“Hurry! Daddy might already bethere.”
I freeze, palming the wall to steady myself.Daddy?
“Coming, baby,” I chokeout.
Daddy.
Daddy.
Daddy.
* * *
The twenty-minute driveto the zoo has done nothing to untangle the knots in my stomach. Isaac has texted to let me know he's already there, waiting out front forus.
Claire and I walk from the car, and Isaac meets ushalfway.
“I feel like an insider, getting into the zoo an hour before it opens to the public.” He slaps a high-five withClaire.
She skips ahead to the bridge, where she can watch the ducks and turtles in the lakebelow.
“How's Claire's arm?” Isaacasks.
“Aren't you supposed to wait until her next check-up to ask me that question?” I tease. Or, at least I think I'm teasing. Isaac doesn'tlaugh.
He puts his hands in his jeans pockets. He clears his throat, and I watch his Adam’s apple bob as he swallows. “I need to talk to you aboutsomething.”
“OK.” I draw out the word, but we can't keep talking, because we've reached the man waiting to take our tickets. I pull my membership card and ID from my wallet. He looks them over and hands me back my things. We step through the turnstile, and Claire runs ahead, snatching a map from the little brown stand. Isaac watches her, an amused smile on hisface.
Claire surges forward, certain of where she's going. The zoo is nearly empty, so I'm comfortable with the lead she has on us. I can see her, and I know she'll stop at the giraffes. I can see one now, it's graceful neck bowing to pull food from the tallfeeder.
“So that thing I wanted to talk to you about…” Isaacstarts.
My heart beats faster. Bad things happen when conversations begin thisway.
“I know you like living with your dad, but I was thinking maybe we could talk about one day giving Claire a home that both her parents livein.”
I balk. “We—”
“Barely know eachother.”
“We're—”
“Practicallystrangers.”
I fall quiet, miffed. We've caught up with Claire. She's leaning against the railing, her chin resting on her right hand. I hang back, taking a seat on one of the benches. Isaac sits next tome.
A giraffe strides across the expanse of grass. My eyes track its movements, but my mind is going haywire. “Why did you ask if you already knew myarguments?"
Isaac leans forward, elbows coming to rest on his knees. “Because you don't knowmine.”
“What are they?” The question has only been out of my mouth for three seconds and I already regret asking. I don't think I want toknow.
He flicks his gaze over his left shoulder, so his eyes are on me. I don’t like the determination I see in them. “We could get to know each other better. You've already been to my place. You know what it looks like. You've been to where I work. We've shared a meal. You know I don't likespinach."
I can't help but smile at that part. At the restaurant last week, he'd asked the server to leave the spinach off his sandwich, and when it came with spinach, he meticulously picked off every lastpiece.
“I know you don't like flowers." Isaaccontinues.
