Kissing Frogs - A Tropical Fairytale

The couple that shops together...

Author's note: Guys! I am so excited (and incredibly grateful!) to have KISSING FROGS featured on Wattpad over the next two weeks! I'm already meeting some amazing people/readers/fellow writers! Thank you so much for all your comments and votes and I hope you keep reading! 

xoxo 

Alisha

"There's an iguana in our swimming pool," I announce to no one in particular the next morning. An enormous green lizard paddles leisurely around the pool, its short front legs in a perfect front crawl, its tail swishing lazily back and forth in the water.

"Perfect, now we don't have to figure out what to cook for dinner tonight," Travis says, coming up behind me and peering over my shoulder.

"Are you serious?"

Hector must have already seen the iguana because he's walking over with a large net. He hears Travis's comment and chuckles. "Sí, in Panama we call them pollo de palo."

"It means stick chicken," Enrique follows his dad. "They're delicious." He smacks his lips together noisily and gives me one of his winks.

"You can't kill him," I protest.

"Why not? What's the difference between eating him and the chicken we had the other night?" Enrique says.

"I don't know." I cringe as Hector leans over and neatly scoops out the iguana like he's done it a hundred times before. Which I'm sure he has. "He swam in our pool? Guest rights and all that?"

Hector laughs. "Alright, señorita. For you, I let him go. But next time the only thing he will swim in is Carlita's stew."

I shiver as father and son walk off with the reptile.

"Aw, now we have to go and buy groceries," Travis jokes.

After dishes yesterday, we seem to have reached an unspoken truce. He's back to his teasing self, all traces of last night's vulnerability wiped clean away.

***

The trip up to El Valle passes quickly. It's our turn with the frogs again. Juan, Harp and I wash out the temporary tanks that the frogs are placed in whenever they're removed from their exhibit. Lola comes in to grab us.

"Are you sweeping today?" Lola asks.

"Um, maybe I'll help with the frogs if that's okay?"

"Muy bien." She gives me an approving look.

Juan has his camera ready. "Do you mind if I film?" he asks.

"Of course not," Lola says. "Okay, wash up and meet me by the terrariums."

We scrub our hands at the sink. Harp and I put on gloves.

"Here we have two members of our team about to examine and clean the frog habitats," Juan says into the microphone on his camcorder. "The El Valle conservation center acts as a mini Noah's Ark for several endangered species of amphibians, which are disappearing as fast as they're discovered."

We walk over to Lola. She addresses the camera. "Today we will be carefully inspecting and replacing the greenery. My two assistants will join me in this process."

I gulp. Of course Juan has to be filming this.

Harp pulls back the lid of one of the cages slightly and pokes her head inside. "This is the habitat of the horned marsupial," she says for the camera's benefit.