Aurora had been standing at the doorway eavesdropping while Jenny told her story. After she had finished—and before Paul had a chance to respond—she knocked on the door and softly entered.
“Excuse me,” she said. “I know you two have a lot to sort out. But maybe you would like to eat something first? We are going to have an impromptu baby shower this evening, and we would love it if you could join us. There will be lots of food. Let me know if you need anything in the meantime.”
They nodded and murmured their thanks, and Aurora left them to their private conversation. She wandered down the hall and peeked into the castle library, where she found Marie asleep with a volume of Beowulf on her lap. Aurora gently shook her.
Marie opened her eyes and looked around, startled.
“Want to help me plan a baby shower?” Aurora asked.
Marie was eager to help, and the mother and daughter worked together to transform the grand royal ballroom. There were pink and blue balloons everywhere, paper cut-out signs saying “Welcome Baby,” and everything soft and pastel that they could find. They set up several long fold-up tables, covering them with white lace tablecloths. Then they put the Nuclear-Pot to use, churning out two tons of Chex mix, 75 ice cream cakes decorated with little baby shoes and diaper pins, 45 gallons of punch made with juice, sprite, and floating sherbet, a nearly endless supply of mints and peanuts, a healthy amount of cool ranch Doritos with cheese dipping sauce, and—finally--several hundred dozen donuts.
After they had accomplished this, they did some brainstorming about shower games, and then they realized they had nothing to wear. They were wearing the same clothes they'd worn when they started their journey and were feeling a bit bedraggled.
“Too bad the magic makeup mirror doesn't have a 'baby shower’ setting,” Aurora said.
“Why don't we try the 'evening' setting?” Marie suggested. She dug the mirror out of the denim bag and turned it on. She switched it to the “evening” setting and handed it to her mother.
As Aurora gazed into the mirror, her blue jogging suit was transformed into a shimmering ball gown, sewn with gold threads and embellished with real diamonds. Her slightly disheveled hair was swept up into a sophisticated updo with pearl accents. Her face looked as though she'd had several hours of facial treatments, plus a few more hours in a makeup artist's chair. A diamond necklace encircled her neck, and diamond earrings hung from her ears.
“My turn,” Marie said, and looked into the mirror with the “evening” setting still on.
Marie’s clothes were instantly transformed into a Cinderella nightgown.
“Hm, I guess the Magic Makeup Mirror thinks little girls should be in their beds while their mothers are attending balls.”
“That's not fair!” Marie said. “It’s a baby shower, not a ball!” and she looked as though she were going to cry.
“Let's try the daytime setting for you,” Aurora suggested, and she changed the setting.
This time, Marie came out dressed in a traditional German dirndl and knee socks with little black Mary Jane shoes and her hair in two braids.
“Oh you look darling!” Aurora said.
“Well, I guess this is better than wearing PJs or being turned into an amphibian,” Marie said, looking down at her outfit with a bit of disgust.
“You look absolutely charming,” Aurora assured her daughter.
The first guests to arrive were Candide, Canari, and Violente, dressed in business casual attire with ergonomic shoes. Each of them wore reading glasses on a chain and had their hair cut in short, decisive bobs. Then came Paul, Jenny, Susan, and Jim. Several woodland animals who had been employees of the Castle in the Cloud Bed and Breakfast also attended.
The guest of honor, Erma Bradford, the mother-bear-to-be, looked lovely. She wore an off-the-shoulder gown and a pair of stylish shoes made in Italy. And she'd had her nails done, a soft pink color, she said, so as not to scare the humans (a shade of red, though flattering, would look too much like blood).
She was seated at the head of the table in front of the cakes. Aurora knew that it was taking every ounce of the bear’s self-control not to devour the cakes in one bite, so she poured a cup of punch and put a few mints on a little paper plate and discreetly walked over to where Erma was seated. She whispered in the bear’s ear: “We're just going to have the fairies give their gifts really quickly, and then we'll eat the cake. It won't be long.”
Then Aurora raised her voice and addressed the assembled guests.
“Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for being present at this very special occasion. We are here to honor the upcoming birth of a baby bear. This is Erma's first cub. And, if I understand correctly, you're going to have a boy, is that right?”
Everyone murmured their congratulations and clapped politely.
Erma blushed a little under her fur and said, “Well, the ultrasound technician said it's a 95% chance that it's a boy.”
More polite applause.
“We have three very special guests here today who would like to give their gifts to this lovely boy cub who is about to come into the world. Candide, would you like to begin?”
Candide handed a sealed envelope to Erma. Erma opened it carefully, along the seam, so as not to tear the envelope too much. After reading the enclosed card, she cleared her throat and said, “Candide has given my child the gift of handsomeness, plus a twenty dollar gift certificate to Toys R Us.”
Polite applause.
Next, Candide handed her card to Erma. Erma opened this card just as carefully, and, after exclaiming that it was a beautiful card (Canari had painted it herself), she announced, “Canari has given my child the gift of charm, plus a twenty-five dollar gift certificate to Macy’s.”
“I thought we agreed on a twenty dollar limit?” Candide whispered loudly to Canari, but this comment was mostly smothered by polite applause.
Then, just as Violente was about to hand her card to Erma, the double doors of the ballroom opened, and the queen of the bed and breakfast entered, dressed in a tie-dye caftan with tights and leotard underneath, her hair sticking out all over her head.
“What's going on in here?” she demanded loudly. “Why wasn't I invited?”
“Oh my, those essential oils didn't work as expected,” Violente said, under her breath.
“Hello!” Aurora said, approaching the woman and extending her hand. “We didn't want to disturb your well-deserved rest. But we are so glad you are here now! We are having a baby shower for Erma the bear. These ladies were just giving their gifts.”
“Well, I have a gift for the baby bear as well,” the woman said. And she pulled a card out from somewhere under her caftan and handed it to Erma.
“Thank you,” Erma said politely, and opened the card. “It says...great sorrow will come into my cub's life because of a human child...and... there's a five dollar gift certificate to McDonald's...”
There was a general murmur in the room at the tackiness of this gift. Then Violente took a pen out of her purse, opened the card she had planned to give to Erma, scribbled out the original message, and wrote something new. Then she handed the card to the bear.
Erma did not have to break the seal of this envelope, since it had already been broken by Violente. She took out the card and read it.
“Violente gives my son the gift of writing, whereby he will transform his sorrows into literature. She has also given me a fifty dollar gift certificate to Steak n Shake.”
There was general polite murmuring about the appropriateness of this gift, and Erma, who was so desperately hungry, was moved to tears. She embraced Violente, causing her glasses to fall off her face, into the plate of mints.
Then the food and cake were served, and the ominous tone cast over the occasion by the presence of the Bed and Breakfast owner was broken. Marie thoroughly enjoyed getting to know some of the woodland animals who had come for the occasion; she chattered with them quite naturally, and Aurora, watching her from across the room, reflected that perhaps Marie had more Princess potential than she had originally thought.
Just as Marie was about to comment on an extremely diverting story told by an eccentric old badger, she happened to see, from the corner of her eye, her father entering the ballroom with her brothers and sister.
“Daddy!” she cried.
I'm thinking the take away is bring the right gift! The great read continues! 👍