Odd Pair

I stood under a Wattle tree; its shade provided some comfort from the African sun. I was alone and hadn’t seen anyone since leaving the local watering hole at noon.

I felt silly and vulnerable, letting those losers at the oasis talk me into this blind date. It wasn’t like me at all. "I’ll just go, be gone before he shows up. That’s what I will do. I will run."

“Hello! Are you, Zelda?”

Zelda spun around, lowered her head and wheezed. The darkest brown eyes she had ever seen were staring up at her, only inches away from her nose.

She snorted and wheezed once more before she spoke.

“Yes, I’m Zelda and you must be, Artie. I … I wasn’t expecting an … aaarr ...”

“Aardvark! Aardvark, that’s what I am, and proud of it. You’re not exactly what I anticipated either, Zelda. Quite tall … aren’t you?”

“I believe a cruel joke has been played on us, Artie.”

“Yeah, I should have known, these blind dates never work out for me.”

“This isn't your first blind date, Artie?”

“Nope,” Artie answered, before he began sniffing the ground with his long snout. “I’ve been set up lots of times, Zelda, but never with a zebra. This is a first.”

“Has anyone ever told you … you have beautiful eyes, Artie?”

“They haven’t ... no. You really think my eyes are beautiful?”

“Yes, they are, and I’m not that tall, Artie.”

“If you are hungry, Zelda, I know where we can find the best and biggest ant hills in Africa."

“I don’t eat ants, Artie, but I’m sure there will be lots of grass along the way for me to eat. Let’s go.”

“So … tell me, Zelda, are you black; with white stripes or white; with black stripes?”

“What a silly question, Artie. Isn’t that like asking, which came first … the chicken, or the egg?”

“What’s a chicken, Zelda?”