Second Date

Chapter 4: Love is Blind

Chapter 4: Love is Blind

Wendy was livid, fit to be tide! How dare Tinkerbell tease her friends! How dare Tinkerbell steal her belongings! Furiously, Wendy laced her bow. But one step into the magical night air eased her agitation. Disney World was the happiest place on earth (aside from Disney Land). No one could be really unhappy. It was company policy. Plus, the children -

Wendy settled on a park bench. She smiled at the children, bouncing around in costumes, sparkling with excitement, waving at parade princesses, making their grownups feel less adult. This was the secret magic of Disney World - the children. Not the princesses, not the pixie dust, and not Cinderella's Castle. It was the children. They breathed life into the magic.

"Gonna be a long parade."

Jim Hawkins materialized on the bench beside her. Moodily, he gazed at the parade. "Cruddy night for stargazing. Damn ambient light."

Wendy glossed over Jim's profanity. Whilst she did not approve of his language, she was accustomed to Neverland pirates and therefore fluent in 'Sailor's Mouth.' Jim was a brusque, salty character, but Wendy discovered him also very kind and extremely perceptive.

True, Jim was no Peter Pan. But Jim and Wendy shared a common pastime - they liked to stargaze. Peter was far too impatient, he was rather like a shooting star himself. Peter's patience was very combustive, in an out, always chasing another adventure. But Jim could spell every constellation across the sky. He even made his own. Wendy found that very impressive.

"The parade won't last long." Wendy said. She looked up. Jim was right. The lights from the parade obscured the night sky. "It's only the Princess Parade."

"Yeah but then you have the never ending autographs, and pictures, and autographs, and pictures, and ooos, and awes, and autographs, and pictures..."

Wendy swung her legs. "The children like it. Look how cute they are."

Jim grunted. He watched the parade. The Little Mermaid float strolled by, and he glanced down as Princess Ariel waved.

Wendy smiled. Jim was saved from her comment as three little fairy princesses swarmed their bench. "Wendy! Wendy! Sign our wings?"

"Oh look at you! Look at your sparkly wings!" Wendy took the marker. "Of course!"

"Where's Peter Pan?" asked Little Fairy Princess One.

"Where's Captain Hook?!" growled Little Fairy Princess Two - obviously the tomboy of the group.

"And where's Peter Pan!" squeaked the Littlest Fairy Princess Three.

"Would you stop copying me?!" said Little Fairy Princess One. "I just asked that!"

Wendy smoothed a fairy wing on her knee. "Peter Pan is coming soon. I'm waiting for him right now. Probably chasing that silly shadow. Buuut- "

Wendy offered the marker to Jim. "Look who else is here! Jim Hawkins from - "

"Thanks Wendy!" Little Fairy Princesses One, Two, and Three squealed as Elsa and Anna's appeared on the Frozen float. "Tell Peter Pan we love him!"

"Love!" giggled Littlest Fairy Princess Three as her sisters started singing Let It Go. "Bye!"

"Bye..." Wendy bit her lip. Apologetically she turned to Jim. "Oh, Jim. I'm so sorry."

"Eh." Jim reclined. "Forget it. They have no idea who I am. My movie was a flop."

"Oh goodness! No!" Motherly, Wendy turned. "That's not true."