Abstraction ➳ Owen Grady

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TWO APATOSAURUS HATCHLINGS had only just graduated from the nursery and into the Little Giant's Petting Center. Alysanne sat on the wooden rail fencing and held out both her hands, one with grain feed, another with leaves.

A certain nettlesome raptor trainer had told her to name them. Running into and finding her around the park had become Owen's specialty as of late. Now was no different, he leaned over the fence, scratching the nose of a young Triceratops. "If I name them then I'll get attached," she said, mainly to herself for reassurance. They were like overgrown puppies in a way, and the moment she named them it would be the end.

Owen Grady scoffed, she had been treating the two Apatosauruses like her own children since they had hatched, one of them had even escaped containment one night and followed her into Margaritaville. That was Ally's version of the tale, the rumor around the park was that she even snuck them into the hotel on slow nights. "You're already attached to them." He was right of course. That was something she found infuriating about him, he had a knack for always being right.

Alysanne Sattler placed her hands on her hips and thought for a couple long moments about what to name the two budding gentle giants. "Pat and Sue, then," she said too quickly to have not put some amount of thought into names beforehand. Owen Grady clutched at his stomach, laughing so hard that it quickly became a silent wheezing noise. "Why are you laughing?!" She asked, her glare would have been sufficient to scare almost anyone.

"The Land Before Time?" He asked, half mocking her decision. "Come on, Ally," he ridiculed. Alysanne felt a flush of heat wash over her in anger, in fact, her ears were probably burning. Owen laughed again at her expression. "At least I didn't name them with the military alphabet!" She snapped in return and that only made him laugh harder.

Owen raised his hands up in defeat after a moment. "Fair enough," he stated with a crooked grin that she desperately wanted to slap off his rugged face. "You still haven't met the girls you know," he added, leaning back over the fence to the Parasaurolophus that was waiting for a nose or cheek rub.

The thought of seeing Velociraptors made Alysanne Sattler nervous, frightened even. She didn't necessarily want to be around a creature that could very well be as smart as her, not after Ellie and Alan's stories. So in response Ally shrugged and picked up the bottle of Corona that she'd sat on the railing, taking a long swig. "Wouldn't want them to get jealous," she quipped, a small smile curling her lips upward.

Owen Grady smirked, "You're off tomorrow. You should come see them." It was the start of the weekend after all, and even though she had a report to finish and menial paperwork to do, the thought of running away from those responsibilities was a tempting offer.

"Okay," there was resignation in her voice, "I'll finally come meet your lovely girls." Triumphant, Owen smiled, finished his beer and turned away from the Gentle Giants Petting Center. Alysanne sighed, shaking her head before pulling out her phone to make note of when exactly her report and paperwork were due.

"What was that about?" The appearance of Claire Dearing at her side startled her so much that her phone tumbled from her hand, and straight into a pile of dinosaur shit. "Claire!" she exclaimed, both surprised to see her and curious to as how long she had been standing there. Alysanne looked down at her lit up phone screen and groaned, reaching down under the rail to reclaim her phone.

Claire's arms were crossed, wrinkling the periwinkle blue blouse that matched her deep navy pencil skirt. She glanced at Ally's phone with a crinkled nose and frowned when she wiped it off on her oversized, stained plaid button up. "He's trouble Ally." It sounded like she spoke from personal experience, but in truth, Ally never could have pictured Claire Dearing with anyone other than an uptight businessman with the same set of strict guidelines for life.