by Alex Bailey
“Good. Because I’m proud of it, and want to make sure it shows.”
Oh it shows all right! “And she loved this place. Everything about it was magic to her. She was never so happy as when she was here...And I didn’t share her joy or appreciate that.” Tears streamed again, she felt guilty about not sharing her sister’s love of all things Disney. But Sophie was thankful to have someone to talk to about her sister, and the fact that he was a stranger, albeit, a kind one, made it that much easier to confide in him.
“So what happened? In your Facebook post, you said you lost her this past year. Is it too painful to talk about?”
“No. Yes. It’s still very painful. But she had breast cancer. She fought it, did chemo, radiation, all of that, but she was in the hospital a long time. My parents, who live in Celebration actually...”
“Right down the road from here,” Ray said.
“Yes! You’ve heard of it?” Sophie glanced over at him, but couldn’t see his reaction. “Of course you have.” Sophie smiled briefly because Celebration was a Disney-planned community, and then continued, “They came out to L.A., that’s where Natalie lived. Me too.”
“I’m about twenty minutes from L.A., closer to Anaheim.”
Sophie thought what an odd coincidence. But then it dawned on her, “That makes sense! If you’re a Disney blogger, you need to be close to Disney. And Disneyland is in Anaheim.”
“Sophie, I’m so sorry about your sister. Natalie. I’m sure you have been in a lot of pain this year. And I can only imagine how difficult this trip is for you. But you’re doing the right thing for Ariel. She doesn’t seem to be having the same issues you are with being here and this is probably very therapeutic for her. You’re a really good aunt, you know?”
“Thanks,” Sophie dug in her bag and pulled out a tissue to wipe the tears and dab at her nose. She didn’t feel like such a good aunt, seeing as she was basically allowing a stranger to give Ariel the good time she sought. “But that’s what I meant, when I said I have to thank you. You’ve been a huge help with her.”
“I haven’t done anything. You’re taking care of her, not me.”
“No, I meant the fact that you’re so happy to be here; it’s what she needs. To be around someone positive, not some droopy, dreary old aunt, who can’t get past her own grief.”
Ray snickered, “Droopy, dreary old aunt? Sorry, but I haven’t met those characters yet.”
“Huh?”
“Are you sure you aren’t getting them mixed up with the Seven Dwarfs?” He teased, “You know, Dopey, Droopy, and Dreary?”
Sophie couldn’t help but laugh. That’s exactly what she meant by appreciating Ray being there through this difficult experience. “So, tell me some things about you, Ray. You don’t want to hear about my childhood and watch me cry all night.”
“Not much to tell, really. I used to work on Wall Street. Made a lot of money. But hated it.”
“You lived in New York,” Sophie said. And you used to have a real job—a responsible job. “So, how does this blogger thing work?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re a blogger. How do you make a living?” Sophie thought it was straight-forward question, and didn’t see the confusion.
“It’s not a Wall Street living, but I’m happy.”
“Hmmm.” Sophie held her tongue, seeing as he was there helping her, but she had a hard time believing a blogger was a decent-waged job.
“So, what do you do, Sophie?” He took a deep breath, indicating to Sophie he was trying to change the subject. “I’m sure it’s a much more upstanding job.”
“I’m a textbook editor at a large publishing house.”
“Do you like it?”
“I do. I love it. And I work with some awesome people. My best friend works there too. And we have a great time.”
“And what if you didn’t like it? What if you had unreasonable deadlines or your boss made you work every weekend so you had no life?”
“Oh, I’d find another job. I wouldn’t put up with...” Sophie smirked, she finally caught on to his ploy of making her understand why he left his high-stress job. “Touché.”
When they pulled into the road leading to the hotel, the lights turned on inside the bus. Sophie squinted and then blinked to rid her eyes of the forced light, while the bus meandered through the parking lot.
“And that’s what I did. Moved to Anaheim when I decided to quit three years ago. I was twenty-eight—”
“My age now,” Sophie thought aloud.
He nodded, “Ariel told me.”
“Interesting. Can’t imagine why she would.” Though she did know why; she knew perfectly well that her niece was trying to play matchmaker.
