Chapter 11
"I bet you were a good one, you won Annie over and no one does that," Lillian laughed.
"Oh, that was easy! Just treat her like the Princess that she is and there you have it!" AJ laughed with her. He was watching the two of them eat and purposely left half of his meal on his plate so there would be left overs for her to take home. Before long, their waiter and most of the rest of the staff came over with the huge birthday sundae and placed it in front of Annie, then they began to sing 'Happy Birthday' to her.
With all the people crowding her, Annie edged next to her Mommie until they sang 'Happy Birthday' and then she smiled. Looking over to the stranger, once the song was over, she walked over and hugged him.
With a huge smile AJ hugged the tiny child back, he bent down and whispered something in her ear too. He told her that he would have to leave the table for a few minutes, but would be back with a surprise for her if she would allow him to go.
Wide-eyed, Annie nodded and smiled at him.
"ANNIE! That's the first time she has showed any emotion to anyone but me! Thank you, AJ, maybe now she is staring to come out of her shell. I hope so, the insurance won't pay because they say there isn't anything physically wrong. It's all just hysteria," explained Lili. "You don't shop here often do you? I could bring Annie back to meet you."
"Well, I do have a lot of shopping to do for a special project I am working on in the next few weeks, if you would trust me with your phone number, I could give you a call whenever I am in town."
"After all the therapy I've paid for, to see the reaction I just got from Annie's reaction about you, I'm glad to give you my phone number," she replied, writing it down on a napkin and handing it to him.
"Thank you, Lillian, and I'll give you mine, so if you would like me to see her sometime when I am not in town, I could just come in. Since I am recently retired, my time is my own now." He watched Annie digging into her sundae and figured that he would have just the time he needed, excusing himself by saying, "There was one thing I forgot in my shopping. If you would have the waiter pack up the left overs while I am gone, I promise to return before the Princess finishes her treat."
At the mention of Princess, Annie looked up and smiled with ice cream around her mouth. Lili wiped her face, but she went back to her sundae and it did no good.
AJ hurried to the nearby toy store where he had earlier that day purchased a mobile for the babies crib. He remembered looking at some of the toys and wondering if his child would be a boy or girl, but what brought him back to the store was one particular toy that he wanted to get for Annie. Making the purchase quickly and asking that it be gift wrapped, he left the store just a few minutes later with a large package in his arms. He made it back to the table in the cafe' before Annie finished her sundae. "Happy Birthday, Princess!" he said placing the gift on the remaining empty chair and taking his seat again.
Annie grinned up at him sundae and all, as she reached for her present.
"You shouldn't have, but I'm glad you did. You are getting more responses out of her in one day than the doctors have in months. Are you sure you're not a doctor?" Lili teased.
"I'm sure, I just know how Princesses should be treated. I had one of my own, but she was taken from me when she was small. I've only just recently made contact with her again, but she is grown now and it is hard to treat her like a little girl any more! She is a grown woman and feels she should be treated like that!" he laughed, a bit sadly. Watching Annie get down from her chair to open the big box he watched her eyes as she opened the paper to find a Barbie and Ken doll dressed like Cinderella and Prince Charming, fully equipped with a carriage and four white horses!
To be continued….