Aladdin and the Chocolate Princess

The Wish

Disclaimer: The characters from "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" belong to Guy Ritchie. The girls are all mine!

The words written in Italics are thoughts. The words written in bold characters are memories.

Lyrics are from Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" and "Waiting for the Miracle".

"Baby I've been here before

I know this room

I walked this floor

I used to live alone before I knew you

And I seen your flag on the marble arch

But listen, love,

Love is not like some kind of victory march

Is a very cold and very broken

Hallelujah"

Explanations:

The story happens at the same time as "Pygmalion". It shows certain aspects left out from my Soap story. Mandy works for an agency that represents among others, actors and male models. Her boss is the handsome, rich and powerful Justin Sinclair.

~ Sunday night, JD's ~

"Give it a rest, mate! It's not like she's shown any progress the past four years!" Tom teased him. "Much like you!"

Before Soap could take the stand in Addie's defence, Bacon joined in the fun.

"Yeah, it's the nineties! Women don't have to cook. That's what people like you are for"

"Very fucking funny!" Soap growled, scribbling something on a napkin.

"Ladies, can we change the subject? For one blessed night we don't have to talk PG13! It's hunting season!"

Ed was always ready to make a remark about the unbearable life a parent when Addie wasn't around, but he was the first to offer help with anything she needed. Since he was a complete disaster in the kitchen, that was one aria of her education he had no access to.

"Every night is hunting season for you" Soap replied.

Bacon looked at his friends, feeling at ease there, with them, in a regular night at JD's. But something was annoying him. Something inside his head didn't allow him to enjoy the evening properly. He tried to shake the feeling, obeying his golden rule: never lift lids off cans of worms. And what he felt in his gut were snakes, not worms.

~ Earlier that Sunday ~

Bacon was looking at the ring. It was old and it looked old. What did he expect? The value was in the eyes of the client! His thoughts lingered on Amanda for a while. That girl was a puzzle to him. She knocked on his door and entered his life just like anyone else. But there was something about her…

"Baby I've been waiting

 I've been waiting the day

 I didn't see the time

 And I waited half my life away.

 There were lots of invitations

 I know you send me some

 But I was waiting for the miracle

 For the miracle to come."

*What the hell song was that!*

Bacon switched off the radio. He didn't need stupid shit like that to make him feel even worse. But why was he feeling so rotten? He ducked the question again.

"Are you calling her or not?" he asked out loud.

The mirror didn't answer. The thirty something guy looked back at him with an impenetrable expression.

*Tomorrow. I'll tell her tomorrow.*

"That's the last you'll see of her"

He turned around quickly. The guy in the mirror was silent again.

"Fine time you found to start talking back!"

His flat had never seemed so empty before. He picked up the phone and stood there for a while.

"The life of an honest man doesn't agree with me" he said to himself and dialled.

~~~The same Sunday night

"Come on, Bacon! Let's show these pathetic saps how it's done! Or your husband doesn't like you to date?" Ed pushed him.

"I broke up with her" he announced the gang over his cocktail.

"When did that happen?" asked Tom, slightly surprised.

"Yesterday" he said looking at his watch.

"Why?" Soap wanted to know.

"What do you even care?" Ed snapped at him.

"Wait till Addie finds out" Tom chuckled.

"You just had to bring her up!" Ed snapped a second time. "She doesn't run our lives, you know!"

"Are you going to tell her that?" Tom continued to annoy him.

For whatever reason, Ed was very testy lately. Bacon had tried to take this up with him, but he always hit a wall of silence. It was something about Addie that Ed just had to hide from the rest. And secrets about the little troublemaker were constant worries for Bacon. Four years ago he had appointed himself her guardian angel. Besides, worrying about her gave him less time to evaluate his own life.

~~~~ Monday ~~~

*Damn, I hate Mondays!* Mandy stretched and yawned.

