by Alex Bailey
“Sure, just keep your sandals on,” Sophie said. She took Ariel’s cup of hot chocolate, while her niece ran over to the water. Their cocoa was finally cool enough to drink, and Sophie and Ray both took a big gulp, getting whipped cream on their noses.
Ray wiped his off with his napkin and handed it to Sophie. But since her hands were full, she asked, “Can you just get it for me?”
“Of course,” Ray said as he gently dabbed at her nose with the napkin. At the end of his swipe, his hand fell over her cheek and she felt something warm and cozy run through her. And it wasn’t the hot cocoa. She was glad it was dark outside, because she could feel her face flush and didn’t want to answer the question, ‘why are you blushing?’ because she didn’t quite understand it herself. She gave Ray a curious stare and he seemed to be having the same reaction, because he returned her look in kind.
The moment passed quickly when Ariel yelled, “Guys, come on in. It’s fun!”
Ray raised his eyebrows at Sophie, questioning if she’d like to get into the water.
For a moment, Sophie actually considered going in, but then nodded toward the drinks in her hands.
He called to Ariel, “Full hands. Maybe next time, Ariel.”
Sophie shocked even herself, because for a moment, she actually had considered taking off her shoes and joining Ariel in the water. What’s happening to me? And what was that odd feeling when he touched my face?
Chapter 9
Standing in front of the castle, waiting for the Christmas stage show to begin, Sophie marveled at its beauty. She had never seen it lit up like this in the dark, with millions of white lights turning it into a grand ice castle. Natalie would have loved this.
“What did you think about the jungle cruise, Ariel?” Sophie asked.
“Loved it! The jokes were so corny just like always. But they were Christmas, so even better. What was your favorite part?”
Sophie had a hard time answering the question, because it was one of the rides her family had insisted on riding every time they visited. And even though they’d heard the same jokes every time, it was always on the list of must-do rides. “I liked that they’ve updated some of the jokes since the last time I rode it.”
When Ray tapped Sophie’s shoulder, she turned and said, “You’re back. Good thing, too, because the show’s about to start.” His eyes were slightly swollen compared to when he’d left them after debarking the boat ride.
“Where’d you go, Ray?” Ariel asked.
“Got some photos for the blog.” When he flashed a smile, it was almost as if it was forced.
Sophie couldn’t quite figure out what she was seeing. It was an odd look for Ray, though she didn’t know him well, she wondered if perhaps he might have an allergy of some sort.
“But I’m here now. So the show can begin.”
Right on cue, Disney dancers dressed in their holiday finest pranced onto the stage while enchanting storybook music played, followed by the song, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” Sophie closed her eyes for a moment, allowing Natalie’s favorite song to wash over her. I’ll get through this. She stood tall and opened her eyes, feeling proud she hadn’t allowed a single tear to slip through her tightly-shut eyes.
Projections of snowflakes and holiday scenes were propelled onto the castle, making it look like it was adorned in Christmas. Ray took pictures and Sophie grinned at the ecstatic crowds of the jubilant chaos. Ariel yelled something that Sophie couldn’t hear but decided to ask her niece about it later. They were so close to the stage, the music overpowered all other sounds.
But asking later was the furthest thing from her mind, when she turned to Ariel to point out a particularly spirited cast member playing Goofy, because Ariel was gone. Sophie panicked and yelled to Ray, “Ariel’s gone!” She searched the immediate surroundings, but due to the low lighting, couldn’t find her.
Ray must not have heard, because he didn’t move. He continued snapping photos with his camera.
Sophie tapped his shoulder at full speed and he finally looked over at her. She cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled as loudly as she could, “Ariel’s gone! She was just here!”
With camera straps around his neck, Ray let go of his camera, allowing it to fall onto his chest. He glanced around, then yelled back, “I’ll look for her, but I don’t want to lose you too. Can you stay here in case she comes back? I’ll bring her back here to you.”
