Having a broken leg was hard. The daily journey up the steps to the studio was slow and laborious. I wasn't very good at using crutches, which made it ten times worse.

The six weeks I wore a cast for seemed to last an eternity. Kendall, who had apparently sprained her wrist a couple summers ago, told me over and over that she knew exactly how I felt, and that she just hoped I wouldn't have to go to physical therapy. I tried not to get too annoyed at her constant suggestions that I sue everyone from the driver of the car to the hospital for not making my stay more enjoyable.

Finally I was able to get the cast off. I limped a little for a couple of days, but aside from that it was like nothing had happened.

I was awoken the Saturday morning after my cast was removed by the sound of my phone buzzing. Groggily I asked, "Hello?"

"Hi, Wosie!"

I smiled, pulling the phone from my ear so his shouting voice wouldn't blow my eardrum.

"Hi, Benny! How are you?"

"I'm great!" he exclaimed, "We're going to the zoo! Aunt Emmy says you can come, too, if you want!"

I chuckled. "Let me talk to her."

"Aunt Emmy!" he called over his shoulder, "She wants tuh talk to you!"

Emily took the phone from him. "Good morning, Rosie."

"'Morning."

"We're going to the zoo today, as you know," she informed me with a smile in her voice, "and Benny has been going on since the moment he woke up about all the adventures you two are going to have," She chuckled. "He considers you part of this crazy family now, too."

"Is she coming?" he demanded from the background.

"Don't tug on my shirt, Sweetheart, you'll stretch it. You are more than welcome to join us, Rosie," she then continued. "We would be very happy to have you."

I smiled. "When were you planning on going?"

"As soon as we can. It's the least busy when it first opens."

"Alright," I agreed. "I'll be there."

"Awesome!" Emily responded as Benny cheered. "Just meet us at the entrance. We'll get you in."

"See you in a bit!"

I hung up, new excitement blazing in my heart. I was going to the zoo for the first time!

I dressed as quickly as possible, unsure whether to focus my outfit on beating the heat or protecting my fragile pale skin. Eventually I decided on a light colored t-shirt and a pair of shorts.

The zoo was nearly forty minutes from my house, and I hurried to the entrance as fast as I could, hoping I hadn't kept them waiting too long. I shaded my eyes, scanning the crowd, but didn't see any tiny blondes or tall, heavy set men with a shaggy-haired little boy.

"Um..."

After walking up and down the entrance sidewalk several times, I began to panic. What if they had given up on me and gone inside? Taking a deep breath, I pulled out my phone.

"Where are you?" I asked as nonchalantly as possible when Emily had answered.

"We're...running a bit late," she told me, cheery voice strained.

"No, Uncle Steve!" I heard Benny scream in the background. "I don't want tennis shoes! I want my flip flops!"

"Benny," Steve fought to control his voice, "we don't wear flip flops to the zoo. We have to wear tennis shoes so our feet don't get hurt from walking a lot."

"Ah!" Benny shrieked, and I imagined him yanking his small feet away as Steve tried to stuff them into sneakers.

"Steve, where are his Batman trainers? Those ones are too small," Emily asked him, sounding panicked. "We'll be there as soon as we can, Rosie," she then assured me. "Is it hot? Find a shady spot to wait. I'm sorry."

"No one else wears tennis shoes at the zoo!" I heard Benny yell as she hung up the phone.

"I am!" Steve retorted. "Aunt Emmy is, and I bet Rosie will be wearing--"

I sighed and settled down on a bench to wait, the corroded donation plaque digging into my back. I guessed it was a good thing I decided to wear my old, worn out sneakers instead of the sandals that would have probably made me a lot less sweaty.

I sat on the bench for nearly an hour, watching passerby. A lot of the people exiting were carrying large stuffed animals and snacks. I saw a couple little boys with long, thin monkeys that could be pulled back like slingshots and made shrieking noises that I'm sure were supposed to sound like their natural calls, but instead sounded like the poor things were panicking and crying as they flew through the air and crashed against the cement.

Finally, I looked up as I heard familiar voices.

