"It's amazing what one day away from home can do," Andy said quietly as he looked off into the dark evening sky. It was late, well after midnight. It had been a good day, a very good day. The kids were happy. Andy was happy, and as he turned his head slightly to look over at Sharon, he noticed her smile slightly, her eyes closed as she leaned her head back and nodded.

"Hmm, yes," Sharon said opening her eyes and sitting up more in her chair. The two were sitting just outside the door of their motel rooms. It was an old motel with two floors. They were on the second floor and chairs were placed outside each door. The place was clean and dated, but it was affordable. Right now, it felt like a five-star hotel after not traveling at all for some time. It was situated so that their view was to a hill and trees. That made it feel secluded, even though they were nestled in the outskirts of San Diego. There was still that hustle and bustle everywhere around them, but for now, in this moment, it was quiet and dark. It felt like they were thousands of miles from anywhere. Sharon shifted slight and nodded to Andy as she did, "Much better. My neck was starting to ache with my head back like that, but at the same time, I was so comfortable I didn't want to move."

"My feet ache," Andy said. "How many miles did we walk today?"

"It's not even that we walked a few miles, but we had those strollers too."

"Yeah," Andy chuckled at the memory of the day. "Nicole was too old to ride in that stroller cart thing the zoo had until she realized she and Emily could ride together. That made it fun."

"Well, I have to thank Nate for entertaining Ricky with all of those little Matchbox cars of his. I need to find something like that for Ricky. Those might be a little small for him still with their little parts, but I have to remember Ricky is a little boy and needs cars and trucks. Emily's Barbies won't do all the time, not that he can't play with them too," she grinned at Andy.

He gestured with his hand, "Hey, I got the kid a little workbench for Christmas. I'm a good influence on Ricky."

"You are," Sharon grinned. "Emily and Nicole with those Barbies," she sighed. "In some ways, I wonder why we even came to the zoo. They wanted to play with those all day as we pulled the kids around the zoo."

"True," Andy nodded, "but, the kids had a great day, Shar." He titled his head to the side, toward her and flashed a grin. "They all ate their weight in cotton candy."

Sharon pursed her lips and looked away. Andy could see that something was off, and he gestured to her, "What? Okay, I'm sorry I bought that cotton candy for the kids to share."

"No," Sharon almost snapped her head to look at him. "It's not that; they did love it. It's just- ahh," she paused. "Nothing, just nothing, really."

"Okay, I've been your friend long enough to know it's something," Andy prodded.

"Shar," she cleared her throat. "I heard you say that. I'm not sure I've ever heard you call me that. It's not bad, but just close to what Jack used to call me, Shari. I hated that."

"Oh, sorry," he said with a small frown. "I apologize. I won't say it again."

"No," she reached over and patted his arm. "Don't be silly; it's not the same, and I suppose it just caught me off guard. Shar is fine," she said with a small smile.

"If it's not, tell me," he told her. "I know how it is with names. Funny," he chuckled, thinking back to a memory, "my mother and father called me Andrew. That was my name even as I started school. Another kid in my class was Andrew, like back to first grade or so. I can't remember, but I was really little. He was sort of a bully, and one day, he walked up to me and said that I was Andy because he was Andrew."

Sharon started to chuckle slightly and as she heard herself, she covered her mouth. She didn't want to ruin Andy's story, but he waved her off, "No, it's fine. Anyway, I was terrified of this kid, this Andrew. He'd failed the grade and was a lot bigger than all of us. So, at school, I became Andy. Eventually, I was just Andy. My parents continued with Andrew, but by the time I was old enough to really think about it, my friends called me Andy, and my family called me Andrew. That's how it's always been."

"I see," Sharon grinned as he explained. "What about Sandra?"

"Andy," he nodded as he explained. "She met me as Andy, and she thought it was silly that I went by two names. Funny now," he smiled toward Sharon, "I rarely hear anyone call me Andrew now."

