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“Princess Ella, how are you?” I ask her.
Her honey-sweet voice answers giddier than ever, “Better now that Queen Charlotte is here.”
“Is that right?” I laugh as she pulls out of the hug and leads the way inside.
“Yep!” she proclaims.
This whole thing would suck so much more if she and Harper weren’t a part of it. I would one thousand percent be stuck in my head, overthinking every single thing and going crazy. I mean, to some extent, I am still doing that, but the point still stands.
Ella leads us to where her mom, Harper, is sitting.
“Good afternoon,” I greet Harper with a soft smile.
“I see she found you,” she teases, and I chuckle.
Ella is practically vibrating, jumping up and down with Cocoa in her hands. “Mom, do you have them?!”
Harper jerks in her seat and shoves her hands in her purse with urgency. “I sure do. One second.”
What the heck does she have in there?
Harper’s eyes flick up to mine, gleaming with excitement. “We came across these while shopping, and Ella thought you two had to have them for today’s appointment.”
Harper pulls out two tiaras, one bigger than the other, and hands them to Ella.
Turning my attention to Ella, I’m overwhelmed with emotion. This little girl has the biggest heart. The tiara might be made of plastic, but it’s priceless to me.
Ella holds out the larger gold tiara. “This one’s for you. Because, duh, a queen would have a bigger crown than the princess.”
Sinking down onto my knees, I ask Princess Ella, “Would you do the honor?”
She squeals and springs toward me. Gently, she places the tiara on my head. I instantly feel more powerful, as one should when wearing crown jewels.
“How do I look?” I beam at her while I adjust it slightly so it sits further back on my head.
She claps her hands together. “Perfect! Do mine now!”
“I would love to,” I tell her, taking the gold tiara from her tiny hands.
She closes her eyes and leans forward, tilting her head down. I glance at Harper, who I realize has been recording this whole time, and see her eyes filled with tears. The back of my eyes burn, my eyes watering along with hers. But I push it back down, not wanting Ella to notice.
Sliding the tiara onto her head and into the wig, I brush her hair back behind her eyes, then sit back.
“Beautiful,” Harper coos, her voice thick and shaky.
“Don’t cry, Mom.” Ella’s eyes fly open as she rushes over to console her mom.
“Happy tears,” Harper claims, although I’m certain it’s a mix of both happy and sad tears.
But at least Ella seems to buy it.
“You look so pretty!” I cheer.
Her smile grows even bigger somehow, and she is absolutely glowing from the compliments.
“Thank you.” Her voice is soft and shy.
A nurse walks through a door behind her, and I instantly know who she’s looking for, my girl Ella. I can tell from the playfulness she scans the room with. There is only one person in a place like this that can have that effect on others.