"Come on, Benny," Steve sounded one hundred percent done with the little boy's antics as he dragged him along, Benny trying his hardest to dig his sneaker-clad feet into the sidewalk to stop him.

Emily was staring at the ground with wide eyes, as if the morning's series of tantrums had traumatized her. The group didn't notice me until they were almost level with the bench. Benny gasped when he finally caught sight of me and wrenched his arm from Steve's grasp. Steve gazed after him as he ran to me like he had lost the energy to reprimand.

"Hi, Wosie!" Benny called, grabbing my hands and swinging them in excitement. "Are you ready to see the lions?"

"Yeah!" I smiled at him and stood up.

"See, Benny?" Emily stepped up to us and pointed at my feet. "Rosie's wearing trainers, too!"

The boy frowned at me, as if I had been his last hope for a counterargument. "I hate tennis shoes," he muttered.

"Benny, that's not a nice word," Steve reminded him.

Benny glared all the harder.

"Come on," Emily waved us toward the row of ticket booths. "Sorry we kept you waiting," she told me as we walked.

"No problem," I shrugged.

She nodded toward Benny. "It takes a lot to convince him when he's being stubborn. That trait can be admirable, and it can be loathsome."

I nodded with a smile.

Benny glowered around at the other zoo goers, keeping a mental tally of how many were not wearing proper footwear.

"She's wearing flip flops!" he shouted, pointing to a teenage girl in fashionable bamboo sandals and earning a pair of confrontationally raised eyebrows.

"Well, her parents must not care about her getting hurt," Steve told him in a low voice, tactfully choosing to ignore her icy stare.

"Come on, Benny, let's go inside," Emily took his hand and he broke into a run, dragging her into the queue that had grown exponentially in the time I had been here.

"I wanna do it!" he cried, grabbing Steve's arm as he produced four tickets when we had finally reached the inspector.

Steve sighed and handed them to him, then lifted him up so he could reach the counter.

The older man in the booth chuckled as he took the tickets from him and ran them under a scanner. "That's a grown up boy you got there."

Benny beamed.

We walked along the main street for a time, consulting the map Emily had grabbed at the booth.

"I want a map!" Benny whined, trying to grab it from her.

"Benny," Emily frowned at him, "that's not how we behave. Ask nicely and maybe someone can get you one."

He turned to me. "Wosie, please can you get me one?"

"Um," I glanced around. There were maps in a container on the side of a large advertisement for a new bird exhibit.

He followed me over to it, snatching it excitedly from my hand the moment I had taken one out.

"Thank you!" he said quickly, prompted by a look from Steve.

"No problem."

We continued along the road, stopping occasionally as Benny found something interesting to look at.

"Alligators! They'd eat Uncle Steve whole, right Aunt Emmy?"

As we walked, I noticed Steve become more and more agitated. It was subtle at first, he would glance over at Emily every once in a while, then quickly away as she caught him staring. But, as time progressed, he became more forward in his checking on her, flinching as she began to cough more and more often.

"Emily," he suddenly asked, grabbing her arm and pulling her back, "are you having trouble?"

"No," she said quickly, her cheeks reddening.

"Are you sure?"

"Steve," she placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm alright. You don't always have to worry about me."

"I just don't want you overstraining yourself."

She frowned at him and started walking again. This time I could see what was bothering Steve. Emily's breathing was becoming more and more labored, and her pace slowed steadily until she could hardly put one foot in front of the other.

She tried to make it look casual as she slid onto a bench, bending down as if to adjust her shoelaces.

"Emily?" Steve settled in next to her.

Benny moved in front of her and took her hands. "Come on, Aunt Emmy! The flamingos are right here!"

"Just a minute, Sweetheart," she tried to smile, but she was gasping too hard to make it seem convincing.

Benny moaned. "Uncle Steve, are we gonna have to go home?"

"No, Benny," Emily insisted.

Steve placed a hand on his shoulder. "Nah, we should be fine after this little break."

Benny frowned and sat down on the road, grabbing a twig and trying to dislodge a rock out of the dirt on the edge of the path.

