“Mom!” Pete shrieked, holding a package at arm’s length.
“What?” Her heart raced at the sound of panic in his voice.
“A lizard!”
“What?” She frowned in confusion. Pete wasn’t scared of lizards. He adored animals. Snakes, spiders, rats – it didn’t matter. He loved them all.
“Look!” He turned it towards her, and she saw a flash of green. She stepped closer, steadying his arm with one hand to get a better look. There on the brown paper package was a small, bright green anole lizard.
“Just put him down,” Claire said.
“I can’t!” Pete’s voice was panicked. “He’s stuck!”
“What do you mean, stuck?”
“Look!”
Sure enough, the lizard was glued to the oversized envelope – caught by the adhesive strip that someone had failed to close all the way.
“Can you pull him off?” Claire asked.
“I’ll hurt him! His whole belly is stuck, look!”
Pete was right. The whole underside of the anole lizard – belly, jaw, legs – was stuck tight to the glue.
Anne nudged it experimentally, and her stomach sank. The bright green lizard had basically melded with the package – and it was such a delicate little thing. Trying to pull the fragile creature free from the glue was bound to have gruesome results.
Claire said what they were both thinking: “That thing’s a goner, Pete.”
“No!” His blue eyes shone with tears. “We have to help him!”
“Give it here,” Zoe said.
He handed it over, and she disappeared into the house.
Anne sighed and gathered up the mess of food and trash on the front steps. Just as well for Zoe to dispose of it out of sight. Pete was a bit tougher than he used to be, but he was still the kid who would cry over a goopy-eyed kitten or a dying bee.
When she walked into the house, Zoe had the tap running in the kitchen. She stood waiting for the water to get warm, testing it every few seconds. Then she filled a container and set it on the counter.
Anne set her boxes of food on the table and stood watching as Zoe submerged the little green lizard, being careful to keep its miniscule nostrils above the waterline.
She held it there for a long while, letting the warm water soften the glue.
Then – slowly, millimeter by millimeter – she worked the creature’s legs and belly free.
“You did it!” Pete exclaimed when she freed the head. To Anne’s astonishment, the lizard’s body thrashed back and forth in an effort to escape. It seemed completely unharmed.
Zoe cupped it between two hands and grinned at Pete.
“Let’s take him outside!” He held the kitchen door open for Zoe, and they walked out into the sunshine.
Anne shook her head in wonder and set about putting away the groceries.
Dawn came shuffling into the kitchen, all wrapped up in her robe and slippers. The noonday sun beat down just outside the door, but Dawn was bundled up like it was a cold winter day. It was as if an insufferable chill had settled into her bones despite the summer heat.
“Good morning,” Anne said. “Can I make you something to eat?”
Dawn shook her head. “Coffee,” she croaked.
