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

by Alex Bailey

  Sophie felt herself begin to tear up. She didn’t know if it was from the stress of spending the first Christmas without her sister or being reminded that she was the only family member not on board the Disney train, but she blinked the tears away, smiled, and moved quickly to the buffet before any “taffy” fell from her eyes. Taffy was the term Natalie invented for tears, because they were made of salt water.

  SOPHIE WAS NOT USUALLY a big fan of buffet restaurants. The lines, the blasé food, the unimpressive selections. But she thoroughly enjoyed the African dishes at Boma. She had a rather adventurous pallet and loved several of the soups and appetizers, but when it came to her favorite, she filled up on bowl after bowl of the curried coconut seafood soup.

  In addition, Sophie loved the theme that surrounded her in the room. Four-foot tall bamboo poles lined up, creating a fence that separated the buffet line from the tables. The seating area was made to look and feel as if patrons were under tents. Colorful ceramic pots were stacked into columns throughout the restaurant. Yes, she decided she liked this place.

  “So, what’s the plan while you’re here?” Ray asked.

  “Plan?” Sophie looked at him as if he’d just spoken pig Latin and she was attempting to take off the “ay”, and move the consonant to the front of the word. “Do you mean the FastPasses? My friend, Hyun helped me schedule those.”

  Ray held out his phone to show a spreadsheet with colorful markings prominently displayed. “This is my plan for the next few weeks.”

  “Weeks?” Ariel’s mouth dropped open.

  “That’s right. I’m actually here for work, Ariel.” Ray stuck his cell phone back in his pocket.

  “You work at Disney? Co-ol! I want to work at Disney when I grow up!” Ariel turned back to her plate, consisting of traditional kid food of hot dogs and macaroni and cheese, and vibrant African dishes.

  “No, I don’t work at Disney, though I do spend a whole lot of time at the parks. You see, I write a Disney blog and Facebook page and so I have to spend a lot of time finding out what’s going on and reporting to my followers.”

  “Cool,” Ariel said without looking up from her plate.

  Sophie wasn’t sure that working on a blog was a serious job. To her, it sounded more like a hobby; something even Hyun might be interested in doing in her spare time “But what’s your real job? Like, what do you do nine to five?”

  “This is my real job. I’m a blogger. Blogging’s a real job. I work full time at it, and it’s not as easy as you might think.”

  Sophie had a sudden desire to change the subject; she had no intention of getting into a battle with a man who went to amusement parks for a living. “Well, I have to admit, I’m not as well-versed in everything Disney, like you. And I also don’t have a Type-A personality,” she said, referencing his color-coded spreadsheet. “So, we’re winging it. Though I did get tickets for the happy Christmas party tomorrow night. Sorry, the Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party.” Thanks to Hyun, she had learned what MVMCP meant.

  “Same here. It’s close enough to Christmas to feel the magic—”

  “But not too close to be overwhelming,” Sophie finished for him.

  “Ah, I see you read the Facebook post.”

  She nodded. “That’s how I knew to get the tickets for tomorrow night.”

  “Great. So what park will you be going to?”

  Sophie wondered if this was a trick question. “It’s in the Magic Kingdom, right?”

  “It is. But what park will you be heading to before the party?”

  “What do you mean? You’re not going to go to the Magic Kingdom?”

  “The park closes early on party days, so I like to hop over to the party after visiting another park. Like, tomorrow”—he took out his phone and glanced at the spreadsheet—“it’s Animal Kingdom day.”

  “Hmm, I never thought about that.” She was surprised Hyun hadn’t mentioned it, but then Hyun had never been to the Christmas party, and she probably didn’t know.

  “Oh, please, Aunt Sophie, can we please go with him? I really want to see the animals.”

  Sophie’s overprotective radar shot up, but she didn’t want to seem rude. “We wouldn’t be going with Ray, we’d be going on our own. He’s working, remember? He doesn’t need us tagging along on his business trip.”

  “It’s perfectly okay for you to join me. It’s not like I have anyone here. At least not yet. My family comes in Christmas Eve.”

  “Mine too!” Ariel exclaimed. “My dad doesn’t have a cool job like yours; his job is making him work far away, so he can’t get here until then.”

