Page 26 of The Two of Us

“Oh. You didn’t have to cover for me,” I say.

“I didn’t.”

Okay.

Matty tugs on the hem of my shirt. “Ambrose always gets us in for free because it’s his zoo!”

I assume Matty’s referring to an employee guest pass of sorts, so I don’t think much of it. We start with the amphibian exhibit before reaching the aviary enclosures. Matty runs to the birds and pulls a tiny journal from his pocket. Déjà vu washes over me and my heart aches to go back in time when that little boy was Ambrose, his eyes lighting up with awe in the same way.

Ambrose motions me over to a small picnic table off to the side and I follow. He pulls out a thermos and fills the cap up to the rim. “Coffee?”

“Yes, please.” He pushes the cap toward me, opting to drink straight from the thermos himself.

We drink in silence while we watch Matty watch the animals. It’s not the most comfortable silence I’ve ever experienced, but it’s not stifling either.

“He’s lucky to have you,” I say, swirling my coffee.

Ambrose’s eyes remain glued on Matty like the responsible adult he is. “You’d think that. But I’m the lucky one, really. I was just going through the motions before Matty. Eat, work, sleep, repeat. He reminded me that we need people. Relationships.”

The little devil on my shoulder pushes me to pry. “Well, he couldn’t have asked for a better father. I’m sure his mother feels the same.”

Ambrose looks at me with an expression I can’t decipher. “Matty isn’t my son.”

“Oh. I guess stepdad—”

“No.” He shakes his head. “Matty isn’t my son, period. I’m his big brother.”

When my face crumples in confusion, he clarifies.

“Big brother, as in the Big Brother’s Club. I joined three years ago and got paired up with Matty. He doesn’t have the best homelife, so I take him a lot of the time when I’m not busy with work.”

The more I mull over Ambrose’s words, the more it all makes sense. Ambrose had always been the best big brother to Cat. Matty couldn’t have asked for someone better to look out for him.

“I saw the woman at your house. I guess I thought… I thought you were all together.”

His Adam’s apple bobs around his coffee. “You saw his mom. We were together for a while, but things got complicated. Something kept getting in the way.”

“What?” I ask without thinking.

Ambrose’s eyes bore into me. “Don’t ask questions you already know the answer to.”

I shouldn’t feel relief, but I do. My pathetic heart clings to the fact that Ambrose is no longer involved with the woman who could’ve easily been mistaken for a Victoria’s Secret model. I want to ask more about their situation but I stop while I’m ahead.

“So, you work here, huh?” I say, switching gears to lighter material. “I’d say I’m surprised, but that would be a lie. You would have lived here if you could when we were kids.”

Ambrose tops off my coffee. “I own the place.”

“Come again? I think I misheard you.”

“The zoo. It’s mine. I bought it.”

“You bought… the zoo. When did you buy the fucking zoo?”

“Language. This is a family establishment,” he says, but the corner of his mouth tips up just slightly. “When I graduated from college with my business degree, I didn’t know what I wanted to do with it. You know my dad, he always pushed us to be practical. When I came back home, the zoo was going under like a lot of other businesses in town and I couldn’t let that happen. Too many memories. So, I took the leap and got a loan to purchase it. The place always had great bones; it just needed some modern-day marketing.”

“Ambrose, that’s amazing!” I gush. “Your family must be so proud.”

“Yeah, I’d like to think so.”

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