Alice in Glass Slippers

by L. C. Davenport

  The day of the baseball game dawned bright, sunny, and hot.

  Alice took her time getting dressed; it was a night game so she had all morning to lounge around and do nothing with Adam.

  At least, that was what she thought–until he came up the stairs with a hangdog expression.

  “Hey, sunshine,” she said with raised eyebrows, leading him to the couch in front of a fan. “Aren’t you glad we’ve finally hit summer?”

  He cracked a smile and sat down, pulling her down next to him. “I love the summer. I’m just trying to figure out who I can ask to pick my dad up from the airport.”

  “I thought he was going to take a cab.”

  “He was.” Adam rubbed his face with both of his hands. “But now he says he wants a more personal touch and since I’ll be at the ballpark checking last minute details…”

  “You can’t do it.” Alice sighed and rested her head on his arm. It felt good. “I can do it, if you trust me not to kill him on the way.”

  Adam made a rude noise. “It’s not you I’m worried about. It’s him, telling you–” He stopped abruptly and flushed a bright red.

  Alice sat up, took one look at him, and started to laugh. “Oh, I definitely have to get him now. Text him and tell him to look for the short blonde with a sign.”

  It took a bit of persuading, but he finally–reluctantly–agreed. “Don’t believe a word he says,” he told her as he left for his car an hour later. “Just keep him on the subject of sports. That’s safe.”

  Alice shook her head and laughed. How bad could it be? She’d survived Jillian, after all.

  Adam had told her to pick Joseph up at the front of the terminal, but that seemed rather impersonal to Alice so she parked the car and waited by the front door. It didn’t take long for a man with salt-and-pepper hair and Adam’s eyes to approach her. He wasn’t as tall as Adam, she noticed absently.

  “Are you Wenty’s Alice?”

  Alice tried to stifle a grin. “Wenty, huh? I’ll have to remember that.”

  Joseph looked down at her critically. “I expected you to be a little taller.”

  “I expected you to be less hairy,” she shot back after a glance at his mustache.

  The corners of his mouth twitched and Joseph held out his hand. “I hope it wasn’t’ a disappointment, Miss Riverton. I must compliment you on your baseball attire.” He allowed the grin that was lurking behind his mustache to beam down at her. “Adam’s finally done us proud on the girl front. Now tell me everything about yourself that my wife hasn’t already extracted out of you.”

  By the time they arrived at the game, Alice had decided that if Adam aged as well as his father, in both looks and personality, he could have done a lot worse. She also found out why Jillian’s ringtone was ‘Who Let the Dogs Out’.

  “You see, Miss Riverton,” Joseph told her as they parked the car, “it really wasn’t Adam’s fault. Jillian had heard that rabbits made wonderful pets but wanted to see for herself, so she snookered him into watching one of her friend’s. When she opened the door to its pen, the rabbit took one look at her and shot out of that thing like its tail was on fire. It took Adam three hours to find that thing.”

  “Where was it?” Alice cocked an eye at him.

  “In the back seat of her car. He was so mad. He looked and looked for a song about rabid rabbits, but had to settle for the dog one.”

  For some reason that didn’t surprise Alice a whole lot. “Thank you for letting me collect you, sir,” she told him warmly as they walked across the street. “It’s been a real pleasure.”

  “It’s all Jillian’s doing,” he confided in a whisper that really could have been a lot quieter. “She told me to give that line to Wenty so that he’d send you to get me. I’m supposed to give her a full report when I get home tomorrow.”

  Alice wasn’t entirely sure what to make of this. “I didn’t really tell her all that much,” she said doubtfully. “She kind of scared me a little.”

  Joseph harrumphed. “Don’t tell her I said this, but she scares me a little sometimes, too.” He paused in front of the entrance gates. “I can’t tell you how sorry I was about the loss of your mother. I was at the funeral, but I daresay you were more focused on other things to pay much attention to an old man.”

  Alice felt the backs of her eyes sting with tears, and she blinked furiously. “Thank you,” she told him, and was surprised when he pulled her into a hug. “It means a lot that you were there.”

