by Aidan Wayne
“Okay.” Dana pulled something out of the pantry—three green reusable Mickey bags, and then picked up her purse from where she’d left it on the counter. “Let’s go.”
“Right.” Ashlee went to the door to slip on her sandals and then grabbed her own purse from the counter. “Show me the way.”
“SO WE’RE going to melt the butter first and then stir in the flour,” Dana instructed. “That’ll form the roux, which’ll be the cheese sauce base.”
“Got it.” Ashlee cut the butter into chunks to make it melt faster, like Dana had shown her, and turned on the stove so the butter would melt. She tried not to fidget as she carefully did what Dana told her to do. Act normal. Everything was normal. Even if Dana was attractive and funny and so smart and making dinner with her and right there and…. Ashlee had just realized something problematic.
It’d be fine. It’d be fine. So what if she had a crush on Dana? Ashlee might not get crushes super often, but she was good at hiding them if she thought acting on them would be an issue or make someone upset or mad at her. The last thing she wanted to do was make Dana upset or mad or uncomfortable. Ashlee had done that enough already.
So she’d act totally, completely normal, and things would be fine, and she and Dana would stay friends.
“Uh, Ashlee, I think you’ve stirred the cheese enough.”
Ashlee looked down at the pot. The cheese was thoroughly melted into the roux. “Oh. Right.”
“It’s okay. Melted is good. That’s what we wanted. So now we’re just going to add it to the drained macaroni and stir to coat, and we’re all done.” Dana smiled at her again.
Ashlee swallowed and tried to smile back. Normal. “Great!” She did as she was told. “It smells super good.”
“Good.” Dana grabbed two bowls from the cupboard and handed one to Ashlee. “Go ahead. Taste your work.”
“Our work,” Ashlee insisted as she spooned the mac and cheese into her bowl. “I’d have made a total mess of it if you hadn’t helped me.”
“I don’t think so,” Dana said, coming up next to her to serve herself. Ashlee’s breath caught. Normal! “I think you’ve learned enough now that you’d have no trouble following a recipe. Especially for simpler stuff.”
“Thanks. I think?”
Dana grinned. “I meant it as a compliment.”
“Oh. Well. Thanks.”
“Do you want to watch a movie or something while we eat? It’s your turn to pick.”
That sounded like a nice idea, eating dinner together in their room and watching something. “Do you mind if it’s Disney?” Ashlee asked. “I’m sort of in the mood.”
Dana heaved a put-upon sigh. “I guess so. But no Frozen. Or Tangled. Or Little Mermaid.” Ashlee was being considered as Ariel too now, and had been maybe watching it a lot to learn the character.
Ashlee couldn’t help but giggle. It seemed like the more they had gotten to know each other, the less Dana actually minded Ashlee’s Disney obsession. Even if it was obvious she didn’t understand it. “Alice in Wonderland?”
Dana blinked. “Oh. Yeah, huh, I haven’t watched that in years. Sure.”
“Great.” Ashlee smiled. And then grabbed the box of Ferrero Rocher chocolate they’d been left as a prize for having an above-and-beyond clean apartment. She held it up. “Dessert?”
“Sounds good.”
They took their food into the bedroom and made themselves comfortable, and then Ashlee turned on the TV and pulled up Alice in Wonderland.
“Wow,” Ashlee said after taking a bite of her food. “This is so good! Way better than a box mix.”
“And way better than Liberty Tree.” Dana smirked.
“It really is. I might have to make this forever.”
“No more box mixes for you?”
“You might have ruined me,” Ashlee said honestly.
Dana laughed. Ashlee loved how often Dana smiled and laughed now. “Well hey, at least you know how to make it on your own.”
“Yeah. Thank you, again. For teaching me.”
“Sure.”
They both turned back to the TV, and, after a few minutes, Dana asked, “So what, are you going to be Alice too?”
Ashlee shook her head, finishing her mouthful before she said, “No, I can’t be. I’m too tall.”
“Too tall? What do you mean?”
