.
"Of course. Thank you, for today. It was a good day," I replied.
"Of course," he said back, before kissing me lightly on the cheek and continuing on to his house.
I walked up the deck stairs and opened the sliding door. The living room light was on.
"Mum?" I called as I walked through the kitchen and into the living room. She was sitting on the floor with our Christmas decoration bins around her.
"Oh, hey sweetheart. I pulled out all of our Christmas stuff, I figured we ought to put the tree up tonight," she said, opening one of the bins. I sat down next to her.
"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing," I said. "I figured it was something we could do to spend time together since we haven't had the chance to do much of that lately."
"Yeah, I know, and I'm sorry about that. But I have a good reason. I haven't told you this, but...I have a brother," she said. She set down the lid of the bin she had opened and turned to face me.
"You mean, I have an uncle? And you just didn't tell me?"
"Well, you see, James is a few years older than me. And after he finished school he was going through some things and had a meltdown of sorts, yelling at me and your grandma. I was 15 and he was 19. I don't remember what all was said, but he stopped talking to me and your grandma after that. And then he sent us a letter from Spain, he was out travelling the world. Well, he's been in Australia for a few weeks and has been in touch."
"So, all of the times you haven't been home until late was because you were out with your brother?"
"Exactly. He wanted to apologise and I wanted to catch up with him before introducing him to you, which you will finally meet him on Christmas. But there is something else.." She said, trailing off.
"What do you mean? That's not it?"
"No. While travelling, he met a woman from Australia. He was deeply in love with her and they dated for a few years, travelling together and having all sorts of fun. Her mum got sick, so she had to come back here to take care of her before she passed, but James wasn't ready to stop travelling so they broke things off. But, while she was here taking care of her mum, she found out she was pregnant."
"So, not only do I have an uncle, I have a cousin?"
"You sure do. She's around your age. Actually, you know her already," she gulped, "sweetheart, Cait is your cousin."
My mouth fell open. "You mean this whole time, my best friend is my cousin?! But her dad's name isn't James."
"I didn't know until recently either. But when Elaine moved down here, she met her current husband, and she figured Cait was his, so Elaine doesn't know either. Elaine doesn't even know James is my brother.
"Oh boy, well that's a lot," I said.
"It definitely is. Listen, I don't care if you tell Robert, but don't let Cait or Elaine know that you know," she said, checking her phone. "They'll actually be back any minute now, so why don't you run upstairs and shower and I'll get dinner cooked? Then we can all put up the Christmas tree, okay? I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner sweetheart, but I've been arranging with James for you to meet him on Christmas without Cait and Elaine being there, and a different day for all of us to figure out the whole thing with them and James."
"Alright, mum. I guess thank you for telling me eventually," I said, getting up. I went upstairs and took a shower, putting on comfy pyjamas after.
My mum made chicken for dinner, and by the time it was ready Cait and Elaine were here. We all ate and then spent a few hours setting up the Christmas tree and putting up some other Christmas decorations.