  Joseph cleared his throat and pulled away. “Come on, my dear. Let’s go find my son. It’s my bounden duty as a father to make him sweat a little.”

  ***

  Adam was sweating–both literally and figuratively–by the time his father’s plane was scheduled to land. What had he been thinking, sending Alice by herself?

  When they finally arrived, he wasn’t sure whether he should be grateful that she hadn’t bolted for Canada or worried that his father looked very pleased with himself. He guessed the look was because Alice was wearing, of all things, a Cubs jersey.

  “Hello, sir,” Adam said warily. “I trust you had a pleasant flight.”

  Joseph gave him a knowing look. “It was on time.” He nudged Alice forward, and Adam took an involuntary step towards her. “Thank you, Miss Riverton.”

  “I’ll see you in a minute,” Adam murmured in her ear. She gave a small smile and walked away, bringing her cell phone out of her pocket as she went.

  “She’s a good girl, Wenty.”

  He turned to his father in surprise. “Of course she is. She’s perfect.”

  “How much money did I spend on your education again?”

  “Too much.” Adam grinned in spite of himself. They’d had this discussion regularly ever since he’d graduated from Princeton and his father had been forced to admit that his son might not have been a total idiot for declining Dartmouth.

  “I may demand a refund when you buy your first property.”

  “Yes, sir.” Adam rolled his eyes.

  “Don’t roll your eyes at me, young man. And don’t say that poor girl’s perfect. No one should have to live up to that expectation.”

  Adam felt his back stiffen. “I know that.” He stared his father straight in the eye. “She’s just perfect for me.”

  Joseph’s expression softened noticeably. “In that case, we have some things to talk about, don’t we? Maybe you should come home in the next week or so and we can discuss your options.”

  For the first time since he’d dropped his handkerchief in Alice’s lap all those months ago at the bookstore, Adam felt a frisson of hope sprinkle into his heart. “I’d like that, Dad. I really would.” He paused and glanced up at the suite he’d reserved–mostly for those people he wanted to stay away from. “Did you know that Clyde was coming?”

  “Clyde? As in, your cousin?”

  “Twice removed,” Adam corrected him automatically. “And if he’s my cousin, he’s your nephew. How did he get a ticket? We haven’t seen him since he lit Great-Aunt Virgie’s wig on fire.”

  “It was a good thing that it wasn’t on her head at the time.”

  Both of them shuddered at the thought of a bald Great-Aunt Virgie. “Your mother probably sent it. He’s in the suite, isn’t he?” Joseph sighed in defeat at Adam’s nod. “Splendid. I knew this day was going too well.”

  Alice wasn’t in her seat when Adam left his father in his box. He sank into his chair and took a deep breath. Now that Alice had completely bewitched his father, maybe he had a chance to convince Joseph that he could stay in Michigan long term. Maybe he could stop traveling. And maybe, just maybe, he could persuade Alice that he was the real, end of the line deal.

  “What’s up, buttercup?” Alice asked cheerfully as she sat down beside him and tilted her face up to the sun. Her hands were loaded up with nachos and hot dogs. “It’s a beautiful day to watch the Cubs.”

  “Yes, it is.” Adam watched her soak in the heat and snagged a chip out of her basket, watc
hing as her ponytail swung lazily around her shoulders. “Did my dad make you wear that jersey?”

  She opened one eyes and aimed it pointedly at his stuffed mouth. “No, Moocher. This is mine. I love the Cubs. I was so excited when I saw they’d be in town for inter-league play.” She shot a grin at him. “It seems your dad and I have something in common besides our mutual fascination with you.”

  “Oh, so you’re fascinated with me, are you?”

  “We’re dating, aren’t we?”

  Adam frowned a little. She kept using that phrase. He wondered why. “I certainly hope so.”

  Alice took a deep breath. “If you didn’t fascinate me I’d have told you to get lost a long time ago, Wenty.”