Ray forced his lips together and looked out the window.
Chapter 10
Sophie woke to a girl’s silhouette standing in front of the balcony door. “Anything exciting out there?”
“Giraffes! I didn’t want to wake you up, but they were right there,” Ariel pointed past the balcony, her curls in disarray, bouncing in step as she jumped up and down.
“Giraffes? Wow! That’s cool!” Sophie was disappointed she’d missed the view. She followed Ariel onto the balcony. When she spotted a zebra in the distance, Sophie pointed and exclaimed as excitedly as Ariel had just done. “Look, a zebra!”
Ariel squinted, “I can’t see it.”
“Ah, it just moved.”
“Where are we going today?” Ariel asked, following her aunt back into the room.
“It’s early magic hours, so I believe we have Hollywood Studios on the agenda for today,” Sophie said a little too excitedly. Early magic hours were a perk that Disney gave to guests staying on site, which allowed them to enter the park an hour earlier than its opening, when it was much less crowded.
“Aunt Sophie,” Ariel shot her an expectant and hopeful look, “you kind of sound excited.”
“We-ell, this was always my favorite park.” Sophie sat on the bed and brushed Ariel’s hair. When she drew the brush down, curls sprung out. They were soft and fine, but not quite like when she was a baby. “I love to watch old movies. And new ones too. And the movie ride was always my favorite thing to do in all the parks. Your mom and I would pretend we were in an action movie on that ride. And my other favorite thing to do is taking the tour of the studio lot.”
“Aunt Sophie,” Ariel bounced on the bed, turning to face her aunt. “I hate to tell you this”—she made a face that said what I’m about to say is not something you’re going to want to hear—“those rides are gone.” She scooted back in place for her aunt to finish brushing her hair.
“What?” Why would they take away the best rides? The rides I actually liked! Sophie frowned while wrapping Ariel’s hair into a ponytail and slipped on a pink hair tie to match Ariel’s pink Star Wars outfit, with a Rey and BB-8 design on the front of her T-shirt.
“Yeah. They closed them. For Toy Story Land. And there’s gonna be a Star Wars Land too.”
Well, even the one park I was interested in, is no longer a park I’m interested in. “Oh well, it’ll be great,” she said in a not-too-convincing tone.
When her ponytail was done, Ariel scooted beside her aunt. “Can I ask you something? And you not get mad at me?”
Sophie grimaced, “Not sure I can promise that. If you asked me to ride the rockets in Magic Kingdom, I’d definitely not be happy with that. You know I am way too scared to ever ride that thing.”
Ariel shook her head and giggled, “It’s not that scary! I can ride it, and I’m only eight!”
Sophie scrunched her nose.
“But, that’s not my question. I want to know why you have to have Darren as your boyfriend, instead of someone fun, like Ray, who is Professor Disney!”
The question threw Sophie off balance. She didn’t understand where Ariel’s hostility toward Darren came from. Ariel had never mentioned her dislike of him before this trip. Except maybe once. No, a few times. But, Sop
hie thought Ariel was coming around to the idea of Darren, since she hadn’t mentioned anything lately. “Come on, Arie, that’s not fair. Darren and I get along great. I admit he’s not good with kids.”
“That’s for sure.”
“But I am glad that you like Ray. He’s great to go to Disney with, because he knows so much about it. All the inside scoop.”
“That’s also for sure. But it’s not just that. He’s fun. And nice. I like him. And I think you like him too.”
“Of course I like him. I can’t imagine anyone not liking Professor Disney. You’re right—he’s kind. And funny.”
“And cuuu-uuute.” Ariel fluttered her eyelids.
“Okay, yes. He’s kind of cute. But I have a boyfriend. And he’s coming tomorrow night. And I don’t want you to hurt his feelings, when he’s coming here for...” She looked into her niece’s eyes. She couldn’t say it. He was coming for Ariel only because Sophie had asked him. She needed to change the subject. “We should just enjoy the time we have now because I’ll be leaving in a few days, and I don’t want you to think about things that won’t happen.”
