May 1975

Saturday, 10:30 AM

A zoo is a good place for people-watching, Elmer thought. He strolled past the sea lions, meandered through the reptile house, paused to take photos of a tawny owl with markings that almost looked like stars on its head in the menagerie, and finally plopped down on a bench by the ring-tailed lemurs exhibit to unwrap the ham-and-cheese baguette he'd made that morning. Of course, a zoo was good for animal-watching too – and it wasn't that Elmer didn't like animals: it was just that he'd always been more preoccupied with humans.

Elmer had decided on a whim that morning – as he decided most things these days – to hop on the subway and visit the Bronx Zoo for a day of people-watching. He'd arrived at the zoo just as it was opening its gates so as to get an early start. After all, people go to zoos expecting that they will smile, so it seemed as good a way to spend his day as any.

He had always been quick to notice people's smiles and what they stood for (which meant he was exceptionally good at picking smiles off the street) but some days he wanted easy pickings.

So far, the day had been shaping up to be a good one—already the path was filling up with people, to the point of being crowded. It seemed like half of New York had seen fit to take advantage of the warm spring weather and the cloudless blue sky: mostly families and gaggles of teenagers out for a lark, though there were a fair amount of elderly couples and ambitious college students wandering the lanes as well. Elmer was prepared to enjoy himself, when –

Well, a predilection for smiles meant that Elmer took notice when someone was in clear pain, and as soon as he heard the panicked cries of a young girl lost in the buzz of the surrounding chatter he was on his feet and pushing his way into the crowd – 'scuse me, sorry, coming through! – and there in the middle of the path was a little girl in bell-bottom jeans and a polka-dotted tunic shirt.

Elmer crouched down to look her in the eye, casually ignoring the swell of people moving around them. Tears threatened to spill down her cheeks and she rubbed her eyes with her fists, having not noticed Elmer's presence.

"Hey there. Are you lost?" Elmer spoke loudly but gently: loud enough so that she could hear him over the din but hopefully gently enough that she wouldn't spook. He was smiling, of course, and he thought his smile probably looked kindly.

Her hands stilled, and she inched her head upward to look at him. She sniffed, nodded, and Elmer nodded too, because what else would she be?

"Let me guess, you came here with your parents, right?"

She gave him another tiny nod.

"Well, you don't need to cry anymore, because I'll help you find them again! Okay? So chin up and give us a smile—" someone bumped into his back and he wobbled. He flashed her another grin. "—But maybe we'd better get out of this crowd first, yeah?"

The girl tilted her head, considering. Elmer watched her patiently as she weighed her options, shifting her weight from one leg to another. Scrunching up her nose, she nodded again; he was pleased to see her eyes were dry. Beaming, Elmer straightened and parted the red sea once more, careful so that the growing throng of amblers wouldn't accidentally trample the girl.

When they finally made it back to the bench, they found find it occupied by a family of four. Well, no matter (to quote a friend). Elmer had been planning on moving to higher ground anyway. A foot or so behind the bench was a stout stone wall, and Elmer looked down at the girl as they came to a stop.

"I bet we'll definitely be able to see your parents from up there!" He suggested, bright and cheerful. She looked at the wall and gave him a skeptical look. Elmer laughed and hoisted her up onto the wall, lifting her up by her waist. After she settled he clambered up after her and sat down on her right side, practically right next to the lemur cage. One of the black and white lemurs peered at him with curious golden eyes, clinging to the chain links with small hands. He grinned at it, and took off the instant camera hanging around his neck.

"Mind taking a picture of us?" Elmer asked the girl, handing her the camera. "He reminds me of a friend." She fumbled with the strap and Elmer smiled widely as the lemur grabbed a hold of his hair, the camera flash going off a second later. When she returned the camera he removed the photo, waved it in the air, and pocketed the photo without so much as glancing at it.

"Brilliant! Thanks a bunch," he said. "My name's Elmer, by the way. What's your name?"

She hesitated.

"Did your parents tell you not to talk to strangers? That's really smart advice! You should always be careful around strangers. Some people aren't very nice people, and your parents only want the best for you, I'm sure. That said, some strangers are pretty great people, you know? Of course, it's hard to tell if someone's a nice person or a good person or a bad person sometimes. But I just want to help you find your parents so you can smile again. Although, if you want me to go away, I'll go away, no problem! But only if you smile for me, that is. I wouldn't want to leave you unhappy."

The girl sat there, mouth agape. He had said a lot. Maybe it was too much for her to process. She scratched her cheek.

