I point him out. “Oh, good,” she says. “A familiar face.”
I laugh. “What am I?”
“About to abandon me to go find Jackson. And you know it.”
“True,” I admit. “Catch up with you later?”
“Absolutely.”
She heads off to Ollie, and I start to make the circle. I check the buffet tables first, because I think it’s very likely that he got stuck serving food. But he’s not there. In fact, he doesn’t seem to be anywhere.
I follow the crowd and end up in a wonderfully colorful garden out back. But there is still no Jackson. I’m starting to think that with the size of this place, I’ll never find him.
Finally, I see someone I recognize, and I catch up with Stacey, the assistant director of the S.C.F. “Do you know where Jackson is?” I ask after the standard greetings.
“He’s down by the petting zoo. His friend with the little girl can’t stay, so I gave him an hour off to hang out with them.”
“Can’t stay?” My heart sinks for Jackson. I know he was looking forward to spending some time with Ronnie. And I was looking forward to meeting both the child and the mother.
As Stacey had said, I find him at the petting zoo that’s been set up at the rear of the gardens. He’s kneeling beside a little girl with curly black hair as dark as his own. She’s wearing the little pink cowgirl outfit, and I can’t help but smile.
I look around, but don’t see Megan, so I move closer, approaching from the side. I don’t want to disturb Jackson’s moment with Ronnie, but at the same time, I want to meet her.
I’m at an angle where I can see her face now. Her huge blue eyes and little cupid bow of a mouth. She has her hand out, and Jackson puts a few pellets of goat food in her palm.
“Okay, just hold it out, and he’ll eat.”
She does, but as soon as the very eager goats approach, she slants her palm, and all the food falls off.
Jackson laughs. “No, sweetie. Keep it flat.”
“They’ll bite me.”
“What? Like this?” he asks, then moves in close making num num noises as he pretends to eat her all up.
She squeals and squirms. “No, Uncle Jackson! That tickles!”
“That’s the idea, squirt. Okay, ready to try again?” His eyes flick up and he sees me. For a moment, I feel like I’m intruding, then his smile widens to include and welcome me.
I come over slowly, because Ronnie has gotten with the program and I don’t want to accidentally scare off one of the goats as she thrusts her little hand out, then giggles as goat lips brush her palm.
When I finally arrive, Jackson stands and puts his arm around me. “Do you know who this is?” he asks Ronnie.
“Sylvie!”
I squat down so I’m eye level with her. “Very good. How did you know that?”
“’Cause Uncle Jackson said you’re pretty.”
I tilt my head up to see him. “Oh, he did, did he?”
“Yup. Who am I?”
“You are Ronnie.”
“Yes!” She holds out a hand covered with goat spit, clearly wanting a high five.
I happily oblige.
“More food?” Having finished the greetings, she’s ready to get back to the goats. I stand and slide into Jackson’s embrace. “She’s darling.”
“She really is.”
From a few yards away, I hear a woman calling, “Jackson! Finish up, okay? The taxi’s waiting.”
“That’s Megan?”
“Yes. Stay with Ronnie a minute?”
“Sure.” I take the bag of goat food and join the little girl.
And though I’m honestly not trying to eavesdrop, I can’t help but overhear bits of their conversation, which consists of Megan insisting they have to go, and Jackson asking her to reconsider, promising to bring Ronnie to the hotel in plenty of time for them to catch their evening flight.
Megan sticks to her guns, though, and after a moment, Jackson calls me over, indicating that Ronnie can stay at the pen. I join them, and as he introduces us, I try to form an opinion of this woman. I know she’s a friend of Jackson’s, I know he cares about her, and I know she’s dealing with a lot of problems. But I’m also seeing a woman who seems overly harsh, problems or not. After all, the poor kid has only been to the petting zoo and the grounds are practically a fairground of children’s activities today. So my desire to like her is tempered by my feeling that she’s being unreasonable.
And, yeah, that whole jealousy thing still lingers.
