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“Try the eraser,” Ron called out as he walked toward the stage.
Kylee did. But instead of erasing the equation, the eraser put purple sparkles over the solved problem. Finally, Kylee put the eraser down and simply gazed at the writing on the board.
“I think this is permanent marker,” said Kylee as Ron joined her on stage. Her voice carried in the microphone she still held in one hand.
“It is permanent,” said Ron. “And you just sprinkled it with fairy dust which seals the deal.”
Kylee’s lips parted, but no words left her mouth. A single tear left her right eyelid and Ron caught it with his thumb. She blinked, looking up at him as though he were the answer to a problem that had challenged her for a while.
“Did I get the math right?” Ron asked.
“Yes,” Kylee nodded. “You got the correct answer.”
“I’d kiss you now, but we have an audience full of impressionable kids.”
“It’s a lesson they need to learn,” shouted Mr. Rowen from the side of the stage. Beside him, Mrs. Steen dabbed at her eyes and shrugged, as though giving them permission.
Their encouragement was joined by the kids in the audience. For the first time in his life, Ron bowed to peer pressure and kissed the woman he planned to spend the rest of his life with in front of everyone that mattered to him. The sigh Kylee made against his lips was the bonus that told him he’d aced this final exam.
Epilogue
Molly grinned as she stared up at her mom and her soon to be step-dad. On their way out of the school auditorium, the kids had applauded, giggled, ew’d and ah’d as her mom and Principal Kidd pressed their lips together.
Molly hadn’t applauded. She’d sat back with her arms crossed over her chest. A self-satisfied grin spread across her face at her handiwork. The same smile spread across her face as she sat across from the two lovebirds in the booth.
Principal Kidd placed a paper crown on her mom’s head. He spent a few moments adjusting it to make sure it sat just so. Then he bent his head and kissed her again. If this were a cartoon, Molly was sure there would be blue birds and red hearts floating between them.
“Wow,” Molly said. “That wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be.”
“What do you mean?” said her mother without looking at her
“Nothing,” Molly said as she straighten the crown on her own head, then dug into the taco on her plate.
A bell chimed over the door of Buster and Eden’s. There had been tons of chatter in the place in the late afternoon. Now it went silent. Everyone’s gazes were on the couple framing the doorway.
“Didn’t I tell you I’d take you places, my darling baker.” A tall, dark haired man wrapped an arm around a blonde woman. The blonde appeared to pay the man no mind. Her gaze was on the taco bar. “They say this place has the best tacos in the entire kingdom. But I’ll let you be the judge of that, Jan dear.”
Molly crunched on her taco as she watched Ms. Eden make her way from the back of the restaurant to the couple. The older woman beamed as she bent into an awkward curtsey. That’s when Molly recognized the man.
“Prince Alexander, what an honor.”
“No, none of that,” said the prince. “We’re here to be served like any of your customers.”
The blonde beside him rolled her eyes as the two followed Ms. Eden to the booth next to Molly’s. As he sat, the prince looked over at her.
“That looks delicious,” he said, eyeing her taco.
Molly knew better than to speak with her mouth full, so she gave the prince an enthusiastic nod.
The prince chuckled as salsa dribbled down Molly’s chin. Then his focus went to Molly’s mom. His gaze narrowed as he did so. “You look familiar.”
Kylee averted her gaze and shrugged.
Molly, who had finished her bite, decided to answer. “I think we’re cousins?”
The prince looked between the two. When his gaze slid back to Kylee, his eyes sparkled. “I see it now. You’re my cousin Edvard’s daughter.”
“You knew my dad?”
