Note: I do not own The Middle. No copyright infringement intended.
After they got to the zoo, Sean didn't say a word; he simply held out his hand. Sue linked her fingers with his. "Still worried about me getting lost, huh?" she teased.
"Nope." He tilted his head close to hers. "I just like to hold your hand." Sue gave him a big smile, and they walked hand-in-hand to the entrance.
While they waited to buy tickets, Sue kept up a steady stream of enthusiastic chatter. "I am so excited! I think the last time I was here was junior high. Or maybe high school? It sure wasn't as memorable as being here with you!" He smiled and hugged her. Sue continued, "There's a new baby tamarin! Shelly is obsessed: she's been checking the web site daily for new pictures. I thought about bringing her and Dotty here, but," Sue shook her head, "it just didn't seem right to come without you."
"We can bring them with us next time."
"That would be awesome!" She said wistfully, "I wish Axl was as nice to me as you are to your sisters!"
"My parents would kill me if I treated my sisters the way Axl usually treats you," he stated. "But he has his moments." With a sly smile, "I was glad you were having fun with him at the chancellor's ball!"
"Oh, yes! We had a great time! Wait…" she looked at him suspiciously. "Are you glad because we had fun, or because I was with him and not a date?" Sean grinned and shrugged. She pointed at him. "You, mister, have a mischievous side. I like it!"
Once they were inside, Sean asked, "Where to first?"
"How about the Africa pavilion? You can tell me if there are any animals you saw in Ghana."
They started towards Africa, but Sue quickly stopped in her tracks. "Look!" she breathed, as she stared at a sign announcing the new kangaroo encounter.
Sean smiled at Sue's captivated expression. "How about we go there first?" Sue, eyes wide, looked at him and nodded. They made their way over to the exhibit and walked down the path amongst the kangaroos. While Sue was entranced by the kangaroos playing around them, Sean took a few pictures of the animals and many pictures of her. When one of the kangaroos sprawled out on the path in front of them, Sue clamped a hand over her mouth to stifle her squeal of pure joy, then knelt down and began to softly pet the animal. Sean took a few more photos of Sue and the kangaroo, before kneeling down next to Sue and taking some selfies of the three of them.
After they left the exhibit, Sue spun in a circle before throwing her arms around Sean. "Wasn't that the most amazing thing ever?!" Sean smiled down at her and stroked her hair.
They eventually made their way over to the Africa pavilion, but not before they were distracted by other activities, including a petting zoo (where Sue bottle-fed a lamb, and a rambunctious goat stole a map from Sean before lunging at Sue – or at least that's the excuse Sean gave for pulling her into a tight hug) and a chair lift (where they held onto each other and not the handrail.) As they toured Africa, they noticed the sky had darkened ominously.
Sue sighed, "Well, of course it's going to rain on our outdoor date!"
Sean said optimistically, "Maybe it'll hold off." When Sue gave him a skeptical look, he remarked, "But let's head to the primate house, just in case. It's got covered viewing areas."
They were approaching the building when the rain started. Sean put a hand on Sue's back, intending to hurry her along. Instead, Sue turned and pulled him into a long, thorough kiss. When it ended, they were both dripping with rain, breathing heavily, and smiling happily. Holding hands, they dashed over to the primate house. They wended their way past visitors who clustered near the entrance. They settled on a bench near the final exhibit, where they had relative privacy. Sue tried to wring water out of her hair, while Sean wiped droplets from her face. He paused with his hands on her cheeks. "What was that about, back there?"
"What, the kiss?" Sue smiled playfully. "Didn't you like it?"
"You know I did! But..."
Sue wrapped her hands around his wrists. "Well, we'd already kissed in the snow. I thought we should kiss in the rain, too." Sean grinned. He touched his forehead to hers before giving her a soft kiss. He tucked her against his side, and they sat quietly, watching as more people filtered into their area. Sue pulled slightly away and said, "Sean…about Christmas Eve…"
"You mean the best Christmas Eve of my life?"
"Mine, too! But I wondered…if it meant so much to you, why did you apologize afterwards? And why did you just…disappear?"
Sean sighed and rubbed her back. "I was afraid I had blown it. I'd been trying for months to tell you I liked you. I was overthinking everything! But that night, I acted on instinct, and it…was amazing! But immediately afterwards, I started overthinking again. I was worried that you didn't feel about it – about me – the way I felt." He shrugged. "I thought maybe you had only kissed me back to be polite."
Sue's jaw dropped. "That's what I thought, too! That you had only kissed me back to be polite!" They looked at each other and laughed, shaking their heads. "The New Year's Eve party…I had my mom throw that for you." Seeing Sean's confusion, Sue explained, "Brad and I came up with the idea. We thought if you kissed me again on New Year's, it would prove you did like me."
