Page 13 of A Silenced Midlife

"Exactly."

7

AVA

"Okay, kiddo, all buckled up?" I asked as Sammie climbed into the backseat, his blue eyes wide. Olivia and I had shopped until it was time to get him from camp.

"Yep, Aunt Ava. We made birdhouses today." He showed me his paint-stained hands.

"I bet that was a lot of fun." I smiled at him through the rearview mirror. Olivia slid into the passenger seat, her phone buzzing incessantly in her hand.

"Melody again." She frowned at the screen. "Another incident."

"Can't we have one normal afternoon?" I sighed, already knowing the answer.

"Apparently not. It's at the hair salon downtown. Let's go."

The drive was a blur as Olivia attempted to keep Sammie entertained with I-spy games. When we pulled up, the scene outside the salon was pure chaos—people standing on tiptoes, pointing, gasping.

"Stay close, Sammie," Olivia instructed as we approached the crowd. The salon windows revealed an improbable sight. Monkeys swinging from the hairdryers. A peacock strutted atop the reception desk with its tail feathers cascading like a bizarre fountain.

"Is that a llama getting a perm?" Olivia muttered, her lips twitching.

"Looks like it didn't ask for extra volume," I said, barely containing my laughter.

"Mommy, can we take one home?" Sammie pleaded, tugging at Olivia's hand.

"Definitely not," Olivia chuckled. "Let's leave the hair styling to the professionals, buddy."

"All right, Operation Zoo Rescue is a go," I announced, rolling up my sleeves. "You ready?"

"Always," Olivia replied, a gleam in her eye.

"Check the news," I said to Olivia as we watched a lemur run past.

She nodded and pulled out her phone, fingers flying over the screen. "Here it is. Several animals reported missing from the local zoo."

"Great," I muttered. "Just what we needed."

I turned to one of the onlookers, an older lady with a hand clutched over her heart. I recognized her from when I worked at the bookstore. She was one of Cliff’s regular customers. "Ma'am, could you please keep an eye on Sammie for us? We need to handle this."

"Of course, dear," she said, bending down to Sammie's level. "We'll watch the excitement together, won't we?"

"Thanks," I said as Sammie gave us a small wave, already distracted by the peacock again.

"Let's go," Olivia whispered, and we edged our way through the crowd until we reached the salon door. Taking a deep breath, I pushed it open, and we slipped inside.

"Stay low," Olivia advised, and we crouched, moving stealthily past a gaggle of flamingos congregating near the entrance.

"Watch out!" I hissed as a tortoise the size of a coffee table ambled towards us, its beady eyes fixed in our direction.

"Left side, three o'clock," Olivia whispered back, directing me away from a lemur that had taken a liking to my hair. I ducked just in time, its tiny fingers grazing the top of my head.

"Are they following us?" I asked, glancing behind me at an inquisitive wallaby that seemed to have taken an interest in our presence.

"Seems like it," Olivia replied, side-stepping a curious porcupine that waddled alarmingly close to her feet.

"Okay, let's move," I urged, and we darted forward, narrowly avoiding a parrot swooping down like it was trying to tell us off for intruding.

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