Thomas Sniegoski: Where Angels Fear to Tread

“This is a restaurant?” Remy asked. “Linda and I are at a restaurant?”

“Yes, you’re going to take her,” Zoe answered, not looking up.

Remy felt immediately uncomfortable. He hadn’t thought of the woman in a while, the last time being when he drove by Piazza, hoping to catch a glimpse of her working.

He decided to focus on some other aspects of the drawing, questioning her about the circular object that she’d drawn in the sky above them.

“That’s pretty cool that you drew the sun with a face,” he said, smiling. “I like that.”

Zoe looked up. “That’s not the sun,” she said, shaking her head. “That’s the lady in the sky watching you.”

“Lady in the sky?” Remy asked, letting the drawing fall to the desk.

“She wants you to be happy,” Zoe said. The little girl leaned on the desk and used the tip of a red crayon to point. “See, she’s smiling. She’s glad you’re with Linda.”

“But I’m not. .,” he started to say.

“Not yet,” Zoe interrupted.

Deryn opened the door into the office, plastic bags in each hand.

“Mommy!” the child cheered happily, as Marlowe barked. He had been asleep, and the sudden noise had startled him.

At the moment, Remy knew exactly how he felt, still staring stunned at the images drawn upon the construction paper.

“How’s my big girl?” Deryn asked, coming over to kiss her on the top of the head.

“She hasn’t been bothering you, has she?” Deryn asked.

Remy looked up with a smile. “Not at all. She’s been perfectly fine,” he said.

Marlowe had started to go through the bags she’d left on the floor, and she turned to shoo him away. “Hey, get outta there,” she said to the Labrador, which got the dog’s tail wagging. She bent down to pick up the bags and was rewarded with some awfully moist Lab kisses, which made her laugh.

Remy and Zoe stared at each other across the surface of the desk, the special drawing she had done between them.

“Not yet?” Remy asked.

“Not yet,” Zoe said, finally climbing down from her chair to see what her mother had bought.

“But soon.”