Page 131 of Three Not-So-Little Words
She never ceases to amaze me. Most would look at Ronnie and see a woman who lives a wild life for only herself. But she’s so much more. She has one of the biggest hearts I’ve ever encountered. She just doesn’t let everyone see it.
I’m one of the lucky few who gets that honor. And I won’t take it for granted.
As we drive a little further, I start to figure out where we are going. All the signs that we pass are giant advertisements for the Portland Zoo. I assume that’s our destination, but it isn’t until we are pulling into the parking lot that I know for sure.
“The zoo?” I ask quietly enough to make sure that Colton can’t hear…even though I’m sure he will figure it out when we get out of the truck.
“You’ll see.”
I get Colton’s attention and have him take off his headphones and put down his tablet. He doesn't ask a single question until we are at the front gates.
“Is this the zoo?”
Ronnie says, “Yeah, have you ever been to the Portland Zoo?”
He looks at me because he doesn’t know the answer, so I say, “He’s been to zoos in Florida, but we have never been to one anywhere else.”
“Well, you are in for a treat,” she says.
We get up to the ticket booth, and I pull out my wallet to pay, but Ronnie says to the employee, “Hi, we should have some tickets waiting. It’s under the name Veronica Lawson.”
The woman clicks a few things on her screen, and some things start printing. She hands each of us a wristband and then a few extra things to Ronnie.
“These should get you into everything. Consider them your all-access passes. Have a wonderful visit, Miss Lawson,” the lady says with a smile.
We step out of the way to put on our wristbands, and I whisper, “You are like magic.”
“Wait until you see my next trick.” She winks.
I take Colton’s hand, and we start walking through the zoo. It’s a bit of a chilly, damp day, but I’m starting to realize that’s pretty normal for Oregon. It’s a far cry from sunny Florida, but I'm not complaining.
First, we hit the elephants and then the giraffes. Colton is having fun seeing everything, but I notice that Ronnie keeps checking her watch.
“You okay?” I whisper. “Do you have a hot date?”
“No. Just trying to keep us on schedule.”
“Alriiiight,” I say, having no idea what the hell she’s talking about.
Soon enough, we are walking into the aquatics building. Before we go very far, Ronnie tells us to stay put. She goes and says something to one of the employees. The employee hurries off, and Ronnie comes back to us and says, “Alright, we have to wait here for just a second.”
“Is there a line to see the fish?” I ask.
The look she shoots me tells me my sarcasm isn’t appreciated. Less than a minute later, a guy comes walking out.
“Ronnie!” He says giving her a quick hug before turning his attention to us. Shaking my hand, he greets, “And you must be Drew. I’m Leon, and this big guy must be Colton.”
Colton nods, appearing to be just as confused as I am.
“Well, follow me right this way. We have something super cool planned for you guys.”
We follow Leon through a door and down a long hallway before he walks into a room. It looks fairly normal with a tile floor and light blue painted walls. There’s a couple of chairs along one wall but not a whole lot of anything else.
Leon leaves again, and I look at Ronnie, “Are they going to feed us to the dolphins or something?”
“Like a dolphin would want to eat you,” she quips.
“I’ll have you know a dolphin wouldloveme.”
