Free Once Upon a Road Trip by Angela N. Blount Page A

wondered if it would do any good for her to obey the urge to talk to him about it. After all, when it came to social graces, she was a far cry from savvy herself.
    Several feet away, a boy she guessed to be around the age of six was staring intently at a section of information on the wall, struggling to sound out the scientific name for the Macaroni Penguin.
    “E…you…youdip…youdipits cris…sol…pus…” The boy dragged his finger along underneath the word as he attempted the pronunciation.
    Mark clasped his hands behind his back and leaned aside toward the boy. “ Eudyptes chrysolophus,” he amended, gesturing to a set of smaller penguins that were swimming past behind the glass. “They’re closely related to the Eudyptes chrysocome, but you can see the difference in their crests.”
    Angie sighed at her friend, thinking he sounded a little too much like the character he most favored using for storylines in their online writing community—a mad scientist. She then noticed that a gruff-looking, middle-aged man standing a few paces behind the boy had frowned and shifted his stance.
    Undeterred by the correction, or simply ignoring Mark, the young boy stepped aside to the next plaque and repeated his stumbling efforts with the King Penguin. “Ap…ten…odits... Pat…ago…nice…”
    “Aptenodytes patagonicus.” Mark piped up again, matter-of-factly.
    “Excuse me...do you work here?” asked the man Angie had deduced was connected to the little boy. His tone was demanding and laced with agitation. He was tall and thickly built, wearing an old Harley Davidson t-shirt that must have started out black but had faded to gray. The scruffy start to a beard showed a salt and pepper mingling, which could have placed him as either an older father or a younger grandfather. Either way, he made for an intimidating figure.
    Mark smiled as he looked back at the man. “Oh, no. But I have thought about applying for a seasonal position. I’m here nearly every week as it is.” His expression brightened. “I highly recommend the membership program. It comes with a magazine subscription that I’m sure could improve his familiarity with Latin pronunciation,” he said, gesturing to the boy.
    The man folded his arms across his chest as he stared at Mark, his face darkening into what Angie interpreted as mounting hostility.
    “Mark! Come on, I need to show you something,” Angie blurted out, unable to come up with a better excuse for ushering him away. She gave the angry looking man an apologetic smile, grabbed a handful of Mark’s shirt, and pulled him along toward the door.
    Mark allowed himself to be led, but appeared thrown off over having his one-sided conversation interrupted. “What is it? This was supposed to be our last big exhibit.”
    Angie released him once the door of the building closed behind them. “Okay, so I don’t actually need to show you something. I just didn’t want you to get hit in the mouth.”
    Mark gave her a bemused look. “And why would you be concerned over something like that?”
    She sighed, wracking her brain for the best way of illuminating the situation for him. “Because…you were starting to piss that guy off with critiquing that kid. I know you thought you were being helpful, but I’m pretty sure he wasn’t seeing it that way.” 
    “What other way was there to see it?” Mark gave her an incredulous look as he smoothed out the crinkled spot on his arm where she’d gripped his shirt.
    “That you were being an arrogant know-it-all?” she said, bluntly.
    “Nonsense! I was only—”
    “Hey, you asked.” Angie held up a hand to halt his brewing logistical argument. “I know you don’t mean to sound that way, but you do sometimes.” She held up her other hand to fend off the interruption. “People who know you know better, but in the rest of the world, people tend to make snap judgments about strangers. And when it comes to their kids, they’re going to be protective