Once Upon a Romance (A Dream Come True Book 1)

by Alex Bailey

  Ariel held Figment up to her ear. “Figment said he would like to get something to eat.”

  Someone tapped Sophie on the shoulder and pointed in front of her. The line had disappeared. “Arie, grab your stuff and run.” They ran down the roped line and handed their luggage to the bus driver, then hopped onto the bus.

  Luckily, there were two seats together toward the front of the bus and they plopped down into them. Someone from the seat behind them handed Sophie a pad of paper.

  “Tear one off and pass it up.”

  Sophie tore a sheet off and passed it to the person in front of them. Is this some sort of accounting for the number of riders? When she read the paper, she realized she couldn’t have been more wrong. It was a page of Disney trivia. Oh boy. Disney sure knows how to market, don’t they? It probably has all kinds of questions about where the best place is to buy souvenirs, or something.

  “What is it?” Ariel leaned in closer to get a better look at the piece of paper.

  “Disney trivia. Wanna take a shot at the answers?”

  “Of course!”

  Sophie handed it to her and dug into her bag for a pen. “Here you go.”

  While Ariel was happily preoccupied, Sophie had a chance to catch her breath before the madness began.

  Chapter 5

  When Sophie entered through the front doors to the Animal Kingdom Lodge lobby, her jaw fell so far, it almost hit her belly button. Ariel stood a few feet in front of her, marveling at the grandeur of the vast expanse of the lobby. It was at least four stories tall, with floor-to-ceiling wooden poles lining its sides, and oversized wooden animal tusks in between the poles. Enormous chandeliers, consisting of painted shields and spears, hung from the ceiling on both sides. At the far end of the cavernous room, a suspension bridge floated several flights up and a wall of glass, revealing a vast lush savanna outside.

  In the center of the room was a Christmas tree that almost touched the ceiling. Ornaments with animal prints, woven baskets, and bows hung amongst white lights.

  “Wow,” Sophie said. She’d never been to the Animal Kingdom Lodge and was quite impressed. That Disney could impress her, certainly came as a surprise.

  “Yeah. Wow!” Ariel suddenly began to dance in place. “Aunt Sophie, I have to go to the bathroom. Really bad.”

  “Arie, I asked you at the airport. After two Shirley Temples, I knew this would happen. Why didn’t you go when we got off the plane?”

  “I didn’t have to go then.”

  Sophie searched around the lobby, trying to figure out in which direction the restrooms might be.

  “Can I help you?” asked a quite attractive man wearing Mickey Mouse ears and a Mickey Mouse Hawaiian shirt, standing a few feet away from them. His broad shoulders and almost-black close-cropped beard and mustache completed his rugged outdoors-type look. He was the exact opposite of Sophie’s type.

  Oh good, a concierge! “Yes, please.” Sophie was drawn into his smiling deep-brown eyes. “Could you point us in the direction of the restroom?”

  “I’ll do you one better. Follow me.” He headed away from the Christmas tree with Sophie and Ariel in tow.

  Ariel dumped her bags and ran in while Sophie tried to gather them. She needed to be in the restroom with her niece, Sophie didn’t allow Ariel to go into public places alone. But with her own luggage, she wasn’t able to manage it all. She looked at the concierge, muscles bulging under his short sleeves. He looks strong enough to carry all this. “Would you be able to take these bags to the check-in station while I tend to my niece?”

  “Sorry?”

  His confused look made Sophie wonder if Disney had slacked off of their standards of only hiring the chirpiest employees, or rather as Disney referred to them, cast members. “The bags?” She dropped everything back on the floor, except her cross-body purse.

  “Okay, I get it now!” he laughed heartily. “You think I work here?”

  “Well, don’t you?” She looked him up and down, as though her scan of his outfit proved the fact that he did, indeed, work there. When her gaze rested on his face, there was something pleasingly familiar about it. “The Mickey Mouse Hawaiian shirt? The ears?”

  He eyed her as if she’d just said his foot was growing out of his nose and then shook his head. “You’ve never been here, have you?”

  Annoyed at his insinuation, she said, “I have. But it’s been a while.”

