walking and turned to look at one another with mutual smiles.
“I am friends with Zeke,” Naomi said. “He’s a great guy.”
“He is. I didn’t want to give you the impression back there that I’m unhappy about being with him or about the baby. I’m not. I’m…actually really happy to be with Zeke. And I’m adjusting to the baby news.”
“I’m glad to hear that. But I didn’t want to take this walk to talk about Zeke or the baby,” Naomi said.
“Oh.” Jill frowned. “Then what did you want to talk to me about?”
“Well.” Naomi shook her head. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.”
“Doing what?”
“Sticking my nose in where it doesn’t belong.”
“Now I’m really curious.” She hadn’t been around Naomi LeClaire much, but Jill got the impression the other woman was thoughtful and considerate. If she had something to say, Jill wanted to hear it.
Naomi took a breath. “I wanted to tell you a story about a polar bear.”
Jill faced her more fully. That wasn’t even close to what she’d been expecting the other woman to say. “A polar bear?” Jill repeated.
“Yes.” Naomi tucked her hands into her pockets. “There was this polar bear, Hugo, on my show. He and his trainer, Greg, worked together for about two years. Then Greg’s wife, Tracy, got cancer. Greg, obviously, was very stressed and sad. And as Tracy’s illness progressed and Greg’s depression got worse and worse, we noticed that Hugo got depressed too. It was like he was feeding off of Greg’s emotions. When Tracy had a good day and Greg was in a better mood, Hugo would have a good day. When Greg was especially sad, Hugo would have a terrible day.”
Naomi paused. Jill didn’t say a word.
“When Tracy passed away and Greg was in mourning, Hugo wouldn’t do anything for us for almost two weeks. And even after that it took a really long time for him to get back to normal. It was crazy and I don’t know if I would’ve believed that if I hadn’t seen it myself, but it seemed that Hugo was feeling what Greg was feeling.” Naomi met Jill’s gaze directly as she spoke. “That was the most remarkable instance, but I saw animals and humans bond in really amazing ways over the years.”
Jill knew she was staring, and she sincerely was trying to focus on what she knew Naomi was really trying to tell her. But she was distracted.
“Jill?”
“Yeah?”
“Did you hear me?”
“Every word,” Jill said with a nod. “Like…the words ‘your show’.”
Naomi sighed, but smiled. “I figured you’d notice that.”
“What did you mean by that?”
Naomi studied her for a moment. Then nodded. “The TV show I was on.”
“You were on a TV show?”
“From the ages of eight to fourteen. It was called Zoey At the Zoo.”
Jill gasped so hard she thought she’d probably sucked in a mosquito or two. “Oh my God. You were Zoey.”
“Yes.”
“You’re Naomi Williams?”
Naomi lifted a shoulder. “A stage name.”
Now that Jill thought about it, she vaguely recalled knowing that Naomi Williams had been originally from Louisiana. “I’ve seen some of the show. I’m…” She cleared her throat. “…a little older than you. But the show was huge. I definitely knew of it.”
“Yeah. It was huge,” Naomi agreed.
“I just…I’m stunned.”
“It’s the best kept secret in Autre,” Naomi said. “I was born here. My family is from here. For generations, really. When I got cast on the show, Mom and I moved to California, but everyone else stayed here. When the show ended, I was fourteen. I retired and we came back here. But Autre keeps the secret. If anyone ever comes through and asks if I live here now, they lie.”
“Wow, that’s kind of amazing.”
Naomi smiled. “It’s very amazing. I live a very quiet life now, completely out of the spotlight. I have no interest in anyone knowing who I am and no interest in returning to that life at all.”
“Thank you for trusting me,” Jill said, realizing what Naomi had revealed to her.
“I’m not worried,” Naomi said. “I’ve been listening to Zeke talk about you for weeks. I know you’re one of us.”
That hit Jill right in the chest and she had to work to pull in her next breath.
She knew the Landrys had accepted her into their circle. She knew she was automatically included because of Zeke. And the baby. But she hadn’t really let it in.
That was…pretty awesome.
“But just because I’m not interested in a public life, I still have a lot of love for wild animals and all the