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

by Alex Bailey

  Darren walked into the library, saving Sophie from her thoughts. “Did you eat?”

  “Wasn’t really hungry. I just wanted to read.”

  He looked over her shoulder at the book in her lap. “Good. Very good. Reading’s a good thing.” He snatched the book from her lap and randomly opened to a page. He read aloud, “Love, whether newly born or aroused from a death-like slumber, must always create sunshine, filling the heart so full of radiance, that it overflows upon the outward world.”

  He flipped the book shut and placed it back on the shelf. “Ready to go skiing?”

  Something clicked inside her. Was it her heart? Her head? Her gut? Even though she had just read those very same words, when Darren read them aloud, they were somehow different. Touching. Moving. Awakening. Yes! That’s it. That’s exactly how love should be.

  WHEN THEY REACHED THE top of the mountain, Sophie and Darren hopped off the gondola carrying their skis and poles. Darren led her to an unoccupied bench away from the massive amounts of skiers, and offered her a seat. He took her skis and poles from her and laid them against the bench, then sat next to her.

  “What’s up? Is everything okay?” Sophie wondered if he needed to adjust his boots.

  “It’s perfect. Just perfect. Look around, it’s gorgeous.”

  He was right, of course. It was absolutely stunning. Snow-covered mountains in the distance made the perfect backdrop to the evergreen-lined slopes. “Yes, it’s magnificent. But should we get going? We got such a late start.”

  “Just a second. I have some news to tell you.”

  “News? What is it?” She had no idea what news Darren could have. But he looked like a kid in a candy store, bursting to tell her something, so she figured it was good news.

  “Do you remember last week when you were in that dreadful place with your niece?”

  Sophie was immediately irritated. Why does he have to bring that up now? He knows he’s just going to annoy me. But she wasn’t going to argue with him; it was useless, he wouldn’t listen anyway.

  “Well, I was in Seattle.” He took his gloves off and stuck them in his pockets. He held her gloveless hand, since she hadn’t yet put hers on.

  “Yes, I know. You were working on a story.” This is different. Darren hates to hold hands. He always drops mine when I try to hold his.

  “Right. But what you don’t know is that I had an interview while I was there. With KOMO TV station.” He looked at her as though he was waiting for her reaction. But, Sophie couldn’t decide if she was angry at him for not telling her ahead of time, or happy for him that he was pursuing other jobs. She stared at him blankly while she wavered back and forth.

  “They called and offered me the anchor position!” The smile that spread across his face seemed to stretch to the mountains in the distance. He was happy. Truly happy. And Sophie decided she was happy for him. It’s what he wanted, and she knew he couldn’t stay in his current job forever.

  She threw her arms around his neck and squealed, “Congratulations! I’m so happy for you.” Then something else hit her. She pulled back and wondered what it meant for their relationship since he would be moving to Seattle.

  But she didn’t have to wonder long, because Darren made his move. He knelt in the snow on one knee, pulled a ring box from his jacket pocket and said, “Sophie, this is our big chance. We can start fresh. In a new city. It’s a great opportunity for both of us. Will you marry me?”

  Her hands instinctively clung to her chest. Her heart pounded so hard she felt she had to hold it in to keep it from escaping. Sweat formed on her palms and when her stomach churned, Sophie feared her nausea may explode at any moment. This was not at all what she expected. In all her dreams of being proposed to, not once did a racing heart and a queasy stomach enter into them. All she could think to say was, “My job’s in L.A.”

  Darren’s expression made a U-turn. She knew that wasn’t what he wanted to hear. But what he wanted her to say, wasn’t what she could give him. “They need editors everywhere, Soph. I’m sure with the connections at the station, I can set you up with some great interviews.”

  The image of the spinning teacup ride in the Magic Kingdom flashed before her. Yes, that’s exactly how I feel, and I don’t do spinning rides precisely because this is how it makes me feel. “But Ariel. She’s in L.A. She just lost her mom, Darren. How can I leave her?”

  Darren raised his voice, and his tone sounded as if he was being bothered, rather than trying to convince Sophie to marry him. “That’s exactly what you need to do. Let go of Natalie by leaving Ariel. Think of yourself for a change, Sophie.”

  The words Darren had read earlier that day popped into her head. Love, whether newly born or aroused from a death-like slumber, must always create sunshine, filling the heart so full of radiance, that it overflows upon the outward world. She knew what she had to do. And it didn’t involve being with him anymore.

  She rose. “You’re right. I need to think of myself for a change. Goodbye, Darren.”

  Chapter 18

  On New Year’s Eve, Sophie sat in her usual spot on the corner of Hyun’s desk, shoulders drooped, finding little to celebrate. Leaving Darren was the best thing for her, but she couldn’t shake her feeling of loss. Was the emptiness she felt inside due to Darren? She didn’t think so. She couldn’t stop thinking about her time in Disney World. With Ray. But those thoughts were crazy, weren’t they? She couldn’t possibly have fallen for him so quickly. She barely knew him. And with a huge secret revealed on Christmas, how could she feel she even knew him.

  “Did you hear?” Hyun said in her typical perky style—a stark contrast to Sophie’s sullen demeanor.

