by Alex Bailey
“Merry Christmas to you, too, Happy. And I’m not Sleeping Beauty, sir. Darren is Sleepy. I was up before dawn. And besides, I would think you of all people would know that Prince Charming was Cinderella’s beau. Phillip was Aurora’s prince.” She then leaned into his ear and whispered, “You’re mixing your Disney stories up. Don’t let anyone hear you, or they’ll take your Professor Disney title back.”
When he laughed, his shoulders bounced up and down. “Hush. You’re making it hard for me to get this shot.”
He quickly snapped a few pictures and then handed the phone to a woman in the group, who said, “Thanks Professor Disney!”
Ray bowed. “My pleasure, Princess.” He then turned to Sophie and smashed his lips together, but a smile leaked out anyway.
Feeling triumphant about correcting a Disney expert about his Disney knowledge, she scrunched her eyes and flashed a huge grin. “Where is everyone?”
“Everyone? Well, you’re here. In front of the Christmas tree. And I’m here with you.” When he grinned, she gave him the you know what I meant look.
When he offered his arm, Sophie took it without thought or hesitation, and began their prance up Main Street with its energetic-Christmas-morning crowds. Ragtime Christmas music added to the magic. The song “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” swirled through the air, giving Sophie a snuggly warm feeling of her childhood. It had been her sister’s favorite Christmas song. Sophie stood tall, grinned from the inside, drew in a deep breath, trying to keep hold of the moment.
Ray answered her question, “They got in line for the rockets, so I offered to wait for you.”
“Well, that was certainly very kind of you.”
“Not really. I stopped off at Starbucks on the way to get some coffee. It was purely selfish.”
“So where is it? This coffee of yours? I could surely use some, myself.”
“Are you kidding me? Sophie, it’s Christmas! I was so keyed up, I downed that cup.”
“Well, we need to hurry you to the rockets so you can catch up with the group. And with a cup of caffeine in you, we should have no problem shooting straight through these crowds.” She glanced down at Ray’s arm and suddenly noticed she was arm-in-arm with him. She liked the feeling. It was comfortable, yet exciting to be so close. No thought of Darren crossed her mind.
They meandered through the myriad groups up Main Street, chatting along the way. When they reached the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor on Main Street, the smell of fresh-baked waffles surrounded them and Sophie breathed in deeply. She glanced down at Ray’s side and noticed something was missing. “Hey, just noticed. You don’t have your camera bag. Did you hand it off to your mom or someone?”
“Sophie, how many times do I have to tell you? It’s Christmas!”
“Yeah, I know. I hear the music. What does that have to do with it?”
“I’m not working today!” He gave her a frown as if she should already have known that.
“So you never just take pictures because it’s fun and you just want to?”
“Not when that’s what I do for my job, I don’t. I’ve worked hard this week. I’ve written my blog and posted pictures every day.”
“Really? When? I’ve never seen you do any of that.” Sophie was amazed that he could have been doing work, when they spent all their time together, it seemed. Except for a few times when he had excused himself and wandered away.
“Well, last night, for example. While you two were dress shopping, I did a little shopping myself, but then wrote my post and uploaded photos.” He lowered the sunglasses on top of his head to his eyes and looked up at the clouds dotted across the sky. “It’s a beautiful Christmas day. Don’t you think?”
“Uh-huh. It’s quite magical.”
When they reached the purple wall at Tomorrowland, a wall with a purple and white geodesic design, a popular site for photos, Sophie stopped. She let go of Ray’s arm and pulled her phone out of her bag.
“What are you doing?” Ray asked.
“I want to see this blog post of yours.” She checked his blog on her phone and read the headline aloud, “Feasting at the Festival of the Holidays in Epcot.”
“Yup, that’s the one.”
“Did you mention how you had to stop at every single food stand?” Sophie glanced up momentarily.
His smirk told Sophie she knew what he was going to say before he even said it. “No, I mentioned that you had to stop at every single food stand.”
