Page 28 of Perfect Imperfections

“Hey,” Cam spoke to her as she hooked the hands-free mic headset around her ear. “I noticed we’re running low on Bingo’s vitamins. I told Stephan to order more.”

“Thanks, I made a note on yesterday’s end of day sheet as well.”

She placed the bucket of fish on the metal counter, checking through the birds’ food once more to make sure everything was in order, wishing she could be satisfied with one check. But she couldn’t. She knew how illogical her rituals seemed. They freaked people out. Her parents, her exes, former friends. They even annoyed her most days. Didn’t mean she could suddenly stop them. There was no stopping the dark voice in her head, insidiously whispering that if she didn’t check one more time, didn’t tap that or flip this, everyone she loved would die and it’d be her fault.

A warm palm landed on her shoulder. Turning her head, she glanced up to see Cam smiling at her.

“You good?”

“Yeah, I’m good.”

“Damn right you are.”

Her friend pulled her in for a brief side hug. Emotions threatened to spill over, but she tucked them back. What had she done to deserve such an amazing friend? Someone who might not fully understand what went on in her head but accepted her no matter what. No judgment, no fear or scorn. Just support, friendship, and love. That’s what Cam gave, and Ellie did everything in her power to give it back.

“Now let’s get out there.” Cam headed toward the inner door to the outside penguin enclosure, tossing over her shoulder, “I hope we don’t have another kid go overboard this week.”

“Why would you say that? Are you trying to jinx us?”

Her friend headed outside with a laugh. She shook her head but let a tiny giggle escape. No one would fall into the water today. Tammy had made sure of it by placing a three-foot barrier in front of the enclosure until the zoo decided if they needed extra safety measures for the penguin enclosure. The committee would evaluate and vote on it next week. Until then, they had pushed the visitors back. Good thing too, since their feeding time crowd had doubled in size since the incident with Charlotte.

People loved an exciting story.

Thankfully nothing exciting happened at today’s feeding time. Unless seeing Bingo shoot a stream of poo into the pool filled people with excitement. Judging by the laughter of the three middle school boys in attendance, it did.

Ellie finished feeding the tiny tuxedoed birds, making sure each got the right vitamins, according to Stephan and Rob. Cam finished her talk and invited the crowds to ask questions. A dozen hands went up.

“Yes, you sir. In the back with the red shirt.” Cam pointed over the huddled mass to a large man standing in the back.

“Yeah, so I was wondering about that kid that fell in last week?”

Ugh, this again. People had been asking about Charlotte and what had happened for the past week. Didn’t anyone follow the news? They’d already reported the entire story. Cam’s smile tightened.

“I’m afraid we’re not at liberty to discuss the events that took place last week. Any other questions?”

“It was bound to happen,” the guy continued to shout. “Animals shouldn’t be locked up in cages. It goes against their natural instincts.”

Oh great, another one of those people who thought they knew everything about how zoos operated, but in reality, had zero clue. Ellie took a deep breath. She didn’t get mad often, but it really burned her butt when people accused zoos of being animal prisons. There were laws, codes, all kinds of checks and balances in place to assure the animals were treated with the best of care. It wasn’t like they were plucking creatures out of the wild. Most zoo animals were bred in captivity according to the SSP; species survival plans. And Sunlight Zoo was a member of AZA, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. If they violated any safety requirements, they’d have their funding pulled faster than a cheetah could run.

She loved animals. Everyone who worked here did. They would never let these precious creatures suffer, and shame on anyone who thought otherwise.

“Little boy in the front, yes, you have a question?”

Cam plowed right over the guy’s yelling.

“How far can they shoot their poop?”

The crowd chuckled, forgetting about the loud guy in the back as Cam launched into a very fun but educational lesson about penguin feces. Eventually, the questions ran out, and the people wandered away. Ellie noticed Cam pulled out her walkie, speaking into it as she stared at the guy in the red shirt who still stood a dozen feet away, an angry scowl on his face.

“You notify security?” she asked, following her friend back inside.

“Yup. Man, I am getting really sick of all the people asking about what happened last week. And I really hate all these so-called animal activists trying to stir up trouble. If they really cared about animals, they’d donate to the zoo or to the wildlife rescue and rehabilitation program.”

She agreed. People liked to talk a lot, but they rarely put their money where their mouth was.

Walking over to the large sink, she turned on the taps and rinsed out the bucket. Placing it in the rack to dry. After feeding time, they let the penguins bask and swim while they tended to the other birds in the aviary. Ellie and Cam gathered the food she’d prepped earlier that morning, Cam waiting while she checked it over again. Once they were ready, they took the interior hallways, the ones the public didn’t have access to, to each bird enclosure. Squawks and chirps greeted them at every door. The birds were always happy with feeding time.

After they’d visited the individual enclosures, they headed to the tropical walk-through zone. A wonderful enclosure where zoo guests could walk a designated path in the building and see the birds flying and nesting all around them. There were plants specific to the bird’s native habitat and even a small waterfall that fed into a little pool of three-inch deep water. The guests loved it and the birds loved to pose for snapshots.

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