The Villa Cristallo was a middle-class restaurant with brightly painted walls, outdoor seating under a patio roof, and a view of the sunset. Dag led the way inside and scanned the tables. To his dismay, Sergio was nowhere in sight.

Dag turned to the woman in the red dress, trying to stay cool. "Why don't you make your order? I need to make a phone call."

A brightly dressed waiter in a floral purple shirt and pink pants guided her to a table, and he went into the phone booth.

"Operator, I need to make a call to Sergio Mendoza." Dag gave her the number and settled down to wait. All of a sudden the operator was back.

"I'm sorry, but your call will have to wait…."

"What…"
"Princess Jennifer of Pallas Athena….I'm sorry sir…"

"Hey, hold on…"

Click.

"Hey, come back!" Dag yelled into the phone. No response. He hung it up with a savage click and shoved his hands in his pockets. "What's the big deal?" he grumbled. "All I need to do is call Sergio and find out why he's not here, and the operator can't even talk sense."

He reached for the phone again, then checked his pockets. No change.

"Waiter…"

A newsboy had just come in, and Dag flagged him down instead. "Can you make change?" The boy fished in his pockets and made change for a dollar. Dag thanked him and started back towards the phone booth, and the boy shoved a paper after him.

"Oh, thanks."

He inserted the coins and tried again. "Okay. Operator, I need to make a call to Sergio Mendoza."
The girl was babbling something about the palace using the lines.

"What? Look, I really don't care."

It finally sounded like she was putting the call through, then suddenly there was silence.

"Hey – anybody there?" Dag looked at the phone. It appeared to be working. He put it back by his ear, waiting. "What's going on with these people?" he muttered. He glanced down at the paper in his hand. It was really just a one page flyer, mostly headlines.

"PRINCESS JENNIFER OF PALLAS ATHENA KIDNAPPED!" the headline screamed.

"What's next?" he rolled his eyes. There was a picture at the bottom of the sheet.

Dag dropped the phone.


Dag looked at the picture, and he looked at the woman in the red dress who was perched on one of the little chairs at the table. The waiter in the purple floral shirt had just brought her order, and she was trying to pick up a hamburger without getting ketchup on her long red gloves.

"The woman in the red dress," he gasped. He ran to the table, brandishing the paper.

"What is your name?" he demanded.

The woman in the red dress put down her hamburger. "What's the matter?" She didn't seem at all concerned. She went on, "We don't have much time, so you'd best sit down and eat…" Dag compared her with the picture, holding it at different angles. It was her, all right. He brushed her words aside.

"Look, I just want to know..."

She stood up, waving her finger at him, all grand and graciously obstinate. "I've always wanted to do this, so don't ruin it with anything. It was your idea in the first place…"

"Yeah, okay, fine. Just…"

She included the whole view in a gesture. "It's so exciting! The music, the food…"

Dag was fast losing his patience.

"What – is – your – name!"

She finally seemed to realize what he was asking, and looked mildly surprised by how excited he was. The woman in the red dress smiled graciously. "Jennifer."

Dag pointed at her in horror. "And – you – you're from Pallas Athena, and you're the – " he gulped, "the princess."


She gracefully held out her hand, like she expected him to kiss it or something. "How do you do? I'm pleased to meet you." Dag looked wildly around the restaurant.

He had to get out of here. He grabbed the princess by her extended wrist and dragged her after him out to the street.

"Wait, where are you going…" she was trotting after him as fast as her spike heels would allow, trying to keep his tux jacket from falling off her shoulders.

"Come on – we have to go."

"But – "

They were out in the street, away from the other patrons of the restaurant who had already begun to look at them strangely.

"Look, I was told to steal the 'woman in the red dress,'" Dag exclaimed. "I don't want a princess on my hands!" He stopped on the sidewalk and let go of her wrist. "Sergio isn't here – he was supposed to meet me. Go wherever you want – I'm not sticking around."

