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“Good morning!” Olivia opened her door to Sonny and Rafael, still wearing her yoga pants and a halter top. “Are you guys sure you know what you’ve signed yourselves up for?” She reached over to tickle Marlene in her stroller, and the little girl giggled.
“Sonny assures me that at least one of us knows what he’s doing,” Rafael supplied with his typical level of snarkiness, before grinning at his husband. “I asked when we would be picking up the knowledgeable adult.”
“I’m ready, guys!” Noah came running from his bedroom, a ball cap and sunglasses on. “This is gonna be so awesome!”
“Yeah, so awesome!” Jesse echoed from behind him. Her pink ball cap and strawberry sunglasses were on as well. Amanda was following from behind, dressed for work.
“Are you guys sure it’s okay if she tags along? I hate that my sitter bailed, but--”
“It’s no problem, Amanda,” Sonny reassured her. “We’re gonna have a great time seeing the zoo, right guys?”
“Yes!” Jesse nodded, jumping in front of Noah to grab Sonny’s hand. “Untle Sonny, I tan help Marwee too. I’m a very good helper now.” Looking at Rafael and pushing her sunglasses up on her nose, she said, “Untle Wafi, you tan trust me, I mean it. I will be very tareful wif your wittle pwecious girl.”
Amanda and Sonny looked at each other, and Rafael bent down and carefully lifted Jesse’s sunglasses. “How about you watch Uncle Sonny today, and if you do a good job with that, we can negotiate a turn pushing Marley’s stroller later?”
Jesse tilted her head. “I’m not sure what you said but I wike it.” She fixed her sunglasses, then looked back at Sonny. “Wet’s go.”
Noah waved to Liv. “Bye Mom. See you this afternoon! Bye Aunt ‘Manda!”
“Oh yeah, bye Mommy! Bye Wivvy!” Jesse waved goodbye, and the group headed out the door. Liv closed it gently behind them, and Amanda sighed.
“I’m not sure if we should pray more for the kids or the guys,” she mused, grabbing her bag.
Liv chuckled. “I’m praying for everybody here. The zoo, too.”
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“Wow,” Noah said, regarding Rafael. They were standing at the curb as Rafael wrangled with Marlene’s stroller, trying to get it snapped together after the cab ride. “It takes a lotta work to take a baby to the zoo.”
“No!” Marlene waved a pudgy little finger at him. “No baby. I bid dirl.”
“That’s right, darling,” Sonny soothed. “You’re a big girl...almost two years old.”
Noah raised an eyebrow, a move he probably learned from his Uncle Rafael, but he didn’t say anything. Jesse, however, bent down next to Marlene and put her face a couple inches from the toddler’s. “You ARE a big girl now! Tan’t you walk?”
Marley nodded. “I bid dirl. I walk!”
Rafael reached over and caught his daughter by her hand. “Look, baby...your stroller is ready! Want to go see the animals?”
Marley shook her dark curls at him. “No baby, Papi! I bid dirl! I walk!”
“Honey, it’s a long way. Don’t you want to ride?”
Sonny caught Rafael’s shoulder gently. “Babe, let her walk. It’ll be slow but when she wears out she can ride then.” Looking down at Marley’s cherubic cheeks, he smiled. “We’ll have lots of trips to the zoo. Don’t have to see everything the first time.”
Rafael sighed. “You’re right. Let’s go.” And they headed toward the entrance, keeping a close eye on their tiny three musketeers.
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“WHAT?!?” shrieked Jesse, watching one of the elephants spray water everywhere. “That is so disdusting!”
Noah cracked up. “Yeah! I bet his boogers flew out, all over the place!”
Sonny laughed. “Better be careful or you’ll be washing them off tonight!”
Marley was pulling on Sonny’s cargo shorts. “Daddy, up! I see, I see!” He hauled her up into his arms and she watched the elephants, fascinated.
“They’re big, aren’t they sweetheart?” he said excitedly. “They’re elephants.”
One of the elephants trumpeted then, and the little girl looked, frightened, for Sonny’s reaction. He laughed then, held his arm up to his nose, and pretended to make the same sound. Marley burst into giggles and followed Sonny’s lead. “You get that?” he asked Rafael, turning slightly toward his husband.
“Oh yeah, I got it,” Rafael grinned, still holding his phone. Looking at his daughter, he teased, “You and Daddy are funny, Marley Mae.”
