Page 26 of Talk to Me

“That I liked your animal videos and you should do more of them,” I explained. “I don’t know how you get animals like squirrels and rabbits to star in your videos. Are you secretly a Disney princess?”

Finally, I received a genuine laugh from Theo before he sipped his coffee again.

“I like animals,” he said. “They like me back. I don’t know.”

“I watched pretty much all of your videos this weekend,” I said. “I figured since we’re all, like, best friends now, I needed to get to know you.”

Theo gave me a tight smile and continued to walk alongside me.

“Though,” I said, “I doubt Peepers is the best way to get to know you better.”

The tight smile bloomed into something realer.

“But the animal videos were definitely worth it,” I added.”

“I mean,” Theo said, “I like animals. They don’t expect much from you.”

“What do you mean?”

Theo shrugged. “As long as you’re nice to them, they’ll be nice to you. They need food, water, shelter, and love. They don’t judge you. They just want kindness and survival.”

I smiled at him.

“They’re only cruel when they have to be,” he continued. “Their default is kindness.”

That made my smile grow.

“So,” Theo shrugged again, “animals are definitely one of my favorite things.”

“And gummy candies,” I said slyly. “If you want to try one of my favorite treats, you gotta pick up—”

“Stop it!” Theo groaned, though he seemed amused. “That was just a shameless partner deal. You know, back when companies would still partner with me.”

Ignoring the sadness that laced his last sentence, I moved forward.

“Do you have any pets?” I asked. “Back home, I mean? I know you can’t have them here.”

He shook his head.

“No,” he said. “Mom’s allergic. Dad doesn’t really have a tolerance for mess. So, pets are kind of out of the question. I’ve always wanted a dog, but since I can’t have one at home and university dorms kind of frown on pets…”

I nodded along.

“What about you?” he asked.

“We’ve always had tons of outdoor cats at home,” I said. “A few dogs over the years. Cows. Sheep. Goats. Bunch of chickens.”

“What?” Theo turned to me, his face lit up like the sun. “Did you grow up on a farm or something?”

“Actually, yeah.”

We both laughed.

“That explains that,” he said. “Do they all have names?”

“You try naming that many animals,” I said.

“Fair.”