Sabrina nodded and took her sister’s hand. “Yes, and it’s about time.”
The children sat on the dock for a long time, looking out at the rolling waves as they moved on to the sea.
“Wait. If we’re Everafters now, does that mean we’re going to live forever?” Daphne exclaimed.
Puck eyed Sabrina. She could almost see his mind working on the millions of pranks he would subject her to now that he had all the time in the world. She felt sick to her stomach when he giggled mischievously.
“Shenanigans,” he said.
DAPHNE ZIPPED UP the back of Sabrina’s gown while she studied herself in a full-length mirror.
“Well, that makes it official,” Sabrina said. “I’m getting married.”
“The wedding dress is a big tip-off,” her mother said, adjusting the train. “You look like a princess.”
“Which one?”
Daphne laughed. “I don’t know. I could go out into the church and bring a few back to compare.”
“No Everafters in the changing room,” Sabrina said. She looked at herself in the mirror one more time. The ivory dress seemed to glow in the light. If she didn’t know better, she would suspect it was enchanted. “I hope everyone is wearing their disguises. Bradley is still not super-comfortable with them, and his folks don’t have a clue about the family business.”
“Everyone looks like a human,” Daphne said. “Except Hamstead’s boys. They brought their rocket packs.”
Sabrina sighed. “All I need is a bunch of teenage pigs and cows flying around the Church of St. Paul’s.”
“Nothing is going to ruin this, Sabrina,” Red said from the doorway. Looking at Red, now a lovely young woman, as close to Sabrina as her own sister, no one would ever know she had a monster living inside her. Apparently, the yoga and meditation were working as well as ever. “I hope the ‘no Everafters in the dressing room’ rule doesn’t apply to me.”
“Get in here and help me,” Sabrina said.
“Are all the guests here?” Daphne asked as she took a brush and started combing her sister’s hair.
“Baba Yaga is here,” Red said as she eyed the bouquet of white roses. “She’s wearing a fur coat. At least I think it’s a coat. I could have sworn I heard it hiss at me.”
“Wow,” Veronica said. “Uncle Jake made it. Goldi’s here with her fiancé, too. Snow and Billy are there with the kids, Wendell and his girlfriend, Bunny—you know, the regular bunch—oh, Pinocchio.”
“Pinocchio! He came? We haven’t seen him in a million years,” Red said.
“I saw him. He grew up very nice,” Veronica said.
“He’s hot,” Daphne said.
Everyone looked at her in disbelief.
“What?” she cried defensively. “He is!”
Sabrina nodded. “Anyone else?”
No one said anything. Sabrina thought she saw a look pass between her mother and sister. “There was no way to find him.”
“Who?” Sabrina lied.
“You know who I’m talking about. I tried,” Daphne explained. “He’s just hard to track down. I tried every spell I know.”
“Well, I don’t want him here anyway,” Sabrina said. “He’d just make it all about him and ruin it for me. He’d probably toss eggs at me. It’s for the best.”
“Sabrina, you’re not thinking about him, are you?”
Sabrina hadn’t seen “him” in almost five years. She did not want to think about “him.” She certainly didn’t want to talk about him.
“No!”
“Good, because you’re marrying Bradley today. You need to be sure,” Daphne lectured.
“Oh, you’re giving me relationship advice? How many boys have you broken up with this year?”
“I break up with them because they are not right for me,” Daphne said. “Most of them are too—”
“Normal? Daphne, there’s nothing wrong with normal. I love normal. With an office full of Everafters needing legal help every day, it’s nice to go home to something normal.”
Daphne giggled. “That’s the price you pay for being a fairytale defense attorney.”
There was a knock at the door and then it opened. Henry entered, smiling and crying at the same time.
“Dad?” Sabrina asked.
“You look so beautiful,” he blubbered.
“He’s been like this all day,” Veronica said, wrapping her arms around her husband’s waist. “I love it.”
Sabrina hugged her father too, but Veronica broke them up. “No tears on the dress!” she said, which made everyone laugh.
From the open door, the sounds of a pipe organ floated into the room.
“It’s showtime,” Daphne said, handing Sabrina a bouquet of white roses.
Sabrina checked herself one more time in the mirror. She did look as beautiful as a princess—not all of them, but a few. She took a deep breath and smiled. Today was the start of a new adventure. Bradley was exactly the big, beautiful, grounded thing that she wanted, and together they would build a big, beautiful, grounded life.
“Honey?” her father said. “It’s time.”