D&B5

51

"I'll buy you crabs later," Brick replied. Ob beamed before moving on to look at the fish in other tanks. Ob was very inquisitive, constantly asking what the fish were called, and the adults had to keep answering his questions.

"Uuuuuh," a sound came from Anda. Day stopped pushing the stroller and looked at his youngest son.

"Are you awake, my love?" Day asked in a gentle voice. Anda, who had been about to cry, stopped short at hearing Day's voice and seeing him.  The little one yawned instead.

"Daddy will check your diaper." Day checked Anda's diaper and saw it didn't need changing. Anda had already had a bowel movement that morning, so he wasn't worried.

"Nong Anda's awake?" Brick asked, turning around when he saw Day stop walking.

"Hmm, Brick, do you want to carry the baby or push the stroller?" Day asked.

"I'll push the stroller," Brick replied. Day then put the baby carrier on and took Anda out of the stroller. The little one looked confused but smiled at Brick, who was teasing him, before being settled into the carrier facing forward.

"Nong Anda's awake!  So many fish!" Ob, seeing his younger brother awake, ran over to tell him. Anda smiled at his older brother.

"He's in a good mood today.  Must have slept well," Night teased.

"Nong Ob, go look at the fish with P'Ton," Brick said. Ob ran off to find Ton. Day and Brick felt confident that Nan, Mac, Gear and Night would look after the two children, so they walked along behind, with little Anda kicking his feet, smiling, and gurgling contentedly.

"It's cool in here. Nong Anda must be comfortable; that's why he's in such a good mood," Brick said, smiling, and leaned down to kiss his son's hand. Then Ob ran to Brick.

"Papa, Nemo!  So many!" Ob told Brick, grabbing his hand to pull him along.

"Let's go with him," Day said. Brick followed his son's tugging to the Nemo tank. Day also took Anda to look. Anda was four months old now, and his eyesight was improving.  It was clear from the way he followed the fish swimming around.  They continued walking, eventually reaching a zone showcasing jellyfish, sharks, and—most importantly—a glass floor offering a view of a shark enclosure below. Ob squatted down, watching with fascination, before moving on to the rainforest exhibit with reptiles and amphibians.

"Daddy, want this!" Ob said to Day, running to point at one of the glass tanks. Brick paused, seeing what his son was pointing at: a tree python.

"No, we can't," Brick immediately said. Ob looked at him questioningly.

"That's the snake's home. We can't take him," Brick fabricated an excuse for his son.

"Can have at home," Ob replied.

"No, really. If we take it home, it'll cry," Brick said again. Nan laughed at Brick's excuse, but Ob nodded in agreement before staring wide-eyed at the snake.

"Day, what will our kids be afraid of?" Brick asked, sounding resigned.

"It's good that he's not afraid of anything, but we need to teach him what's dangerous and what's safe," Day replied.  It seemed their son quite liked snakes, as there were many different species on display. Ob spent longer looking at them than anywhere else, until Mac pretended that Anda wanted to see something else.  Only then did Ob move on to see the otters, penguins, and jellyfish, another creature he loved and kept questioning the adults about. Anda wasn't interested in much; being so young, he just looked at the unfamiliar things. Until they reached the shark tunnel. Nan led Ton, and Night led Ob inside. Even though there were other people, it wasn't too crowded.