Against every instinct in her, Sophie nodded. She didn’t want to get separated from both of them and had no idea where to start looking, but searching for her niece was what she felt compelled to do. Since Ray was much taller than Sophie, he’d be able to see above the heads in the crowd better than she would. Heart stomping, Sophie stood on her tiptoes trying to make out the flashing lights on her niece’s head, but there were so many other guests wearing with them, it was hard to distinguish one Mickey-head-flashing set of ears from another.
Moments passed. Sophie rubbed her hands together, trying to un-clam them. Sweat poured from her forehead and under her arm pits. More moments passed. It was so dark, she could see nothing but a sea of blinking, flashing lights ahead of her. How is Ray going to find her when she’s wearing the same ears as everyone else? Sophie found it impossible to stand still. She stood on her toes again, trying to see over the crowd, knowing she was stuck, for if she made a move to find Ariel now and Ray found her first, they’d lose each other.
But the stress got to her and she couldn’t take it any longer and made her way through the crowd, straining to find a pig-tailed redhead. She knew immediately it was a mistake. If Ray found her first, they would not be able to find her. She headed back to the original meeting place, when she felt a tug around her waist; it was Ariel’s arms enfolding her.
“Found her,” Ray yelled.
He stood over Sophie, while she bent down throwing her arms around Ariel’s shoulders. She hugged her like she’d never let go again.
Ariel said into Sophie’s ear, “I’m sorry, Aunt Sophie. I didn’t mean to scare you. I couldn’t see. I thought you heard me when I said I was going to get closer.”
The pump in Sophie’s heart was in good working condition and got the hint that it could slow down, and it did momentarily, but then quickened when she realized how angry she was. “Ariel! You can’t do that! Never ever do that again!” She hugged her tighter and then stood and threw her arms around Ray’s neck.
“Thank you! Thank you so much for finding her, I was so worried.”
“You’re welcome.” The strong athletic arms she’d admired earlier gently enfolded her into his embrace. She felt comforted but also protected.
She collapsed into his grasp and felt tears forming at the corners of her eyes. A sense of safety engulfed her and she didn’t want to let it go. She felt something else too. Attraction, perhaps? I’m just feeling relief. She asked close to his ear, “How did you find her? Everyone’s wearing the same ears that you and Ariel have.” She finally let go, and when she did, Sophie felt a slight sense of loss.
“Oddly enough, I saw her arms in the air, twirling like the mad hatter, from that award-winning dance move I taught her earlier.”
Sophie closed her eyes and nodded. “Of course.”
DESPITE ARIEL’S OBJECTION, Sophie held her niece’s hand tighter than usual, after losing her in the crowd. She finally let go when the parade began. Watching the parade on Main Street was magical; music surrounded them and snow fell, or “snoap” as Ray called it, because it was made of soap. Ariel’s face glowed in delight with each float passing by full of characters donning their finest Christmas attire, dancing and prancing.
Ray was obviously on the clock, because he took photos and videos for his blog. They had snagged a perfect viewing location on the sidewalk curb, the only viewing spot where snow fell. Ray’s equipment was spread out, giving them plenty of space to sit down, but Ariel stood the entire time, waving at each character as they passed. She waved most frantically when t
he character Ariel floated by. “My mom’s favorite!” she shouted.
Sophie cheered and Ray shouted to the character on the float, “Hey Ariel, over here. Meet another Ariel.” He pointed to Sophie’s niece.
The character turned and smiled. Then blew a kiss in Ariel’s direction, which made her erupt in blowing kisses in return.
When the parade ended, Ariel asked, “Can we get a picture on Main Street—all the three of us?”
Ray said, “I can get a selfie with my camera.”
“No. I mean a real picture. Like those people over there.” She pointed to a family in the middle of Main Street posing for a Disney photographer.
“Oh,” he said to Sophie, “well, sure. I’ve got PhotoPass with my annual pass.”
“We’ve got it, too,” Sophie said. “My friend, Hyun mentioned that. I just forgot all about it. But yeah, let’s get that picture.”