“Did you really?” She scrolled through the post and stopped on a line, and read it aloud, “I meandered through the food stands with two first-timers to the festival—a princess and a fairy goodmother.” She looked up and with a deadpan expression asked, “So am I the princess or the fairy godmother?”
Ray laughed, “I’d say you’re both.”
“Well, you spelled godmother wrong.”
Ray leaned over her shoulder and looked at her phone, “I told you, I could use a good editor! How about it Sophie, you want a part-time job? I could send you the posts before I put them up.”
She breathed in without trying to be obvious that she enjoyed his scent and laughed. “What’s the pay like?”
“Actually, you’d have to do it pro bono.” He turned serious for a moment, something Sophie hadn’t seen before. “I didn’t want to say anything because you seemed kind of judgmental about my job. Being a blogger. But truth is I’m here because I either need more followers for the blog or more advertisers. Growth has been a little slow lately. So I thought putting up Disney World content might draw some new views. I usually focus on Disneyland.”
“Judgmental? Really?”
“It was written all over your face when I mentioned my job. And you said I didn’t have a real job.”
That stung. Because it was true. She shouldn’t have said it. She could see Ray loved his job and she had no right to judge him. “Well, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. It’s obvious this,” she glanced around, “makes you happy.”
“It really does. You can’t imagine the stress of Wall Street. I definitely would have been in an early grave if I had stayed.”
The word, grave jolted her and her expression. She needed a diversion. Fast.
“Oh, Sophie, I’m so sorry,” Ray said before she had a chance to say or do anything to get her mind off that word.
“It’s fine,” she turned away and continued on their journey to the rockets. But changing the subject, or rather getting back to an earlier subject was definitely the way to go. “So, Disneyland huh? I guess because you live so close to it that makes sense. Never been there, myself.” There. That did it. He won’t be able to resist commenting on that little bombshell.
Ray seemed taken aback and snapped his neck sideway to face her, just as Sophie had predicted he would react. “You’re joking, right?”
“Not joking.” Sophie slipped her arm through his, forcing a grin the rest of the way to the Astro Orbiter ride.
WHEN THEY REACHED THE rocket ride, both families were in a long line and had progressed about half way through it. Sophie waved and blew kisses to Ariel, who was sitting on Rick’s shoulders above the crowd.
“Just so you know,” Sophie said, “I don’t ride this one, so you go ahead. I’m going to go sit over there,” she pointed to an outdoor café, The Lunching Pad, “and grab a cup of coffee.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to ride it?” Ray gave her a sideways glance and smirk. “You were so brave when you rode Tower of Terror.”
“Completely sure. I’ll be fine right over there. Feet planted firmly on the ground.”
“Okay, but just so you know, there’s no coffee there. You’ll have to go over there,” Ray pointed behind him, “to the coffee kiosk.”
“Thanks.”
Ray approached the line to catch up to their group. Sophie smiled when he said to a tall man with Mickey Mouse ears who refused to step aside, “Sorry, man. Couldn’t help it. Capt. Hook absconded with Cinderella’s slipper. Had to he
lp a princess out.” The tall man turned, gave Ray a once-over glance. His eyes lingered on Ray’s Christmas Mickey shirt. He grinned and then waved Ray on his way.
Sophie smiled to herself. There he goes again, mixing his Disney stories. She got in line for a coffee and people-watched while she waited. Was it her imagination or did every couple walking by have smiles glued to their faces while holding hands? She gazed wistfully, wishing Darren had come with her. But, it was probably for the best because he would not have had a smile glued to his face, it would have been an ever-present scowl.
When her order was ready, Sophie took it back to The Lunching Pad and sat down at the only empty table. At least it was in view of the rocket ride line, so she could see her group’s progress.
A familiar woman in tight jeans, heels, and poufy blond hair stood at the table and said, “Excuse me, do you mind if I share this table? I don’t see any others free.”
It was the strange woman, Helga, from the 50s Prime Time Café—the one who had made the outrageous statement that Sophie was in love with Ray.
