Friends and Lovers Trilogy 02 - Charmed Read Free Page A

adored flirtatious men and reveled in witty, sexual banter.
    Not Lulu. Although enormously popular in her role as Gemma the Juggler,
she
couldn’t wait until the day she could afford to quit the adult playground.
    Then stop daydreaming and focus on your real passion. Get into character. Focus!
    Miraculously, by the time she hit the cookie-cutter housing development, parked the Bug, and knocked on the McGuire’s front door, she was firmly back in the zone.
    “Princess Charming!”
    Six boys huddled at the opposite end of the McGuire’s spacious living room. The younger ones too shy to approach. The older ones too cool to care. Lulu wasn’t worried. She’d win them over with her wizard sticks, her creative answer to the girly magic wand. She hadn’t met a boy yet who wasn’t a sucker for her wizard stick.
    Fifteen girls, ranging in age from four to six, stampeded Lulu. Grinning ear to ear, she reveled in the delightful assault. Several hugged her while others stared up in awe. All of the girls “oohed” and “ahhed’ over her latest creation—a shimmering pink gown inspired by Glenda the Good Witch from
The Wizard of Oz. Thank you, Jean-Pierre for the sequined trim and daisy appliqués!
Her friend, and costume designer extraordinaire, was right. The extra glitz and whimsy made a definite impression.
    “I’m Molly!” a red-haired girl exclaimed. She was tall for her age, plump with baby fat and cute as a kitten. She wore a frilly white and yellow dress, yellow tights, and white sneakers with (surprise) yellow laces. Her ponytail, held high on her head by a yellow satin scrunchie, drooped to the left.
    “It’s her birthday,” two other girls said.
    “Indeed,” Lulu said, affecting a British accent. “‘Tis why I am here.” She bent at the waist, coming eye to eye with Molly. “‘Tis a very special day. And you,” she winked, “are a very special girl.”
    “Princess Charming.”
    This time the voice was adult. Molly’s mother. Lulu had never met Mrs. McGuire face-to-face. They’d conducted their business over the phone. But she recognized the voice, not to mention the way she was looking at Molly with motherly pride.
    “Go into the family room, kids,” she said. “I need to speak to the princess.”
    The boys hightailed it. The girls didn’t budge.
    “I’ll be along shortly,” Lulu promised. “And have I got a surprise for you!”
    The girls squealed in delight and skipped after the boys.
    Mrs. McGuire smiled. “Molly’s been looking forward to this all week. She fell in love with you at Lisa Hadley’s party last February. It’s such a shame Lisa came down with the flu this morning. She cried buckets when she realized she was going to miss you.”
    “Please give her my best,” Lulu said, scrambling to put a face with the name. This year she’d appeared at nearly a hundred parties. After a while names and faces blurred. Not to mention her memory was less reliable than her seventy-two-year-old grandmother’s. Which is why she kept detailed files. Repeat calls and referrals constituted most of her freelance work.
    “I know once you get started I don’t stand a chance of getting you alone, so I thought I’d square things with you ahead of time.” She handed Lulu a folded check. “Could I bother you for some business cards for the other mothers? It’s extraordinary what you do with these children. Getting them involved. Encouraging their imaginations. Teaching morals. And the personal
storybook!”
She squeezed Lulu’s hand. “I can’t wait to see Molly’s.”
    “I think she’ll like it.”
    “I know she’ll love it.”
    Lulu fidgeted. “Thanks.” No matter how often a parent gushed over her loonytales, she still got embarrassed. She’d never been comfortable with compliments, but that didn’t mean she didn’t appreciate the kind words. They reminded her of why she continued to pursue a stressful, financially unstable career. Making a positive difference in