Operation Get Rid of Mom's New Boyfriend by E. N. Joy

toward her
mother. “So what do you say, Mom?”
    Sammi had no idea how much
her response depended on the success of phase two of the Soul
sister’s operation.
    “ Well…” Sammi
hesitated.
    “ Oh, Sam, go on and let the
girls go,” Bo said, hoping to get brownie points with the girls.
“Let them enjoy themselves.” Not to mention the possibility of him
getting some alone time with Sammi.
    “ Yeah, Mother,” Daryn
jumped in. “And while we’re gone, that will give you and Mr. Bo a
few minutes alone to talk about grown up stuff.”
    Joy nudged Bo on the arm.
“Yeah, maybe even steal a little kissy-pooh-pooh while you’re at
it.”
    “ Joy!” Sammi exclaimed with
a flustered look on her face as she tried to cover up her
blushing.
    “ Can we, Mom? Can we
please?” the girls begged with their hands folded.
    “ All right. Get out of
here…please,” their mother gave in.
    The girls ran off, leaving
Sammi and Bo alone.
    “ Wow, I’ve never seen the
girls getting alone so well. And I swear they’re on their best
behavior I’ve seen in a long time.” Sammi looked at Bo. “They must
really feel bad about last week.”
    “ Yeah, like I said,” Bo
told her, “it just takes time for kids to accept a partner for
their parent outside of their other biological parent.”
    “ Maybe you’re right,” Sammi
shrugged. “And who knew all it took was a trip to the
zoo?”
    “ I knew,” Bo bragged. “But
anyway,” Bo started as he put his arm back around Sammi. “You were
telling me about how when you were little you didn’t care for the
zoo.”
    Sammi smiled at Bo’s slick
gesture and his attentiveness. He‘d heard every word she had said
and remembered where she‘d left off. “Well, I just always found it
quite boring. I mean, I could never understand what was so exciting
about having a stare down with a bunch of animals. I mean, really,
think about it. What is the most excitement one can have at the
zoo?”
    Bo chuckled. “Well, I can
tell you a couple of things.” Bo furrowed his brows in a flirting
manner.
    “ Then why don’t you just
come right out and tell me, Mr. Hart?” Sammi leaned in closer to
Bo. Just as his lips were about to touch hers, Daryn came running
over to the bench in hysterics.
    “ Mother! Mother! It’s Joy!”
Daryn yelled frantically.
    “ What is it?” Sammi said
with fear. She didn’t like Daryn’s tone. Her heart began pounding
and she couldn’t have cared less about the kiss she had been about
to receive from Bo. “Where’s your sister? What’s the matter with
her?”
    “ She’s gone missing,” Daryn
said.
    “ Gone missing? What do you
mean gone missing?” Sammi jumped up off the bench.
    “ Just gone,” Daryn said,
throwing her hands up. “One minute we’re looking at the gorillas
and the next minute she’s gone. We looked everywhere for her.
Kennedy is still in there trying to find her.”
    “ Oh, no. We better go help
find her,” she said to Bo.
    “ Just relax,” Bo said,
rising and taking hold of Sammi’s hand. “She’s not a baby. The girl
is twelve years old.”
    “ Eleven,” Sammi snapped.
“And do you know what happens to eleven year old little girls who
get lost at the zoo while looking at gorillas?”
    “ They go bananas?” Bo tried
to joke to get Sammi to relax and calm down.
    “ That’s not funny, Bo,”
Sammi said sincerely. “Maybe you wouldn’t find it funny either if
it were your daughter missing.” Sammi rolled her eyes at Bo. Daryn
grabbed her by the arm as they headed toward the gorilla exhibit to
search for Joy.
    “ I’ll go with you,” Bo told
Sammi.
    “ No!” Sammi was quick to
say. “You stay here just in case she comes back to the bench
looking for us.”
    “ Good idea,” Bo
agreed.
    “ Come on, let’s go,” Sammi
told Daryn as they headed off into the gorilla exhibit.
    Bo stayed put and kept an
eye on the Gorilla display. The gorilla display was U shaped. There
was an entrance and an exit door about six