She giggled. “Marwee funny, Daddy,” she repeated, then kissed her daddy on his cheek.
Jesse reached over for Sonny’s hand. “Otay, Untle Sonny, stay wif me. It’s time to move it along, wight Untle Wafa?”
**********************************************
“Oh my God,” Noah exclaimed, seeing the three gorillas behind the glass. “He just picked a bug off the big one and ate it!”
“Gosh, please,” Sonny corrected as he put a squirming Marley down.
Noah looked up at him, then said, “Oh yeah, sorry. Oh my gosh.”
“Hey Marwee,” Jesse cried, “look at dis!” She stretched her mouth out, facing the gorillas, and danced in front of the glass. Marlene watched her carefully, then awkwardly wobbled foot to foot with her tongue stuck out.
“Monkey see, monkey do,” Rafael elbowed Sonny, nodding toward the girls.
“Monkey pee all over you!” Noah laughed, poking Rafael in the gut. “Sorry not sorry, Uncle Sonny!” Noah grabbed the empty stroller and headed toward the exhibit exit, while Sonny and Rafael rounded up the girls.
***************************************
“Look at those tigers,” Rafael pointed toward the exhibit. There were three siberian tigers inside, lounging peacefully.
“Yeah,” Sonny remarked, “nobody spitting water or eating bugs.”
Rafael shot him a look. “Don’t start,” he warned.
“How do you know which one’s the momma and which one’s the dad?” Noah asked, looking at the three tigers. “I think the little one must be the kid.” He looked at both his uncles, then mused, “Maybe they have two dads? Or two moms?”
“Maybe,” Sonny answered.
“Papi, papi, papi,” Marlene babbled, trying to climb Rafael. He leaned down and picked her up.
“But is there a way to tell who’s the girl and who’s the boy?” Noah asked again.
“Not without getting personal,” Sonny said under his breath, and Rafael kicked him in the ankle.
“Hey, wait a minute,” Jesse said, bending closer to the enclosure. “Ha! They’re wunning! Wait! What are they doing? Why’s that one climbing on the udder one? Are they wrestling?”
“Oh my God!” Noah cried, distressed. “He’s on it! Is he gonna kill it?”
“No, no,” Rafael said quickly, turning them all around. “Jesse, come on and get Uncle Sonny. It’s time to go eat lunch. Don’t let him get lost.”
“Aye, aye, Taptain!” She grabbed Sonny’s hand and followed Rafael away from the tiger exhibit.
“Silly tats, Papi,” Marlene laughed. “Silly titty tats.”
He kissed her on the cheek and they headed toward the picnic tables.
********************************************
“Ooh Papi! Pwetty!”
They were walking by a souvenir stand on the way to the tables when Marlene began reaching over his shoulder, trying to grab something she had seen. “What is it, mija?” he asked, turning around for a second.
“Pwetty, Papi! Marwee want pwetty!”
Her little hand was grasping at the air and he couldn’t figure out what she wanted.
“I think she wants the sunglasses,” Noah said, pointing at some pink princess sunglasses on a stand.
“You want DESE, pwecious girl?” Jesse picked up the sunglasses and tried to hand them to Marlene, but Sonny intercepted them.
“Not right now,” he said, putting them back on the stand. Marlene’s tiny face scrunched up and she reached for the glasses again. When Sonny didn’t make a motion to get them, the little girl released a high pitched scream, right in Rafael’s ear, followed by a torrent of tears.
“Marlene,” Rafael said firmly, trying to look at her face. “Daddy said not now. It’s lunch time.”
The toddler continued to cry, and Rafael stopped to put her into her stroller. She was fighting, but he somehow managed to get her in and buckled.
Jesse looked at Sonny. “You maybe should give your pwecious girl dose glasses,” she advised, adjusting her own strawberry sunglasses once again on her face.
He looked down at her and said, “Sometimes it’s not always good to get what you want whenever you want it. Besides, those sunglasses cost money, and we spent our money coming to the zoo.”
“Yeah, Jesse,” Noah chimed in, sounding way more mature than his nearly seven years. “You have to make good choices with your money. Right Uncle Sonny?”
Sonny nodded, and despite Marlene’s soft sobs, they headed to a picnic table.
*****************************************
After they finished eating, Sonny walked the older two kids over to the play area so they could run around while Rafael held Marlene.
“Tired, baby?” he asked, stroking her back. She sighed and pressed her tiny face into his neck.