  “Well, stick around. You’ll see a lot of things here that you don’t see in everyday life.” Then he winked and said, “And you may just see some magic if you keep your eyes and heart open to it. But no, I don’t work here. I was just helping a beautiful lady in distress.”

  Sophie turned a slight shade of fuchsia, cursing her pale skin. “I’m so sorry. I—”

  “No problem. It wouldn’t be the worst job I’ve ever had. In fact, I think I’d love to be a cast member.”

  “I think I’d rather die first,” Sophie blurted out.

  Before he could respond, a stunning woman in a high-low white dress rushed toward them. She had a tight black bun on top of her head with short curls lining her face. Tears raced down her cheeks. She threw open the restroom door and darted inside, yelling, “We should have stayed in Canada; this is all too stressful!”

  “D’aja! D’aja, wait!” A man chasing her stopped at the door as it slammed in his face. If there were a poster child of a man representing tall, dark, and handsome, this man would be it. He was definitely tall, and he had brown-sugar skin, close-cropped hair, and a beard that hadn’t grown past five o’clock. He sighed heavily.

  Sophie gave the Mickey-eared man, whom she dubbed “Mickey-Man,” a concerned look, and said to the distressed man, “Is everything okay?”

  “I just don’t know what to do.” His shoulders drooped. “We’re getting married on Christmas Day.”

  “Congratulations!” Sophie and Mickey-Man said in unison.

  He nodded once. “But all she does is cry. I thought this was what she wanted. A ceremony at the Disney wedding pavilion, reception at the Contemporary Resort with all our friends and family.”

  “Very nice!” said Mickey-Man.

  “It’s been her dream since she was a little girl. I even proposed to her last year right in front of the castle. I just don’t get it.”

  “I think it’s normal when a woman gets married,” Sophie said. “I know my sister went through something similar. Everything will be fine once she walks down the aisle.” Sophie had no clue what she was talking about. Her sister never went through anything of the sort. But she wanted to help allay his fears and changed the subject, “She’s very beautiful.”

  He smiled with his mouth, but his eyes remained in the same worried position. “Yes, she is very beautiful. Inside and out.”

  Just as quickly as she had run in, the woman popped back out of the restroom, her tears gone. “Come on, Marcus, we have to meet with the officiant. She grabbed his hand, and they marched off.

  The man with the Mickey ears said, “Well, I’ve gotta jump in the concierge line. I can give you a hand with that luggage, if you like.”

  Still a tad embarrassed over mistaking him for a cast member, Sophie said, “I’m good. She’ll be out soon, but thanks for the offer and for your help with finding the restroom.”

  As soon as he walked away, Ariel came out smiling the biggest smile Sophie had ever seen. “Aunt Sophie, thank you for bringing me here—for making my Christmas wish come true.” She hugged her aunt tight around the waist, then Sophie squatted down and they hugged around the shoulders. This right here is what makes it all worth it.

  “Of course. It’s my pleasure. But you know this was all Santa’s doing.”

  “There was a beautiful lady in there who looked like Princess Tiana! Her name is D’aja.” Ariel said.

  “You talked to another stranger?”

  “She was crying. I just wanted to make her feel better so I told her she looked like a princess and that made her stop.”


  Sophie sighed, how could she admonish a child for trying to alleviate someone else’s pain? She would let it go. This time. “Yes, I saw her. And she is lovely. You ready to go check in?” They gathered their bags and headed for the check-in line. Put on a happy face. Smile.

  “Well, what do you know,” Sophie said to the man with Mickey ears, standing in line in front of her, “we meet again.”

  He smiled and then moved to the next cast member waiting to assist him. Almost immediately after he exited the line, another cast member became available and Sophie and Ariel were able to check in.

  A bubbly young woman, who looked to be in her late teens and wearing a khaki safari outfit and name tag—Jennifer from Bailey’s Harbor, WI—checked them in. “Okay, you’re all checked in. Your other room, a queen, for two nights is a connecting room.” She glanced up, face scrunched, as if confiding a secret. “But for your other occupant to open the door, they’ll need to stop by to pick up their MagicBand on the twenty-fourth!”

  MagicBand? But Sophie didn’t get a chance to ask the question.

