2 Unhitched (18 page)

Dear Jane~

I needed to write this to get things off my chest. Your preoccupation with Aurora is getting in the way of our friendship. Your insistence that I sympathize with you is too demanding and unfair. It would be best if we don’t see each other for a while.

Yours~

Winnie

PS I am returning herewith the black dress you lent me for the museum gala.

I read the letter again. What nerve! Two can play at this game. Tossing both the dress and letter onto the floor, I scurry to my desk. I’m going to give Winnie a piece of my mind. Taking a stylus to a sheet of parchment, I scrawl:

Winnie:

I regret that I have had to come to this decision. You and I can no longer be friends. We no longer see eye to eye. As you well know, I’ve been going through a major crisis in my marriage, and you have not been there for me. Not one bit!

Your former friend,

Jane

PS You can keep the black dress. I don’t want it.

HA! I’m a much better writer than she is. When she gets my letter—with the black dress—she’s going to get what she deserves. Pain!

I stuff the dress along with the letter back into Winnie’s box, X-out my address, replacing it with hers, and run out the front door to catch the messenger. Unfortunately, he’s already gone. I’ll just bring it to the postal office after my appointment with Shrink.

I head back inside, stopping in the doorway for a long moment. A slew of emotions bombards my head. Sadness. Anger. Remorse. Despair. First, Gallant. Now Winnie. How much more pain can I bear?

Sitting upright in the chaise, I tell Shrink everything about yesterday. Minus the little trip to the dungeon. I’ve met the man-eater. I’ve witnessed Gallant’s amorous behavior with her. And I have confirmation from The Queen herself that they’ve been in love forever and are planning to announce their engagement at Gallant’s museum gala.

Shrink buzzes around her office. I grow impatient for a response. What more can I possibly say or do to prove that Gallant is having an affair with Aurora?

She settles on the arm of the chaise and crosses her tiny legs. Her wings flutter.

“Jane,
why
do you think Gallant is having an affair?” she asks matter-of-factly.

Her question throws me for a loop; I wasn’t expecting it. I haven’t given this much thought.

“Because he’s found someone younger and prettier,” I falter. Who am I kidding? She’s gorgeous! A mirror image of Gallant!

“Has Gallant not ever found you attractive?”

It’s true. While I’m definitely no longer
Fairest of All,
he’s always told me how beautiful I am. Just not lately. Before I can respond, Shrink fires another question.

“Can you think of another reason?”

“I’m not rich enough for him. We’ve had to depend on his parents to support his painting career.” I fidget with my locket. “She’s a princess millionairess.”

“Has money ever been source of friction in your marriage?”

Not really. I shake my head.

“Has sex been disappointing for the two of you?”

Hey! That’s none of her business. But the answer is no. Making love with Gallant has been pure magic. For both of us.

“Can you think of anything else?”

I don’t have to think hard. “I haven’t been able to give him a baby,” I blurt out. “He’s given up on me.”

“Has he ever told you that he’s frustrated with your inability to conceive?”

I shake my head side to side again. I’m getting irritable. Where is she going with these questions?

Shrink takes another spin around the room and then hovers over me. She looks straight into my eyes with unsettling intensity.

“Jane, you’ve been focusing on finding evidence proving that Gallant is having an affair. Quite frankly, I am more interested in evidence proving that Gallant
wants
to have an affair.”

I’ve done all this hard work, even risked my life with that fire-breathing dragon, to prove that Gallant is having an affair. And now this flying bug of a woman who calls herself a therapist is asking me to go down a whole different road?

The chime sounds. I bolt off the chaise. I’ve had it with Gallant! I’ve had it with Winnie. And now, I’ve had it with Shrink. I’ve made up my mind. I’m going to stop seeing her. My next visit will be my last.

Fuming, I storm out of Shrink’s office and run smack into Winnie! HA! So, the end of our friendship has driven her to see Shrink. Desperation is scrawled on her face. Serves her right!

The good news is I no longer have to go to the postal office. I can just hand my ex-BFF my resignation letter and the black gown. Dragonballs! I’ve left the package in Shrink’s office. As I turn back for it, Winnie tugs at my arm.

“Jane, Wait! I’ve been looking all over for you.” Her voice is panicky.

I swivel my head and meet her gaze. What does
she
want? We haven’t talked to or seen each other for almost a week. Which in girlfriend time is like a year. And to tell the truth, I’m not so sure I want her back in my life. Friends are supposed to be there for you. Support you. Make you feel better. Help you solve your problems. Let you cry on their shoulder. Agree with you when you tell them someone has been a shit, right? Well, Winnie’s done none of these things. Not one. All she’s done is challenge Gallant’s affair with Aurora and make me feel stupid.

“What’s up?” I ask frostily.

Tears fill Winnie’s eyes. Sheesh. She’s resorted to crying so that we can be friends again. I’m not going to fall for her manipulative drama queen tactic.

“It’s Elz,” she splutters. “She may lose her baby and needs you.”

Oh my God! Poor Elz! This can’t be happening!

“Let’s take my coach,” I say. “It’s faster.”

The coach ride to Elz’s house seems like eternity. Even though it’s only a few miles away. Winnie and I face each other in silence. My head is spinning. I’m beyond worried about Elz, yet I can’t help wondering what’s going on inside Winnie’s head. Is she thinking about Elz or about how much she hates me? Oddly, the last thing on my mind is Gallant.

