Damsel Under Stress

Page 24

“Nonsense. You’re meeting his family. This is important. If this goes wrong, your future together may be doomed. Put on your coat and meet me outside.” She vanished in a shower of silver sparkles before I had a chance to argue. There went my plans for a quiet evening at home alone, but I didn’t feel I had much choice. She’d probably set off more fireworks and annoy the neighbors until she got her way. I got my coat and purse and went downstairs to find Ethelinda waiting for me on the sidewalk.
This time, she was dressed like the Sugar Plum Fairy in a really old production of The Nutcracker, from back when they wore their tutus almost down to their ankles instead of in a little ruffle around their hips. Her previous outfits, including the rose velvet and green silk, hung out from under the hem, and the blue satin of her bodice was so faded it was almost white. It was missing a few pearls around the neckline, the threads that had once held them hanging free.
I hoped she had a good illusion hiding all that from the rest of the world. If not, I supposed I could pass myself off as a good Samaritan taking a bag lady out to dinner. Speaking of which, I wondered if I was expected to pay for the meal. I wasn’t sure how much money I had on me. None of the etiquette lessons my mother had taught me covered how you were supposed to interact with your fairy godmother, and I didn’t recall Cinderella ever going to a restaurant with hers in the stories. Technically, Ethelinda had invited me, but she didn’t seem like the kind of person who carried cash.
As soon as my feet hit the sidewalk, she turned and fluttered off, glancing over her shoulder and saying, “Well, come along.”
She had a distinct advantage with her wings, so I had to trot to keep up with her. This was starting to feel like a big mistake. There were a lot of people I could ask about dealing with Owen’s parents, like Rod, who actually knew them. As far ahead of me as she was, all I had to do was stop running and she’d more than likely forget about me entirely, but then there was always the chance she’d pop back into my life at the most inconvenient time to make up for our missed meeting.
I soon realized she was leading me toward Owen’s house. She wouldn’t, would she? I made up my mind to refuse to go if that was her plan. I didn’t want him thinking I was so insecure about him that I’d resorted to consulting a fairy godmother.
Fortunately, she came to a stop in front of a neighborhood tavern around the corner from Owen’s house. There was a chance that he’d be there eating dinner, but I suspected if he’d planned to eat out, he would have invited me to join him on our way home from work.
Ethelinda breezed right in and commandeered a table. The waiters didn’t even blink, so I suspected magic was involved. Soon after we sat down, steak dinners appeared in front of us. I supposed that took care of the “who pays?” issue.
“Now, let’s talk about this holiday with his family.”
Before I could open my mouth to say anything, I noticed that her attention had strayed. I turned my head to see what she was staring at and saw a thirtysomething couple sitting at a nearby table. They’d finished their meals and were drinking coffee, apparently waiting for dessert. I didn’t see anything about them that might have drawn a fairy godmother’s attention. They weren’t fighting, and they certainly didn’t look awkward. They had an old-married-couple comfort level about them.
“Tsk, tsk. What a pity,” Ethelinda said.
I turned back to her. “What’s a pity?”
“They’ve been together so long, but something is missing. They need a boost to get them going in the right direction.” She beamed suddenly. “And I know just the thing.”
A waiter walked by us, carrying a tray with two desserts on it. As he passed, Ethelinda waved her wand. I turned my head to watch the waiter set the desserts on the table. A second or two later, the woman squealed in surprise—a happy squeal.
“Oh Mike! I love it! I thought you’d never…Yes, definitely yes!” She took a diamond ring from her dessert plate and slipped it onto her ring finger, then held her hand up to admire it as tears of joy streamed down her face.
A little choked up myself, I turned back to Ethelinda. “I take it that was your doing?”
She looked smug. “It’s very simple, really.” For a moment, I halfway expected her to launch into some “Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo” type song about how fairy godmothers work, but before she could explain how simple affecting the course of true love was, there was a commotion from the engagement table.
“Where did you get that?” the man’s voice asked.