  “Same with my family,” Ray said. “My brother and his family, and my parents all have to work too. But it’ll be fun when they all get here.”

  “My grandma and grandpa are coming too!” Ariel said.

  “And don’t forget Darren,” Sophie reminded her.

  Ray’s eyebrows shot up when Ariel groaned, “Oh yeah. Him.”

  “Him?” Ray asked.

  “My boyfriend,” Sophie averted her eyes to her plate, but she wasn’t sure why. It’s not like she was hiding the fact that she had a boyfriend. She forced herself to look up and caught Ray lowering his gaze to the table.

  “Oh,” he said.

  “He’s really boring,” Ariel blurted out. “And doesn’t like anything.”

  “Ariel!” Sophie couldn’t believe her niece was telling a stranger things that simply weren’t true. She turned to Ray and said, “She just doesn’t have anything in common with Darren.” She didn’t want Ray to get a bad impression of her boyfriend, though why should she care what he thought?

  “No one does,” Ariel said matter-of-factly and then picked up a hot dog from her plate and took a bite. “Because he’s so boring.”

  Sophie sighed. Darren had plenty of hobbies—skiing, for one. And he was a terrific guy. Very stable. Had a good job, a real job. He enjoyed fine wines and...Well, he was very busy with work; it was understandable that he didn’t have much time to participate in many activities, especially the variety Ariel would enjoy. She knew Ariel didn’t care much for Darren. And probably vice-versa, seeing how he treated her niece, which was usually a brush-off. But she hoped Ariel wouldn’t say anything like that in Darren’s presence, especially since he was already miffed at having to spend Christmas in WDW, and Ariel was the cause. She made a mental note to talk to Ariel alone.

  “Anyway, can’t we please go with him tomorrow? Please?” Ariel seemed to almost be begging.

  Sophie shook her head and leaned into Ariel’s pleading eyes. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  “Please. I promise to be nice.”

  Nice? Nice had nothing to do with it. She didn’t know this Professor Disney guy from Donald Duck, and having dinner with him was one thing, but spending the whole day with a stranger?

  “I think your aunt is worried about you being out with a complete stranger,” Ray said. “So, maybe it’s for the best.”

  How did he read me so well?

  “Everyone in Disney is a stranger,” Ariel said. “It’s not like we’re going to some deserted island with him alone.”

  Sophie had to seriously consider what Ariel said because it actually made sense. Disney was a public place; much more public than the intimate dining room they were currently in with Ray. Maybe it would be okay. And he certainly knows far more about the parks than I do. And Ariel seems to have taken a liking to him. She looked at Ray, who had leaned in toward Ariel, displaying matching cheesy grins. How could she say no to those faces? “All right. I guess we better see about changing our FastPasses for tomorrow.”

  Ray and Ariel high-fived each other, then leaned over to high-five Sophie, who ignored their gesture.

  Chapter 7

  On day one of their grand adventure, Sophie and Ariel dressed in the only attire they’d brought for the week—Disney T-shirt and shorts for Ariel, a sundress for Sophie. Since it was their Animal Kingdom day, Ariel put on a gold outfit with
the character, Nala from the movie, The Lion King and Sophie chose a not-too-short green dress with a tiny white tulip pattern covering it. Sophie tied her long auburn locks up in a twist and put pigtails with gold hair ties in Ariel’s hair.

  They grabbed some breakfast in the hotel’s food court before meeting Ray in the lobby at the fire pit. When they approached him, Sophie did a double-take. She should have known he’d be wearing something Disney, but she wasn’t quite prepared for the Christmas Guardians of the Galaxy movie T-shirt and khaki shorts. Baby Groot, a character from the movie that happened to be a tree trunk, stood in a planter in front of a large Christmas tree with packages surrounding him. This man really takes his job seriously. And...he’s got the worst taste in clothes I have ever seen.

  In spite of his lack of style, the more she thought about it, the better Sophie felt about the day knowing Professor Disney was in charge of their activities. Ariel would have a far better time with someone accompanying them who knew the ropes. But, she certainly wasn’t looking forward to it.

  “Hi Ray!” Ariel called out with a bubbly smile. “I love Baby Groot! And I love your shirt!”

