ZEBRA
John Bates was still amazed by fatherhood. It wasn't as though it was a new experience; he had three children aged three, seven and nine, so he had been one for quite a while now, but his children never ceased to astound him. As he looked in on them just before going to bed himself he was ruminating on how he and Anna could possibly have created three such diverse human beings.
When he peeked into Lily's room it was all pink and frills and butterflies and ladybugs. She was a daddy's girl through and through and she absolutely had him wrapped around her little finger. But then he went down the hall and opened the door to the boys' room. It was split down the middle. Robbie, their little scientist, had his side loaded with drawings of bugs, a magnifying glass and jars which contained god knows what. He loved to threaten his sister that he would perform 'experiments' on any butterfly she dared to point out to him. He was constantly peppering poor Dr. Clarkson with questions about diseases and equipment each time he visited the surgery.
Finally, he looked over to Jack's side. Jack loved one thing and one thing only, and that was zebras. In the three years their little one had been on this earth they had already taken him to the London Zoo twice as well as the circus which passed through York. If he ever saw an advert he would not stop pestering until they had taken him. John recalled that his last birthday had been more black and white than a grand ball at the Abbey. Anna had made him a black and white coverlet for his bed and Daisy, Jack's particular favorite, had managed to make him a striped cake. John believed his charm and persuasiveness would take him far. Jack had been devastated when he found that his DA had spent years in Africa and never seen a zebra in person. Even now he saved every penny he came across, stowing them carefully in a jar his sister had labeled 'The Africa Fund'.
Yes, John thought, his three children were very different, but they were all perfect. They must have gotten it from their mother side.