"Stop, wait," the princess protested. She stood up very straight and looked at him severely. "If you're not going to kidnap me, you're not going to just run off and leave me standing here," she argued, in a 'see how logical this is' tone. "You said you would show me how real people live, and I still want to see the island."

Dag backed away. "Oh no. I'm not taking you with me."

She started after him, losing some of her grand airs. Her eyes were desperate, pleading almost. "You don't know what it's like, living in a palace. I'm not even allowed to go outside without an escort. How can I be a good ruler and make laws to help my subjects if I don't even know how regular people live?"
Dag put his hands in his pockets. "That's none of my business."

"Please – I – I don't even know your name."

Dag rolled his eyes at her. "I'm not sure I want you to know."

"I'm not upset with you," she pleaded. Her eyes got a faraway look. "I've always dreamed of this – escaping – having a day to just be a normal person." She looked up at him, and her mouth twitched in a sad smile. "I don't even know how to make a call at a pay telephone booth," she admitted.

Dag hesitated. He half turned away, ready to just leave her behind. Crown jewels were one thing – princesses quite another. Then he glanced back at her, and saw a sad, resigned look stealing across her face. She turned around, ready to walk back into the restaurant.

"Hey, wait."

The princess turned, in an elegant swish of red silk and crinoline. Dag made a face at her. "Come along." He raised his hand, checking her exclamations. "But you aren't going to get very far dressed like that. You need some different clothes."


The tux shop was luckily still open, and so was the dressmaker's next door. Dag maneuvered the princess into the dress shop and deposited her into the hands of a saleswoman. The princess was distracted instantly, looking through the racks of quite ordinary dresses and shoes like a little kid opening presents at Christmas. Dag whispered a price limit to the saleswoman, who nodded understandingly. He looked back at the princess. He doubted she had ever really been shopping before in her life, by the way she was enjoying sorting through the dresses.

"I have to pick up my suit next door," he told her. As he left, he saw the saleswoman steering her toward another rack, saying something about sizes.


When he got back, wearing his white suit again, the saleswoman was waiting alone by the dressing rooms.

"The señorita is almost finished," she explained. As she was speaking, the door opened, and a very different Princess Jennifer came out.

Dag was taken aback. If she hadn't been carrying her other dress over her arm, he would have hardly guessed that it was the same person. She was younger than he had thought – he would be surprised if she was even twenty. She had on a simple wrap-around summer dress with short sleeves and a mid-calf length skirt. The skirt had a wide ruffle around the bottom and a lot of stuffing inside, and the whole dress was pale cream with thin, widely spaced salmon pink stripes. She had let her hair down too, and somewhere she had gotten bangs. A lot of her grand airs had come off with the grand red dress, and she was a lot shorter in the white sandals than she had been in the ridiculously high-heeled red shoes she had in her hand. Dag started to feel slightly more sympathetic. She was barely more than a kid.

The princess's eyes were like big stars. "This is so fun!" she exclaimed, beaming at him. Dag forced himself to smile back, trying not to make it look too painful. The princess was turning to the saleswoman. Her hair went down almost to the bow on the back of her dress.

"Here, you can keep this," she said, handing her the red dress. "I don't need it anymore."

The saleswoman's eyes got very big. "Gracias, señorita," she stammered, her arms full of red silk. The princess skipped to the front of the store, calling to Dag.

"Come on!" She flashed him a bright smile, and he doggedly started after her. Suddenly he remembered the saleswoman.

"How much…?"

She shook her head, indicating the red dress. "No. Good trade." She beamed. Dag got out of the store. Now where had that princess gotten to? He heard her laughing, a delighted, childish giggle, and followed the sound.


A young woman was standing on the sidewalk a few doors down, with a baby on one hip and a little boy clinging to her hand. The princess had another boy, who appeared to be an identical twin to the other one. She was kneeling down, talking to the little fellow, and he was nodding, grinning hugely.