  “Hear what?” Hyun’s ever-cheerful disposition had no impact on Sophie’s gloomy outlook.

  “Jeannette’s letting us leave an hour early! I need it.” She ruffled her perfectly smooth long black hair. “Just look at this mess! How can I go out with the group looking like this?” The group Hyun referred to were friends in the office, who had plans to go to a New Year’s Eve masquerade ball. “Sure you don’t want to come? It’ll be fun. I’m going as Violet from The Incredibles.”

  “Of course you are. And your hair is perfect, Hyun. It’s always perfect.” Sophie picked up a miniature Hawaiian doll from the ride It’s a Small World and thought how much the doll’s hair resembled Hyun’s hair. Memories of the ride with Ariel and Ray replaced her thoughts. Sophie had been amazed that Ray could sing the song in every language. He’d claimed he didn’t know all those languages but had learned only the words to the song. Still, she had been impressed. She set the doll back down; it just made her too sad to look at it.

  “Hey, that’s some picture on your desk in front of the castle!” Hyun’s excitement sounded slightly livelier in tone than normal.

  But Sophie wasn’t fooled, she knew full well her friend was trying to cheer her up.

  “That picture is pure magic, Sophie. I need to go next Christmas. I better start preparing my parents now!”

  Sophie said, “Mmmhmm. It’s really nice. You should go.”

  “Come on, Sophie, you’ve been moping around the office all week. I get that you didn’t want to marry Darren. I never thought he was right for you.” Hyun leaned back in her chair, while shaking a Mickey Mouse snow globe.

  “You know if you keep shaking that thing, you’re going to make Mickey dizzy.” Sophie’s hands flew to her mouth. She was still making Disney references a week after she’d left the parks. When is this going to end?

  Hyun grinned. She knew Sophie better than anyone. “Sophie. You need to be honest. And not just with me. With yourself. You’re making Disney references all over the place. You’ve changed. And you don’t have to be Professor Disney to figure that out.”

  “You know, I told Ariel that I had changed. So I am being honest. With you, with Ariel. With myself. But I also told her I would never be the super fan that she is. Or that you are!”

  Hyun set the snow globe down on her
desk and picked up a piece of Goofy Co. candy, a sour ball that Sophie had brought back for her candy dish. She unwrapped it and popped it into her mouth. Then shook her head.

  “What?” Sophie said. “You think I’m a super fan, or should I say fan-atic, like you and Ariel?”

  Hyun swallowed. “No, not at all. I think you changed on that trip.” Hyun’s eternal-smile returned. “And for the better, I might add. I like this new Disney-esque Sophie.”

  Picking up the snow globe and shaking it, Sophie watched the snow settle all around snowman Mickey. She shook it again. What am I expecting? A different scene or an answer? Like the magic eight ball that gives answers to questions when asked and shaken.

  “But that’s not what I meant at all. You told me the other day that Darren read a passage from The Scarlet Letter that resonated with you. By the way, I think it was a great question you came up with about how Disney would change it into a Disney-fied movie. You know The Hunchback of Notre Dame was sort of on the racy side, with that slimy Frollo going after Esmeralda.”

  Sophie laughed. “That’s true. That’s nothing like the real story.”

  “But getting back to my point.” Hyun sat up straight and looked serious for a moment, something unusual for her, which made Sophie take notice of what she was about to say. “Love, whether newly born or aroused from a death-like slumber, must always create sunshine...”

  Sophie set the snow globe on the desk. There were no answers in it, and she didn’t want snowman Mickey to get dizzy. She knew what Hyun was getting at— Ray. It was the first thing Hyun had asked about when Sophie returned from Denver. Even though she had texted Hyun about Darren’s proposal, she only wanted to hear about Prof. Disney. And when Sophie had relayed every detail about him, her own demeanor had changed. She was happy, bubbly, excited. At the time, Sophie had thought Hyun had only asked about Ray to get her mind off of the proposal. Off of Darren. But now she realized Hyun’s true motives were to make Sophie face her feelings. And now that she was in fact facing them, a smile formed and grew as large as Mickey Mouse’s. Sophie nodded to herself, because she finally realized what she wanted. She wanted a flight to Orlando on New Year’s Eve.

  SOPHIE WAS LUCKY TO make it onto the last flight to Orlando. She would have called it a Christmas miracle if it had still been Christmas. She had left for the airport, stopping at her apartment only to change. She didn’t pack a bag or make reservations. No time to waste. After taking a cab directly to the Magic Kingdom, she landed at the end of a long Space Mountain line at 11:40. Learning from the best line jumper, she began making her way through the line and started with, “Excuse me, sir, I had to get out of line for just a moment. Didn’t have a choice. Capt. Hook absconded with Cinderella’s slipper. I couldn’t leave her stranded.”

  The man in front of Sophie turned around, smiled, and waved her on. How could he say no to a woman in a blue Mary Poppins dress? She used different spiels to get her a pass. Cutting in line was not something Sophie had ever done in her life. She was raised to follow the rules. So line-cutting should have given her anxiety. But she was a woman on a mission. She felt the opposite—pure exhilaration. The only anxiety she felt was wondering whether she’d make it on time to the front of the line.

