Page 75 of Tiger Queen

I sighed impatiently. “I’m not working against the zoo. We’re trying to fix this place! Crazy Carl’s sons inherited it and want to do the right thing. I convinced them to shut it down, and we’re trying to move all the animals to proper zoos and sanctuaries…”

They both looked around skeptically. “It looks awfully busy for a zoo that has been shut down.”

“Well, it was shut down. But then we had to re-open to get some money. We had a cash-flow problem and needed to be able to feed the animals. It’s only temporary until we can find homes for them.”

“How many animals have you moved?” I asked.

“Eight.”

Dad narrowed his eyes. “Just eight? In almost a month? Honey, I think you’re being hoodwinked…”

“It’s not too late to come home,” mom insisted. “You can apply to real jobs instead of just settling for the first place you found.”

Their disappointment was crushing. Especially since I had not seen them since graduation. For them to suddenly be here, telling me to come home…

It was more than I could bear.

“I have to go clean Caesar’s enclosure,” I said in a rush. “I’ll be busy all day, but we normally close up around six if you want to stick around and talk then.”

“Honey…”

I stormed off to Caesar’s enclosure. He was basking in the sun, probably full after gorging himself on his morning meal. Brandon was already inside the enclosure, listening to music and shoveling droppings into a wheelbarrow.

“You can take a break,” I told him as I snatched the shovel. “I’ll take over from here.”

He looked confused, like it was a trick. “Uh, okay, boss, if you say so…”

I didn’t see mom and dad for the rest of the day. I wondered if they were sitting in the parking lot, waiting for me to get off work. I imagined the argument, telling them that fixing a place like this was far better than simply helping to maintain an existing zoo. I was doing some real good here.

Yet as I practiced the argument in my head, I began to second-guess myself. Was I really doing the right thing? Should I have come here at all? My job prospects had seemed grim the night before moving out of Florida State, but maybe I was selling myself short. Maybe I had settled for this job when a better one was out there.

I ran into Mary Beth by the visitor’s center after lunch. She quickly looked away and tried to walk by.

“Mary Beth?”

She stopped and turned toward me, but stared at my feet.

“I’m sorry about last night. I was out of line. I should not have said what I did. You didn’t deserve that, and I allowed my anger to get the best of me.”

She sheepishly mumbled thanks, then quickly walked away. I watched her go. Apologizing didn’t make me feel any better, not least of all because I was still suspicious of her.

That night when I got off work, I didn’t see my dad’s truck in the parking lot. I tried calling mom but it went to voicemail. They must have gone home. Nine hours of driving and they had only stayed long enough to have a single conversation. They must have really been disappointed in me.

After dinner Anthony and I got into my car and watched Mary Beth’s trailer from a distance with binoculars. Her lights were on, and we could see her silhouette moving in front of the windows by the kitchen. Making dinner, probably.

“Your parents seem nice,” Anthony said.

“They are,” I said.

He looked sideways at me. “Why do you say it like that?”

“Like what?”

“Like you don’t mean it. Did you get in a fight or something? They drove all the way down from Virginia…”

I sighed. “I don’t think you would understand.”

“They’re disappointed in you, aren’t they?”

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