The princess looked up at him. "Aren't they cute?" she asked, her eyes shining. "I've never seen twins before."

Dag exchanged glances with the young mother. "They were getting away from me," she explained, shifting the baby on her hip. "They have so much energy!" The baby made a grab for her necklace.

"We can help you take them home," the princess volunteered eagerly.

Dag made a face at her back. Well, the twins were cute. And it wasn't like anyone was going to recognize her in that striped summer dress. He hardly did, himself.

Princess Jennifer had already gotten hold of the twins' little hands, so there was nothing to do but follow along. They walked slowly down the street, to accommodate the toddlers' pace. The princess was chatting gaily with the little boys and their mother, asking questions about raising children. Dag stayed out of it. He was keeping an eye out for Sergio, hoping against hope that maybe he was just a little late. But there was no sign of him.


They got the twins home, then went on through downtown San Dominique. The princess was nearly skipping along, turning right and left to see everything and peering eagerly into every shop window.

"What game is that?" she asked Dag suddenly, pointing. Some teenage girls were playing near the big fountain in the square.

"Oh. That's hopscotch."

"Do you think they would teach me?"

Dag raised his eyebrows. "I guess…."

The princess laughed at his expression. "What is your name?" she asked curiously.

Dag stuck his hands in his pockets. "You can call me Dag."

"Dag?" She tilted her head to one side, her eyes bright and curious. Dag noticed that they were dark brown. "Is that short for something?"

"Yeah, Dagobert."

Recognition dawned on her face. "I think I've heard of you!" she exclaimed. "You stole the crown jewels." She smiled at him. "They were all talking about it at the palace, with a woman detective named Anna Maria."

Dag groaned inwardly. "She never shuts up, does she?"

The princess laughed. "She thinks you are – how did she say it? – a pain in the neck. But I don't."

She made a face at his grumpy one.

"Now, stop thinking I'm a princess and call me Jennifer. I just want to be completely normal for one day of my life. Please." Jennifer smiled sweetly and stared him in the eye, daring him to smile back, and after a few seconds he gave in.

"Okay, fine. Jennifer." She laughed and ran over to where the girls were playing hopscotch, balancing on top of a curb along the way. Dag leaned against a tree and watched.

It was weird – and surprisingly easy – to think of her as just Jennifer. It did make her seem more her age – more normal – than when she had been the glamorous 'woman in the red dress'. Dag watched her skipping down the hopscotch grid, flailing her arms to keep her balance. He mentally revised the description. Make that a very naïve girl who people were trying to make grow up way too fast wearing a red dress that was designed for someone ten years older than she was. That was more like it. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.


After five games of hopscotch, an attempt at jumping rope, and watching the antics of a peddler's monkey, Jennifer finally sat down on a flower box to enjoy the musicians playing serenades from the porch of a café across the street.

Dag looked around. It was getting dark, people were drifting away to their homes, and the princess was covering a yawn. He couldn't take her to the little boardinghouse room he called home – and it was too far away anyway. He shoved his hands in his pockets, trying to think who he knew who lived in San Dominique and was married and old enough that it wouldn't be inappropriate to ask to let Jennifer stay the night. He whistled under his breath, trying to think. What tune was it? He scowled, trying to remember the name. It was that one Tio Emilio was always humming, the one about the fox trying to catch ducks.

Dag snapped his fingers. Tio Emilio and Tia Rosa would let them stay the night, and ask no questions. They were always saying he didn't visit them enough, anyway. He turned to the princess. She was still sitting on the edge of the flower box, listening to the song the street musicians across the road were singing and swinging her feet, enjoying the feel of the strappy sandals.

"You can stay at my aunt and uncle's for the night. It's a bit of a walk, so we should get going."

The princess looked up at him. "Where will you stay?"

Dag shrugged. "On the couch in the living room. They have room." She stood up, and after a moment, he offered her his arm. Let people think they were just a couple lovebirds on the way home from a dance. Jennifer took his arm.

