Zoe

I met Zoe last Saturday when I was shopping at the New Age store for things to fill my mother's Pagan Easter Basket (more on this later). She is a precocious little thing, 5 going on 25 with long cornrows, a bedraggled teddy bear in one hand and an incense stick in the other, making offhanded comments about the merchandise in her mom's store. It's obvious she's not scared of anything. The thing that struck me about her was her easy way with all of the customers.

She came right up to me as I was paying and pulled the leg of my jeans until I squatted down to her level. Then she reached for my necklace, some $3 special I got at Claire's with a sparkly pink "J" on a silver chain. Our conversation went something like this:

Z: "Ilikethatitissoprettycanyougetmeonejustlikeitexceptwitha'z'please?"
J: *giggling*
Z: "Iamseriousitissonice."
J: *catching breath* "Well, of course I can get you one! Is this a good place to find you?"
Z: "YesIamhereawholelotoryoucouldjustmailittome."
J: *laughing* "Mail it?"
Z: "Yesyoucangiveittothemailmanandtellhimtogiveittomymommy."
J: "I'll be sure to hand deliver it, how about that?"
Z: "OkayIreallyloveyourlipstick."
J: "Why thank you! It's just some gloss."
Z: "IlikeitbecauseitisshinyIhavesometooandIwearitalotIamseriousIhavesomejustlikeit."
J: "Wow. Yeah, I like vanilla flavor the best."
Z: *jumping up and down with a mouthful of cookie and pointing to herself with sticky fingers*
"MMMM!!! MMM-MMMMM!!!"
J: "Vanilla is your favorite too?"
Z: "MMMMMMM!!!"
J: "Well, maybe I'll look around for some vanilla lip gloss while I try to find a necklace with a 'Z' on it."

I was in a rush and couldn't talk with her anymore, but I poured over every necklace rack at Claire's and could not find a single "Z" charm. Sorry, Zo. But I can't go back to The Crystal Fox empty handed, so I hope she'll settle for Reece's Peanut Butter Lip Balm and a purple heart charm instead... That girl was so freakin' funny and cute.....