Dulce sat up straight when she heard the others approaching, a flower stem still gripped between her large teeth. She immediately sprang up and ran to the glass wall. She peered down the sloped walkway, trying to see into the darkened tunnel, and began clapping excitedly when she spotted DeeAnn pushing a small girl in a strange metal chair.
Mommy here! Mommy here!
The words emanated from behind Sofia through the new vest donned by DeeAnn. Alison and Lara followed behind with the four men in the rear. And Lee was right. The new vest was much more comfortable.
DeeAnn stopped near the large clear door and switched places with Alison. She entered the security code, grabbing the handle when the door gave a loud “click.” DeeAnn stepped in first as Dulce began jumping up and down. She raised her hands and lowered them calmly.
“Easy, Dulce. Easy.”
Dulce stopped with a huge grin. Dulce easy.
DeeAnn eyed her for a long moment before turning and waving Alison in with the chair. They stopped less than ten feet inside and spun the chair around.
“Dulce. This is Sofia. Sofia, meet Dulce.”
“Hi, Dulce.”
The small dark gorilla stared at Sofia curiously. She first studied the girl’s body and then her legs, following them down to the footrests of the chair. Examining the metal frame, Dulce tapped it with a finger. What this?
Sofia looked up to DeeAnn. “It’s a chair,” she replied hesitantly.
Her words took just over a second to be transmitted to IMIS before returning in translated form through DeeAnn’s vest speaker. Dulce listened and seemed to become even more fascinated by it. Finally, her large hazel eyes traveled back up to Sofia.
You small.
She giggled. “I am. But I think I’m still taller than you.”
DeeAnn laughed as Dulce frowned after hearing the translation. The young gorilla’s protruding lips quickly spread back into a grin and she took Sofia’s hand to shake it.
“She’s been having a lot of fun with handshaking lately,” DeeAnn whispered. “She’s noticed that people do it a lot when they meet.”
“Oh. Okay.”
When she was done, Dulce took back her hand, but quickly became curious about the colorful scarf over the girl’s head. She grabbed hold of the chair and raised herself up to get a closer look, then sniffed at the scarf. Without warning, she grabbed it with one hand and pulled it down.
Sofia jumped in surprise and instinctively reached up, but it was too late. Instead, all she could do was raise her shoulders in embarrassment.
Dulce had already begun pulling the scarf over her own head when she noticed Sofia’s bald skin on top. She immediately lowered the scarf and studied it. DeeAnn was about to interject when Dulce raised her hand and delicately rubbed the top of Sofia's head.
You head same Dulce head.
With a slight grin, Sofia replied, “I think you have a tiny bit more hair.”
Dulce rubbed her own head, checking. She laughed with a loud whooping sound. You come play Dulce.
The young gorilla clasped Sofia’s hand and abruptly pulled her forward, almost tugging her out of her chair.
“Whoa, whoa!” exclaimed DeeAnn. “Dulce go easy, remember?”
She looked up at DeeAnn, puzzled. Dulce easy.
“Easier.”
Sofia spoke up. “What do you want to play, Dulce?”
Check.
“Check? What’s-” Sofia started to ask, but stopped when she spotted an oversized checkerboard sitting idly in the shade of a Rosewood tree, one of the many native African plants in the habitat.
“Oh. You mean checkers!”
Dulce nodded and pulled again, more gently.
“Okay, hold on,” DeeAnn said. “We’ll move her.” She helped Alison move the chair forward over the rough ground and leaned in to tell Sofia something as they moved across the short grass.
“Don’t let her cuteness fool you,” she said with a wink. “Sometimes she cheats.”
“Really?”
“Well, it’s not cheating to her. She’s playing. But it may not be the same game you think you’re playing.”
They reached a large, square wooden box with red and black squares painted neatly on top. Round circular chips were also painted and strewn around the board. Sofia watched in amazement as Dulce carefully retrieved the pieces and grouped them into separate piles.
Chris Ramirez stood off to the side, watching with the others. His specialty was marine and aquatic life, but he found himself constantly fascinated watching DeeAnn’s work with Dulce. The young gorilla was adorable but even more than that, she moved in ways that were just so...human. Of course, DeeAnn had explained how very similar primate and human DNA were, but he was sure there was something else. Apes moving similarly were one thing, but there was definitely something else. Something he hadn’t quite been able to put his finger on, until now.