"I was going to! But then," he sneered, "Aidan." He paused. "Wait, if that party was for me then why…"
"I didn't invite him!" Sue interjected. "We had only gone on a few dates, and I hadn't seen him in weeks. But then he texted me out of the blue to say he had to work on New Year's, and I told him I'd be with my family. I had no idea he'd show up!"
"And kiss you at midnight." Sean grimaced. "Donahues don't hate people. But I have a very strong dislike for that guy."
Sue patted his chest. "It doesn't matter now. He and I broke up months ago, the morning after my birthday in fact." Sean looked surprised. "Yeah. He showed up not long after you left, and I ended it. Waking up to you that morning, even though it was platonic, even though I was hung over, it was the best birthday present I ever had. I knew I couldn't keep seeing him, not when I was in love with you."
Sean gently stroked her hair back from her face. He started to speak, but the moment was interrupted by an excited kid nearby shouting, "Look, Mom! It looks like the monkey in The Lion King!" Sue and Sean turned, and saw that a mandrill had emerged from a shelter in the exhibit. It stood in the rain for a moment before disappearing back under the shelter. The kid called out, "What's its name?"
When the kid's mom didn't answer, Sue leaned forward and said, "That 'monkey' is actually a mandrill. And the character from The Lion King is named Rafiki. Maybe we can call this mandrill 'Rafiki', too?"
Sean wasn't quite sure how it happened, but Sue's conversation with several children and their parents about The Lion King evolved into a group-sing of "The Circle of Life" and "Hakuna Matata." While Sue led the crowd in a song-and-dance rendition of "I Just Can't Wait to Be King," he was so thoroughly entertained that he stopped singing along and used his phone to film it. He caught another glimpse of the mandrill, and wondered if it was enjoying the show, too. By the time that song ended, the rain had almost stopped. Several of the families left, after the kids bestowed hugs on their new best friend Sue. Sean smiled while he watched. His phone chimed, alerting him to a new text.
Nancy: I heard it's been raining there. And on your first date! I am so sorry. Hope you're still having fun!
Sean quickly responded, attaching a copy of the "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" video.
Sean: Most fun I've ever had! Cannot love her more!
Sue sat back down beside him. They waited patiently while more visitors filed past them towards the exit. Finally, Sue spoke. "You never told me…if you had picked our first date, what would it have been?"
"Honestly, I couldn't make up my mind. Should it be traditional, or should it be fun? I'm happy you picked fun! But…there is a date I really want us to have." He squeezed her hand. "You owe me a dance!"
"Well, my next formal isn't for months! I'm glad we didn't wait for our first date until then!"
"Hopefully we'll get to dance together sooner than that." He nodded towards the departing families. "And without a pack of kids joining in!"
They made their way out of the exhibit. Although the rain had stopped, the sky was still dark. "I think it'll rain again," Sean said. When Sue didn't answer, he looked over and realized she was checking her phone. "Sue?"
"What? Oh, sorry. I just got a text from Brooke. I need to call her right away. Do you mind?"
"No, it's fine. There's a gift shop up ahead. While you make your call, I'll go in the shop and see if I can find something with a tamarin for Shelly."
"Aww! You really are the best big brother!" Sue stood on her tiptoes and kissed Sean on the cheek. When he disappeared inside the shop, she moved several yards away and made her call. When Sean emerged with shopping bag in hand, she was still on the phone. He waited patiently, watching from a distance as she talked animatedly.
When she finally rejoined him, Sean asked "Everything okay?"
Sue sighed. "I need to go by the inn. There's something that can't wait until tomorrow."
"Really?" Sean was disappointed. "How long will it take?"
"Not long, but I was thinking…did you have anything planned for supper? Because we could have supper at the inn's restaurant. Our head chef doesn't work on Sunday nights, so it's a limited menu, but the food is really good, and you'll get to meet some of my co-workers – they've all been dying to meet you! – and this way our date doesn't have to end so soon, because I really, really, really don't want it to send so soon…"
"Sue! Sue! Take a breath!" Sean laughed. "Yes, I think that's a great idea!" He frowned. "But what about your car? It's still in Orson. Do we need to go pick it up first?"
"Oh, no! It's fine. I just called my parents and told them I might need them to bring my car and my overnight bag to Gumford. They said it was fine. I just need to text them to confirm."
"You were pretty sure I was going to agree to this plan, huh?"
Sue shrugged. "Well, you let me pick the activity. I figured you'd let me pick the restaurant too! Let me text my mom right quick." After dashing off a message, she asked, "Did you find a tamarin for Shelly?"
"Sure did! I also got something for Dotty. And…" He showed her a stuffed kangaroo. "This one's for you!" Sue clapped her hands and then hugged him.
"I love it! And…" she gave him a quick kiss, "I love you, too!"
He pulled her close and would have kissed her again, but rain started to fall. They held hands and hurried for the exit.