Ariel jumped onto her knees and grabbed Sophie around the neck. “Piggy back ride to breakfast?”
“Of course! Right after I get dressed. Sophie pointed to a pale pink scoop-neck sundress hanging on the bathroom doorknob.”
“We’re going to be twins!”
AFTER HAVING BREAKFAST in the food court, Sophie and Ariel found Ray in the lobby in line for the concierge. “Well, good morning you two!” he said in a spritely tone.
“Good morning to you,” Sophie returned.
Ariel hugged him around his waist. Ray wore another Disney T-shirt and khaki shorts. This time, the shirt was red with large white letters, with the words Pizza Planet printed on the front.
Sophie’s mouth moved quicker than her brain when she said, “Easy packing, huh?”
“Sorry?” Ray said.
“T-shirt, khakis. Doesn’t take up much room in a suitcase.”
Ray frowned. “I’ll have you know that this is not all I packed. I brought a suit for Christmas dinner. We have reservations in the castle.”
“Ah, good for you. We have reservations at my parent’s house, since this trip was so last minute. That is, if their house is back together.”
“Why are you in line?” Ariel asked.
“Got a problem with the plumbing. Water all over the bathroom floor.”
“Bummer. Sounds like my parents’ house,” Sophie said. “I hope they can get it fixed quickly.”
“I’m sure they will,” Ray said, but his attention had been diverted to the lobby’s front door.
D’aja, in an elegant princess ballgown wedding dress, ran toward the elevators, while Marcus, in a tux, rushed toward them and fell in line behind Sophie.
“Wow!” Sophie said. “You two look gorgeous!”
“She’s so pretty!” Ariel squealed. “She really is a princess. She even has a crown!”
“Was this your first look?” Sophie asked.
Ray said, “What’s a first look?”
“It was,” Marcus said forlornly. “It’s when the bride and groom get dressed in their wedding attire and see each other for the first time.”
“They don’t do that at the wedding?” Ray looked thoroughly confused.
Sophie patted his arm, “I guess you haven’t been in too many weddings, huh?”
“A few,” Ray said pulling back his head as if he were challenging her. “But they saw each other coming down the aisle.”
“At least as far as you know,” Sophie said.
“Well, we had the pictures taken in the park this morning,” Marcus said. His tone was bereft of happiness and his shoulders drooped. “So we had to do the first look thing. D’aja was amazing. She was the Disney princess she always dreamed of being.”
“Which park?” Sophie asked, thinking there could only be one place appropriate for pictures of such an exquisite dress—in front of the castle.
“Oh,” Marcus said absent-mindedly, “the Magic Kingdom, at the castle.”
Can I call it, or what?
“What’s wrong? You look sad.” Ariel said.
Marcus blew out a deep, heavy sigh. “D’aja’s grandmother called. She broke her ankle. She was already stressed, and they’re really close, she and Gram-Gram.” He wiped a trail of sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. “And one of the bridesmaids also cancelled last minute. Don’t blame her, though. She was pregnant, and the baby came a month early.”
Sophie gasped. “Uh-oh.”
“Oh she’s fine and all. The baby’s fine. But on top of all that, the last-minute details with the wedding pavilion and the California Grill are getting to D’aja.” The California Grill was a restaurant on top of the Contemporary Resort, a hotel fourteen stories tall next to the Magic Kingdom, with a large open interior, in which the monorail had a stop.
“Man, that’s gonna be one rockin’ wedding!” Ray said. “You’re going to be at the top of the Contemporary for the fireworks? That view is ah-mazing!”
“Yeah,” Marcus nodded. “I know it’s all going to work out. It’ll come together just fine. Disney has been great about everything. It’s just . . . she’s so . . .” Marcus glanced toward the elevators, but his fiancée had already departed. “We got Gram-Gram’s call right before the pictures. D’aja cried in all of them. We’re going to have to retake the shots. I don’t think we got a single one without tears.”
Sophie patted his shoulder. “I’m sorry. I know this must be stressful for both of you. But like you said, it’s all going to be fine in the end.”
