Ch. 32

Dante awoke to gentle kisses being placed all over his chest and he rolled onto his back with a sigh. "Mmm, good morning," he whispered with a smile, keeping his eyes closed as he enjoyed the sensation of her soft lips on his skin. He added, "I would have thought after last night you'd have been satisfied, but maybe not, huh?" Val inched her way up to his neck and he arched a bit to give her better access. "I was more than satisfied," she told him, "and this is my way of saying 'Thank You'." "I like your way of thanking me. Thanking me for what, though?"

Val backed slightly away from him and leaning her chin on her fist, she paused and then answered, "For being so 'attentive' last night. I've never had anyone pay me that kind of attention before. It was an experience, for sure." Dante opened his eyes and rose up on his elbows, regarding her with a puzzled frown. "Wait a minute. Are you saying no one's ever gone down on you before? That first night when we had sex, you weren't a virgin, were you?" Laughing, she replied, "Of course not—relax. But it's hard to equate teenage fumbling in the backseat of a car or having hurried sex at a house party with what we did last night." "Ok. 'Teenage fumbling,' huh? Sounds kind of disappointing." Thinking back, Val smiled as she responded, "Oh, I don't know. I thought at the time it was true love. Senior year, Jeremy Messer and I were one of the hot couples on campus. Everyone thought we were screwing our brains out and we never told them otherwise, but we weren't. We dated through my first year of college. Back then, I honestly thought we'd end up getting married." "What happened?" "My mom was diagnosed with MS. Overnight, I went from being a kid to becoming an adult. I already had a job—I've been working since I was seventeen—but now I had greater responsibilities. It was time for me to become my family's lioness, which didn't leave much time for romance. Pretty much stayed that way through college, since I was concentrating on getting my degree."

"Your family's lioness? What does that mean?"

"In seventh grade we took a trip to the zoo. After walking around all day checking out the animals, we had to write a report on which was our favorite, and why. I've always been a fan of nature shows so I already knew which animal I was going to write about before we even got there. I'm a fan of the lioness because she reminded me of my mom. The lioness puts everything on the line for the pride. She knows that if she doesn't hunt, her cubs and the rest of the pride go hungry. She hones her skills and she's tireless in the hunt. She does what she has to do to take care of the family. That's my mom." Shaking her head, she corrected herself and continued, "WAS my mom. My mom was a single mother but I don't really remember wanting for much. She worked hard to make sure I ate, had a roof over my head, clothes to wear. We didn't have a lot of money so she learned to sew and sew well so I at least looked like the other kids sometimes, even if it wasn't name-brand stuff. She worked herself ragged so I could enroll in dance class. She was my hero, my lioness. Once she started feeling changes in her body, and especially after we found out why, we started slowly switching roles. It was time for me to take over caring for the pride. That didn't leave much time for a boyfriend, not one as popular as Jeremy was. We just drifted apart, which ended up being for the best, though it hurt like hell at the time."

Reaching out to smooth his hand over her hair before tucking some strands behind her ear, he remarked, "That's why you're so strong. You were pretty young to have to start shouldering such a responsibility…" She pursed her lips and her eyes narrowed. "And you can take that look off your face right now!"

"What look?"

"That 'poor you' look. I didn't tell you all that to get your pity-"

"Whoa, you're misinterpreting my look, I think. This isn't pity, it's admiration. But if I did feel bad for that young girl who had to take on so much so early, what's wrong with that?" Val considered his words for a moment. She nodded as she admitted, "Ok, you're right. I guess I can be a little touchy about it. It wasn't my mom's fault she got sick—I'm still protective it seems, even though she's gone. I just didn't want you to think I was regretful or anything. My mom was my rock and I would have done anything for her, the same way she would have done anything for me, and had done, many times." "Well, I'm only saying-"

Dante was suddenly interrupted by Rocco's mewling cry. Sliding out of the bed, Val shrugged into a robe while Dante pulled on a pair of shorts. Together they went into the nursery to check on him. He was standing up in the crib holding onto the railing with tears in his eyes; he reached out to his father as soon as he saw him. Dante plucked him out of the crib and hugged him tightly, asking, "Hey, Rocco, what's wrong, Buddy? You woke up in a strange place and thought you were all alone, huh? Daddy's here, little man." With a hiccupping sigh, Rocco laid his head on his father's shoulder. Val reached out and stroked Rocco's hair, wondering aloud, "How did he sleep, Dante? I didn't hear him even once during the night."

"That's because you're not used to having to listen out for him on the monitor. He only woke up once and whimpered a bit. I took him to the potty, rocked with him in the rocking chair for a while, and he went right back out." "He's probably starving by now—I'm kind of hungry myself," murmured Val. "You're right. Let's do this—I'll get us washed up and then let's all go to Kelly's for breakfast." "You sure you want to go to Kelly's instead of somewhere else?" "Yeah, why not? We're not ducking and dodging anymore, Valerie. They have good pancakes there and I want some. If we run into anyone we know, we just do, ok?"