Ray set his backpack on the pavement next to the photographer and the three of them posed in the middle of Main Street with the castle in the background. They were so close to the exit, the castle was tiny in the background.
“You can see them immediately on your My Disney Experience app.” Ray hiked his backpack onto his shoulder.
“Is that the online thing, where you set up your FastPasses?” Sophie asked.
“Yeah, you can see the pictures in the same place.”
“Do it, Aunt Sophie,” Ariel urged. “Let’s see it!”
Huge crowds marched toward the exit, so Sophie moved to the sidewalk and pulled out her phone. She pressed the icon that Hyun had set up and showed her how to use, and found the picture. “There’s other pictures in here too!” There were pictures on rides they had ridden at the Animal Kingdom. “How did they know...”
“Just a hint of pixie dust. And your armbands,” Ray said, holding up his blue armband for them to view, “there’s a chip that’s linked to your account.”
“That’s so cool!” Ariel said, and leaned over the phone to get a better view. When she saw the picture they’d just taken, she said, “That one’s so far away. The castle is tiny.”
The castle was small in the background, but it was a beautiful shot.
“Can we go up the street and get another picture closer to the castle?” Ariel asked.
Sophie looked at Ray, “Do we have enough time before the fireworks? It looks like a lot of other people have the same idea.” Lines had formed behind the next photographer station on Main Street.
“Plenty of time,” he said. “In fact, if you want to hit each photographer up the street, we have time to do all of them.”
“Let’s do it!” Ariel roared.
“Fine by me,” Sophie said, still amazed at the pictures on her camera from earlier that day.
When they reached the end of Main Street and had stopped at each of the photographers, Ariel asked to see the photos again and Sophie happily obliged.
They huddled over her phone reminiscing about the various poses they’d made. One photo had them jumping in the air with their feet kicked behind, another was taken of their backs while they looked at the castle, but their favorite shot was the three of them blowing kisses to the camera, while the Country Bears photobombed them holding fingers to their mouths, making the ‘hush’ sign.
“Oh my gosh, we didn’t even know they were there!” Ariel squealed with glee.
They laughed and held hands with Ariel while making their way back down Main Street to their place for the fireworks, much to her surprise. Sophie was having a great time. Disney magic had completely erased the missing-person-Ariel incident that had taken place earlier.
RAY PEERED THROUGH his camera resting on a tripod and snapped away when the fireworks finale blossomed behind the castle. From their vantage point, they saw the entire magnificent display spread across the horizon.
On the final note of the music that accompanied the phenomenal spectacle, Ariel jumped up and down and clapped wildly. Sophie couldn’t help but smile, because the show in the sky took her breath away. “That was fantastic!” Sophie gushed. “I don’t recall the fireworks ever being that elaborate.”
“It’s definitely over the top at Christmas time,” Ray said, and bent over to pack up his equipment.
“Can I help?” Sophie asked.
“Thanks, but I think I’ve got it.” He stuffed the final piece of equipment into his backpack.
“I think we should go, it’s pretty late and way past a certain princess’ bedtime,” Sophie said, while playing with Ariel’s pigtails.
“Oh, do we have to?” Ariel’s shoulders slumped in front of her. “I’m not tired. Really.”
Sophie knew that stance well. It was the same one Natalie had given every time they had to leave the Magic Kingdom when they were kids. “You may not be tired now, but by the time we get back, I guarantee you’ll be asleep.”
“And there’s another magical day waiting for you in the morning when you wake up,” Ray said, faking a yawn. “I’m pretty tired myself.”
Sophie turned away from Ariel and grinned at Ray. She mouthed thank you and then said, “Yeah, me too.” She rested her cupped hand over her mouth and faked a yawning sound.
“Okay, okay.” Ariel took hold of their hands as they headed for the bus. “But we get to hang out with Ray again tomorrow, right?”
“Absolutely!” Ray said without hesitation or even glancing in Sophie’s direction.
WHEN THE BUS CAME, they hopped on and took their seats. As soon as the lights were turned off, Ariel fell asleep on Ray’s arm.
