Timely rewards

"Eliot." Revean looks at me with an excited look on his face. "Is that where we're going?

I nod my head. "To the Los Angeles Zoo."

Revean's eyes fill with tears. They fall down her cheeks as the helicopter lands and the rotors turn off. I take the headset off so we can talk normally.

"Why are you crying?

"Because I can't believe you brought me here. I've never been to a zoo before. I could never afford to go." She wipes her tears, but they keep falling. I'm glad they're happy tears.

"Then we're going to have a really good day, because I've never been here either."

REVEAN

"His name is CJ. He's a Sumatran tiger, one of the most endangered tiger subspecies in the world." Revean reads from the explanatory poster about the tiger in front of us. "He is ten years old and the smallest of the tigers. As a little girl she had a friend named CJ. Her real name was Cara Jane. She was always making up stories and writing them down. We lost touch. I hope wherever she is she's still telling her stories about wild animals becoming humans."

"He's very powerful," says Andrew , draping his arm around Mery's shoulders as we all stare at the tiger.

"He's not as powerful as Eliot with his designer shorts." Mery laughs.

"I'm never going to forget this outfit, am I?". Eliot scoffs.

"I think it looks good on you." I grab his hand and squeeze it. "Oh! Fun fact, did you know that tigers have antiseptic saliva? So next time you cut yourself you should go get a tiger."

"I think I'd rather not." Eliot chuckles.

"Spoilsport," I counter with a laugh of my own.

I've never been in a place like this before. I can't believe I'm here. I try to capture as much detail as I can about the animals. Eliot has even given me a camera so I can take pictures of them. I'm already planning to make a notebook with the photos and hope to research as much as I can about the animals. The big cats are my favorite. They are so majestic. I'm thinking about Luna . I hope she finds food somewhere. Maybe Eliot will let me have my own cat someday.

"We have to go." Eliot looks at his watch and grabs my hand.

"Are we leaving already?" Surely we've only been here an hour. It can't be time to go yet.

"No, don't worry. We're not leaving. I have another surprise for you."

We all follow Eliot through the zoo to what I see is the medical center.

"Normally they don't let people in here, but they have made an exception for us. Andrew , Mery , you guys can go explore for a while if you want. I'm afraid it's just the two of us."

"Don't worry." Andrew nods. "Call me when you need us to come back."

The couple I now consider friends walk off together. I think it must be nice for them to spend the day together. With Andrew at Eliot's side most of the time, the couple is often apart.

"I can't believe we're going to do this." I'm almost jumping with excitement as we enter the large medical building.

"I hope you enjoy it. I've been told they have very sick animals here. I don't want you to get upset."

"I won't. I'll worry and want to help them."

A man stands in the lobby. He is dressed in a robe.

"Hello, my name is Alan . I'm the director of medicine here at the zoo. Pleased to meet you. Please come this way and we'll take a look at some of our patients."

We follow him through the building to the medical wards. He leads us to a cage where there is a meerkat. It looks very young. Alan takes it out and leads it to an examination room while we follow. The meerkat is lethargic and looks thin.

"We had this little guy brought to us this morning. It's especially worrying because it's so young and some of the other meerkats are showing similar symptoms," Alan explains .

Eliot stands behind us, watching intently as Alan guides me in checking the meerkat. He doesn't even try to resist our touch. It's horrible to watch. He should be running. I try to remember from the books I've read what could be wrong with him.

"He has a fever," I announce as they take his temperature. "Oh my God." Suddenly I realize what it could be. "Is it toxoplasmosis?" It's a parasitic infection that can be fatal.

"It is. We've already given him antibiotics and the other meerkats as well. It's a big problem in zoos because of the different types of animals. You'll have to wash your hands with antibacterial soap when you go out, because it can spread to humans," the veterinarian explains.

"I didn't know that." Eliot steps forward, concern for me on his face.

"It's okay, Eliot . It's not likely to happen," I reassure him. "We just have to make sure we wash our hands before we eat. Poor little guy. Will he be okay?" I pet the meerkat.

My knowledge of his illness and the fact that he is so lethargic worries me.

"We caught it early. He was the runt of the litter, so I think that's why it's affected him so much."

"You must let me know how he's progressing, please." I turn to Eliot . "Is he okay?"

Eliot nods.

"Well done for spotting what was going wrong - do you know what you're doing?"

I shrug. "I'm fine on the theory. I'm not sure about the practical part."

I feel proud of myself for recognizing the symptoms. But it also makes me a little sad. My life could have been very different.

The rest of the day is spent between observations and treatments of different animals with Alan as my teacher. The big cats remain my favorite, and my excitement peaks when I am allowed to feed CJ. I am not allowed to go directly into the cage, but I throw him a few pieces of food in his enclosure.

The helicopter ride back to Las Vegas is not as scary as the ride there. I'm too exhausted and happy to worry about the bumps or the strange floating sensation. I think I should fall asleep for a while, holding the stuffed tiger toy Eliot bought me , because the ride doesn't seem as long as the trip out.

"Thanks for the ride." I curl up next to Eliot on the couch in his living room after Andrew and Mery have retired to their rooms. "It was the most amazing place in the world. Seeing those wild cats in real life was incredible. Even though they're much bigger, I don't think they're much different from the little cat I took care of in Pharr."

"Speaking of which." Eliot gently pushes me away and stands up.

"What? Confused, I look at him as he holds out his hand.

"Come with me. I want to show you something."

"More surprises? You've given me enough for today," I say standing up and taking his hand.

He turns me around so that I'm facing him. His expression is serious.

"What's wrong, Eliot ?". i ask him.