"Ok. If you're game, so am I."

"Good. And after we eat, let's take Rocco to the zoo."

"The zoo? Are you serious?"

"Sure. To remember your mother, let's take Rocco to see some lady lions." Walking away with a huge grin on her face, Val went into her bathroom to prepare for the proposed outing.

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Halfway into the trip to Buffalo, it began raining. It was an unseasonably cool day and though they had appropriately bundled up, they weren't expecting rain. "Maybe I should have checked on that with the Weather Channel, huh?" Dante said, shaking his head. Val pulled out her phone and looked up the zoo on the Web. "There are a few indoor exhibits we can still go see, including one with lions and tigers. It also looks like there's a new baby at the gorilla exhibit—that should be fun."

"So we keep going?"

"Let's. It'll be an adventure for all three of us. Unfortunately, Rocco probably won't remember much of it but we can always take pictures to commemorate the day. I don't think I've been back to the zoo since that seventh grade field trip. Something you always intend to make time for, and never end up doing."

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Rocco wasn't the only one fascinated as they went from enclosure to enclosure. Dante read aloud from the brochure given at the zoo's entrance as Valerie pushed Rocco in the stroller. She unknowingly let out a little squeal when she caught sight of one of the lionesses behind the glass and insisted on having her picture taken in front of them. "Look at her," she quietly said, clearly in awe, going on, "Look how powerful she is! Those muscles! And that proud look on her face! She's all that, and she knows it." Shaking his head and laughing at her reaction, he said, "I think you're more excited than Rocco is. But yeah, she is beautiful. What do you think of the lion, though? He's not called 'the king of beasts' for nothing." "Pfft. He's typical, that's what he is. He lies there and waits for his mate to hand everything to him. He's strong and fierce but I'm not impressed. He's just a pretty face. The pride would die without her."

"Hang on now. He protects the pride, doesn't he? It's not like he doesn't have a role to play here. He does what he's supposed to for his family, too." "You've got that. I agree, to a point. I still think she's more important, though," she told him, flashing him a devilish smirk.

"Figures. Like most women, you think she has the tougher job..." Popping him on the arm in mock disgust, Val replied, "Hey! Don't be sexist—I'm only telling the truth. Of the two of them, I think she has the bigger part to play, that's all." "Well, because you think of your mother as a lioness, I won't argue further," he told her. Adding under his breath as she walked in front of him with Rocco, he muttered, "Even if I think you're wrong."

"I heard that," she said over her shoulder.

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After admiring the new baby gorilla and taking more pictures, they decided to find a place to sit and have a snack. As they were eating, Val asked Dante, "What's your favorite animal? Tigers, bears, elephants?" "Dogs." "C'mon, choose something exotic!" "Nope. You asked for my favorite. Dogs are my favorite animals." "Why?" "Dogs are amazing. Fiercely protective, they'll actually place themselves between their 'humans' and danger. They warn you of incoming danger and they won't relent until they know you're paying attention to what they're trying to tell you. When you walk in the door after a long day, they let you know you're the most important person in the world to them. They comfort you when you're sad—won't leave your side. The littlest things make them happy, too. They're loyal to a fault. Dogs show emotions and have personalities just like people. Plus they're perfect pets for cops. I just think they're awesome."

"Can we upgrade that to wolves, then? At least they're mysterious and dangerous…"

"I don't think I'd want a wolf unless I lived in Alaska or something. Give me a good old domestic dog, any day."

"I guess. It's a little boring, but we'll go with it." "We can't all be enthralled with lionesses. I can actually own my favorite. You try to get close to a lioness and see if she doesn't chew your ass up. I don't need that kind of drama from my pet."

"Another good point, though I never said I wanted to own a lioness, just that I admire them out of all other animals." They finished their snacks, cleaned Rocco up, and moved on. Once they had visited the endangered animals and giraffe enclosures, they ended up at the reptile house. Rocco was appropriately apprehensive when the largest of the snakes slithered right up to the glass, tongue flickering away. He put his hand out as if to touch the snake and then quickly snatched it back, looking up at them for reassurance. "You are a very wise guy, Rocco," Val told him with a smile, "because that is a very mean looking snake. What does the brochure say about the Reticulated Python, Dante?" Scanning the brochure, Dante read, "It's the largest Asian snake. It can grow to be over twenty-one feet long and weigh about one hundred sixty-five pounds. Finding one that big is rare, but has been known. This one here is about ten feet long. They have been known to prey on humans, though that is rare as well. They kill their prey by constriction. Nasty customers, for sure." They moved away to another part of the exhibit to take a look at the smaller reptiles.

They were laughing at the antics of the frilled lizard when Dante noticed Rocco was asleep. Deciding to take that as a sign, they headed out of the zoo and dashed through the rain to the car. Val tried to use her jacket to shield Dante from the heaviest of the rain while he buckled Rocco into his car seat and folded the stroller, but he still got soaked. She laughed at his hangdog expression and then mouthed, "I'm sorry" to him as he shivered in the front seat. Cranking the heater up to its maximum setting, he waited for the car to warm up before pulling out of the lot and onto the road home.