She cursed Sinclair's name while making coffee and went on with her day. The insidious hope that she might seem Bacon that day made it bearable.

*Now, how did I get so stuck on this guy?* she wondered, brushing her teeth. *This isn't  like me at all. I work with some of the world's most desirable men every day and nothing! What does he have so special?*

His voice suddenly echoed through the room. She felt again an electric spark going through her. She smiled… That voice, slightly hoarse… That God awful accent… She blushed, just thinking about him. The previous night's fantasies were making her giggle like a little girl. She hadn't gone through such an infatuation since she was thirteen.

"I wish he'd call today!"

He called that afternoon. Mandy was now torn between the excitement of seeing him again and the prospect of that being their last time together.

*Anyway, I still have his number* she tried to boost her moral. *If I'm not over him in a week… I give him another call. I could lose something, right? How was that line of his? He gets people what they're looking for. Maybe he makes house calls*

Mandy was on the doorstep of Aladdin when she realised she had to stop daydreaming about him. After all, he was behind that door. In the flash. She blushed once more before entering.

"Hello" the same girl greeted her.

"Hi!"

"Bacon said you'd come by. He left something for you in his office. Come on!"

HE WASN'T THERE! What cruel joke was that? He had to be there. He just had to.

Addie took her time studying the young woman. She was a few years younger than Bacon. Very pretty. Well dressed. And she was a lady. She was the real thing, not an experiment put together in haste, like her.

*The rain in Spain falls mainly in the plain * Addie repeated her mantra. * Indeed... Well, she doesn't seem too upset! You'd say that after what she did to Bacon she could be at least disappointed he wasn't there. Still, he played the big brother's part for long enough to return the favour. He deserves to be happy. This lady hit him hard.*

"Is that what you were looking for?" Addie asked her.

"It appears so. Thank you."

"Oh, don't thank me. It's all Bacon's magic. I only gave him the idea for the name, he does the work. Say, you were the last customer I had to deal with today, do you feel like having a coffee?"

Mandy looked up from the ring to the girl like she was an alien. The kid was smiling with the same apparent innocence. What did she have to lose anyway…

"Coffee sounds OK."

"I know a pub."

~~~~

Bacon was at his third coffee and seemed irritated enough to make the cool JD act like a bartender for a change.

"Something bothering you, son?"

"Not really"

And that was the extent of the conversation between the two tough guys.

"Hello, boss!"

"What are you doing here?" Bacon nearly jumped out of his chair when he heard her voice. "Did she come? Did you give her the ring?"

"You shouldn't make me give girls rings! You never know what could happen"

"Did you or didn't you?"

Bacon was dangerously irritated if he said the words clearly. Addie shrug her shoulders.

"Yeah. I did"

"What did she say? Was she pleased?"

*Pleased? You are learning new words!* she thought, but she held her tongue.

"You can ask her yourself. She's parking the car"

"Wha'?"

"That's eloquent. I invited her over for a cup of coffee. You're the one always lecturing me about having some girls friends."

She tried to keep a straight face, so she wouldn't ruin her own plans.

"Can I have a Martini, Alan? I'm not driving"

"What did you have to bring her here for?"

"You didn't want me to take her to some strange bar, did you? Why are you so freaked out anyway? She's here with me!"

"I pity her"

"Why is that?" Mandy inquired.

"Oh, hello" he said, clumsy all of a sudden.

"Hello. I'll have a coffee."

"Was it all right? The ring I mean"

"It was just fine. Thank you. You've been very efficient." *Oh, just tell him you're sorry he's already finished the job, why don't you!*

Addie hang around for a while, then she just happened to remember something she absolutely had to do and left them alone.

About an hour later, Bacon asked her to have dinner the next week. She accepted. Things were going smoothly.

For the next three weeks, Bacon and Mandy continued the dating game. He grew more and more comfortable around her. So much so, that he started to think this could be an affair like all the others.

~~~~~

Bacon and Mandy were at the pub when JD first mentioned the idea.