Ashlee waved a hand. “Different characters have different height requirements. I’m between five five and five seven, so I’m dog and princess height. That means I fit fur characters like Pluto, and that I’m the right height to be almost all the princesses. Younger characters, like Snow White and Alice and Wendy from Peter Pan have to be shorter. And the fairies have to be really little. Tinkerbell isn’t allowed to be taller than five two.”
“Oh.” Dana appeared to consider this. “But you’re three different princesses, right? Can you be others?”
“Maybe. But my complexion and my face work better for the younger princesses. Not young like kid young, but sixteen to eighteen young.”
“Oh,” Dana said again. “That’s interesting.”
“I think so too. I think it’s cool how much goes into making Disney and its characters what they are.”
“Has being a face character like, ruined the magic for you at all?”
Ashlee shrugged. “Not really? I mean, backstage it’s pretty funny, seeing and hearing face characters act like… normal people. But onstage it’s easy to get swept up in how they talk and move and act.”
“What’s the weirdest thing you’ve seen a face character do backstage?”
Ashlee thought about it. “It’s always pretty weird when they swear. Oh! But—well, it’s not really weird, but Neil kissing Javier while they’re both in full costume is pretty funny. I mean, not funny funny, but you know what I mean?”
“Who are they? What do they play, I mean?”
“Neil is Prince Naveen, and Javier is Peter Pan.”
“Oh wow.” Dana laughed. “That is pretty funny. I’d kind of like to see that. Not in a voyeur way, but it would be something. Especially since Disney isn’t exactly the best at queer representation.”
“No,” Ashlee said, eyes going to her bedspread. “It really isn’t. I… that’s pretty much my only issue with it all. They talk so much about acceptance and diversity, and then they just… fall down on making anything really happen. It, um, it would be nice to see a boy find his prince charming, or a princess meeting the girl of her dreams. Maybe it is just a dream, but… I think it would help a lot of people be, um, be able to be braver.”
“Yeah,” Dana said. “I get that. I don’t even bother wishing that a big company like Disney would have a trans person featured in anything anytime soon. Which is stupid, you know? They’ve got so much money and so many loyal fans that the backlash they might get would be tiny in comparison. But there it is.”
“I hope they do someday,” Ashlee said fiercely. “You deserve to be represented just as much as I do.”
“That’s nice to hear,” Dana said after a minute. “Um, for a lot of reasons. You’ve really… uh….”
“I’ve learned not to be a transphobic asshole, you mean?” And she was so grateful to Dana for teaching her that kind of acceptance. Even if it meant Ashlee had an entirely different problem now.
Dana laughed. “Maybe. Now….” She set down her empty bowl and nodded at the box of chocolates. “Think it’s time for dessert?”
DANA WAS assigned the Tower of Terror on Tuesday, and it rained again, making the day both entertaining and pass quickly. Her and Isabella’s breaks even overlapped, so they got to talk in the breakroom.
Isabella mostly updated her on how things were going with Eddie, while Dana smiled and nodded and peppered the conversation with “I told you so.”
“But it’s been forever since we all hung out,” Isabella said. “We really need to do something.”
“Yeah, sure. What’d you have in mind?”
“We should do breakfast agai
n! You and me and Eddie and Bolin. Maybe Bolin could bring his girlfriend. It’s about time we met her.”
So two couples and then Dana being the fifth wheel. That didn’t sound super fun. “You four could go on a double-date,” she suggested instead. “And then you could report back to me about Bolin’s datemate. I’d like it if we got to hang out, though.”
“Sure. I’m working mornings for the rest of the week, but I’m off Saturday. Want to get breakfast just us? We could hit up Downtown Disney after, or wander around one of the parks.”
“I can’t.” Dana sighed. “I’m morning this Saturday.”
“Oh. Well, okay. We can make it lunch.” Isabella grinned. “I just like breakfast food.”
Dana rolled her eyes. “I’m sure we can find a place that serves breakfast food. If nothing else, we could go to that waffle place in Magic Kingdom.”
Isabella raised an eyebrow. “You want to brave Magic Kingdom on a Saturday?”
Dana shrugged. “If it’s for waffles….”