"Emily," Steve said after a minute, "the chair's in the car if we--"

"No, Steve!" she snapped. "I don't need a wheelchair!"

"Em, it's not a big deal," he insisted. "There'd be no shame in--"

"No, Steve."

He sighed. We stayed there awkwardly for a time, me standing because I was too afraid to draw attention to myself by moving, feeling like an intruder on their private family affairs.

"Emily," Steve finally stood up, "I'm getting the chair. You can use it, or we can go home, because I'm not going to put up with you risking your health for this."

"No!" Benny shouted. "I don't wanna go home!"

Emily scowled at Steve. "It's not a big deal!"

He ignored her, turning and walking back toward the entrance. Emily sighed angrily and flopped back against the sun-warmed bench.

He returned five minutes later pushing a small black wheelchair. Rolling her eyes and refusing his help, Emily settled herself into the seat.

"Here, Aunt Emmy," Benny bent down to help her set her feet on the scuffed rests. She resisted him, opting to let her sneakers drag on the ground in protest.

"Alright," Steve said, sounding relieved as he grabbed the chair's handles, "where to, Benny-Boy?"

"Flamingos!"

We traveled along up the winding path, taking in the various exotic animal exhibits. We admired in silence mostly, Emily refusing to speak to anyone.

"I don't need a chair," she would mutter occasionally, and Steve would shake his head and tighten his grip on the handles, chuckling soundlessly.

Benny gasped as we passed a splash pad.

"No, Benny," Steve told him before he could even ask. "We're not making that mistake again."

"But it's so hot!" Benny whined.

"Maybe someday we can bring swimming suits and play," Emily told him reluctantly, not yet ready to speak.

"Can I push her?" he asked after a while.

Steve shook his head. "You always go too fast."

"I won't!" he exclaimed. "'Promise!"

Steve slowed and stepped back, allowing Benny to take over. "Is this good, Aunt Emmy?" he asked, picking up his pace a little.

"Don't go any faster!" Steve called after him.

We walked along a little further, Steve's brows furrowing with anxiety at the mistake of entrusting his wife to an energetic four year old.

"Slow down!" he called once, breaking into a trot when the boy didn't seem to hear him at the top of a hill. "My turn," he told Benny, taking control once again.

I noticed Emily's sigh of relief.

"Aunt Emmy," Benny moaned after awhile, "I'm hungry!"

"There's snacks in the backpack," she told him, gesturing behind her to the bag that Steve had initially carried in but now hung between the bars on the back of the wheelchair.

We paused outside the elephant viewing area and Steve pulled out a package of fruit snacks for each person, along with a large bag of baby carrots.

"Water, too," he insisted, passing a metal bottle to Emily.

"Uncle Steve, do we have juice?" Benny asked.

"Juice isn't good for you," Steve insisted. "When it's hot, you need to drink lots of water."

Benny frowned. "I don't like water!"

"Water's good!" I told him. "It makes you feel better."

"Does Aunt Emmy need to drink water?" Benny questioned, staring at her like he had just unlocked the key to all her medical issues.

"Everyone needs water," Steve pressed.

"But Aunt Emmy doesn't feel good--"

"Water isn't the problem, Sweetheart," she said quickly.

"Are we ready to move on?" Steve asked, taking Emily's empty fruit snack wrapper and tossing it in a nearby trash can.

"Let's look at lions!" Benny shouted.

We spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon traveling from one exhibit to the next, Benny running ahead with never-faltering energy and Steve and Emily calling for him not to stray too far. We finally finished looking at everything around three o'clock.

"Uncle Steve," Benny moaned, dragging his feet as if finally tuckered out.

Emily chuckled and held out her hands. "Come here, Sweetheart."

He scrambled onto her lap and snuggled against her.

Steve pushed them both through the front entrance and out to the parking lot. I followed, ready to say goodbye and head to the bus stop.

"Where ya going, Wosie?"

I turned back to find the three of them staring at me. "I, uh--"

"Rosie, why don't we take you home?" Emily said with an understanding smile.

