Chapter Text
October 15, 2014
Henry yawned and rubbed at his eyes as he stepped out onto the balcony that surrounded his bedroom. Birdsong layered over the sound of a distant boat engine. The ever-present smell of sage and yucca filled the warm air, along with the sweet scent of something flowering even in October. He could not get over how much he loved California and year round sunshine. It was worth every penny he had paid for this house. A quiet voice whispered that it was an awfully large house for a single man, but he scrunched one eye shut against the bright light and scratched the back of his head and ignored the pink sparkly murmur that teased at the limits of his hearing. He stretched and then leaned against the railing, letting the sunshine play over his back and warm his stiff muscles. He’d almost drifted off when his relaxation was brought to an abrupt end by a neighbor child.
“Princess Nora!” a little girl’s voice called out. He turned around to see an elfin blonde child running down the dirt road that surrounded the lake towards a woman out jogging. The jogging woman squatted down and held out her arms. The cherub threw herself into the woman’s arms and gave her a hug. “Princess Nora, do you have cookies?”
The woman laughed. She might actually be a Disney princess with a laugh like that, he thought. It was like a stream rushing over rocks. “Yes, chipmunk, I do. You know my cookie jar is always full.”
The little girl grabbed hold of the woman’s braid and tickled her nose with the end of it. “Can I have a cookie?”
The princess shifted the little girl onto her hip, smoothing out the purple and yellow fluffy tutu the little girl was wearing. “Well, if you ask your momma and she says it’s okay, the two of you can come over this afternoon and get a cookie. After your nap.” She tapped the little girl on the nose
Another woman, this one with blonde hair like the child, came running down the road towards the two of them. “Rachel! What have I told you about running away like that?”
“But it’s Princess Nora!” It was obvious that it being Princess Nora excused all sorts of misbehavior to the little girl.
The princess handed Rachel back to her mother. “But princesses have to learn to obey their parents and if your momma says not to run away, it’s to keep you safe, okay?”
“Okay.” The little girl pouted but grabbed onto her mother’s hand and walked with her back the direction from which she had come, waving a chubby hand at Nora over her shoulder.
Princess Nora bent and retied the laces on her running shoes as Henry watched. He had the next three months off before principal shooting onSuperman versus Batman started and he was planning on enjoying himself and relaxing. He’d still have to be putting in hours in the gym each day, but he could do that and have fun the rest of the time, like watching all the tanned woman running along the lake shore.
She stood, and as if she could sense him watching, looked up at him. “Hello!” she called and waved.
Slightly embarrassed at having been caught watching her, he waved back. “Hello.”
“Could I bother you for a minute?”
“Of course.”
She started walking up the path from the road to his property and he hurried down the stairs to the patio and met her by the side of the pool, the stone warm under his bare feet. “Hello, I’m Henry.” He held out his hand and she shook it. Her fingers wrapped around his with gentle pressure but she pulled them quickly away.
“I’m Nora. I live down the road three houses. It’s nice to finally meet you.”
“You too.” She was pretty, tan with blonde highlights that looked like the sun had put them there rather than a salon, and when she would look at him, big green eyes. She didn’t look at him much though, tending to look at his chest. Not in a creepy ogling way – he had gotten used to that – but as if she were shy. He wasn’t used to shy women.
“I don’t want to be a nuisance,” she tucked a strand of escaped hair back behind her ear, “but some drunk boater crashed into my dock last week and I have to have it rebuilt. Would you mind if I tied up my boat at your dock while the reconstruction takes place, if it wouldn’t be too much of a bother that is?”
“On one condition.”
She made eye contact at that, and her eyes were even wider than normal. “Oh, of course I’ll pay.”
Henry grinned. “No, it’s not that. Well, it’s kind of that. I was hoping I could get a cookie too.”
The rush of color tinting the tan of her cheeks was like watching a desert sunrise. “You heard that?”
He leaned towards her and whispered, “Are you really a princess? Should I bow to you? Kiss your hand?”
She laughed and lowered her eyes, long eyelashes brushing against her cheeks. She had a mole on the apple of one cheek. It looked like a beauty mark, but it wasn’t where women normally placed them and he wanted to touch it and see if it was real. She wasn’t wearing any other makeup that he could tell though, so he assumed it was real. “I catered Rachel’s third birthday party. It was a princess theme so I dressed up in costume and now she’s convinced that I’m a real princess. It took weeks to get rid of all the glitter.”
Memories of another glittery girl flashed through his mind. “You’re not normally a sparkly person?”
She wrinkled her nose. “It just gets in the cookie dough.”
“You wouldn’t want that.”
“No, it ruins the flavor.” She looked past him at the house and then back to him. “You should come get a cookie though. Assuming you’re allowed to eat cookies.”
She was funny even if she had problems meeting his eyes. His brow arched as a smile tugged at his mouth. “I don’t even have to ask my mother’s permission.”
She smiled and blushed lightly before she looked down again. “Lucky boy. I was thinking more about your producers, though.” She worried the hem of her shirt between her finger and thumb. “Do they have you on a diet yet?”
Her eyes flicked up to his as he chuckled. “So you know who I am.”
“Everyone on the lake knows who you are. Gossip spreads fast around here.”
He dipped his head, trying to meet her eyes. “Well, I am on a bit of a diet, but right now I’m on the eat everything in sight part of the diet.”
“Then you shouldn’t come over for just a cookie.” She stopped fidgeting with the hem of her shirt and met his eyes. “Come over and eat dinner.” Her cheeks colored once more and she dropped her eyes back to his shoulder. “I’ve got more food than I know what to do with.”
“Right, because you cater.”
“Well, I did that as a favor. Mostly I test cookbooks.”
“Like you make the recipes to see if they work?”
“Yep.” She nodded, her eyes lingering on his for a few seconds as she talked. “It’s part of the editing process. Check for typos, make suggestions on how they can be improved, things like that.”
“What do you do with all the food you can’t eat?”
Her laugh was soft and as shy as she was. “Well, I try and foist it off on well-meaning neighbors.”
“Like me.” He grinned. “You may regret that offer. Eating is my favorite hobby.”
“Good, you can save me from,” she stopped and thought, “tacos. I’m testing recipes for taco fillings today. And salsas.”
“And if I don’t save you?”
Her eyes flickered up to meet his and then dropped back down to his chin. “I’m likely to drown in an avalanche of carne asada and chile verde.”
“Well,” he puffed out his chest a bit, a little bit of superhero swagger, “I can’t let that happen.”
“I appreciate your help.”
“So, what time should I come over?”
“About seven? I’m three houses down,” she pointed, “the one that looks like Rapunzel should be living there. Just come up the back.”
“I’ll be there.”
She looked at him and smiled before she dropped her eyes again. “I’ll see you tonight, then.”
“Until tonight.” He watched as she turned and jogged back down the path. He wouldn’t have noticed her normally in her black tee and calf-length jogging pants – she was definitely dressed for exercise and not for attention – but now that he had, he had a feeling that his next three months were going to become much more entertaining.