“Hey, I’m willing if you’re willing.”
“All right, cool.”
She got home late, because she was on the closing shift that night. It was about ten thirty when she finally got back to the apartment. She kicked off her shoes and went straight to getting together a dinner. She’d change out of her costume later, when she got ready for bed.
By the time she was done with dinner and had cleaned up, it was nearer eleven, and she carefully opened the bedroom door to get her pajamas so she could change in the bathroom. Ashlee tended to go to bed early, since she was an early riser, and today was no different; she was fast asleep when Dana crept into their room, the TV a wash of color and sound. Dana got changed and brushed her teeth, washed her face, and then went over to turn the television off so she could go to sleep.
Ashlee had been watching The Little Mermaid again for her background noise. It was nearly over. She was going to be starting to play Ariel next week and couldn’t be more excited about it. Dana sort of wondered what Ashlee was like as a princess. That might be interesting to see. Maybe she could get Ashlee’s schedule out of her and just show up, see what happened. Not to trip her up or anything, but to experience what Ashlee was like onstage.
Ashlee really hadn’t turned out to be all that bad. First impressions—and terrible communication—aside, she was nice, friendly, and easy to talk to. She worked hard and always had a willingness to learn and grow. And she’d done a lot of learning and growing in the few weeks they’d been friends, instead of roommates who hated each other.
There was a lot about Ashlee to like.
Dana quietly slipped into bed and closed her eyes.
Chapter Fourteen
“I CAN’T wait,” Ashlee said as they made their way over to the Be Our Guest restaurant. “The decoration and atmosphere are just so good.” By now she knew Dana liked aesthetic, and well-thought-out decor was something she found impressive. “I think you’ll really like it.”
“Okay.”
When they got to the restaurant, there was a bit of a line, but it was only about a half-hour wait, which wasn’t too bad. Dana didn’t seem to mind, which Ashlee was glad about, and they spent most of the time pouring over the menu.
“I’m definitely going to get the potato leek soup,” Ashlee said. “It’s probably my favorite thing on the menu.”
“It’s that good?”
“It’s so good, oh my god. If you don’t want to order a bowl yourself, you can always try mine.” That wasn’t weird, right? She and Dana shared food all the time now. Sure, that was a little different from sharing off your own plate but Ashlee did it with her other friends. And Dana was her friend. Right? Right. It wasn’t weird.
Dana hummed. “Okay, yeah. Maybe.”
On top of Ashlee’s soup order, they each decided on an entree too, and then came the most important decision.
“Okay, so I should get the Master’s Cupcake? It says that’s the one with the gray stuff.”
“Definitely,” Ashlee said enthusiastically. “If it’s your first time here, that is absolutely the dessert you should get.”
“What are you going to get?”
That was an excellent question. Desserts were one of Ashlee’s favorite things, and she had spent many a minute wracked with indecision over what to get where. “I don’t know. You’re getting the Master’s Cupcake, so I shouldn’t get that one. I’m thinking maybe the triple chocolate cupcake. Or maybe the lemon meringue cupcake?” Because maybe she should get something a little lighter tasting, especially since she was going to be getting the leek soup. But on the other hand, she really, really, really liked chocolate, and the Be Our Guest desserts were great. “I don’t know,” she said again. “You pick for me.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. Oh, make it a surprise! When we get to the kiosk, you just order the dessert for me. I’ll pay for yours—they all cost the same. Deal?”
“Uh, sure,” Dana said. “Deal. But you’re picking between those two, right? The chocolate cupcake and the lemon one?”
“Yeah.”
“All right. Sure.”
As they moved down the indoor line, Ashlee pointed out all the hidden roses and special decor, but Dana picked out a whole bunch herself too. And she did seem impressed, especially by the mosaics.
“I like the whispering knights,” she said, lips quirking after one of them sneezed.
Ashlee grinned at her, and then it was time for them to go to the kiosks to order. They told the server they were together and met back again to be seated.
“Oh! And since it’s lunch, we can also sit in the Rose Room!”
“The what?”