"Yeah," Steve pulled out his keys, "that won't be any trouble."

"Uh, okay," I stammered.

I followed them to their small white Honda, then buckled Benny into his car seat while Steve stowed the wheelchair in the trunk. He offered to help Emily to her seat, but she refused him with an exasperated sigh.

We pulled out of the parking lot. After a minute Steve looked over at Emily. I thought he might be gauging her level of exertion again as she looked back at him. Instead the two seemed to be having a silent conversation. Steve then nodded and pulled out of the traffic into a shopping center.

He parked in front of a grill and they got out.

"Benny," Emily unbuckled the drowsy boy and cooed to him in a soft voice, "are you hungry?"

He woke with a start.

I got out too and walked uneasily after the family into the restaurant.

"Three adults and one kid," Steve told the hostess.

"Right this way."

We were seated at a booth toward the back of the restaurant.

"Anything to drink?" the waiter questioned as he stopped in front of us.

Steve looked around the table. "I think just water for everyone."

"With lemon," Emily added.

The man nodded and moved to the next table.

"Uncle Steve," Benny moaned, "I wanted soda."

"Not today, Benny," Emily replied.

Steve opened his menu and set it in front of Benny. "Alright, Benny Boy, chicken nuggets?"

"Hamburger," he corrected automatically.

"Or they have grilled cheese," Emily said, opening her own menu.

Benny made a face. "Does it have the yucky cheese?"

Steve shook his head, chuckling. "What kind of kid doesn't like American cheese? This little boy's spoiled rotten, Emily. We need to take him back and trade him in for a new one."

The two adults laughed as Benny drew his lips into a pout.

The waiter then returned with four glasses of water. "Have y'all decided what you're gonna order yet?"

Steve folded his menu. "He wants a burger--"

"No, chicken nuggets, Uncle Steve!"

"Chicken nuggets, then," Steve corrected, shaking his head, "I'll get the burger."

"May I have the Lettuce Wrap?" Emily asked the waiter politely.

He nodded, writing it down. The four of them then turned expectantly to me.

"Um," I hesitated, wishing Steve would just order for me so I wouldn't have to worry about getting something too expensive, "I'll have the, uh...a grilled cheese?"

Benny stuck out his tongue. "Yuck!"

I breathed a sigh of relief as the waiter closed his notepad and strode away. After about five seconds Benny sighed loudly and threw his arms across the table.

"I'm hungry!"

"The food will be here in a minute, Benny," Emily told him, patting his arm.

"I hate restaurants!" he moaned, "It always takes forever!"

"Just be patient, Bud," Steve said, examining an advertisement printed on the side of the napkin dispenser.

Benny sighed again. After looking around and finding nothing else to occupy himself, he began kicking the bottom of the booth opposite him, absently at first, then gathering strength, until Emily and Steve were jolted into the air by his forceful hits.

"Benny, stop please," Emily told him, "that's not a proper restaurant game."

"Here, Benny," Steve said, shifting to pull a pen out of his back pocket, "let's play a real game."

He yanked a napkin out of the dispenser and looked around at each of us. "Who all is playing?"

"I am!" Benny cried.

"I will, too," Emily chuckled.

They turned to me.

"Um, okay," I stammered.

Steve nodded and clicked open the pen. "Okay, so let's use, er, twelve dots." He made twelve dots in four rows of three, each about a centimeter apart. "Okay, I'll go first. When it's your turn you choose two dots to make a line between. You're trying to complete the square. Whoever makes the most wins."

He drew a line between two dots in the middle of the game. "See? Emmy's turn."

He passed the pen to her. After a moment of careful consideration, Emily chose two dots on the upper left side, then handed the pen to Benny. Benny looked at Emily, then at Steve, unsure of himself.

"Put it here, Benny," Emily murmured, pointing to the space beside her own line. He nodded and, holding the pen awkwardly, drew a crooked line jutting out of hers.

On my turn, I connected with Steve's, silently grateful I'd played this game as a child and had an idea of what to do.