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They rode for a while in silence and then Dante abruptly asked, "What's the wildest thing you've ever done when you were a kid?" Val regarded him in surprise, saying, "Wow, there's a question. I don't know. I wasn't really a wild child. I've tried pot but I didn't like it, so I only tried that once. Underage drinking with friends. Hmm. Ok. It's not really wild, but it's the best I can come up with. Junior year, Judy Messer, Pippa Arondale and I wanted to go to Atlantic City one weekend. All the kids in our class seemed to be planning to go, and we wanted to go, too."

Dante interrupted, "Messer? There's that name again." "Yeah, Judy's Jeremy's younger sister. Jeremy, Judy, Jennifer and eventually, Jasmine. Jasmine didn't show up until our senior year, which embarrassed the crap out of the other kids. Nobody wants to think of their parents as 'doing it'. Hilarious. Anyway, the three of us checked our funds to see how we could possibly make the trip. Not enough money for a plane ride, bus ride or train ride. Maybe a car rental but we were too young to rent a car and none of us had a drivers' license. We didn't think we'd be able to go and then that Friday afternoon, Pippa pulls up in a clean, badass black Monte Carlo. Now like I said, none of us had a license to drive. Pippa tells us, 'Pack a bag and tell your parents you'll be staying at my house.' So we did. We drove all the way from Philly to AC, laughing and acting like maniacs because we were so happy we were going to be able to join the group. When we got there, there was a bonfire going on the beach and the booze was flowing, but we had to be covert because we were all underage so the liquor was disguised in various soda cans and bottles. We had to leave the beach at ten o'clock so we had the oldest looking seniors rent two motel rooms and we all snuck in when the guy at the desk wasn't watching. Seemed like it took forever for all of us to finally get in the rooms. We slept wherever we could after drinking all night.

Next afternoon, we're heading home after spending the morning at the beach and on the boardwalk. We're about twenty minutes into the trip when I remembered to ask, 'Hey, Pips, where'd you get the car?' 'From Alex,' she says. Instant fear and panic sets in and Judy and I are suddenly scared to death. We thought, even though she didn't have a license, that her parents got her the car. It wouldn't have made sense for them to do that, but that's what we were thinking. Alex, Pippa's older brother, worked in a chop shop. Everybody knew that. So in other words-"

"In other words, you're most likely riding around in a stolen car."

"Exactly. Now on the way to AC, we had been telling Pippa, 'Drive faster! You drive like my grandma!' and stuff like that. On the way home, we're all paranoid and saying, 'Slow down, Pips! Oh, my God, there's a cop over there—he's looking for us!' and stuff like that. We were afraid we'd get pulled over before we could make it home, but we didn't. Judy and I got dropped off at our houses after making a pact to never speak of it to anyone. Whenever anyone else who went to AC asked where the car was, she told them her parents changed their minds and returned it. We kept the pact. I think other than those two and Jeremy, I've never talked to anyone about it until now."

"Riding around in a stolen car—kind of wild. It passes."

"Why, were you some kind of wild child or something? What was the wildest thing you've ever done?"

"You have met Olivia Falconeri, haven't you? There was only so much 'wild' you were gonna get before she handed you your ass. The wildest thing I've ever done as a kid was get drunk and go bungee jumping at Coney Island. Me and my friends were daring each other to do it and I, after much 'Dutch courage' got the nerve to go first. They take you like, a hundred and fifty feet in the air or something and let you drop. I was screaming my head off at first and then I started puking my guts out. It was a mess and my friends were pissed because I stunk up the car on the ride home. I was sick for two days after that. My Ma kept on saying, 'Honey, what's wrong? I'm gonna take you to the hospital, ok?' And I was just begging her, 'Ma, leave me alone!' while I hung over the side of my bed with my head in a bucket. Probably one of the wildest and the stupidest things I ever did as a kid." Val laughed as she pictured the event. "Somehow I can see that—you swinging back and forth, slinging puke all over the place. You're lucky your mother didn't kill you."

"I never told her. As far as she knew, I got sick from something I ate at a friend's house. I certainly couldn't tell her the truth. Sneaking off to Coney, getting drunk—yeah, I liked living, so I made sure she never found out."

"You didn't mention the sneaking part before."

"Didn't I?"

"No, you didn't."

"Oh. Obviously, I didn't have her permission to go. She kept me kind of close because she was always worried something would happen to me. I had to sneak to do a lot of things she never found out about."

"It's a close thing but since there was vomit involved, I guess you win the prize for the wildest child, although not by much."

"A prize, huh? What did I win?"

"You'll find out when we get home," she told him with a wink and a smile. "I have a feeling," he returned with a smile of his own, "that I'm gonna enjoy my 'prize' very much. Can't wait to see if I'm right."

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