Because thiswasPrincess Palollipop.
Or rather, it was Stephanie, the woman I’d hired to play Princess Palollipop for the party.
I opened my mouth to say something comforting or offer something her stomach could handle, but nothing came out.
What could go wrong?
Roger’s words came back to me, and I realized I desperately needed a mirror and a much better pep talk.
“Obviously, I can’t work today,” Stephanie said, wiping the back of one hand over her mouth. “I’m really sorry. I’ll give you your deposit back, of course. And if you want, I can leave my Palollipop costume with you. No charge. I can come back and pick it up when I’m back on my feet.”
For a moment, it felt like a good solution. And then I remembered the birthday girl asking me if I would get the real Princess Palollipop and not just put on a dress myself. She’d already met me. She knew I wasn’t Palollipop.
“I don’t have anyone who can wear it,” I began.
But then movement in the café drew my eye. Looking up, I saw Quill standing on the other side of the door, taking in the diseased princess and the second coming of her breakfast with sheer delight in her eyes.
“You know what?” I said to Stephanie. “Yes. I will take the costume. And I hope you feel better soon.”
Chapter Eighteen
“Problems, mortal?” Quill asked as I lugged the Palollipop dress through the door. The thing felt like it was a hundred pounds of tulle and ribbon and silk roses, and I was relieved when I got inside and could lay it over one of the café chairs. Quill watched, practically hopping from foot to foot with glee.
“Nothing you can’t help with,” I said.
That stopped the hopping. She narrowed her eyes at me, looking for all the world like a cat who’d thought it was getting a treat and suddenly realized a trip to the vet was on the horizon. “What do you imagine I can help you with?” she asked stiffly.
“I was thinking you could play Princess Palollipop at the party today,” I said.
She threw her head back and laughed, revealing the very pale skin of her throat, and she kept right on laughing until she realized I wasn’t laughing with her.
“Mortal?” she said. “Surely you jest.”
“Believe me, I really wish this were a joke.” Bracing myself, I lifted the dress again and held it up. It actually looked like it would fit her pretty well, so at least I had that going for me.
Quill took a giant step back, coming up hard against one of the café chairs. “There is no way I’m going to wearthatand pretend to be a being calledPrincess Palollipop.”
I took a deep breath and thought about what Roger had said to me. Not the flippant remark about what could go wrong, but the thing about handling hiccups. I’d gotten this far in planning this party. There was no way I was going to let one princess with a stomach bug ruin it.
And if that meant I had to beg, then so be it.
“Please, Quill?” I said. “Please, please, please, will you play a princess at the party? I would do it, but the birthday girl knows who I am already. Look—I’ve got the dress. I’ve got the wig and the tiara. And I can help do your makeup.”
Despite being pinned by the chair behind her, Quill attempted another step backward. “I will not wear any of that.”