"Are you a nice—are you a good person?" she asked, finally.

"Not really, no," he admitted. He knew that telling the truth wouldn't always make people smile. Sometimes it guaranteed the opposite, but honesty had always come easy for him (as had lying, but that was neither here nor there) and anyway, kids never liked it when adults lied to them. Besides, they had a better ability to tell when adults were lying to them then some might realize. Elmer would know.

"But I told you, I don't like seeing people unhappy. I just want to get you back with your parents. That's all. I know I said you should be careful around strangers, so you don't have to believe me if you don't want to. Though I'd appreciate it if you did."

The girl kicked her legs against the wall, and looked him up and down warily. "My name's Heather Brown," she said, and added, "I'm seven."

"Heather? That's a pretty name." She brightened a bit at his reply. Elmer turned and shielded his eyes with his hand from the sun, scanning the crowd. "Oh, by the way, what do your parents look like? I'm taller than you, so I can keep an eye out for them."

Heather pursed her lips and leaned backwards. "Um…um…my mom is wearing a jean jacket, and daddy's wearing a red baseball cap. I think."

"Great! Bright colors really stand out in a crowd. We'll find them in no time at all. Well, maybe it'll take a little while. I bet they're looking all over the zoo for you this very moment. It's pretty warm, though. Do you want something cold to drink? There's a vendor around here who sells milkshakes."

She seemed on the brink of a smile when he mentioned the word milkshake. Elmer could tell she'd been worrying after her parents this entire time, by the way she clenched her fists and the way her head jerked upward every time she heard a voice calling out in the crowd. You could tell a lot of things about a person by watching how they moved. Elmer would know. He'd had almost three centuries of practice.

"…Strawberry!"

Elmer chuckled and pulled out his wallet, hopping down to the ground to approach the vendor setting up shop a few yards away. Three minutes later and he was back on the wall, handing Heather her strawberry milkshake before tasting his own (chocolate, on a whim). He studied her face, fiddling with his straw.

"It's good!" She was smiling. It was a small smile, but it was progress, and Elmer held his milkshake out in anticipation.

"I propose a toast! A toast to milkshakes!"

Heather looked at him in delighted shock before breaking out into giggles. She clinked her milkshake with his, and Elmer felt a vague sense of warmth somewhere deep inside him.

They continued chatting about meaningless things over their straws. Elmer kept an eye on the crowd below them, on the gapeseeds gawking at the capuchin monkeys and the children giggling as they ducked around their parents' legs. A flash of red caught Elmer's eye right as he was noisily inhaling the last gobs of chocolate from the bottom of his glass, which he set down beside him.

"You're in luck! I think I see them," he said, getting to his feet. Standing on the wall, he cupped his hands around his mouth and hollered over here! in the direction of what turned out to be a man in a red baseball cap, followed closely by a woman in a jean jacket weaving in and out through the masses. He continued shouting at them, waving both arms up in the air to attract as much attention as possible. And he did; the family of four on the bench looked up to stare at him in dull irritation. More importantly, so did the man and woman, who looked up warily. They were close enough now that he could see the woman's eyebrows rise in shock.

As the two made their way through the crowd, Elmer crouched and clumsily hopped off the wall once more to greet them. He looked up to Heather (preparing to help her down) and stopped when her expression crumpled. A vague sense of disappointment sent his shoulders sagging – a whole hour wasted. But then Heather swiped an arm across her face and smiled a great big smile through her tears.

"Mom," she cried. "Daddy!"

Elmer laughed, and helped her down just as her parents emerged from the throng. Her mother swept her up into a hug, murmuring apologies into her hair. Elmer turned to Heather's father, and stuck out his hand.

"Hi!" He kept his smile as disarming as possible. Let them know that he wasn't a threat. "The name's Elmer. You must be Heather's parents, right? Your daughter was lost, so I decided to wait with her until you came back."

The father's crinkled brow smoothed, and he shook Elmer's proffered hand. "Thank you for keeping her safe," he said, stoutly. The mother offered a choked "thank you so much," over Heather's head, followed by "I was so worried, sweetheart." Her husband rubbed his neck. "How can we ever repay you?"

"Seeing her smile after finding you two again is more than enough for me," Elmer chuckled. After a moment the father laughed too, clearly relieved to have his daughter back safe and sound.

Heather waved at him as the family of three walked away, her other hand firmly entrenched in her mother's own. Elmer waved back until they were out of sight, and then turned back toward the stone wall. People-watching, as Elmer well knew, is easier when one has a vantage point.