  “Is that room for...him?” Ariel said with a scowl.

  “Him. Yes. And me.”

  “You’re not going to stay with me on Christmas Eve?” Ariel’s eyes pleaded with Sophie not to leave her.

  “I think Darren would be lonely if I slept in the room with you. Don’t you think?” There was no way she could ask Darren to come to this place and then leave him alone in a room by himself; she may as well not have invited him at all at that point. “Besides, the room is going to be much too crowded with your dad, Grandma, and Grandpa in there. And you know your dad’s way more fun than I am.”

  Right on cue, Jennifer from Bailey’s Harbor, WI thwarted anymore discourse and handed them two gray wrist bands. Employees must be trained at picking up clues to impending arguments and taught to distract at all costs. Can’t have negative outbursts in Jolly-Land.

  “Oh? What’s this?” Sophie asked.

  “It’s your MagicBand.”

  Oh, that’s what it is.

  “To get in the room, Aunt Sophie. Don’t you know anything about Disney World?”

  Apparently not. “They didn’t have these things the last time I was here.”

  “It’s also used for your FastPasses, and you can place charges on it as well if you choose,” Jennifer said with a grin.

  “Thanks for letting me know.”

  Jennifer circled their room number on a map of the hotel, and directed them in a high-pitched, sing-song voice. “You can take the elevators”—she pointed across the hall, using her index and middle fingers, much like the flight attendant on their plane—“to the next level, or use the stairs. Hope you have a magical stay with us!”

  Sophie forced a smile, took her map, and led the way to their room. Magical stay? Yes, I’m sure that is precisely what I’ll have. UGH!

  “Let me!” Ariel roared, then slid her MagicBand into the reader and opened the door.

  Their room was decorated in bright jewel tones and hand-carved African art on the walls. A queen bed sat next to the bunk beds, and a sliding glass door led to the balcony. Sophie loved the beautiful color and motifs and once again, she was impressed.

  Ariel raced to the balcony door.

  “Be careful!” Sophie yelled a bit too loudly.

  “I will. I’m just going on the balcony. I want to see the animals.”

  Sophie dumped her luggage on the floor and her purse on the bed and sat. I can do this. One step at a time. It’s just a hotel. Like any other hotel anywhere in the world. Except it wasn’t anywhere else. It was in Disney World.

  “Aunt Sophie, come out here. There’s a giraffe right there!” Ariel pointed away from the room.

  Sophie joined her on the balcony and was astonished at how close the giraffe came to them. “You can almost pet him!” She called toward the giraffe, “Come here, Dumbo.”

  “Dumbo’s an elephant, Aunt Sophie!”

  Sophie knew exactly who Dumbo was, but she had fun teasing Ariel. “Okay, then, Simba!”

  Ariel slapped her forehead. “You have a lot to learn.”

  AFTER SPENDING TIME viewing the animals, Sophie said, “You said Figment needs food, so let’s go get some dinner.”

  “Yeah!” Ariel climbed up to the top bunk and placed her Figment stuffed animal on the pillow. “I’ll bring you some food back.”

  “What does Figment eat?”

  “He loves sweets. And so do I!”

  Oh boy, how Sophie knew that. She pulled out her phone and tapped her notes. “It says here, there’s some great restaurants right here in the hotel.”

  “Boma!” Ariel shrieked and climbed back down the ladder. “It was my mom’s favorite. It has pretty much anything a kid...or a grown-up would ever want.”

  Sophie read her notes, “Okay. Never been there, but it looks like Professor Disney says it’s a must-do.”

  “Must-do?”

  “That means it’s so special that you wouldn’t want to miss it.”

  “It’s definitely a must-do, Aunt Sophie.” Ariel grabbed her aunt’s hand and walked her out of the room.

  “Okay, then. Boma it is.”

  Chapter 6

  “Aunt Sophie, look,” Ariel pointed to a table by the window in the restaurant with a man sitting alone. “It’s that nice man who took us to the bathroom.”

  Sophie glanced over her shoulder, saw Mickey-Man minus the Mickey ears, sitting alone, then turned back to her niece.

  Ariel said matter-of-factly, “He’s all alone, so we should ask him to come sit with us. You’ve always told me not to leave people out.”