  Since she was facing Ray, Sophie stifled a full out eye roll. She made a mental note to spend more time shopping with Ariel, even though she hated shopping, to rub some style sense onto her niece.

  “Good morning!” Ray belted out, almost as if he were singing.

  Sophie stifled another eyeroll at Ray’s cheery greeting. He’s helping you, so you better be nice! “Good morning,” she said with the biggest smile Sophie could possibly fake at that moment.

  “Arie, do you like flamingos?” Ray asked with a look that said he knew something she didn’t.

  “Of course, they were my mom’s favorite animal ever!” Ariel looked away, giving the impression that she hadn’t caught on to the fact that Ray had a secret.

  Sophie eyed him curiously, wondering what he had planned.

  “Okay, not many people know this, but in a minute, cast members are going to be feeding the flamingos at the pond. Wanna go watch?” Ray’s look of anticipation indicated he was just as much a kid as Ariel was.

  “Yes! Where’s the pond?” Ariel grabbed Ray’s hand. He didn’t flinch like Darren had the first time she held his hand. In fact, Ray’s smile grew while leading them to the pond, swinging arms.

  “Okay,” Sophie said. “If it’s short, because we have to get to the Animal Kingdom. We don’t want to miss our first FastPass.”

  WHEN THEY ARRIVED IN the Animal Kingdom, their first FastPass, which meant they got to bypass the regular line for a much smaller one, was for the safari ride. Ray had other plans, including photo shoots for his blog, so they decided to split up and meet back up for lunch.

  The safari ride was most definitely one ride that Sophie had enjoyed in the past and one of the few things she was looking forward to doing. While standing in line, Sophie asked, “Do you want to play the alphabet game while we wait?”

  “Yeah! You go first, and let’s make it animals, since we’re in the Animal Kingdom.”

  Sophie nodded. “A-armadillo.”

  “B-bear.”

  They continued until the letter, ‘X’; neither of them could come up with a word.

  A thirty-something woman with several young children swarming around her knees turned and said, “X-Ray Tetra. Sorry, I’m a science teacher, and I overheard the game. It’s a small fish in the Amazon.”

  “Thanks!” Sophie said. “Well, then, X-Ray Tetra for me, and I think you can just go straight to Z. Unless you know a Y word.” She pulled a few of Ariel’s loose hair strands back into place. “Want me to redo your pigtails?”

  “No thanks.”

  The temperature wasn’t soaring like Sophie remembered from her previous visits. Perhaps it was due to the fact that they were there in December; at any rate, she was grateful.

  “Y is for yak.”

  “Good one! And z is for zebra.” Sophie was impressed Ariel came up with a ‘z’ animal on her own. “Good game! We’re the alphabet queens!”

  Ariel stuck her hand in the air for Sophie to high-five her. “Yeah! We rock, Aunt Sophie. How about another game?”

  Sophie turned around; the woman ahead in line had advanced and she scooted along to catch up. “We’ve got some time, so sure. Your pick, I chose the last one.”

  “How about the game where you tell two things that are true and one lie and try to guess the lie?”

  “Why not. But you go first this time.”

  “Okay. My bestest friend is Brenda, I used to like beets and now I don’t, and I wish you were dating Ray instead of Darren.” Ariel looked up at her with a blank stare, which was part of the game, so she didn’t give away the lie.

  Sophie was stunned. “What? Why? You don’t even know Ray.” Or Darren, really. “Why would you say that, Arie?”

  “Ray’s nice. And he likes to have fun. Did you see him asking the people feeding the flamingoes all those questions? And he was taking pictures. He cares about stuff.”

  “That’s his job, Arie. He writes things about Disney. He has to ask people questions, take pictures, experience things, so he can write about them.”

  “But being nice isn’t part of his job. He just is nice. And he’s fun. And he likes me.”

  That stung. Sophie knew Darren wasn’t the warmest person around children, but she never thought her niece felt it. “What do you mean? Darren l-l-l-ikes...you.”

  “No, he doesn’t. He doesn’t ever play with Barbies or race trucks or play games or anything with me. He doesn’t play at all. He sits on the couch and looks at his phone the whole time.”