“It was an exciting day for her,” Sophie said. “And I really have to thank you.”
“Well, I have to thank you too, you gave me these gems,” he said, pointing to his light-up ears, which he’d turned off.
“No, I mean...How do I explain?” She was glad the bus was dark, though the darkness was when memories of Natalie haunted her the most. Still, it was easier to talk about her feelings without judging eyes upon her, or at least, not being able to see those judging eyes.
“What’s going on, Sophie, you sound...upset?”
“Okay, I have a confession. I never wanted to come on this trip. Or any trip to Disney, ever again.”
“I do believe that’s a crime,” Ray said with a chuckle.
“Seriously, Ray. We spent every single vacation of our childhood here.”
“Sounds like a dream come true for a child.”
“Not for this child. I wanted to travel. See the world. But all we ever did was come here. And my sister and parents loved it. When we grew up, my sister continued the tradition; she brought Ariel here every year since she was born. But Ariel’s lucky to have a dad who also travels for his job, so she gets to go other places too.”
“Okay. I can see your point.”
“It’s hard being here. To relive the memories of a happy family, minus one brooding daughter...” Sophie trembled but stifled a full-out bawl, since she didn’t want to wake Ariel, “the memories of a family intact, not with one member gone...” She swallowed, hoping to rid the pain.
“Tell me about your sister,” Ray touched Sophie’s hand and gently rubbed the top with his fingers.
A tingle began in her hand then swirled through her arm and shot directly to her heart. She couldn’t move. She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t speak. Why was she having this reaction? Was it because of the kindness he’d shown them so far, or the kindness he was showing now?
“Sophie?” he removed his hand and swung his arm around Ariel to prop her up better.
She snapped out of her daze. “Um...Natalie. Natalie looked just like my parents. Blond. I was the oddball with auburn hair.” She leaned over and kissed the top of Ariel’s head. “And other than hair color, we looked alike.”
“So she was beautiful,” Ray said matter-of-factly.
“Yes,” Sophie smiled at the compliment, but didn’t acknowledge it. “So very much. And fun. Tons of fun,” she smiled thinking about the antics they had pulled together, whic
h naturally made her think about things Natalie did to her. Her smile drifted into a frown as she continued, “And mean. Yes, she was so mean to me. She was a few years older and would pick on me but then beat up anyone else who even tried to pick on me. And she would tattle about things I didn’t do, and then when I got in trouble, she would cry.”
“So, she was your protective older sister.” The bus turned a brightly-lit corner, and Ray’s smile shined.
Wow, Ray’s smiling even through the mean parts of my childhood. “Right. And a one-word description would be...nerd.” Sophie giggled, for she knew the extent of her sister’s nerdiness.
“How so? Like into video games nerd, or comic books nerd, or...”
“Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Disney, superheroes, Harry Potter...that kind of nerd.”
“Hmmm, my kind of nerd!”
“She loved to dress up as characters in movies. You should have seen her Halloween costumes. And I’m not just talking about when she was a kid, either. Once, she was Princess Amidala, in full Amidala gear—red dress, gold head gear, face painted white with a red-stripe lip. And that was after she had Ariel!” Sophie’s tone had changed; she was exuberant when talking about her sister.
And it was Ray who had brought that out in her, she knew. He made her forget her sorrow and remember the joy.
“The first thing she bought when she found out she was pregnant with Ariel, were two light sabers; she couldn’t wait for Natalie, Jr. to get old enough to spar with her.” Sophie laughed, but as tears rolled down her cheeks, she quickly vanquished them with the back of her hand.
While she took in a breath, Ray filled the silence. “So, Natalie was a good mom. Ariel’s wonderful; I can tell she’s been raised with a great deal of love. And a great deal of nerdiness. Which is good. Very good. Because I’m the biggest nerd you’ll ever meet.” Ray’s gentle demeanor made it easy to talk to him.
Sophie nodded, though she wasn’t sure if Ray could see her, so she followed the nod with, “Yup. I’ve seen that.”