October 16, 2021

According to the weather report, it would be sunny and slightly windy. Therefore, I settled on wearing a white t-shirt with my sunflower overalls and a jean jacket. I had to make sure I was being quiet when I was getting ready since Julianne was asleep.  As I was re-checking that I had everything I needed in my backpack, I heard my mom opening the door for Eloise. I grabbed my bag and my mask and headed downstairs. Eloise wore a red short-sleeve floral midi dress, brown boots, and a brown hat and carried a leather hobo bag.

“Hey, Eloise, I like your dress.”

“Thanks. Are you ready to go?”

“Yep, I have my wallet, phone, pencils if you need, inhaler, epi-pen, pepper spray, keychain knife, and self-defense alarm,” I said while pointing out each of them on my person.

“Cool, lets…wait; what were those last three!?” Eloise exclaimed once she realized what I had said.

“Pepper spray, my keychain knife, and self-defense alarm,” I repeated.

“Why do you have that?”

“Self-defense, obviously. We live in New York City, and it’s a dangerous place to be, especially with their leniency on crimes. There is harassment that I, unfortunately, have personal experience with, as well as assault, shootings, and murders. We don’t know when we are going to experience something traumatic; therefore, it is better to be safe than sorry to secure your personal safety.” I said solemnly.

“I am sorry that happened to you, and you’re right. You can never be too careful.”

“Thanks. Mom, Dad, we are leaving!” I said as I began to open the door.

“Bye, be careful. Eloise, remember what we told you! My parents said as we exited the house.

As we got into Eloise’s red Toyota Corolla, I turned to her and said, “What did my parents say to you?”

“Oh nothing, they just said to make sure you don’t get trampled since your small and that you have a tendency to get lost when you are outside your bubble of places you go to regularly.”

“No, I don’t!”

“Your mom and dad said you got lost on your way home.”

“That’s was when we first moved!”

“Yeah, but eight times Minerva.”

“Whatever, focus on driving.”

“Speaking of driving, your dad said you have been learning, and I told him I will help teach you.”

“You’re willing to teach me?”

“Totally; I know you get nervous a lot, but I will have the utmost patience when teaching you.”

“Thanks, Eloise. I appreciate it.”

After a forty-minute drive, we arrived at the zoo. As we made our way to the entrance, I saw enough people in the zoo to make me want to take a home covid test. Although, the number of people in the zoo could be considered less than the amount of patrons pre-covid. Since we were students at a city college, we got a discount on our tickets. We also grabbed a zoo map so we don’t get confused over where to go. We decided to see the lemurs and macaques first then look at the other animals. We first made our way to the glass habitat of the lemurs.

“It’s so hot in here!” Eloise said as she began to fan herself.

“Come on, the faster you complete the observations, the sooner we can get out of here,” I said as we were walking to the level where the lemurs were.

After half an hour, we exited the lemur habitat and went to where the macaques were. After another half an hour, Eloise completed her observations. We then decided to go around the zoo and look at the other animals. Other animals we saw included penguins, red pandas, sea lions, southern pudu, bison, Andean bears, lynx, prairie dogs, dingos, Pallas cat, porcupines, and tufted deer. I was glad there were no flamingos they terrify me.  By the end of our three-hour zoo trip, I ended up with about 40 new pictures on my phone.

“Where should we eat?” Eloise asked as we started to walk out of the zoo and back to her car.

“I don’t know. Why don’t we check on our phones what is nearby?”

“Okay.”

We then spent the next ten minutes sitting in Eloise’s car, scrolling through our phones, looking for someplace to eat.

“Minerva, I think I found a place. It’s called Cardoso's.”

“What kind of restaurant is it?

“It’s a Brazillian- Japanese restaurant.”

“Oh, is it like a fusion restaurant or something?”

“Based on the description and pictures, they serve food from both cultures and have some fusion dishes; they also have a small bakery next door called Penelope's”

“I don’t know. I never had either before.”

“I have, and I can assure you there are things that even a picky eater like yourself would like.”

“Uh..”

“Come on, Minerva, look at the photos and tell you don’t find yourself a little intrigued?” She said as she showed me pictures of the restaurant’s food. And I must admit the food did look good.

“Your right; let’s go.”

Twenty minutes later, we arrived at the restaurant. The restaurant was second to last on the corner, with the bakery on the corner. The awning had Cardoso's written in white. When we entered the restaurant, I noticed that the interior and vibe were family-style and cozy.

I was looking at the pictures on the wall when Elosie nudged me and said, “Minerva is that Maki?”

I turned my head to where Eloise was looking and saw a guy wearing a mask with wavy black hair and an eyebrow piercing delivering some drinks to a couple at a table.

“Yeah, what a surprise". Maki seemed to notice our presence and waved at us.

Eloise and I then headed toward the counter and saw a stack of menus. Eloise and I then grabbed one for each of us to look over. The menu was divided into three sections; Brazillian dishes, Japanese dishes, and fusion dishes. I had never had any of the dishes before, so I read everything carefully before choosing something.

“Did you decide what you are going to get, Minerva?”

“I am not sure. Can you pick for me.”

“Sure.”

Eloise then ordered our food and drinks. She ordered me Moqueca, Katsudon for herself, and Sunomono for us to share.

The person who ended up delivering our food was Maki.

“Hey, Maki, we didn’t know you worked here,” Eloise said.

“Since I was sixteen, this is actually my family’s restaurant. Anyway, if you need anything else.” He said before walking away.

I had never had Moqueca or Sunomono before, so I was a little cautious when I took my first bites, but I was pleasantly surprised. Eloise and I shared some of our food with each other, and we both the other’s dish to be delicious.

“Minerva, do you want to come back here sometime?” Eloise asked mid-chew.

“Definitely.”

“True, I think I am going to order some more food to take it home. What about you?”

“I think I will get one of the family sets.”

“Do you want me to pay for it?” Eloise asked, snapping me out of my internal thoughts.

“No, I have enough; thank you, though.”

After eating, we ordered our takeout and left. Eloise then dropped me off at home. My family also liked the food.