Chapter Seven
Lark held Rayanne’s hand as they walked in the Amazing Adventures Safari Park. The sun was shining—well, it was beating down on them like its sole purpose was to singe her skin off—and it was hot and humid. But Lark didn’t mind the heat, and she’d walk through the desert to make her niece smile.
“Wait, hold up, girl,” Lark said, pulling gently on her small hand until she stopped skipping. “Let’s check the map again.”
Lark unfolded the colorful map that the ticket taker had given to her. Rayanne was brimming with excitement, practically vibrating with giggles as she bounced, her curly pigtails bobbing with the motion. She was wearing a dress that had a bird pattern on it and her favorite shiny black shoes. Lark wondered if she’d ever been as excited about anything as Rayanne was about seeing the aviary.
“I…wait…” Lark turned in a circle, pivoting to get her bearings.
“You need some help?” a woman asked.
Lark looked up and saw a young woman wearing a park golf shirt and khaki shorts, with a nametag that read Sarah.
“We’re looking for the aviary.”
“Oh sure, I can help you out with that.” She looked down at Rayanne and said, “Your dress is so pretty. Are you excited to see the birds?”
“They’re my favorite. I want to see the eagle too.”
“He’s pretty cool.” Sarah smiled and said, “You want to head toward the big red barn. See it there?” She pointed, and Lark lifted her head and nodded.
“Oh, great, thank you so much.”
“You bet. Have a great day!”
“Thanks, you too.”
Folding up the map, Lark held out her hand to Rayanne. “Ready, girl?”
“Yes!”
They headed toward the red barn, which she could see over the treetops. Rayanne stopped suddenly, and Lark realized they were in front of a candy shop.
“Oh, look! They have stuffies. Can I buy one?” Rayanne asked.
The picture window was filled with baskets and tins of candy all dolled up with bows, with several stuffed animals tucked around them.
“I thought we agreed to wait on the stuffie until we’re closer to leaving. Because you always say you’ll carry it the whole time, but then you give it to me after five minutes and I have to carry it.”
Rayanne looked thoughtful. “Okay. Later, though? After the birds?”
“Sure, kiddo.”
They resumed their walk. The park was busy but not super packed, which Lark was happy about. She’d wanted to get there right when it opened, but Dove hadn’t gotten Rayanne up early enough. They’d grabbed lunch on the way, but Lark had her eye on ice cream at some point. She’d read some online reviews that said the ice cream stand in the park was top-notch, with unique flavors and even panda cones for kids with adorable candy eyes and face.
They reached the big red barn, which Lark knew from studying the map was the “bird hospital.” The staff took in injured wild birds and treated them, keeping them in the aviary for rehab and then releasing them when they were ready. Except for the eagle, who was a permanent member of the aviary because he couldn’t fly.
“Oh no,” Lark said, as she saw the big “closed” sign next to the aviary entrance.
“What?” Rayanne asked, her gaze on the aviary itself and not the sign.
“It’s closed, honey.” Lark read the sign out loud. “One of our birds is sick. We’re closed until further notice. Sorry for the inconvenience.”
“But, I wanted to see him,” Rayanne said, her voice going high and kind of squeaky.
Lark squatted down and took both her hands and gave them a gentle squeeze. “Don’t cry, kiddo.”
“I-I’m not,” she said, sniffling, her face scrunching as she fought the tears.
“It’s okay to be upset, but we can always come back next weekend. The eagle isn’t going anywhere, right? He lives here. So we’ll come back.”
“P-promise?”
“Yeah, sure. I love the park, and I love spending time with you. I wish we could’ve seen him today, but we’ll see him next weekend if it’s open. All right?”
“C-can I have a stuffie now?”
Lark chuckled. “Sure, kiddo. But maybe we can check out the actual gift shop and not the candy shop. The gift shop has more stuffies. Maybe they even have a bird one.”
She visibly brightened. “Okay.”
“Yeah? Okay.” Lark stood and took Rayanne’s hand, leading her away from the big red barn and attached aviary. It would have been wonderful if they could’ve seen one of the demonstrations or walked through the aviary, but she wasn’t going to let it ruin their day out together.
At the gift shop, Rayanne zeroed in on the shelf with stuffed birds of all varieties, finding an eagle among the cardinals, falcons, owls, and parrots.
“Is it a boy eagle or a girl eagle?” Lark asked as she followed Rayanne up to the cashier.
“Oh!” Sarah said with a chuckle. “I remember you two. Did you find the aviary?”
“They’re closed,” Rayanne said sadly. “One of the birds is sick. I hope it’s not the eagle.”
“That’s too bad, I didn’t know. Well, Auden and Jess are great at taking care of them, so I’m sure they’re doing their best to tend to whichever one is sick. I hope you can come back when it’s open.”
“We’re going to try next weekend,” Rayanne said.
“If you follow the aviary’s social media feed, it should tell you if they’re open or not,” Sarah said. “It’s called Angel’s Sanctuary for Birds and is on all the major social media platforms. You can find links on the park’s website.”
“I’ll check it out, thanks so much. You’ve been super helpful,” Lark said with a smile.
“I think it’s a boy,” Rayanne said.
“What? Who is?” Lark asked.
Rayanne patted the eagle on the head. “Him.”
“Ah, okay. Then he needs a really great name.”
“Ice cream.”
Lark lifted a brow. “You want to name him Ice Cream?”
“No, I want to have ice cream and think about it.” Rayanne took the bird from Sarah and declined a bag, hugging the stuffie to her chest with a happy sigh.
“Enjoy the rest of your day, ladies,” Sarah said, handing the receipt to Lark.
“You too,” Lark said.
They left the gift shop and found the ice cream stall, helmed by a man and woman who were clearly a couple judging by the romantic looks that pinged between them.
Geez, I need a date. I’m seeing romance everywhere.
When they had their ice cream cones, they found a picnic table and sat. Lark pulled out the map and smoothed it. “What should we do next?”
Rayanne nibbled on the cookie ear of the panda cone. “What’s this?” She pointed to a corner of the map.
Lark took a bite of raspberry swirl and hummed at the perfectly sweet taste as she peered at the section. “That’s the safari tour.”
“What’s that?”
“You remember when Grandpa took you to the safari tour in Virginia?”
“Nope.”
She chuckled. “Maybe you’re too young to remember. But we drove Grandpa’s car through the safari. It was a really hot day, so the animals stayed in the shade, and we didn’t see a lot of them. Here, they take people out in a vehicle to see the animals, but it’s not an open place like that safari; they’re all safely behind fences.”
“I’d like to do that.”
“I’m not sure if we can. I think we need tickets for it.”
“Then let’s get tickets.”
“Well,” Lark started, thinking about how much money she’d already spent on the main tickets, parking, lunch, and the shockingly expensive stuffed eagle.
“Oh, please, Auntie Lark? I didn’t get to see the eagle, and I’d really like to see the safari tour. That would make me so much happier.”
“Wow, you’re not subtle at all, kiddo,” she said with a chuckle. “You only call me Auntie Lark when you want something.”
“No, I don’t,” she protested.
“Yeah, you do, but you know what? It’s okay. I think it would be neat to go on the tour too. Finish your cone, and we’ll see if they’ll sell us tickets.” She knew Rayanne was disappointed the aviary was closed, and while her niece wasn’t really a pouting sort of kid, it was easy to see how disappointed she was. Lark hated that.
“Eat up, babe. Then let’s go see about a tour.”