My Son

“How many more before me papa?”, little Glen asked her father as she grew impatient waiting for ice cream. Ben could not offer a comforting response to her, since he was busy managing Martha; the younger one, she has already given up waiting for the cotton candy. She is now getting whiny. Ben looked around for his wife Maria. She was away scouring the zoo for a resting spot for all. And there she was.

“I found a cafeteria with few vacant seats. Lets scoot there”, said a panting Maria. Her line was no less than a gold rush for the family. They rushed to get their seats.

Chock-a-block with summering folks, the cafeteria gave a little solace to Ben and Maria. The cafe was close to the reptile exhibit, which had an apparent slim crowd.

“I have heard about the great amazonian forest patch they have created there”,Ben told with brimming enthusiasm. Both the girls were excited to hear that. “Let’s finish the lunch and hit the road girls. What do you all say?!”, Ben declared showing a thumbs up.

“Count me out please. I am beat sweethearts.”, replied Maria. Looking at the sullen faces she immediately reassured all of them, “How about saving the seats for you all? Mamma will do that.”

It sounded pretty convincing for the girls and they quickly nibbled on their lunch. Soon Ben and the girls wrapped up and headed for the reptile exhibit. Maria was left alone to save 3 vacant spots. Looking at the pouring crowd, she found it a little uncomfortable and gave away one of the seats to a kid.

She was now left to keep at least 2 seats for the girls. “The exhibit is a long trail, both of them will be drained.”. Maria mused while the discomfort to refuse seat seekers was apparent on her face. Just then an elderly lady approached her and asked her with a calming and welcoming voice.

“Saving seats for your folks?”

“Yeah. You are right. Actually for my kids.”

“You mind, if I lend a hand? I can occupy one until your cuties return?”

Maria gleamed with a nod. No sooner bag of the ladies respectfully occupied the last seat left.

“I am Maria Affleck. Thanks a ton”.

“I am Suzie Smith. For help like this, you are welcome anytime.”

They shared a hearty laugh over this.

“Where are your folks seated?”, Maria asked Suzie.


“Oh! My son is out there”, Suzie replied while pointing her finger towards the primate exhibit.

“Oh I see. It is insanely crowded today. I guess it’s because of the Cincinnati zoo incident. All of a sudden there is a gorilla frenzy everywhere.”, sarcastically responded Maria.

“That was tragic. I felt crushed. Good that my son doesn't know it. Else he would be petrified.”, lamented Suzie.

“Is it? How old is he?” Maria asked out of sheer curiosity.

“He turned 12 today. But still a baby to me.”, gushed Suzie with a thoughtful look.

“Wow. a zoo trip as a birthday gift. Very thoughtful of you. huh?”, exclaimed Maria.

Confusion stole over Suzie’s face. She looked straight at Maria with squinted eyes and enquired, “It seems I missed saying something.” She continued with a gloomy tone. “The zoo is his home. My visit to the zoo will be his gift.” Suzie’s voice now stern as she spoke, “They all doubt if he really understands his birthday. But I know for sure he always looks for me on this day. Every year.”

Maria couldn't hold her brimming curiosity within her mind anymore, and finally blurted it out. “Does he work here? Why wont someone know his b’day? I mean..I am sorry...I am not getting it…. I hope I am not intruding into your personal life. You see..i am both curious and confused.”

Suzie realised and held Maria’s hand to assure her. “I absolutely understand your state of mind. Anybody would feel like that. It's all my fault. Sorry.” Now Suzie took a breath and spoke again.

“More than a decade ago, I came across a pet agency who showed me a cute chimpanzee. I just couldn’t resist those pretty eyes. They spoke a thousand words in a minute. I took no time to purchase him. They took care of the vet papers, vaccination, licensing and then on a Sunday Zuzu came to my home.”

Suzie kept recalling her past with a blissful face, “I would stitch out little shirts and nappies for him. He would grow and I would work on new ones. He would grow again and I would stitch bigger ones. And it continued until I noticed his cot creaking to bear his weight. I took him to a vet and to my utter surprise they declared he is not a chimpanzee. He is a male silverback gorilla. The pet agency duped me with all fake papers. Everything.”

Suzie’s plum cheek now glistened with non-stop tears. Dazed Maria offered her some tissues.

“They asked me to sue the agency and get my money back. As per the policy, one cannot pet a gorilla. It’s a wild animal. But how could I do that. Tell me? Chimpanzee or gorilla whatever it may be. I cannot deny that Zuzu and I are now family. The pet agency did cheat me but the pet policy disappointed me more. My Zuzu is not wild AT ALL.” Suzie’s shaking voice was overloaded with emotions, which now affected Maria too.

Maria was heedless of the time and the crowd around. The crowd has thinned a lot because it's almost closing time. Ben and the girls have returned and took another table in a distance; he hated to disturb Maria’s chat with her newfound friend.

Suzie wiped her soaked face when a zoo keeper approached her.

“Hello Suzie. It’s time you can meet Zuzu. Please follow me.”