  Sophie glanced down at her menu. It was “No, honey. We don’t know anything about that man. He may be waiting for his family.”

  But Ariel ignored Sophie’s protest, got up, and before Sophie could stop her without making a scene, was at the man’s table.

  Sophie turned around to watch. She didn’t know that man—Mickey-Man. He could be anyone. He could be...getting up. She sighed. Great, Ariel did it again. Did she learn nothing from our talk on the plane?

  He stood and grabbed his glass from the table. His server approached and had a brief conversation before Ariel and the man came over to Sophie’s table.

  “Well, hello again!” Mickey-Man said with a wide grin. “I’m very happy to join you, as this little lady right here, put it.” He smiled down at Ariel.

  Ariel gave her aunt a smile that said, “Look what I did! Aren’t you happy?”

  Sophie pinched her lips together and nodded. What can I do at this point? He’s already been invited. “By all means.”

  “So, I’ve met Ariel, but we haven’t been introduced,” he said in Sophie’s direction, though she wasn’t looking at him. She was still irritated that Ariel had interrupted their perfectly happy aunt-niece dinner with a man...a man who wears Mickey ears!

  “I’m Ray Bueno,” he stuck out his hand.

  Sophie reached across the table and shook his hand.

  “But some people call me Professor Disney.”

  Sophie lit up like the Christmas tree in the lobby. “Oh!” she said in a suddenly-cheerful manner. He’s not a stranger! We’ve met before. Since she had conversed with him, if only online.

  “There are Disney teachers?” Ariel gasped. “That’s the kind of teacher I want.”

  Ray chuckled. “No. It just means I know a lot about Disney.”

  Way too much, in my book. I’d rather keep my brain free for important things, like my real job!

  Ray then turned to Sophie and said, “You’ve heard of me?”

  “I have. I’m Sophie O’Connor, and you gave me some advice for making this trip a few weeks ago on your Professor Disney Facebook group.”

  He tilted his head sideways, as if trying to recall a memory. “You’re,” he glanced between Ariel and Sophie, “the aunt making this trip in memory of your sister?”

  Sophie’s head fell forward, trying to escape. There it was. That sting in t
he heart again.

  “Yes!” Ariel said, “It was my Christmas wish that I told Santa Claus. And now we get to ride my mom’s favorite ride on Christmas day!”

  “Well, isn’t that something,” Ray said. “I run into group members all the time, but never like this. They usually recognize me.”

  “How?” Sophie wondered aloud. “The picture of you on Facebook had your face covered.”

  “Seriously?” Ray laughed. “That’s kind of funny. I guess you didn’t look through my page. I post tons of pictures with members all the time.”

  “Anyway, this is great!” Sophie said. “I’ve been really worried about this trip, I’m not sure I remember enough of the World to see us through it. And now my parents have abandoned us to the Keys.”

  “See you through it?” Ray said. “That’s an odd way to refer to spending Christmas at ‘The Most Magical Place on Earth,’ so where does this come from?”

  “Aunt Sophie’s not what you would call a Disney fan, like us,” Ariel said. “She hasn’t been here in like, twenty years.”

  “Ten,” Sophie corrected her.

  “She would never come with my family.” Ariel looked confused, squinted, and puckered her lips. “Wait. Why did you come this time?”

  “I’m here because it’s your Christmas wish.” Sophie was suddenly feeling attacked. She was now outnumbered. Two Disney fans—no, more like fanatics—and she didn’t stand a chance, so her best hope was to simply change the subject. “And it’s going to be a fantastic trip. I promise! So, what’s good to eat here, since you say this is a must-do?”

  Ray grinned a changing-the-subject-huh? knowing grin. “Everything’s great, and there’s so many items on the buffet that there’s bound to be something you like.

  “Remember I told you that it’s everything a grown-up would want?” Ariel chimed in.

  “And a kid,” Sophie said.

  “Yup, and I’m going to go get mine right now.” Ariel stood and headed for the buffet.

  Ray said, “Look, I’m really sorry about your sister. I know this has to be hard on both of you. But if you give it a chance, maybe you’ll see the magic. It’s all around, you know?”