  “He’s busy. His job is very demanding. But that doesn’t mean—”

  “Are you going to guess which is the lie?” Ariel turned away and moved down the line, which had gotten pretty far ahead. They were almost at the front.

  Sophie caught up to Ariel in the line and said, “My guess is that you still love beets.”

  “Nope.” Ariel swished her head back and forth and closed her eyes. “Brenda’s not my bestest friend. It used to be my mom. Now it’s you.”

  When tears swelled, Sophie did everything in her power to hold them back. She couldn’t cry in front of Ariel on her Christmas trip. But she felt the love from her niece and she was grateful to have her in her life. She was happy she was able to be there for her through the past year. She wrapped her arms around Ariel and hugged her hard.

  Ariel returned the hug around her waist. “I love you, Arie.”

  “I know. I love you too.”

  “CALL HIM,” ARIEL SAID, when they stood at the meeting place in front of the barbecue restaurant and Ray hadn’t shown up yet. “That’s why he gave you his number.”

  “Yes, I have it, but let’s just give him a few minutes, okay? Maybe he got caught up in some grand adventure.” Strong scents of roasted meat drifted toward them.

  “Probably got caught up asking a bunch of questions,” Ariel grinned.

  Sophie nodded and breathed in the sweet barbecue aroma. “He does seem to do that, doesn’t he?”

  “Did you see him talking to that group of people on the bus? He asked everyone where they were from, what their favorite ride was, how many times they’d been here.”

  “I did see that.” Sophie thought Ray’s and Darren’s jobs were similar in that way. “I think he does a lot of that for his research.”

  “I think he just cares about people. And that can make him late for things. Like meeting us for lunch!”

  “Have some patience, he’ll be here.” Sophie wasn’t truly convinced herself. She’d call Ray in a minute if he didn’t show up. But she didn’t get the chance, because her phone rang. “Ray?”

  “Ray?” Darren asked. “Who’s Ray?”

  Uh-oh, she hadn’t looked at her phone, she just assumed it was Ray. “Darren? Hi, how are you?”

  “I’m good, I think. But who’s Ray?” his voice sounded a tad irritated.

  “Sorry, I can
’t hear you very well, it’s kind of loud here. Can I call you later when I’m someplace quieter?”

  “Sure. Have fun. With Ray.”

  “Dar—” Dial tone. Sophie sighed, it always annoyed her when Darren hung up without saying goodbye. And he knew it, so that meant he did it on purpose.

  Waving her arms in the air, Ariel called, “Ray! Over here!”

  Approaching them, Ray said, “Hello you two! How was your safari ride?”

  “It was great!” Ariel gushed. “We saw antelopes, crocodiles, elephants, and guess what! We even saw flamingos!”

  “Well, imagine that! Twice in one day, you won the flamingo jackpot!” He grinned all over himself. “Wanna get in line?”

  “Sure,” Sophie said, walking to the cashier’s line. “And how was your...photo shoot, research, stuff?”

  “I had a behind-the scenes tour of the safari ride. You might have seen me on the hill?”

  “That was you?” Ariel squealed.

  “Yes. I was one of the people in the group. I took my equipment and got some great shots. I’ll show you when we sit down.”

  After ordering their meals, they chose a seat under a brightly-colored gazebo, with lanterns and wind socks hanging from the ceiling. They had a perfect view of Discovery River, a small picturesque waterway that provided a view of waterfowl. It was quiet, away from the hustle-bustle busy-ness of the park and heavily shaded, giving much respite from the sun on extremely hot days.

  They enjoyed a large meal of barbecue chicken and ribs, with traditional sides of coleslaw and beans. When they finished, Ariel asked to see Ray’s pictures. It was the perfect time to make a phone call while Ariel was preoccupied, so she said, “I’m going to step over there and make a quick call.”

  Ariel frowned and Ray seemed to have noticed, but Sophie moved a few tables away for more privacy. She kept Ariel in full view the entire time. Not that she didn’t trust Ray, but she ascribed to the ‘better safe than sorry’ mantra.

  Darren answered the phone with, “So, you decided to call me back, after your rendezvous with Ray, huh?”