Sophie nodded to the empty chair across from her, but Helga took the seat closest to Sophie. Helga wore the same eerie cosmic eye charm around her neck and once again, it seemed to be staring straight at Sophie. That thing gives me the creeps. Sophie looked away and waved to Ariel from the crowded line.
“You have a lovely daughter. She looks just like you, ya know?” Helga said. “Her Anahata chakra is completely balanced.”
Here we go again with the weird talk. “Thank you, but she’s not my daughter. She’s my niece. She lost her mom...Wait. What do you mean by Anaha—”
“Anahata chakra. It’s completely in balance. Also known as the heart chakra.”
Sophie’s interest was piqued. She had heard of chakras but had no idea what they were and had never known anyone who talked about them.
“She must be a very strong girl, to have lost her mom, and yet she’s still in such balance.” Helga leaned in toward Sophie coming so uncomfortably close, that Sophie was forced to withdraw her head. “But you. Your Anahata chakra is completely out of whack.” She nodded toward Sophie’s family in line. “Your boyfriend...” Helga nodded as if she wanted Sophie to fill in his name.
“On no! You’ve got it all wrong. We’re not—”
Ignoring Sophie, Helga continued, “You need to allow him to help you fill the hole your sister has left. Your heart chakra is underactive.” She closed her eyes, leaned backwards, and nodded. “Understandable. You lost your sister. Your niece’s mom was your sister, correct?” She opened her eyes and waited for an answer. The sun flickered onto the eye charm in a way that made it seem as if light emanated from the eye itself.
Sophie turned her head and nodded while tears formed at the corners of her eyes. She couldn’t look at the charm; it gave her an eerie feeling, like it was staring through to her soul. She averted her gaze to her coffee cup on the table. What is happening? How can this kooky woman make me cry? Sophie couldn’t take another minute of the uncomfortable situation, so she stood, grabbed her coffee cup. “Um...I have to go. There’s something I need to do before my family gets off the ride. It was nice—” She wasn’t sure what to say—what was nice?
Helga smiled. “Sure, honey. You have a merry Christmas. I’ve got to go meet up with my fiancé, or he’ll be wondering where I’ve wandered off to.”
Sophie eked out, “Merry Christmas,” then darted off as fast as she could, trying to distance herself from Helga and all that Helga brought to the table. Thoughts swam through her head. Mostly in the form of questions. What did Helga mean about my heart chakra being underactive? I have plenty of heart. And I love my family. What else is there? And what was up with that weird eye charm staring at me?
When she was hit with the aroma of sweet confections, Sophie suddenly woke up. She stood in front of the ice cream parlor on Main Street, with no recollection of how she got there. And now that she was awake, she cut across the street to go shopping.
AS THE MOMENT APPROACHED, it felt like an end of some sort. Sophie was now sure she could handle the Carousel of Progress. Before the trip, she never thought she would have been brave enough to get on the ride. But now, with Ray and her family with her—minus Darren—she was confident. And with her newly-discovered confidence, she was determined to make it the ride Natalie would have wanted.
While seated in the small theater with the ride’s theme song, “There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow” playing, Ariel held hands with her dad and Ray. She let go and leaned forward, “Aunt Sophie, are you ready?”
Sophie also leaned forward and reached in front of Ray to momentarily grab Ariel’s hand. “I’m so ready! You?”
“Yes!”
Sophie sat back in her seat and smiled. While the cast member welcomed the audience and explained how the stage would rotate every few minutes to move to the next scene, Ray grabbed Sophie’s hand.
She wasn’t sure whether to let go or leave it alone. She looked at him, his eyes seemed even kinder than usual, if it was even possible. He gave her an encouraging smile and leaned his head toward hers. She didn’t feel the need to draw back from him, like she did earlier with Helga. He said nothing, because nothing was needed to be said. He was there for her at a time she needed him.
As soon as the narrator began, Ray dropped Sophie’s hand.
