The idea seemed crazy at first, but I was looking for anything at this point to distract from my parents' sudden passing.
I couldn't bear to see the girls faces every morning full of hope that our mother and father would walk down the stairs and say 'Good Morning', but they never came, so they were left with only disappointment and grief to carry on their little backs for the rest of the day until finally they could fall into the sanctuary of their dreams where they could at least pretend that our parents were still alive.
One morning, I was reading the newspaper, searching for some sort of sign of which direction I should take now that I had no determined one.
I had to drop out of university to take care of my sister's fulltime and to deal with the tedious details of my parent's estate. Most of their invested money was going to the girls and I, and much to my surprise, there was a lot of it.
Anyway, I was perusing the classified section when I stumbled upon a totally bizarre posting that leapt out at me as soon as my eyes crossed it:
Up for sale: Alexander's Animal Emporium
A beautiful estate with roaming hills, a home with six bedrooms, as well as your very own zoo (including animals) to take care of. Price to be discussed with real estate agent upon request.
It was if the skies had opened up and gave me the perfect answer to my problems. The girls were miserable in our family home, especially the twins, who still didn't quite understand that they'd never see their parents again. But, on top of that, it made me think of their absolutely favorite story: 'The Jungle Book'. If we moved to a zoo, they could be living that dream every single day.
I contacted the real estate agent right away and set up a meeting with her, to be held over coffee. Unfortunately, the problem with getting coffee in our small town is that there is only one coffee shop, which is where our parents first met each other. We've heard the romantic story hundreds of times but now none of us can bear to even pass it without it bringing back memories and emotions that just aren't helpful at all. We avoid the place like it's the plague but when the real estate agent proposed coffee, I didn't think twice about it, just because I was so caught up in the fantasy of actually owning a zoo.
Outside of the shop, I bit my lip, staring up at the sign with upset riddling my every breath, but I needed to be strong for my sisters who I was about to give a chance in a lifetime. The real estate agent showed up right on time and introduced herself as 'Greta'. We quickly sat down, coffees in hand and discussed the details of the estate.
"I have to honest with you, Mr. Tomlinson, it's quite the investment. I mean, it's going to take a lot of upkeep as well as renovations. It was practically abandoned by the owners a few years ago because they went bankrupt, but the zookeepers have been volunteering their time since then. This isn't just a game, it's a business that you will be entering." She explained with blatant honesty, which I appreciated very much.
I thought on her warnings for a moment but then realized I just didn't care. My family needed this, this escape, this sanctuary; I didn't care how much work it would take or how much money, my choice was made.
"Good thing I studied business in school for three years then, I get all the financial side of it and I'm willing to take on the hands-on work as well. I want this property and everything that it entails." I answered her, voice full of determination.
"All right, well, I just don't want you to make a rash decision and then regret it later." Greta shared.
"Regret? My life is full of regret, every single waking moment I think about how I could have used my time better, made a different choice, been less selfish about thing… but I'm tired of regret. I know if I don't do this now, it will be the biggest regret of my life." I responded and she looked at me with trusting eyes.
"You clearly have thought about this, and even if you haven't, I can see that this is what you want." Greta said, beaming at me as she pulled out the contract and a pen. "All you need to sign here and here, and it's yours. We'll figure out the logistics of payments later."
Greta had just handed the rights of a zoo over to me. I currently held in my hand the dream that I wanted my four sisters and I to live.
I looked around the coffee shop and somehow felt better about it. It was no longer a place of tragedy; I now saw it as a second chance given to my family. First, it gave us our parents being together and now it gave us the opportunity to live on with only their memory and a fresh start to our life as a family.
Now, it was time to go home and unleash the surprise on them.
Lottie, as always, was texting away madly on her phone. She's the first one to be a teenager so throwing herself into social media seemed to be her escape from the reality of the world and I didn't blame her one bit.
Fizz, Phoebe and Daisy were playing snakes and ladders, Fizz practically acting as their second mother. Only eleven and yet she can parent better than I think I ever will be able to. She's got the comfort part down as well as the fun factor; I'm not so good at dealing with the tears… I feel a bit helpless when that happens.
"I'm home!" I announced, walking in the front door of our home with the contract heavy in my pocket.
Lottie didn't even look up from her phone but as soon as they heard my voice, the other three stormed me with hugs. As cute as it was, it was now somewhat of a macabre ritual because in reality, they were relieved that I had returned to them, alive and safe.
"Where did you go, Lou? You missed the best game of snakes and ladders EVER!" Daisy decreed, showing me how she was in the lead.
I chuckled, mussing her hair while Phoebe glowered at her twin. When I noticed this, I said, "Well, I think we are all winners here, and I have a surprise for you girls. Everyone sit on the couch, okay?"
