She nods her head with a proud smile. “Well, it is beautiful.”
“Thank you,” she says.
“What can I do for you, little miss?”
I’m surprised when Zooey turns around and closes the door. She doesn’t usually require privacy when she wants to ask me questions. “Do you know when my mommy or daddy is coming to pick me up?”
The dull pain in my chest returns. Zooey has found a way to make me break a million times this past year. She doesn’t give up. When she first arrived, she would cry for her parents. The questions didn’t start until a few months ago, though. I’m not sure if she’s just beginning to wrap her head around what’s going on here, but I know many of the children become curious when watching something as innocent as Sesame Street. They notice everything. Zooey has been asking for a while, and though it's less often, a week doesn’t go by.
Of course, now, I have an answer.
“Let me ask you something, sweetie. When you think about a dream bedroom, what do you imagine?”
Her eyes light up, and she glances up at the ceiling in thought. “Barbies and dolls—no, wait, printhesses.”
“You like princesses?”
“They’re my favorite. I’m going to be one someday.”
“You sure are. I know it.”
“So, when is she coming?” Zooey asks again.
I look down at my desk to collect my thoughts. “Do you remember where you lived?” Zooey shakes her head, no. She was too young. “Did you know that some mommies in the world are queens, and some daddies are kings?”
“Yes, of course, that’s why there are printhesses and printhes,” she says.
“Well, right now, we’re looking for a queen or a king to take you away to a magical kingdom so you can grow up and become a princess. Is that what you would like?”
Zooey presses her finger to her lips and stares ahead as if she’s in a deep focus. Her eyebrows knit together, and her eyes widen. “Well, if I am going to be a printhess, I guess I would need a queen or a king Mommy or Daddy, right?”
“Exactly,” I tell her.
“My mom isn’t a queen, is she?”
My lips fall to the side. “I’m afraid not, sweetie.”
She falls back into thought. “I just want to be a printhess.”
“I’m going to see what I can do to help with that, okay?”
Her face lights up again. “That would be the best day ever,” she says. “Thank you, Miss Tay.”
I press my lips together, trying to keep myself from saying any more. I slip out of my chair and squat to my knees. “Come here,” I say. She runs into my open arms. The hug hurts me like a raw burn, but I press her head to my chest and rock her back and forth. “I will do whatever I can to make sure you are living the life of a princess, okay?”
“I love you, Miss Tay.”
I close my eyes, knowing I shouldn’t say anything in return. “I love you too, Zooey. I really do.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter 31
Chance
Everything will fall into place someday. Not today or tomorrow, but I have to have faith because things are already feeling pretty perfect, waking up to this beautiful face. I love rousing her with the soft brush of my finger against her cheek. The way her eyes flutter open is like the start of a beautiful blue-sky day.
“Mornin’, gorgeous.”
