Chapter 1“Banana…
“Ba-na-na…
“Baaaaa-naaaa-na…”
Elijah Wentworth held one up for Eddie, the chimpanzee. “Banana.” He said it half a dozen more times—“banana, banana, banana”—signing it each time by holding up his index finger and “peeling” it with his other hand. “Banana, Eddie. Ba-na-na. Ba-na-na. Ba-na-na.”
Nothing.
Eli sighed. Three hours in on his first day, Eddie wasn’t doing terribly well at the task at hand—or maybe Eli wasn’t. He opened his satchel for a midmorning snack. “Knock, knock,” he said. “Who’s there? Orange.” Eli held it up. “Orange who? Orange you glad I didn’t say banana?”
The chimp actually grinned. He started jumping up and down, reached out.
“Want some?” Eli asked.
Eddie the chimp made his move. He didn’t want some; he wanted the whole thing. And he took it.
