A Normal Day at the Zoo

Leonard

"Thanks for coming with me, Charley," Jo says cheerily, watching a roseate spoonbill waddling through a pond habitat at the newly renovated birdhouse. "I know it was very spur-of-the-moment, but I had — well, I don't need to tell you, that was a pretty tough, er, trip. I just needed to decompress a little. Thanks for indulging me, anyway." She looks up at the sky; it's a warm but overcast day and Jocasta sees similar bird-shapes in the cool gray clouds. "Anything you want to see?"

Mel

Charley continues to stare out at the pond thinking. Then says, “Do they have lions here?" She then looks over at Jo, who watches the birds over head and quickly adds, “They’re the lucky ones.”

Leonard

"Sure, they have lions," Jocasta replies dreamily. "Lucky ones? The birds? Because they can fly away?"

Mel

“No.” Charley says as the birds fade from sight. “They’re free.”

“Jo … Have you ever been to Montana?”

Leonard

"Never. I'd love to go sometimes, lots of hiking up there. A beautiful part of the country. Why do you ask?"

Mel

“Montana? Did I say Montana? No, I meant Wyoming.”

“Oh look I can see the Lion House!”

“My mom is probably in Wyoming. Do you want to go? I bet it’s pretty there, like Montana.”

Leonard

"I love the lions," Jocasta admits. "I thought about majoring in biology for a little while. Let's go take a look, I'll tell you about the time I saw a real African lion." She pauses just before they go in. "Wyoming, huh? It's a big state. It might not hurt to do a little research first, so we don't have to search the whole place ourselves. But I'd go with you, Charley. If you wanted me to."