“The Rose Room. It’s one of the three different places to sit in the restaurant, but it’s only open for breakfast and lunch. We wouldn’t have been able to sit there if we’d gone to dinner, but since we’ve got the option, I’m going to request it.”
“Why? Is it the best room?”
“It depends,” Ashlee said. “I mean, it’s my favorite. It’s a lot brighter than the other two rooms, for one, and it’s also much quieter. The other rooms have lightning and weather effects, so they can get kind of loud.”
“Gotcha.”
“Also it’s got this amazing life-size centerpiece of Belle and the Beast in a music-box-style platform.”
“Oh. Okay.”
They did get led to the Rose Room, and, rose-shaped table buzzer in hand, went to go take a seat at one of the tables.
“You weren’t kidding,” Dana said of the room’s centerpiece. “That is certainly something.”
Ashlee laughed. “It might not be your thing, but you have to admit it’s a great design, right?”
“It is, yeah.”
“So,” Ashlee started while they waited for their food, “what do you think of the restaurant so far?”
“I like it,” Dana said. “You were right—all the decorative touches are really themed well, though when is Disney not themed well, you know? But yeah, this place is definitely ‘newer’ and goes above and beyond a little bit more than some of the other places. Which is fine. I mean, sometimes a café just has to be a café. But I like it. Thanks for bringing me.” She smiled, and Ashlee felt herself go warm.
“You’re welcome! I-I mean, I’m glad you like it.”
“Well, I like how it looks,” Dana said with a grin. “I think I’ll wait to make my final decision until I see how things taste.”
Right on cue, their buzzer sounded off, and soon a server approached their table with a cart carrying their food. Because it was quick service, they got everything all at once, so Ashlee was pretty surprised to find…. “Wait a second, you got me both desserts?”
Dana shrugged, but she was grinning.
“Dana! I only got you one dessert!”
“Maybe I had an ulterior motive,” Dana said. “Maybe I wanted to try them too, and I was hoping you’d let me.”
Oh. Well. Of course Ashlee would let her. That w
asn’t even a question. “I suppose you can try them,” Ashlee managed to say. “If I get to try your gray stuff. Even if I’ve had it before, it’s still the best dessert here.”
“Deal.”
“Speaking of trying things,” Ashlee said, pushing the bowl of leek soup forward. “You go first. And then I will eat all of it.”
Dana laughed. “Okay, okay.” She took a spoonful and blew on it before popping it into her mouth.
“That is really good,” she said a moment later. “I see why you like it.”
“Right?”
“I wonder if I could make it,” Dana mused. “I’ve seen recipes for potato leek soup before, I’ve just never tried it myself. But now I might have to.”
“Do you want some more?”
Dana shook her head. “No, it’s yours. I have my own food. Though… I might just take one more taste? I want to see what might be in there.”
Ashlee laughed as Dana had another spoonful, before she pushed the bowl back over to her. “Are you sure you want to go into business and don’t want to be a chef?”
To her surprise, Dana seemed to seriously consider the question. “I’ve thought about it,” she said at last. “Going into culinary I mean. But I decided that I wanted to keep it as something I did for fun. I think working in a restaurant or something would make it too much like real work, instead of a hobby I did for myself and for other people, you know? Besides, I always hear horror stories of crazy hours and long days, and I don’t want that to come out of something I enjoy.”
“You don’t think international business would have crazy hours or long days?”
Dana shook her head. “No, I know it will. Especially if I get to be really good at it, which is what I’m hoping to do—international travel. But, well, those things would be part of working in international business. I’d get to go from place to place and meet different people and hopefully learn new languages and experience new cultures. If I went into culinary, I’d be in one place with the same people, and I wouldn’t be able to play the way I get to do. Now I just think of something I want to make or try, and I do it, and there aren’t any consequences. I mean, maybe I don’t make something good, but that’s it. And I get to learn and play. Mistakes are different when it’s your job. And I don’t think I won’t make mistakes in other jobs either. I just… I don’t know. It feels different. I like to cook. But think that if I had to do it for a living, it would lose something for me.”