The One and Only Family

Ivan extends one finger, and his son grabs hold. Ivan simply stares, amazed. He tries to puzzle out why babies grab their parents’ fingers, but he can’t. When Maya smiles, Ivan knows that he has passed “the most important test [he] will ever face” (128).

A little bit at a time, Ivan is allowed to spend time with Kinyani and the babies. The first time he holds his daughter, he fears that he’ll break her. Kinyani says that the babies are stronger than they look, and to prove it, Ivan’s daughter yanks on his fur. Kinyani comments that the babies are more fun than demon dolls. Ivan wants to laugh but doesn’t because “the little one in [his] arms is already fast asleep” (130).

When Ivan and his family return to their big enclosure, the crowd of humans outside is enormous. Bob visits, and he and Ivan discuss how babies draw attention because they are adorable, even if they can be a handful. Bob says, “[W]hat’re you gonna do? You gotta love ’em” (133). Ivan can’t argue.

One night as Kinyani and the twins sleep, Ivan just watches them. Kinyani wakes and tells Ivan to get some sleep because they are safe and everything is working out. Ivan finally settles down. As he drifts off to sleep, he thinks, “[T]his is gonna be easy-peasy” (136).

Twenty-six months later, Ivan admits that he might have been optimistic about parenting: “I can now report with some authority that parenting is definitely not as easy as it looks” (139).

Ivan reports that parenting is both thrilling and scary. He wonders how sharing his heart with his children is “both the most terrifying and the most beautiful thing in the world” (140).

Of all the expectations that Ivan had about parenting, he got one right: “There really is nothing scarier than a toddler tantrum” (141).

Chapter 65 is one sentence that builds on Ivan’s observation in Chapter 64: “Unless it’s two toddler tantrums” (142).

The twins have grown and changed in the last two years. They are still small, but they can communicate their questions and demands—“whether you want them to or not” (143).

The “E.B.P.” is the “Era Before Parenthood.” Back then, Ivan pictured wisely answering his children’s questions. Faced with actual questions from his children, he’s amazed “that [he] might not even know the answers” (145).

In addition to the twins, the gorillas who were at the zoo before a recent tornado have returned. Ivan is now in charge of a larger troop, but he doesn’t mind. As the silverback, it’s his job to be in charge and enforce the rules of the troop. He also finds leading the troop easier than parenting because “troops have rules. Toddlers do not” (147).

Ivan’s son is named Tumaini, and they call him Tuma for short. Tuma is inquisitive and loves to ask questions that Ivan tries to answer to his satisfaction, which often doesn’t go well. One day, Tuma asks if grown-ups stop growing. Ivan explains that parts of them do. Tuma then asks how grown-ups can both grow and not grow. Ivan panics for a second before remembering the answer that has saved dads since the dawn of time: “Good question […] go ask your mommy” (150).

Ivan’s daughter is named Taraji, Raji for short. Where Tuma is inquisitive, Raji is a ball of energy, always running back and forth and making people laugh. Ivan admires her boundless energy, though “sometimes [he] wish[es] [they]’d had the twins when [they] were younger. Much younger” (151).

Ivan thinks of Tuma like the cool, patient moon and Raji like the bright, energetic sun. He realizes that these are simplifications because gorillas are complicated creatures and are “rather like humans in that way” (153).

Ivan is amazed at how quickly the twins are growing. Bob notes that puppies learn things faster than most species, which Ruby counters with the fact that elephants can walk from the moment they’re born. Bob compares all three to humans, whose children take forever to grow and are “useless for years and years” (154).

Kinyani is tired one day, claiming that she’s caught a bug. Ivan is concerned and tells her to rest while he watches the twins, who he calls nibblits. Kinyani argues that one of the other aunts can do it because they love the work, but Ivan insists: “I love caring for the nibblits, too” (158).

One day, Raji climbs a rock formation, claiming that she needs to practice flying. Ivan plucks her down with the reminder that gorillas don’t fly. Instead of being perturbed, Raji is on to the next thing, rolling into her brother and starting a game. Ivan watches them with a warm feeling in his heart and wonders “if there’s some way [he] can ensure this moment will last forever” (161).

Pop Drop is a maneuver that involves the twins climbing to a high branch, dropping, and landing in Ivan’s arms. The move inspires both pride and fear in Ivan—pride at how the twins are growing and fear that they will hurt themselves. He tries to temper the fear because he knows the twins must be allowed to explore and find joy. He also acknowledges that, with children, “you’ve got to get used to having wildly different feelings at the same time” (165).

Bob tells Ivan about an exhibit of meerkats—neurotic little creatures who are always scurrying about on the lookout for danger. Since they aren’t in the wild, Bob doesn’t understand why they don’t just calm down. Ivan suggests that the meerkats might have offspring, to which Bob says, “[S]ometimes you remind me a little bit of those meerkats” (168).

The twins ask Ivan about his dad. Ivan doesn’t really remember his father or much else about his time in the wild, so he answers as best he can. The twins want to know if Ivan played the same games as they play now. Ivan can’t remember, but he says that he did, telling himself, “It’s true, […] true enough” (171).

The twins ask what Ivan’s dad was like as the silverback leader. Ivan says that his dad always followed the three rules of being a silverback, but he can only remember the first two—to lead and to protect. When the twins ask what Ivan’s dad protected the troop from, Ivan can’t bring himself to tell them about the dangers of the wild. Instead, he says that his dad protected his children from games of tag.

After trying, Ivan still can’t remember the third rule of being a silverback. He convinces himself that it doesn’t matter because “the rules are different now, anyway” (175).

Kinyani tells Ivan that they should be honest when the twins ask about their pasts. Ivan sees no point in telling them that poachers killed his family and captured him because “how would knowing about those things possibly help the twins?” (177).

Ivan wants the twins to have their own stories, much like he has his. He reflects that once stories are set free, they are like children: “They belong to the world” (178).

The vet examines the family, finding that they do have a bug. Kinyani and Tuma will go into isolation in case they are contagious. Tuma whines that it’s not fair because he feels fine, and Raji yells that she wants to go in the special cage too. For the next several minutes, their parents and the humans “are treated to an impressive, full-on, two-toddler tantrum” (180).

Kinyani and Tuma go back in the room where Kinyani gave birth. Ivan and Raji bed down outside. Ivan struggles to sleep, both because he’s worried and because he’s watching his children play shadow puppets. Tuma makes a puppet of Bob; this reminds Ivan that it’s possible to be both worried and happy, “especially when you love someone dearly” (183).

Every morning, Ivan holds a meeting with the troop to give them news and resolve disputes. He tells them about Kinyani and Tuma before he tells one of the younger males that he doesn’t need to steal food because there’s plenty. Raji questions how both Ivan and the humans can be bosses of the troop. Ivan says that it’s complicated. He thinks, “[H]ow often, I wonder, have I said that since becoming a grown-up?” (187).