Steve began a new box in the lower right corner. Emily took the pen from him and immediately added a third line to her own shape.

"Okay, Benny," she said, handing the pen to him, "do you see any place you can make a box?"

Benny studied the napkin, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "Um," he said after a moment, pointing to the line I had drawn, "here?"

"Not yet," she told him, "you need one with three lines."

He stared at her blankly.

"Where's the last one you drew?" Steve helped.

"I don't--oh!" He quickly connected the last line.

"Yay!" Steve cried, "Benny has the first point! Okay, so when you finish a box you get to write your first initial. Can you make a 'B'?"

Sticking his tongue out in concentration, Benny drew a shaky "B."  It spilled out of the small box a little and the top circle was significantly larger than the bottom, but Steve and Emily clapped in approval anyway.

"Great job, Benny!"

He passed the pen to me, glowing with pride. I hesitated, then added onto my first line. We went on like that for awhile, Emily setting Benny up and Steve acting as the mediator. I felt kind of bad, wondering if I should be helping him win too, but eventually just setting up to help myself. Before long it was Benny in the lead with four boxes, me with three, and Steve with one.

"Okay, Emily," Steve said, making a third side to one of mine and handing her the pen with a pointed look.

She ignored the easy point and made her own line off on the top. Benny gladly took the setup.

"Come on, Em," Steve muttered.

"What?" she asked innocently.

He rolled his eyes.

Everyone went again. By now there wasn't much room not to connect with someone else. With a gasp, I realized that with one line I could make two boxes. I hesitated. Should I be an adult and let others win, or take the points for myself, and take the lead?

I connected the dots shakily, hoping Steve and Emily wouldn't look down on me for not being selfless like they were.

"Ah!" Steve cried, shaking his head, "Double-hitter! Two points for Rosie!"

Emily cheered and Benny moaned. I wrote two Rs, cheeks burning, hoping my pleasure wasn't too obvious.

Soon there were only two lines left. Emily reluctantly made her first box, then handed the pen to Benny, who needed help spotting the last open space.

"So, Rosie wins," Steve said, much to the dismay of Benny, "Benny next, then me, then Emily. Good job, guys."

"Again! Again!" Benny cried.

Steve chuckled and, after glancing around at the rest of us, made another board, this time with only nine dots.

We played for another couple of minutes.

"I'm gonna win this time!" Benny declared. He then stopped, eyes widening. "Uncle Steve! I have to go potty!"

"Okay," said Steve, standing up quickly.

Benny stood up as well, trying to crawl past me over the seat. In hindsight I should have gotten out of the booth so he could pass, but instead my dumb self helped him climb awkwardly over me, knocking several condiment bottles off the small table.

"Sorry!" he gasped once, after stepping down hard on my thigh.

When he finally wriggled free, he jumped onto the floor and took off toward the restrooms at a half run, Steve following closely behind.

I sighed, massaging the shoe print-shaped bruise rising on my leg. Emily watched them round a corner, chuckling at Benny's haste.

"Poor thing," She then turned to me. "So how are you, Rosie?"

"I'm fine."

"I hope this was an enjoyable first time at the zoo."

I smiled. "Yeah! Thanks again for inviting me."

Emily nodded. "You're more than welcome any time. Your presence helped tame Benny."

We chuckled as the waiter placed our plates in front of us.

"Looks delicious!" Emily cried. "Thank you so much!"

Steve and Benny returned a moment later. We ate in silence, even Benny too consumed in the delightful food to attempt conversation.

"I'm stuffed," Steve announced twenty minutes later, pushing his plate aside and settling back.

"We'll have to get some take-out boxes," Emily agreed, putting down her fork.

Benny was nodding off again. He lay with his head on the table, ketchup soaking into his hair. The adults chuckled at this.

"Sweetheart," Emily patted his shoulder, "are you ready to leave?"

"Mm."

Steve paid the check and stood. He lifted the boy into his arms. We left the restaurant and started for home.

"Thanks!" I called after they had dropped me off at my house. This had been one of the best days of my life.