"Cindy! Tom! What a pleasant surprise. Please come in," Granny said. "Let me take your jackets."
Cindy was another rare beauty. She had a button nose and high, freckled cheekbones and a smile so bright it seemed to block out the rest of her face. Tom, on the other hand, was well into his eighties, with a gaunt face and shaking hands. He leaned on his long brown cane and held a leather satchel close to his body. He wore a tweed jacket and an old-fashioned felt hat.
"I hope we're not intruding," Cindy said.
"I heard about the get-together and I insisted we come over. I thought we might be able to help," Tom offered.
"The more the merrier," Granny said cheerfully.
"And if we can't help, at least we can do the dishes at the end of the night," Tom said as he set his bag on the floor near the couch.
"Cindy, Tom, I think you know everyone here but my granddaughters," Granny Relda said, gesturing at the girls. "Sabrina, Daphne, this is Mr. Baxter and his wife, Dr. Baxter."
"Are you Everafters?" Daphne said, shaking the old man's hand.
Tom laughed. "Alas no, but my wife falls into that category."
Daphne cocked her eyebrow and gazed at the woman.
"I'm Cinderella," Cindy said as if slightly embarrassed.
Daphne let out a squeal so loud that everyone in the house fell silent. Even Elvis rushed back into the room and looked around wildly.
"Sorry," Sabrina said to the crowd. "She was dropped on her head when she was little."
Daphne inserted the palm of her hand into her mouth and bit down on it. It was one of the odd quirks she displayed when she was excited or happy or both.
"Yobubbaingalllah," Daphne said.
"Pardon?" Cindy said.
Daphne removed her palm. "I'm so excited I might barf!"
Cindy smiled. "It's very nice to meet you girls. Your father was--I mean, is--one of my favorite people."
"He has such a kind spirit," Tom added.
"We're big fans too," Sabrina said, shaking the man's hand.
"Cindy hosts a radio show here in town," Granny explained. "Or should I be calling you Dr. Cindy?"
"Cindy's fine," the woman said with a laugh.
"We've got good news. We're about to go national," Tom said proudly. "Soon
The Dr. Cindy Show will be giving advice to people all over the country."
"What kind of advice?" Sabrina asked.
"My specialty is family issues," Cindy replied. "I had a bit of a rough childhood, and I use my experiences to help families get along."
Elvis trotted over to the old man's bag, sniffed it, and let out a whine. Granny grabbed him by the collar and pulled him away. "Elvis, behave," she said. The dog let out a little grunt but did as he was told.
While Granny put Elvis in the kitchen, Sabrina watched the old man slip his hand into his wife's. He looked at her the way someone looks at a beautiful waterfall. Sabrina had seen that look on her parents' faces and in the photographs of her grandmother and grandfather. Cindy looked back at her husband with the same expression.
They've got the googly eyes,
Sabrina thought.
Puck made his entrance in typical fashion. He stepped into the middle of the room and let out a tremendous belch. "I'm here!" he shouted, as if the crowd had been waiting for his arrival. When no one responded, he turned to Sabrina.
"I'm not a happy camper. I look like a fool," he said. He was wearing the shirt Granny Relda had asked him to wear. It had a little happy alligator on it, but Puck had taken a magic marker and written i eat people in a talk balloon above its head.
"It's a nice shirt," Sabrina said, trying to cheer the boy up.
Puck sneered. '"It's a nice shirt,'" he mocked. "I am the most diabolical villain in the history of the world. I have caused chaos and disaster everywhere I have gone. I have brought nations to their knees. I can't be seen in this shirt. For one, the alligator is smiling. If you wish me to wear a shirt with a man-eating beast on it, the beast should be eating a man, or at least a bear or something equally vicious. This alligator looks as if it's ready for some birthday cake. If Jonas the Betrayer saw me, I would never live it down."
"Jonas the Betrayer?" Daphne asked.
Sabrina shrugged.
"Well, I think we are all here," Granny said before Puck could continue his tirade. She stood in the center of the living room and called for everyone's attention. "I appreciate each one of you for taking the time to come and offer your suggestions for our dilemma. I know that you are all very busy, and it's not exactly a good time to be talking to a Grimm."
"Mayor Heart isn't going to tell us who we can talk to," Morgan le Fay said.
The crowd murmured in agreement.
"Thank you," Granny said. "As you all know, my family has a reputation as problem-solvers. Many of you have come to us for help. Now, we have a problem and we are turning to you. Tonight I'm asking you to put your heads together and find a way around the spell keeping my son and his wife asleep."
Just then, there was another knock at the door.