“No baby,” she said sleepily. “I bid dirl, Papi.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, I remember.” He rocked her back and forth, stroking her curls. Every time he thought of how terrified he had been to become a father, he was amazed at how much he had changed, how his confidence had grown. Sonny had been a huge part of that, but so had Marlene. He couldn’t imagine her not being a part of his life now. After so many years, he now realized there had been something broken inside of his own father. The problem had never been him.
Sonny and Noah came jogging up to him just as he was laying a sleeping Marlene into her stroller. “Hey,” Sonny said, “have you seen Jesse?”
“No,” Rafael responded, immediately alarmed. He glanced quickly around him. “Don’t tell me you lost Rollins’ kid!”
“She’s not lost,” Sonny clarified quickly, glancing at Noah, who was watching their exchange with wide eyes. “She was right here...I’m sure she’s still right in this area.”
“Go look,” Rafael urged. “Noah, you stay here with me and we’ll look from here.”
Sonny nodded and quickly took off toward the play equipment, as Noah and Rafael continued scanning the area. “I don’t see her,” Noah said nervously. “Uncle Rafa, should we call my mom? Or some other police?”
“Not yet, Noah...she’s probably right around here and she knows we were at this table. She’ll probably be back in no time--”
“Look!” Noah cried, pointing toward the souvenir stand. “Here she comes!”
Sure enough, Jesse was leisurely walking back toward their picnic table, taking a look around as though she were watching the sights. Another minute and she was back with them. Rafael waved to Sonny and motioned him back over to them. He jogged over, catching his own breath. Jesse looked up at him and put her hands on her hips. “Oh, sorry Untle Sonny, you stayed wif Noah, wight? I didn’t want you to get lost.”
“Jesse Rollins,” Rafael said, bending down to her level and using his most serious but not scary dad voice, “do not ever do that again. Your job was to stay with Uncle Sonny and not lose him. That is a very important job. You left him and now I can’t let you push the stroller.”
“But Untle Wafi, he wasn’t lost. He was wif Noah.”
Sonny shook his head. “Jesse, you scared us, honey. You can’t leave us. We didn’t know where you were.”
She crossed her arms. “I was just wight over dere,” she grumbled.
“I think it’s time to head home now,” Rafael said, and they gathered their things, moving toward the exit.
************************************************
When they were almost back to Liv’s apartment, Jesse stretched up from Sonny’s side and took off her sunglasses, handing them to Rafael. “Oh, here,” she said casually. “Dese are for your pwecious girl.”
Rafael took the glasses, puzzled. “No, sweetie,” he replied. “These belong to you. Remember?”
Jesse shrugged. “I know. But Marwee wanted those pwetty pwincess ones. ‘Member? The pink ones?”
Of course he remembered. And suddenly, he knew exactly where she had gone. His eyes met Sonny’s, and they both stared down at the little girl. “I twied to get dem for her wif my money, see?” She reached in her tiny shorts pocket and pulled out a play dollar bill. “But da lady said I don’t have enough money. I twied to give her my stwawberry glasses so I could get the pwincess ones for your baby, but she said they don’t do changes, whatever DAT means.”
“So you tried to buy Marlene the sunglasses she wanted,” Rafael said slowly, “and when you didn’t have enough money you asked if you could swap the glasses?”
Jesse nodded. “But the lady don’t swap, Untle Wafi. And then I came back but you were mad I lost Untle Sonny.” She sighed heavily. “I’m sorry they aren’t pwincess glasses, but maybe Marwee will like them anyway. She’s a big girl now.”
Rafael glanced up at Sonny, who was biting his lip and wiping his eyes. “Tell you what,” Rafael said to Jesse, “why don’t you wear your sunglasses until Marley wakes up, and then if you want you can offer them to her?” The little girl nodded and took them back, sliding them once again on her face. “Hey Jess? Also, I’m definitely going to need some help pushing Marlene’s stroller up to Livvy’s apartment. She’s heavy when she’s sleeping. Can you help me with that?”
Jesse gave him a thumbs up. “You betcha, Untle Wafi. I told you already, I’m a good helper.”
“You’re nice too,” Noah whispered loudly in Jesse’s ear, and she beamed.
And in fabulous style, a showstopping, sunglass-wearing Marlene was wheeled in to her Aunt Livvy’s apartment by none other than Jesse Rollins, with occasional help from her buddy Noah, while her uncles held a lot of doors (and their breaths!).