A dancing night at JD's ?!?!?!? Ed threw a fit when he heard his father suggestion. What was the world coming to? That was the end of an era!

"That doesn't sound so bad" Addie said in a whisper.

"What's a ten year old to know!" he spit, spiteful.

Addie hung her head, ashamed, and every one else was suddenly united in the feeling that one dance night might not be such a disaster after all. Bacon put his arm around her shoulders, trying to mend the hurt of Ed's words. He was wondering how could Ed of all people be so blind to the girl's crush.

JD turned his back to them, so they wouldn't see the smile on his face. Their little ploy had worked perfectly. He was still surprised just how much his boys cared for the little alley cat.

The little wild cat had some plans of her own. She had persuaded JD to act the little charade on one of the few times Bacon was bringing Mandy over. She could see right through him. He really  liked that girl, but he was – for the first time in his life – a coward. So she decided to take matters in her own hands. Everybody needs the services of a Cupid at least once in a lifetime. She witnessed, quite pleased with herself, when Bacon invited Mandy to the grand premiere.

~  the dance ~

Just as Addie suspected, Bacon had been avoiding at all costs to involve Mandy in his life. Not that he was ashamed with his friends. He was painfully aware she was just too good for him. He couldn't stand the perspective that, when all was over, his friends would ask about her and tell him that she was the best thing that could happen in his life of a small East End crook. That was the truth, but he was not used to publicise his failures.

Mandy laughed out loud at one of Tom's fooleries and his heart shrunk just a little more. He was not acting as a tough guy. He was one. Bacon was as tough as they come, but this woman had sneaked up on him when he wasn't looking and was now ingrained in his soul so much that only the thought of their inevitable separation made him ache.

"Let's dance!" he asked, trying to conceal the lead in his feet and his heart.

*I thought you'd never asked* Mandy felt her heart leaping at the thought of being in his arms again.

She smiled, sweetly, innocently, unaware of his darker thoughts.

*Tonight! I have to break this up tonight. Then I go to Scotland for a month, so I don't listen to their stupid questions!*

She fit perfectly in his arms. It was more pleasure in that chaste embrace than he had felt in years. Addie was a nice puppet, but he couldn't compare the warmth he felt when he was around her with the heat that took over him when he was close to Mandy.

*Get a grip, you stupid man! If you have sex with her and it's as amazing as this promises, you'll never have the balls to break it up. She will smithe you! You'll end up a blubbering jelly, crying your fuckin' eyes out because she left you*

During his animated pep talk, Mandy sighed. Involuntarily. She was happy to be there, in that perfect moment. For the first time in some years, she felt protected. She let her guard down and cuddled in his arms, as if they were alone in the world. Bacon's whole body stiffened at this unquestionable sign of surrender. What was she doing to him…

The song seemed never to end, corroding Bacon's determination. After several seconds of inner battle, he mellowed down, held her closer, more intimately. This felt like  a whole new world for the young woman, already enchanted by him. 

*I wish… this dance to last forever*

Who thought that?

Who made the bounding wish, in that modern day temple? It matters too little now, when everything swirls in a maddening fever.

Bacon inhaled her scent, fighting desperately not to think the one thing he was afraid of. No, that feeling was not for the likes of him! The instincts were raging inside him telling him that what he felt, what he was about to experience was as natural as breathing, if he could just let himself go with it.

*I…*

The song died discreetly, leaving him with no pretext to hold her. Defeated, Bacon escorted her back to their seats. He drank his scotch in one gulp, wishing that night never happened.

~~~~~~~

"Would you like to come up for a cup of coffee?" Mandy asked, with a strange tone, between courtesy and shyness.

In the dark, Bacon clenched his teeth, hating that he didn't have the power to say no.

"Sure."

"Decaf" she added with a smile, feeling his body shivering in the cold midnight air.

~ END OF PART TWO ~