  Adam was just about to splutter at her use of his father’s nickname when Brittany’s high-pitched voice interrupted them. “There you are, Adam! I’ve been looking all over for you!” She looked witheringly at Alice and then proceeded to ignore her completely.

  “Brittany.” Adam took his time getting to his feet. “Did you take a wrong turn somewhere? I wasn’t aware your seats were in this section.”

  Brittany made a pouting face. “I was looking for you,” she said. Her bottom lip stuck out so far Adam was sure she could hold an entire hot dog on it–relish and all. “But it’s so boring up there in that suite with my mother. I need someone to help me understand what’s going on out there.”

  Adam knew this translated into, “I hate being where no one can see me,” but wisely held his tongue. “I’m afraid there aren’t any seats available down here with the rest of the store owners, but I’m sure–”

  Someone made a honking noise behind them, and Brittany whirled around, her cheeks turning purple in annoyance. “Will you hold on just a second?” she shouted, making Alice blanch. “I’m kind of in the middle of something important!”

  Adam raised his eyes to the sky and counted to ten. What was Clyde doing down here? If his father had sent him down to get rid of him…

  “I’m sorry, miss,” Clyde said in his deep, mournful voice.

  Brittany froze, her mouth drooping open slightly. “Have we met before?”

  Clyde scratched at his receding hairline. “We were in the suite together,” he told her. “If you need some assistance in understanding the game, I’d be glad to help.”

  Both Brittany and Alice stared at Clyde. He wasn’t much to look at, or at least, that was Adam’s take on the guy. He was all arms and legs and chin, which made his deep James Earl Jones voice seem very, very out of place. The way Brittany was looking at Clyde, though, made Adam think that he was missing something extremely important.

  “Say that again.” He would have called it a demand, but Brittany’s voice was too awestruck.

  “I can explain baseball to you if you want.”

  Brittany let out a breathy giggle and waved her hand in front of her face. “Oh, I just love a man who knows his sports. Let’s go back upstairs and you can talk about anything you like.”

  The last he saw of them, Brittany had her hand clutched tightly around his skinny upper arm–Adam couldn’t in good conscience call it a bicep–and was staring raptly into his face.

  Adam turned to Alice in baffled confusion. “What in the world just happened?”

  Alice started laughing so hard tears came to her eyes. “Brittany has this thing with deep, manly voices,” she gasped, and collapsed back into her seat. “She finds it terribly attractive.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  “Did you just see the way she was looking at that poor man? I’m so not kidding. Who is he, by the way?”

  “My cousin. Twice removed. He was a little… trying as a child.”

  Alice laughed even harder. “I bet he’s not too trying for Brittany. She’ll be stuck to him tighter than gum to the bottom of his shoe by the time the game’s over.”

  “Somehow, I think she’ll snap out of it when he starts talking about tax laws and stupid Michigan facts.” He lowered his voice as far as he could and said in a doleful tone, “Did you know that it’s illegal to chain your alligator to a fire hydrant in Michigan?”

  Alice smirked at him knowingly. “She won’t. He’ll be stuck with her now, unless he’s already got a girlfriend.”

  Adam grimaced. “I don’t think so.” He eyed her appraisingly. “Was that a serious bet? Do you want to put something on it?”

  Alice’s eyes danced with humor. “Sure.”

  “All right,” Adam said, rubbing his hands together. “When I win, and she has to leave the park with him, I get a kiss. From you, and on the lips.”

  “Adam.” Alice stared at him beadily. “Are you sure you want to make that bet?”

  She didn’t know his cousin–twice removed–like he did. “I couldn’t be surer.”

  She smiled then in a way that made Adam feel a little less sure of himself. “You’re on. But when I win, you have to mow the lawn at home for the next three weeks. Without complaining.”

  Adam couldn’t keep the grin off his face. He’d never been a gambler, but if this was what it felt like, he could get used to it. Of course, not all bets involved kissing Alice…“No problem.”

  Four hours and a lot of internal swearing later, Adam was feeling decidedly less optimistic about betting against Alice Riverton. “I’m never going to Las Vegas again,” he muttered as they watched Brittany and Clyde leave arm in arm. She was still listening to him, spellbound. Adam could have sworn he was talking to her about the stock market.

