Big Love(8)

“Good afternoon, Clara. I see you brought a friend all dressed in pink,” Elizabeth said.

It was true. Zing still wore the pink candy striper outfit with pink Crocs. “I was at the hospital,” Zing said.

“Oh, that makes sense. How silly of me.”

Zing studied Elizabeth—she wore gardening gloves and a big straw hat but she was dressed in all purple too. She was old, but still had vibrant blue eyes. The lines around her mouth were caused by many years of smiling.

“There are so many colors,” Zing said, looking at all the flowers in her yard. “So pretty.”

“Thank you,” Elizabeth said.

“I like rainbows,” Zing said.

“That’s nice, dear,” Elizabeth said. “Would you like some iced tea? It’s getting warm out.” She took off her big straw hat and fanned her face with it.

“Iced tea sounds good,” Clara said. “Come, Zing, we’ll have tea and sort out your problem.”

Clara led the way up to the house’s porch.

Zing walked behind with Elizabeth. “Clara said you were nosy. Maybe you can help me find my friend. . .?”



***



Zing stood on the sidewalk in front of Miracle’s house. She didn’t have wicker furniture on her porch. She had six rocking chairs, each one painted a different color of the rainbow. That was when Zing knew this was the right place and the right thing to do.

Elizabeth had indeed known where Miracle lived. Once Zing had said her name was Sheila and she was a lesbian, Elizabeth had pointed her in the right direction. Miracle’s house turned out to be right around the corner.

Zing walked up on the porch and rang the doorbell. No one answered. She rang it again. This time a woman dressed in a light blue, fluffy bathrobe opened the door. She wore bunny slippers and several necklaces made of different colored plastic beads. Her hair was a rat’s nest and her eyes and nose were red and swollen from crying.

“If you’re selling religion or vacuum cleaners I don’t need any,” Miracle said. She had a thick west Texas drawl.

Zing said she wasn’t selling anything. “I need a place to stay for the next twenty-one hours. Then I have to go back to HQ. Will you help me?”

“Who are you?” Miracle looked intrigued. This pink-clad woman showing up on her door was unexpected. Miracle liked the unexpected.

“I’m a guardian angel in need of shelter, a bath, and food. And maybe a new outfit. I’m not fond of pink, but I do like the shoes. They make my feet happy. I’d like to keep the shoes.”

“Okay, well, I like guardian angels,” Miracle said.

“You should. Annabelle has saved you lots of times.”

“Who’s Annabelle?”

“She’s your guardian angel. You scare her a lot because you’re a daredevil, especially that one time when you were flying in the wind suit and almost hit the rock wall. She nearly had a nervous breakdown over that.”

“I knew she saved me! I could feel her.” Miracle took Zing’s arm and pulled her into the house. It was dark and smelled funny. It had a depressing atmosphere.

“Annabelle is concerned about you because you’ve been un-daredevil-y lately,” Zing said.

“It’s true. I’ve been down in the dumps ever since my girlfriend dumped me for her yoga instructor. Giselle said she has a nicer tush than I do.”

“You deserve better than her,” Zing said.

“Thank you, honey. I’m inclined to think so, too.”

Zing’s tummy rumbled loudly.

Miracle smiled and asked, “Do you want a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? It’s about lunch time.”

“I’ve never had one.”

“Then you just gotta try one,” Miracle said. “I make the best peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the world.”

“I’d love to eat one of the best sandwiches in the world, thank you.”

“Good,” Miracle said, leading the way into the kitchen. “I’m afraid it’s all I’ve got in the house. I need to go grocery shopping, but I haven’t been up to it. I’ve been trying to write poems about broken hearts, but I’m too depressed to even write a bad poem.”

“I know.”

“Let me guess. Annabelle told you.”

Zing nodded.

“Well, you sit down right here.” Miracle pulled out a chair at the kitchen table for Zing. “And I’ll make us both lunch.”

Zing watched Miracle buzz around the kitchen. It seemed like Miracle was getting her zest back again. She even smiled and hummed while she fixed the sandwiches. Maybe all Miracle needed was somebody that needed her.

Zing was intrigued that the peanut butter and the jelly was all in the same jar. She picked up the jar and studied it. It was filled with creamy peanut butter and swirled with grape jelly. “Very pretty,” she said. “I like the jelly stripes.”