At last, Winnie breaks the strained silence.

“Hansel told me he has a crush on Calla.”

More silence. I gaze out the window and then face her. Our eyes connect.

“He’d better stand in line. Calla has a crush on a frog,” I say bluntly.

Silence again. Winnie looks at me blankly. Suddenly, she bursts out in laughter.

“A frog!?” she manages to say between hysterics.

“Honestly!” Winnie’s laughter is contagious. I can barely contain myself or get the words out. “Yes, she thinks this frog she’s found is cursed with an evil spell and will turn into a prince when she kisses him.”

“An enchanted frog!?” Winnie is bent over with laughter. “That’s the funniest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“Totally!” I howl, laughing even harder. And before I know it, I’m laughing so hard I’m crying. Really crying. Burning-hot, remorseful tears. And Winnie is doing the same.

“Winnie, I couldn’t live with you,” I splutter.

“The same,” says Winnie, wiping my tears and then hers. “I’m sorry I haven’t been a good friend.”

“No, don’t be sorry. It’s my fault. I’ve been too wrapped up with myself.” I blink back more tears and clasp her hands in mine. “I didn’t even celebrate Elz’s pregnancy with you.”

Winnie’s face grows solemn, and she squeezes my hand. “She might lose the baby.”

“What happened?” I ask anxiously.

Winnie tells me how she and Elz were window shopping for baby clothes when suddenly Elz fell ill. By the time, Winnie got her home, poor Elz was experiencing terrible, gut-wrenching cramps. Winnie stayed with her while Rump took off to summon Dr. Grimm.

“Faster, driver!” I yell.

Silently, I pray for Elz. And thank God that Winnie is back in my life. Leaving the package with the letter and the dress behind in Shrink’s office was fortuitous. I’ll send someone to retrieve it later and give the dress back to Winnie the next time I see her. As for the letter, I’m going to burn it.

Elz’s crystal palace is fabled throughout Lalaland. She designed it herself and had the Seven Dwarfs build it according to her plans.

There was no way she was going to live with Rump in her late mother, Lady Germaine’s house, which she inherited. It was too big, too dark, and too rundown. And it had too many bad memories. So she tore it down and, with the fortune she made from her shoe empire, she built her dream house.

Much like her flagship boutique, The Glass Slipper, it’s a little gem. Because the entire palace is made of crystal, light shines through it everywhere. Sparkly chandeliers dangle from the high ceilings and create dancing rainbows on the sleek white furnishings when the sun bounces off them. All the main rooms, including the bedrooms are on the first level; Elz didn’t want Rump to have to climb up a flight of stairs with his bad leg. Upstairs is her design studio. You can see right up to it because the floors are crystal clear.

As Winnie and I pull up to the palace, Dr. Grimm is departing. Hunched over and head down, he looks downtrodden. Like he’s lost his quest to take over the world. Holding hands, we jump out of the coach.

The little doctor takes off his spectacles and rubs his tired, sunken eyes. Without their sparkle, he looks a lot like his morose brother. His eyes meet ours. I squeeze Winnie’s hand tightly, and my heart hammers.

He shakes his head glumly. “I did all I could, but I’m not a magician.”

Oh no! Elz has died! Tears flood my eyes.

“She lost a lot of blood, but she’ll be alright.”

I breathe a loud sigh of relief; Winnie does the same.

“What about the baby?” I ask anxiously.

Dr. Grimm shakes his head. He cannot mask his disappointment. “She needs you now.” He solemnly mounts his delivery coach, a traveling advertisement for his practice. “
Where Fairy Tales are Born.”
Not this time.

The brightness of Elz’s palace creates an odd disconnect with the dark tragedy that has just taken place inside. Rump looks terrible. His eyes are bloodshot, his face blotchy, and his limp is more pronounced than usual. The little man looks like the whole world has come tumbling down upon him.

His tear-soaked eyes meet mine. Tears roll down my cheeks as I run over to hug him. What a special place he holds in my heart. He was one of my first friends at Faraway. He made me keepsake name bracelets, my most treasured being the gift Calla gave me on the day of my marriage to Gallant. The one that has “Mommy” woven into the golden threads. Sadly, he won’t be making a Mommy-bracelet for his beloved Elz.

“It’s all m-my f-fault,” stammers Rump, agonizing to get the words out. He has regressed to stuttering so badly that it’s painful to watch and listen to him.

Winnie pulls me aside and whispers in my ear that Rump is blaming himself for Elz’s miscarriage. That he’s being punished for once trying to extort the firstborn of a kindly queen. Now, by a twist of fate, God has claimed
his
first child.

Poor Rump! He’s paid a thousand times over for his crime. After the queen outsmarted him by fortuitously discovering his complicated name, Rumpelstiltskin, he furiously stamped his foot deep into the earth, leaving him a cripple and an amnesiac who couldn’t even remember his name until Faraway helped come to grips with his tainted childhood. A painful, twisted childhood filled with mockery and bullying that drove the deformed troll to become an evil trickster. And as if the limp was not a big enough reminder of his sins, the amnesia left him with a permanent stammer. But neither of these physical hardships has gotten in the way of his road to recovery. The former troubled trickster has become one of the kindest, most selfless people in all of Lalaland. Honestly, he would give his life to anyone! Everyone adores him. And now, he has to suffer again. Life is so unfair. My poor sweet Rump!