“She’s started wondering if every child she sees in New Orleans is mine. That’s one of the reasons this move to Seattle seems like a good idea.”
The shriek of Lily’s laughter carries over the noise of the crowd.She twists toward us. “Auntie Quinn! Mr. Zack! The ele-funk’s takin’ a shower!”
I look over, and sure enough, one of the elephants has lifted her trunk over her head to spray her broad gray back with water.
“Come up here an’ watch with us!” Lily calls.
“We’re being summoned,” I say to Zack.
“So it appears.” He grins, then gestures for me to precede him through the crowd. As he follows me to the front of the exhibit, I tell myself two things. One: the only reason my heart skips when he smiles is because his dimple is a dead ringer for Lily’s; and two: he’s absolutely right about his move to Seattle being a good idea.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Jessica
“HOW WAS THEzoo?” I ask when Zack answers his phone.
“Oh, man, it was awesome!” His voice is more upbeat and exuberant than he’s sounded in weeks. Maybe months. Possibly even years.
“That’s terrific.” I try my best to sound cheerful. I excused myself from looking at a house with Brett and went outside to place this call. The truth is, I’m almost sick with jealousy that he spent the day with Lily and Quinn, but I’m relieved that Zack no longer sounds tense or angry.
“Lily is just amazing,” Zack says.
“Yeah?”
“She’s a bundle of pure, unfiltered joy. She and her friend literally jumped up and down when they were happy or excited. I always thought ‘jumping for joy’ was a figure of speech.”
“Kids are fun,” I say.
“They are,” he agrees. “One of the elephants gave himself a bath, and you would have thought it was the funniest, most exciting thing that had happened in world history. And then there was a little orangutan who cracked us all up, and Lily wanted to know if he was being funny on purpose. We went to the petting zoo, and her little friend Alicia was afraid of the goats, but Lily just went right up to them—she was fearless, but extremely gentle. Really, Jessica—she’s just amazing! At the giraffe exhibit she started crying because giraffes were her mother’s favorite animal, and she misses her mom.”
“Oh, how heartbreaking!”
“Yeah. It was tough to take.” I can tell that he was really moved.“But Quinn is fantastic with her. She got Lily to talk about the fun times she’d had with her mom and told her that she’s probably riding giraffes in heaven, and before I knew it, Lily was back to smiling and chattering.”
“That’s great.” A bitter taste fills the back of my throat.
“Kids are really resilient, you know? I don’t think a three-year-old totally understands the concept of death, but it’s probably for the best. Anyway, by the end of the day, it was as if Lily had known me her whole life. I carried her for a while because her shoe started to hurt and we had to find a Band-Aid. She calls me Mr. Zack.”
“I can’t wait to meet her,” I tell him. “In fact, I’m thinking about coming home early.”
A long, awkward silence follows. I’m beginning to think the connection has dropped. “Oh, you don’t need to do that,” Zack finally says. Is there something a bit off in his voice, or am I just paranoid?
“I know I don’t need to, but I want to. I miss you.”
He hesitates again. It’s a really short pause—no more than a heartbeat, really. “I miss you, too.”
I don’t know if it’s that tiny hesitation or if something in his voice sounds forced, but the words somehow don’t ring true. I feel as if all my blood has drained away.
“How about you? How was your day?” he asks.
“It’s two hours earlier here, so it’s still in progress. After a long morning meeting and lunch with the regional staff, I met up with Brett to tour a house that just came on the market. We’re at the property now.”
“Well, I won’t keep you.” Am I imagining it, or does he sound eager to end the call?
“How is Margaret?” I ask.
“She’s holding her own. She’ll probably be released from the ICU to a private room tomorrow or the next day.”