They walked in silence for a while.

"Dag, I have to say 'thank-you,' for all of this." She waved her hand at the lighted shops and cafes, the flowers. Her eyes were big and shining. "I've had so much fun."

Dag looked around. It was nice, he realized. Carefree. Soft Caribbean-style music drifting along the street. "Yeah – I guess."


Tia Rosa was washing up the dishes when Dag took Jennifer in the back door. He snuck up behind her and gave her a smacking kiss on the cheek. "Buenos noches, tia mia?"

The little elderly lady jumped. "Dagoberto, you frighten me!" She shook her finger at him, her eyes twinkling over her glasses. "Now, there is strawberry cake in the icebox, and good lasagna left from supper that is probably still warm, and…oh." She caught sight of Jennifer, who was looking eagerly around the bright, tidy little kitchen.

Dag hesitated, his arm around his aunt's ample waist. "This is – um, Jennifer. She got – lost – and I didn't think…" It wasn't exactly a lie. The girl didn't have a clue where they were, at least.

Tia Rosa looked past whatever there might be of the story that he wasn't telling. "Of course, she stay. My Paulita stay at her cousin's, so she have her room. And you have big couch in living room. Just like when you are little."

Jennifer smiled shyly. "Thank you….?"

"Tia Rosa," Dag introduced her. Then he realized that Tia Rosa was his aunt, not hers. "Actually…"

"Tia Rosa just fine," his aunt declared. She gave him a little push. "Now get some plates and you and her finish up that cake before it go bad."


Tio Emilio, tall and gaunt as a heron except for his midsection, came in as they were finishing up the cake. He clapped his nephew on the back and pulled up another chair, helping himself to a slice. Tia Rosa scolded him. "You have two already!" She pointed to his well-fed stomach. "You eat any more, the boat sink when you get in it."

The princess giggled behind her napkin. Dag and his uncle pulled uncomfortable faces at each other.

"I already had two and a half," Dag admitted, surveying the pink crumbs and smears of whipped cream on his plate.

Tia Rosa put her hands on her hips. "That just fine. You too skinny anyway."

Jennifer couldn't hold it in any more. She sat back in her chair and laughed helplessly, and everyone else joined in.


Later, when Jennifer was asleep in the little back bedroom, Tio Emilio sat out on the front porch with Dag, smoking his pipe. "She's a cute little thing, all right," he observed, with a sidewise glance at his nephew. Dag made a face at him over the guitar he was tuning.

"Now don't start that. Girls aren't my line. I don't have time for them." He twanged an off chord and fiddled with the knobs.

His uncle put up his hands in protest. "I wasn't saying nothing, I was just making a comment," he complained. "When a body's twenty-four and still single…"

"Twenty-three," Dag corrected him.

"…a man starts to wonder when he picks up with a girl all of a sudden-like," Tio Emilio finished calmly.

"Well, it's not like that," Dag declared. He struck a soft, feathery chord, listening to the tone. "That's better."

Emilio knocked out his pipe. "Play that one about the fisher boy who fell in love with the mermaid."

From the kitchen, Tia Rosa heard him singing and smiled.


Jennifer woke up with the sun streaming through the flowered curtains and the sound of the waves in her ears and wondered where on earth she was. Then she saw the striped summer dress on the chair by the bed and remembered. She was free! She dressed quickly and went out to the kitchen. Tia Rosa was keeping the eggs warm for her.

"You needed to sleep," the little woman smiled, when she apologized for not helping. She ate slowly, enjoying the simple food, and Tia Rosa bustled around her like a mother hen. Jennifer marveled over the simple cheerfulness of the tiny house. The curtains, the carpets, the furniture, were all bright and breezy. They were worn, yes, but homey. If this was how normal people lived…

"Dagoberto is out at the boat," Tia Rosa told her, shooing her outside. "Do dishes later."