  “Come on, Wenty. Admit it. I won the bet.”

  Adam glared at the sidewalk in front of him before mumbling, “I’ll be up to get the key to your shed in the morning.”

  Alice laughed and wrapped her hand around his. “Aw, come on. You know you don’t mind.”

  And then she stood on her tiptoes, grabbed his face with her free hand, and kissed him, right there in the middle of the sidewalk in downtown Detroit.

  Adam made a surprised noise that lasted an entire eighth of a millisecond before kissing her back with everything he had in him. When she finally let him go–or, rather, he finally let her let him go–he was wearing the biggest, stupidest grin that had ever graced the face of a man in love.

  “Was that so bad?” he asked her a little breathlessly.

  She laughed a little. “What would you do if I told you it was?”

  “Then I guess I’d have to keep doing it until you changed your mind. Practice makes perfect and all.”

  Alice looked up at him through her eyelashes. “Well, then, what are you waiting for?”

  “I hope you realize I’m going to do this all the time now.”

  That was the last coherent thought Adam could remember until his father found him by the side of the ballpark, staring at the garage that Alice had disappeared into some time later.

  It wasn’t until he was at home brushing his teeth that he realized he could have picked a better place to share his first kiss with Alice. But his mind had been a little short circuited and had bounded off into a world where the only things holding him down to the ground were Alice’s lips, so it was hardly his fault. It may not have been the most romantic spot.

  But it was the most perfect.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “It’s time for our annual State of the Shop talk. Can you do it tomorrow morning?”

  Alice shoved away the shoebox with a frown before looking up at Lewis. What was it with this company? She’d ordered Adam’s shoes twice now, and they still weren’t right. “Same time, same place?”

  Grinning at her, he winked. “You got it.”

  She sighed, thinking wistfully of the bed she knew she’d miss in the morning. “Okay. I’ll bring the cinnamon rolls this time.”

  “It’s a deal. Oh, and Alice?”

  “Yeah?”

  “No complaining this year.” When she rolled her eyes he laughed and shook his head. “You know you’re going to. See you tomorrow.”

  Alice rubbed her eyes. Six months after Lewis had
opened his dress store. He’d decided he needed to be accountable to someone else besides his accountant, and had convinced Alice that they should compare financial notes once a year. It had been surprisingly beneficial.

  The only problem was, Mimi had taken over the chequebook a while back, and Alice hadn’t seen it since. She wasn’t sure she wanted to.

  The next morning Alice sleepwalked through the front gate of The Glass Slipper and staggered down the hallway toward the atrium without really seeing where she was going. Lewis caught her elbow and steered her around a tree. “Maybe we should do this in January,” he mumbled sleepily. ‘Sunrise isn’t until a normal hour in the winter.”

  Alice just glanced at her watch and groaned. It wasn’t even six o’clock yet.

  Lewis’s jaws popped as he yawned. “Come on, Alice. Don’t be such a wimp. And besides, you know the view’s worth it.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” she muttered. “And you were just being a wimp, so don’t yak at me, Mr. ‘Maybe-we-should-do-this-in-January’.”

  When they reached the middle of the atrium, Lewis sat on the floor, tugging her down with him. “Hand over the goods, woman. I need sugar.”

  They munched in companionable silence for a few minutes before Alice looked up at the glass ceiling above them. “It’s about time,” she reminded him quietly. “Shall we?”

  Lewis grinned around a mouthful of cinnamon and sugar and they lay down on the cold floor, staring up expectantly.

  The sky grew gradually lighter and lighter. “Here it comes,” Lewis breathed, and then the sun’s early morning rays were turning the glass and the steel beams that formed the atrium roof a brilliant, vibrant gold.

  Alice breathed in deeply. “Remind me next year not to complain.”

  Lewis chuckled quietly. “I remind you every year.”

  They watched as the sun slowly lit up the rest of the dome, and Lewis wiped the crumbs off his chin before speaking. “Shall we get started?”