  As she weaved her way through the crowd, she saw Ray, in his Mickey Hawaiian shirt, standing at the front spot. He waved people ahead of him. Good. It’s not midnight yet. Her heart sped up, anticipating seeing him again. Or rather, having Ray see her. She continued on her way staying hidden from his view until she was directly behind him.

  When she tapped him on the shoulder, Ray must have thought someone wanted to jump the line because he turned with a scowl. But when he saw Sophie, his scowl melted and reformed into the happiest Sophie had ever seen him. “Nice dress.”

  “Nice shirt,” she returned.

  “Thanks.” He shook his head. “So, does this mean—”

  She reached up and cupped his chin with her hand. “Yes, I’ll be your editor,” she said with a goofy grin.

  Ray enfolded her in his arms and held on with a strong grip as though he was afraid she’d disappear.

  She looked directly into his smiling eyes and saw the words from The Scarlet Letter come to life in front of her, must always create sunshine, filling the heart so full of radiance, that it overflows upon the outward world. She was so overcome with joy, words fell from her mouth like the very rays of sunshine she saw standing in front of her, “Ray Bueno, I love you. And I’m never leaving you again.”

  He kissed her gently but passionately, sending a trickle of sparks through her. This must be what pixie dust feels like! She reached up and held onto the back of his head when he parted and pulled him back into her kiss.

  There was a tap on Sophie’s shoulder, separating them. She turned, and the woman behind them motioned them to advance in line. Ray checked his watch and said, “Yup, it’s time.”

  Hand-in-hand, they moved to the ride’s loading station and when the vehicle, that looked like a rocket approached, Marcus and D’aja were seated inside the incoming car, wearing wedding Mickey Mouse ears.

  “We did it!” Marcus yelled, giving the thumbs up.

  “We got married, just the two of us and the minister in Canada today!” D’aja yelled while they disembarked.

  “Wow! And you jumped on the first plane back?” Sophie called to her.

  “No, Canada in Epcot,” Marcus called, and they all burst into laughter.

  Sophie entered the rocket first and sat in the front seat, while Ray stepped in behind her. He reached up and gently laid his hands on Sophie’s shoulders and she responded by grabbing his hands, holding them lovingly.

  Right before takeoff, Sophie glanced to her right and on the platform, Mr. Jeffries stood leaning against his red and green cane dressed as Santa Claus, giving her his toothless grin. She smiled just as the rocket accelerated into hyper speed, soaring them into the new year.

  Thank you for reading Once Upon a Romance. Be the first to find out about a new story with a splash of magic and sign up for Alex’s newsletter (Alex will not flood your inbox, she would rather be writing stories or planning her next trip to Disney, than writing emails): http://alexbaileywrites.com/newsletter/

  Coming soon . . . Once Upon an Engagement

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  FIRST AND FOREMOST, I would to thank Walt Disney and his magical world—a place of refuge for me and my family from the often mundane and sometimes tragic events of our lives. He offered a glimpse into the fantastical world of his imagination, thereby stoking the embers of our own imaginations. In this imaginary world, we shed our heavy and burdensome cloaks, and walk hand-in-hand with the mouse he envisioned so long ago to bring joy to millions.

  Thank you to The Cricket Writers of Howard County for their enlightening critiques, my excellent content editor, Emily, awesome copy-editors, Rob Bignell and Sarah Flores, and amazing cover artist, Stephanie, at Agape Author Services.

  And finally, while I’ve traveled to WDW five times in the year preceding writing this book and once during the writing process, I still needed to refer to blogs and websites for details I had forgotten or never knew. Therefore, I would also like to thank the following for the invaluable service they provide. And just so you know, unlike Sophie, I believe your job is a real job. And it’s a tough one. You guys rock!

  https://www.hiddenmickeyguy.com

  https://www.undercovertourist.com

  http://www.parkscope.net

  https://www.parkjourney.com

  http://www.disneyfoodblog.com

  https://www.themouseforless.com

  https://www.disneytouristblog.com

  https://onthegoinmco.com

  https://wdwnt.com

  https://www.mouseplanet.com

  https://chipandco.com

  https://www.disneyfanatic.com

  http://www.disneyeveryday.com

  https://www.visitorlando.com

  https://www.easywdw.com/easy/

 
http://allears.net/index.html

  https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/

  http://orlandotouristinformationbureau.com

  About the Author

  ALEX BAILEY was a bored writer/editor of documents as humdrum as vacuum cleaner manuals. She left that life behind to create more exciting worlds than the one she lived in. The Future Memoir of Ann Jones was the first book under her (absolutely necessary) assumed identity (in order to hide Ann Jones’ identity). When she’s not dreaming of being swept away to the “The Most Magical Place on Earth,” she’s tending to her organic garden while belting out Disney tunes. Some of her favorite hobbies include: telling her children that “Mother knows best”, attempting to convince woodland creatures to clean her house for her, wishing upon stars, and Disney-ing.

  Connect with Alex:

  Website: www.alexbaileywrites.com