Page 43 of A Furry Thing Called Love
It really isn’t.We spent the last half hour at the gorillas, because Callum was so fascinated by them.He would randomly spout off facts he knew, between long periods of silence as he watched the primates move around their enclosure.
“What do you do, Arlo?”Cal asks, getting back on topic.
“I’m a web developer and designer.I discovered I enjoyed it in high school, so my twin and I majored in web development in college.I like it, especially the job I have now, because I can do it remotely, so if it’s not a good day for me, I can still get things done when I feel like it.And then when I simply just can’t do anything that day, they understand and don’t give me grief for it.”
“It helps that your brother-in-law is the boss,” I tease.
Arlo laughs.“True.Sunny and I got jobs at different companies, and well, she discovered she liked doing more admin things, and then ended up falling in love with her boss.When she switched departments, so there was less of a conflict of interest, they needed a new developer, so they hired me.”
“That’s cool you have a twin.I wish I was a twin.”Callum sighs.
Luka and Valery both roll their eyes.“You enjoy being an only child,” Luka reminds him.
“Yeah, but it’s different with a twin!Right?”
Arlo chuckles.“A little, yeah.She’s eleven minutes older than I am, and never lets me forget it, so in that sense, it’s the same.But she’s my best friend, and I probably wouldn’t be here without her.We fight like night and day, because we’re still siblings, and very different from one another.”
“Hmmm.”Cal seems to think it over.“I’ll stick to my ‘I am the only child because I like being spoiled’ thing.”
Arlo laughs.“Good choice.”
Exiting the bird exhibit, Callum spins on his heels and starts walking backwards, heedless of the other people around.“Did you know the emu grows to about six feet tall?It’s the largest bird native to Australia, and can run up to thirty miles per hour—it can also change direction while moving at top speed.
“The males are the ones who sit on the nests, and a female can lay between eleven and twenty eggs every two to three days.After laying, the female might even go find a new male to sucker into hatching her children for her.”
Luka sighs.“Watch where you’re going,” he says as Cal trips and almost hits a family with small children.
“Sorry!”he exclaims, his cheeks turning pink.
“I guess this means we’re visiting the emus next?”Valery asks.
“I was hoping.”Cal smiles.“What’s your favorite animal, Arlo?”
“Honestly?Dogs.I had one growing up, and it was love at first sight.Sunny isn’t a big animal person, so he was all mine, and we did everything together.”
“Do you think you could?—”
“No,” Luka interrupts.“Whatever you’re thinking, the answer is no.”
“Oh, come on!”the teen whines.“Don’t you want to be the cool stepdad?”
Luka pretends to think about it before shaking his head.“I would like to keep sleeping with your dad, so no.”
Callum makes a face, even as the rest of us laugh.
When we stop in front of the emu habitat, Callum forgets all about whatever mischief he was thinking up, as he becomes infatuated with the giant birds.
“Doggie!”some small child calls out, rushing up to Eli.
“Yes, he’s a doggie,” Arlo says patiently.“But you can’t pet him, okay?”
The child, who has to be five or six at the most, blinks at Arlo before reaching a hand out.
Deftly, Arlo changes Eli’s lead from one hand to the other and clicks his tongue, getting Eli to stand.The kid backs up a few paces, but still manages to get a few pets in as Eli changes sides.
I step up to bracket Eli, in the hopes it prevents the kid from trying again.
“Why can’t I pet it?”the child asks.
