Kerry and two guys push past him. “Hey, Allison!” She sits on one side of me, and one of the boys plops down on the other.
He’s a big guy, tall and very muscular, with black hair peeking out from under his baseball hat and a harmonica hanging around his neck. He grins at me and puts out a hand. “So you’re the famous Allison, huh? Very nice to finally meet you. I’m Danny.”
I smile back and shake his hand. “Hi, Danny.”
He reaches out and delicately adjusts the top of my shirt, which was evidently hanging off my shoulder. “Sorry to interrupt.” He winks before sticking the harmonica in his mouth and blowing out a few sultry notes.
“Hey, I’m Jason!” the second guy says and waves from his spot by the door. I try not to gape. While not quite as tall as Danny, Jason is even brawnier than his friend, and just as good-looking. The white T-shirt he’s wearing contrasts strikingly with his dark skin, and his angular face makes me think he should be modeling and not studying liberal arts.
“Okay, what’s so important?” This is the first time that I’ve seen Esben look truly irritated, and I can’t help but be flattered.
“I’ve been calling and texting, but, for once in your life, you’ve apparently turned your phone off.” Kerry holds out her own phone. “Read this. It’s a Facebook post that’s getting shared. The woman lives around here.”
Esben takes the phone rather brusquely and reads aloud. “‘Cassie’s birthday party is supposed to start in three hours, and no one has RSVP’d. Not a single person. We invited the entire second-grade class. She’s six, okay? Six.’” He lowers the phone for a moment and takes a sharp breath before he continues. “‘What am I supposed to tell her when no one shows up? She has a strawberry birthmark over half her face, and one bratty girl in her class started bad-mouthing Cassie, saying she was ugly and contagious, and got everyone too afraid to talk to her. I can’t stop crying. We’ve got a huge room with princess decorations reserved at Bounce Till Dawn, because that’s what Cassie wanted. And she’s so full of hope, and that hope is going to be crushed, because she has no idea what’s about to happen. What in the hell am I going to do? Should I cancel the party and make up an excuse to Cassie? Sorry for the rant ...’”
“Oh God,” I murmur. I know about crushed hopes all too well. And I know about rejection all too well. I feel sick.
Esben passes the phone back to Kerry. “Jesus.”
“She’s six!” Kerry says angrily.
“I know.” Esben’s feet are tapping against the hard floor.
Danny still has the harmonica in his mouth, and Esben glares at him when he produces a long, sad note.
“This kid has to have people show up to her birthday party. You have to make that happen,” Jason insists.
“I know!” Esben says sharply. He is visibly upset. “Sorry, sorry... just give me a minute. I don’t know what to do.”
He looks to me, and I give him a calm smile. “Yes, you do.”
Esben spins in his chair and gets on the Internet while we all wait. The sound of his typing echoes throughout the room.
“Okay. The party is at one of those places with giant inflatable structures and slides and stuff. It’s about twenty minutes from here. Here’s what we’re going to do. Kerry, comment on that post and tell her that a party is coming Cassie’s way, and she is to take her beautiful daughter to Bounce Till Dawn and prepare her for the best princess party she could ever want. Don’t let her argue with you; just tell her that the party is on. End of story. Share the post, and tag everyone you know.” He glances at us. “Jason, find Professor Donahue. She’s got triplet girls who I think are around this age. Tell her what’s going on, and see if she’ll come. Ask her to tell other parents. Then call anyone you can think of who has a car, and round up as many people as possible to fill those cars. We’ll need a caravan of sorts.” He turns back to us. “Who do we know in the theater department?”
There’s collective silence.
“Who do we know in the theater department?” he says with more urgency. “Think!”
“Oh, oh...Jennie Lisbon is a theater major,” Danny says. “And she’s megahot.” He punctuates this with a whistle into his harmonica.
Esben claps his hands. “Good. Ask her to raid the costume department. Take anything that’ll work. Princess dresses for everyone.”
“Well, the girls,” Jason corrects.
“No,everyone. This kid wants a princess party, then we’re all going to be goddamn princesses. You’ll love it.”
“Dude, I’m not wearing—”
“Zip it!” Esben says gleefully. “You interrupted what was a very, very nice afternoon”—he pauses to wink at me—“even though it was for a good reason, and you put me in charge. So, you’re going to be a princess, goddamn it. Allison, can you and Kerry find a toy store and grab whatever princessey things you can find? Glittery stuff, ribbons, whatnot. Oh, and some helium balloons. Lots.” He opens a drawer and pulls out a small zipped bag and tosses it to me.
“What’s this?”
“Petty cash,” he answers with a smile. “You know, for emergencies.”
I toss it back. “I got this.” Simon keeps my bank account more than solid, and the only thing I ever spend money on is takeout.
“You sure?”
