"This is really fun Johnny. Thank you for taking me here." Claire smiled up at Johnny who was grinning staring out at the lion, hands jammed in his pockets. "No problem, darlin' I wanted to do somethin' real special for our five month anniversary." The Lion roared out, causing Claire to jump out of her skin and inch closer towards Johnny, who wrapped arms around her comfortingly. She laughed nervously and watch the Lion walk in circles around his cage. Claire understood what was to feel caged.
"So claire, what other animal do you want to see?" Johnny turned and rested his tailbone on the handrails of the cages and looked claire up and down, sliding his hand down her waist. She smiled, masking her uncomfort, and stood pretending to be excited about the Zebras across the path. "Oh! Look at the Zebras!" She crossed the path in a hurried manner to the next animal. "Hi Zebras!" She waved childishly, her smile wide and plastic like the grass the Zebras walked on. She turned and noticed Johnny had not yet moved and turned around thinking for a second, that he got the hint she wasn't really interested.
She stood at the cage that enclosed the Zebras is a metal box wondering if the Zebras felt more free than her. After only a moment Johnny hooked his arm around hers and started talking about the future, how he was to take over his dad's big fancy company and was gunna be successful and rich. Claire listened at first, but soon her mind wandered to the conversation she had with her mother when Claire and Johnny first started going out.
"I don't even like him Mother, he smells of scotch all the time, and his big 'fancy cigars' smells terrible and it gets in my hair." Claire complained, taking her towel and drying her red ringlets that fell down by her shoulders. "I don't care, Claire. He is rich, he is going to be successful, and is a respectable young gentleman." Her mother sat at her bed a cigarette in hand and a glass of red wine in the other. "But Momma--"
"Don't you 'Momma' nothin'. You are going to date this young man, be polite about it and hope he likes you." Claire's mother order sternly. "Yes mother."
***
"Claire? Did you hear me darlin'?" Johnny asked, shaking claire out of her thoughts like waking a child that fell asleep in church. "What? Oh I'm sorry Johnny I got lost thinking about the future now." Claire smiled sheepishly and looked up at Johnny. "I said, after I make my father's company as best as it can be I want have two little tykes running around. I asked you if you thought that would be nice?" Johnny repeated, clearly annoyed. The two had unconsciously walked all the way to the penguins, and Claire looked at the flightless birds wattle along the light blue cement. "Yeah," She began smiling awkwardly and nervously. "I mean, every gal wants children." She finished, choosing her words carefully, like selecting a weapon. Johnny smiled, happy with her response. "You know claire, I like you a lot and--"
"Yeah I know.." Claire interjected unknowingly interrupting Johnny. "Haha, just let me finish. I really like you Claire, and I'm going to be president of my father's corporation soon, and I would like to have a wife at my side," Johnny got down on one knee, causing claire's fake smile to vanish with the reality of what was really happening. "Oh my gosh.." Claire whispered. Johnny laughed nervously and reached into his pocket and pulled a small velvet covered box and opened it revealing a beautiful diamond ring. "Will you marry me Claire Brown?" Claire looked around feeling as though all the air had been sucked out of the atmosphere and she was stuck in a vacuum.
People stared and smiled and watched and all at once claire felt as though she was the animal on display. Her mother's disappointed face flashed in her mind and her dad's frown brought tears to her eyes as she realized refusal, wasn't an answer. She placed her plastic smiled on her face and whispered the three letter word that would send her world crashing down. "Yes." Johnny stood and wrapped her up in a hug and claps surrounded the two of them and in a instant Claire wiped away the tear that threatened to fall and laughed and pretended it was the happiest day of her life.