She bent forward and watched Ariel bounce in her seat, much like Natalie did as a child. She was proud of the girl Ariel was—kind, affectionate, and caring. And she was proud of the mom Natalie had been to Ariel. She was simply the best. Best mom. Best sister.
She sat back into the comfortable chair and listened to the narrator tell the tale of how the ride had first been seen at the World’s Fair in 1964. Why don’t they have cool things like World’s Fairs anymore? I should ask mom and dad if they ever went to a World’s Fair.
As soon as the narrator said, “And that’s progress” the entire theater rotated to the right, while the jazzy music started. Ariel clapped and sang along with the narrator while Sophie took a deep breath.
Here it is. I’m going to do this. I’m going to make Natalie proud. She started off quietly at first and then sang louder until she was belting out “There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow.” Sophie watched Ariel full of joy and Ariel glanced at her momentarily, giving Sophie the thumbs up. By the time the theater stopped, the music ended and scene one began.
Sophie paid no attention to the streams of tears rushing down her cheeks, but Ray reached into his pocket and handed her a napkin anyway.
“Thank you,” she whispered, knowing she was thanking him for far more than a napkin.
Chapter 15
Walking into the Animal Kingdom Lodge, Sophie spotted Darren seated in one of the chairs in the lobby. Not sure why I don’t have the urge to rush toward him. She’d had the best day of her life with her family, minus her sister, and she didn’t want it to end. She had even made it through the Carousel of Progress ride. Not just made it through, she had triumphed over it. She had conquered her fears. She had won.
“I’ll go get Darren and meet you at the elevator,” Sophie said to the group, and moseyed toward her boyfriend. When she neared him, a small knot in her belly tightened. Her hands fell in front of her, gripping the place that gave her grief. I’m just sad to be leaving my family. That’s all this is.
A part of her was relieved when she reached Darren and he was on the phone. His laptop sat open on a small table next to him, and when Darren looked up, he said, “I sure will. I’ll get back to you next week, sir. And thank you, sir. Very grateful. Very grateful.” Darren stood and hugged Sophie. “It’s over, Soph. You endured for the kid. And made it out alive.”
She pulled away from Darren’s embrace, annoyed that he hadn’t been there for her through a rough time and also annoyed that he didn’t understand what she was feeling. “We had a great day in the Magic Kingdom, Darren.”
He cocked his head sideways and gave her a look of disbeli
ef. “Since when would you ever use Disney and a great day in the same sentence?”
“Since today.” She was irritated with his attitude. No thanks to him, Sophie’s dread had turned out to be the time of her life with her family and Ray, and even Ray’s family by her side. She could honestly say that she loved being in the Magic Kingdom. “So, I got your text. You decided to work in here all day instead of coming to help me over the difficult hurdle?”
“Aw, come on, Soph, you didn’t need me there. Look at that crowd you had on your side. I’d have just brought down that cheerful ‘happiest place on the planet’ attitude they all have.” He put his hands on her shoulders, turning her around until she faced the elevators.
The two families were happily chatting away, like they’d known each other forever, but Sophie attributed it to just having had a day full of festive cheer. The only person paying attention to her and Darren was Ray. She smashed her fingers and thumb together and gave him a royal wave, just like a Disney princess.
Darren turned her back around to face him with an annoyed I told you so look. “See? You didn’t miss me one bit. But tell me, Soph, what’s with this sudden change?”
He dropped his hands from her shoulders, when she gave him a questioning frown.
“You never liked Disney,” he said. “Today, when you walked in, you were...I don’t know, I’ve never seen you like that.”
“Happy?”
He shook his head, and said in a sarcastic tone, as if he was displeased with her joy, “Glowing.”
She smiled at his comment and wondered what part of her glowed. My fingers? My elbows? What part? He may have thought his remark was an insult, but Sophie was pleased that she glowed. How could she not be happy that her feelings matched her appearance? She kept her thoughts to herself because she was in no mood to start a fight. It was Christmas, after all.