With wonder in their eyes, Phoebe, Fizz and Daisy climbed up on the couch where Lottie was currently perched. She glared at their intrusion but then saw that I had arrived home and pocketed her cell.
"Where were you all afternoon? I had to watch these gremlins instead of going shopping with Stacy!" Lottie accused, furrowing her still miniature brow.
"I was meeting with a real estate agent… and I know you girls have been wanting to move somewhere else for a while and I've found the perfect place…." I began and saw Lottie's eyes narrow toward me. "It's a zoo!"
The girls exploded with laughter and I smiled at their uproarious reaction before I realized they thought I was kidding. Even Lottie had a giant smile on her face, caught up in her sister's giggles.
I didn't really know where to go from there, I thought they were going to be happy about it but now I just felt like an idiot. I tried to keep a straight face on but Fizz quickly saw the disappointment in my eyes.
"You're serious… we're going to be moving to a zoo." She murmured, the first to stop laughing and quickly the room became silent, as I didn't pull a 'just kidding' on them.
"No, he's just messing around, he'd never do that to us." Lottie protested, probably for her own sanity and clearly in question of mine.
Phoebe shrugged, "I think it'd be pretty cool to ride a giraffe to school every day."
This finally broke the ice as everyone burst out laughing.
Bless Phoebe, I thought, thankful for her comment.
"Fizz, I'm quite serious, I just signed the contract for it and we'll be moving out this weekend after your school year ends. And Lottie, I'm sorry but this is what we need as a family, so I don't want to hear any protests, we are moving to a zoo." I explained one the laughter had died down.
Lottie opened her mouth for a moment to object but Daisy dug her fingernails into her older sister's arm to quiet her, which I was thankful for. The last thing I needed was a temper tantrum from my thirteen-year-old sister that I was trying to make a better life for.
"I can't wait." Fizz said, standing up and hugging me once again.
This prompted the twins to do the same as Lottie just glared at me from the couch. I'd never expected for Lottie to be fully supportive of the gesture but I had anticipated her to be at least mature enough to see that it was the best option for our family.
"If Phoebe gets to ride a giraffe to school, I get to ride a lion, okay, Lou?" Daisy requested, staring up at me with her sparkling blue eyes.
"I'm sure we can arrange that." I responded, chuckling at my little sister's obscene request.
And just like that, we were moving to a zoo.
Moving day was nothing short of hell for us Tomlinson's. We had never moved in our entire lives so I hadn't anticipated the amount of boxes that we would actually need to cart our personal belongings out to our new home at the zoo.
Thankfully the movers had more of a handle on things than we did and finally we got ourselves out the door and into the car. Our new home was only an hour away from our old one so the girl's could still go to the same school, so, not everything was going to be new.
Lottie still was resistant and even threatened to go live with her best friend, Stacy, for a time but finally caved when Phoebe and Daisy begged her to come along with us.
The moment we pulled up in front of the gate that majestically read:
Alexander's Animal Emporium
It was even more beautiful than the pictures and the girls immediately hopped out of the car to explore their new stomping grounds. Lottie was reluctant at first until she saw a zookeeper walk by with a lemur in hand. They were her weakness, so just like the others, she was off within seconds.
Finally, things seemed to be falling into place. I walked slowly through the gates, eyes trailing over the exhibits as I passed them; it felt like I was living in my own childhood dream. I knew that my parents would love this place, especially my mother who had always had a connection with animals.
I hoped that wherever they were they could see the potential in my decision to purchase such a whimsical place to call home. But that exactly what we needed to distract ourselves from the grief of our past: a new adventure.
Somewhere along my exploration, I ran smack dab into something or someone and ended up flat on my back.
My head throbbed and my vision was blurry but there was a voice that helped me to concentrate; it was warm and inviting.
"Are you okay, mate? I didn't meant to get in your way like that…" The voice inquired, when I finally was able to focus enough to decipher the words.
I nodded and as my vision cleared, I saw a young bloke with curly hair and sparkling emerald eyes staring down at me. My breath hitched as he offered me his hand.
"You must be the new owner." The stranger determined as I took his hand and he helped me up. "I'm Harry Styles, the head zookeeper here at the Emporium."
I was still a little dazed so it took me a moment to process and then respond. "Yes, I um… I'm the new owner. It's nice to meet you, Harry, I'm… Louis."
Harry chuckled at me, probably thinking I was a total idiot. "Well, I have to go feed Ringo, so I'll catch up with you later."
Before I could even think of a proper response, he was off into the zoo grounds.
My head was suddenly filled with many questions: Why did the head zookeeper have to be so adorable and charming? Is that unprofessional to think that? Where are my sisters? Did an elephant eat them? Are elephants carnivores?
Who the hell is Ringo?