Marcus forced a smile, and then Ray was called up to the desk.
“Good luck, Marcus. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.” Though Sophie couldn’t imagine what that might be, since she had never planned a wedding. But if Marcus asked for her help, she certainly would do what she could.
STROLLING DOWN THE streets of Hollywood Studios, the weather was perfect for December, not too hot or humid. Despite the closing of her favorite ride, Sophie hoped the day would turn out as well as the previous one had, minus a little girl disappearing. She marveled at the amount of decorations surrounding her. Garland with red and green balls and strings of wreaths stretched across the street from building to building. Large pots of red flowers stood outside stores and on balconies.
Ray shot pictures of lampposts, some with Santa or Rudolph signs, while others had red and white tinsel stars and fully-decorated miniature Christmas trees. When they walked around Echo Lake near the middle of the park, Ray set up his tripod to take photos of a tall Christmas tree wrapped in silver garland in the center of the water. Large colorful ornaments floated freely in the small lake surrounding the tree.
“Where do you want to go first?” Ray directed his question to Ariel.
“Star Tours!” she gleefully jumped in the air.
“Star Tours it is then.” He looked at Sophie and smiled, but she looked away. It was not her favorite ride. She usually sat out when the family went on it. Not because she wasn’t a fan of the movies, she certainly was, but she experienced motion sickness on virtual reality rides.
Something in Ray’s demeanor suddenly changed, and Sophie wondered if he was feeling all right. Before she had a chance to ask, he said, “Hey guys, I’ve got something I have to do. Um...for the blog. I’ll meet you at the Star Wars speeder. You know where that is?”
Ariel spoke right up. “Of course.”
Sophie wondered what happened to Ray. It reminded her of the look he had after the Jungle Cruise ride the day before, when he suddenly took off to get pictures. She allowed Ariel to lead her toward the Star Wars ride, stopping along the way for an over-sized pink-frosted donut with sprinkles.
When they neared the ride, Ariel hopped onto the Star Wars speeder that Ray had mentioned. A replica from the movie, it was nestled in the trees and a popular picture-taking spot. Ray jumped behind Ariel, photo-bom
bing the scene by placing his fingers in his ears and closing his eyes just before Sophie snapped the picture. “Great shot! Ariel’s going to love it.”
Ariel turned around to Ray’s questioning look. “Don’t know what your aunt’s talking about. I’m just back here minding my own business.”
Ariel gave him a I know your hand was just in the cookie jar face and hopped off the speeder. “Can we watch the Jedi knights training?”
“Sure,” Sophie said. They walked over to the Jedi knights training stage where kids were taught to use the Force and lightsabers to defeat the evil Empire.
Though Ray seemed to be back to his normal self, Sophie wanted to make sure, since his odd look earlier worried her. “You okay?”
Ray shook his head, but said, “I’m fine. Really.”
She eyed him with a questioning look. People didn’t usually shake their head no, when they mean yes. That would have been a nod. But since he didn’t offer more, Sophie let it go.
When it was time to get in line for the Star Tours ride, Ray asked, “Sophie, aren’t you coming?”
“Um, no. I think I’ll just go grab a cup of coffee over there.” She pointed to the Backlot Express restaurant next to the ride.
Ray looked at Ariel, who said, “But Aunt Sophie, you don’t like to be left out of things.”
That was a true statement, but she had no intention of experiencing motion sickness and then spending the rest of the day in the restroom. “You’re right, Ariel. I don’t. And I don’t like to see others left out of things either. But this ride is different. It actually makes me a little ill. So I’m not really going to be left out.”
Ariel shrugged and grabbed Ray’s hand, leading him toward the line.
It was unusual for Sophie to trust anyone outside her family with her niece, much less a man she’d just met. And even though she really hadn’t known him long, she had a strange feeling of security around him. She couldn’t think of anyone else she would leave her niece with other than her family and close friends. How had this happened so quickly? Maybe it was just his natural ease with children that made him trustworthy. Or the fact that he was the one who found her when Ariel had disappeared at the Christmas party. At any rate, Sophie had no qualms about letting her niece go with Ray.
