Young love doesn’t know ‘no’

The visit to the zoo was their fourth date. Their previous three had been at restaurants, but in a bid to change things up, Sandra had proposed the zoo.

“Why the zoo? 🤔” Simon had asked over WhatsApp.

“Oh, I really love animals! 🦧🙈🐒I think it will be the perfect place for our fourth date, sweetheart! Please say yes, pleaseeee! 🙏🏼🥹🙏🏼🥹” she replied.

Simon and Sandra had met about two months prior in the least likely of places: a supermarket parking lot. It was a story that many found hard to believe.

They had both been shopping one evening.

Simon was the first to exit, heading toward his car with a heavy bag of groceries. As he approached, he realized he’d left his lights on. Knowing the unreliable state of his battery, he was certain the car wouldn’t start.

Struggling with the bag in his arms, he fumbled to open the car manually since the automatic locks had already failed.

In the struggle, the bag slipped.

It hit the pavement, and five oranges spilled out, rolling away.

It is a funny law of nature that, in moments like these, oranges roll with such exaggerated speed.

The oranges seemed to travel for miles. Before chasing them, Simon managed to put the rest of his groceries into the car. Just as he suspected, the engine wouldn’t start!

Sighing, he began the scavenger hunt for his fruit. He recovered the first, the second, the third, and the fourth. The last one, however, had gone quite the distance.

He finally spotted the orange and started walking toward it. At that exact moment, Sandra emerged from the supermarket.

The battery and the fruit soon vanished from Simon’s mind. He stood frozen, beholding a princess walking majestically toward him. Sandra was dark, tall, and slender; the African print dress she wore accentuated her beauty perfectly. Simon was utterly slain.

In that moment, the dead battery didn’t matter. The groceries didn’t matter. Simon simply stood frozen.

She walked to the point where the orange was, reached down and picked it up. What Simon didn’t realize was that she had watched his entire debacle unfold from the checkout line.

“I think this is yours,” she said, her voice smooth and steady.

Simon felt a surge of gratitude toward that wayward fruit for leading him to a princess!

“Ummm… yes, it is. Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome. I’m sorry about your bag.”

“Yeah, yeah, um…. that’s okay. Um….. I’m Simon, by the way.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Sandra.”

“Sandra. That’s a beautiful name!”

She smiled.

He smiled back. He wished he had more oranges to fall so Sandra would keep picking them up.

“So, do you shop here often?” Simon asked, desperate to keep her there.

“Yeah, I’m actually here quite a lot.”

“Interesting! How come I’ve never seen you here? I also shop here a lot!”

“Well,” she laughed, “I guess we have your orange to thank for finally helping us meet.”

Simon’s smile widened at her use of the word “us.” That encounter, born of a dead battery and a rolling orange, had blossomed into love over the following weeks.

There is something enchanting about love in its infancy; it doesn’t know the word “no.”

In reality, Simon was afraid of animals. It was a deep-seated fear. He was terrified of snakes, crocodiles, and especially lions.

He hadn’t stepped foot in a zoo since a primary school field trip decades ago. A trip that, even then, he had been far from excited about.

While the other kids had been buzzing with anticipation, pressed against the school bus windows to catch a glimpse of the gates, Simon had sat silently in his seat, wishing for a sudden downpour of rain to cancel the day.

He was afraid of animals!

And his instincts back then had been right. That trip had ended in disaster: a stubborn monkey had lunged from a branch, landing squarely on his shoulders. The sheer terror of the moment had caused him to wet his trousers in front of his entire class.

He had walked away that day with a damp pair of pants and a solemn vow: never again would he go to the zoo!

But the enrapturing nature of young love had taken over.

How could he say no to his princess?

“Okay, my princess,” he had typed back. “If the zoo is what you like, the zoo it is! 🕺🏼🕺🏼🕺🏼”

“Thank you, sweetheart! ❤️❤️❤️ I know we’re going to have a wonderful time!”

I’m a grown man now, he assured himself after the chat. I’m not afraid of animals anymore.

Such was the power of love.

March 21st. A Saturday. The date would remain cemented in his mind forever.

They arrived at about 2:00 PM.

As a new rule, Simon always checked that his lights were off when he moved out of the car. Sandra was supportive of this routine (mostly because she had no desire to help him push-start the car).

Everything started well.

But as they passed the security checkpoint, the memories came rushing back. The “Moment of the Monkey” haunted him.

To make matters worse, it seemed the monkey population had multiplied a thousandfold since his childhood. They were everywhere!

“Oh, darling, look at those adorable monkeys!” Sandra said, pointing toward a nearby troop.

“Ha… ha… ha,” Simon attempted a laugh. It sounded more like a mechanical cough.

As Sandra ran toward the enclosure, beckoning the monkeys, Simon stood frozen. And it was here that he realized he was somewhat angry with himself for accepting to come to the zoo. Why had he agreed to this?

“Babe, monkeys are just the best! So friendly!” Sandra exclaimed, her eyes bright with excitement. “Oh, and I read they just got some new crocodiles. I really want to see them, and it’s a good thing we’re here during their feeding time!”

Sandra began to pull him toward the reptile stone enclosures.

Simon watched the handlers carrying buckets of raw meat toward the murky water where the crocodiles were. Feeding time. He realized then that young love hadn’t just said “yes” to a date; it had walked him straight into the jaws of his greatest nightmare.

He swallowed hard, his throat feeling as dry as an actual desert!