The two sat there, taking in the silence as they thought about their conversation. Finally, Sharon gestured toward her door, "The kids all went to bed easily, at least my kids did. How were things in your room?"

"My kids fought over the beds, who would sleep in which bed," he chuckled. "They fell asleep quickly too. Nate didn't even get a bath. He can get one in the morning."

"Hmm," Sharon said, "I remember my first trip to the zoo, at least I think it was my first trip. I went with my parents when I was very little. I remember loving all of the birds."
"Birds?" Andy turned his head and looked at her with a grin and a surprised look. "No offense, but with all the animals at the zoo, you liked the birds?"

"Don't ask me why," Sharon grinned and shrugged. "I was little, probably around the same age as Emily. My parents have always talked about how much I loved the birds."

"Okay, then," Andy chuckled as he shook his head. "Kids like giraffes, lions, tigers-but Shari here loved the birds."

Sharon reached over and smacked at his arm, the two both then laughing loudly. They both quickly tried to quiet down as to not wake the kids. Both doors were propped open slightly so they could hear if any of the kids got up out of bed. Ricky was in a portable crib, and Sharon had been surprised that he'd stayed in it.

"My first trip to the zoo was quite different," Andy grinned and flashed a smile at Sharon.

"Oh," Sharon said, still laughing slightly, "do I even want to ask?"

Andy shrugged and gestured as he started to explain, "I didn't go to the zoo until I was on a field trip, maybe second or third grade. I can't remember. It just wasn't something we did, go to the zoo."

"Okay," Sharon eyed him, waiting for the rest of the story.

"My girlfriend and I held hands all day," Andy smiled triumphantly. He grinned at Sharon, and she burst out laughing again.

"Oh, Andy, a girlfriend? How old were you-seven or eight?" Sharon asked, still laughing. She tried to cover her mouth, but she kept laughing.

"What?" Andy acted surprised. "I was a good-looking kid. Her name was Samantha. She had long brown hair that she wore in pigtails, and yes, we held hands all day. We even kissed once when the teacher wasn't looking."

Sharon couldn't stop laughing now, and Andy started to laugh again too. He shook his head, "Yup, first kiss there at the zoo; I told you it was a memorable trip. I do know we were not in front of the birds," he flashed a grin at Sharon, and she laughed even harder. "Just makes me realize that now Nicole won't have a boyfriend until she's 30-no zoo field trips with a boyfriend for her."

"Stop, stop," Sharon said, laughing so hard she was bent over in her chair. She wiped the tears from her eyes, and after a few more seconds, the two finally started to calm down. When their eyes met, they started laughing again.

"Mommy?" the two snapped their heads up and found Emily standing in the doorway, rubbing her eyes. "I'm thirsty, and you're loud."

Sharon jumped up out of the chair, and as she did, Andy stood quickly too. He gestured toward Emily, "Sorry, Sharon. I know we were too loud."

Sharon, who had reached her doorway, put her arm around Emily's shoulders and turned her back to the room. She looked at Andy and smiled, "It was worth it, the laughs. Thank you for a great day, a great holiday. Emily," she leaned down and said quietly, "Go back to bed, and I'll bring you a cup of water."

Emily nodded and walked back into the room. Andy had his hand on his door, and he nodded to Sharon, "Night. Sleep well. I guess we can figure out the drive back tomorrow when the kids are all awake?"

"See you in the morning," Sharon said with a small smile.

"Birds," Andy chuckled as he nodded to Sharon.

"Kissing a girl at the zoo," Sharon covered her mouth and laughed again.

"And, yet, here we are, all these years later, taking our own kids and watching them as they play with Barbies and Matchbox cars," Andy grinned.

"At least there was no kissing," Sharon chuckled. She looked into the dark room, "I should go," she pointed.

"Night, Shar," Andy tapped the door frame as he stepped inside. It had been a great day, a trip greatly needed.