"Hello, kids," a man with a top hat in a suit-like outfit with purple eyes smirked to them as he sat behind a table. "Can I interest y'all in a little parlor trick?"
"I'm sorry, sir, but no thank you." Atticus said.
"Won't take long..." the man insisted.
"Sorry, we're kind of in a rush, maybe another time." Cherry said as they ran.
Darla looked to the man and looked a little shaky around him for some reason.
"Just look away from the man." Atticus and Patch said while leading her away from the man with the top hat.
Darla tried to keep up, something about the man made her feel weak.
Patch caught up to the car faster, due to being a dog and they liked chasing cars sometimes. "I just love chasing cars!" he cheered.
"Dogs..." Cherry rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"Daddy, stop the car a minute..." the blonde woman said.
The man nodded to his daughter and stopped the car. "What is it, Lottie?"
"I thought I heard somethin'..." Charlotte looked around, curiously.
"Uh-Oh, I better stop talking around people." Patch whispered.
Charlotte looked around. Patch rushed back to Cherry, Atticus, and Darla.
Charlotte looked back, the three humans gave a wave, she waved back and then shrugged to her father. "Must be hearin' things with all the excitement today."
'Excitement?' Patch thought to himself with a smile.
A man finished reading his paper and tossed it in the trash as he was on his way to catch a trolley.
Cherry took out the paper and saw the front headline. "Prince Naveen visits from Maldonia."
"Where's Maldonia?" Darla asked.
"It's a Eurasian monarch country," Cherry explained. "It's like around Europe and Asia."
"Cool." Darla smiled.
Cherry, Atticus, Darla, and Patch then carefully and quietly followed the car as it was driving to wherever it was headed.
"I'll be a minute, Daddy, I just need a moment alone..." Charlotte smiled, engrossed by the newspaper.
The man chuckled. "Okay, pumpkin, I'm gonna head right in." he said to his grown daughter before going into the diner they had stopped the car at.
"Let's go inside, I'm starving." Patch whispered.
"You're always starving." Cherry said.
Patch forced out a laugh and walked with them into the diner.
Darla couldn't help but stop and stay as she looked to her future grandmother. Charlotte smiled at the paper, but felt herself being watched, and looked to see Darla. Darla gasped and ducked down, but it was too late, she had been spotted.
"Um... Can I help you, dear?" Charlotte asked.
"Um... Uhh... You just... Look so beautiful..." Darla covered up with a nervous smile.
"Oh, thank you, dear." Charlotte smiled.
"I wanna look just like you when I grow up..." Darla cooed.
"You're so sweet..." Charlotte smiled to her.
"Darla!" Cherry and Atticus whispered loudly, then gestured for her to go to them.
"But I..." Darla said, then sighed, giving in and walking over to them, leaving her future grandmother.
"What a sweet little angel." Charlotte smiled.
"She looks like my daddy when she smiles..." Darla said to Cherry and Atticus.
"Well, that shows that she's definitely the mother of your father." Atticus said.
"Yeah..." Darla sighed.
They came into the diner as the man who was Charlotte's father took a seat.
"He must be your great-grandfather," Cherry said about the large man who had an appetite for powdered sugary begets. "Do you know anything about him?"
"Just that he and Nana Charlotte were rich, but somehow, Daddy got dirt poor..." Darla shrugged.
"Oh, my..." Patch frowned.
"I don't know how it happened..." Darla rubbed her arm.
Tiana came over to the quartet in her waitress uniform. "Welcome to Duke's, may I have you at a table or a booth?"
"Table please." Atticus said.
"Come right this way, my name is Tiana, you may call me 'Tia', and I'll be your server today." the waitress led them in to a table, giving them glasses of ice water to start out with and handed their menus.
Patch poked his head out, smiling nervously.
"Hi, there, boy!" Tiana patted the puppy on the head. "What a little cutie you are!"
"His name is Patch." Atticus said.
"That's a nice name..." Tiana patted him, then whispered to Atticus. "Just make sure he doesn't wander off, I won't tell nobody he's here."
"Thanks, Tia." Atticus gave a thankful smile.
"Now, what will we drink?" Tiana asked as she took out her notepad.
"Pink lemonade please." Darla requested.
"I'll take apple juice." Cherry added.
"Orange juice, please, and Patch will have water." Atticus said.
"Sounds good," Tiana smiled, taking their drink orders. "I don't think I've seen y'all around here before." she said before going off to give them their drinks once she would have them.
"We're new in town." Atticus told her.
"Welcome, you're just in time for Mardi Gras." Tiana smiled as she went to get their drinks.
"Mardi Gras?" Darla asked. "What's that?"
"It's kind of like a festival parade." Atticus said.
"It's huge in New Orleans," Cherry added. "I've never been, but it looks like we got a chance."
Tiana came back to their table with their drinks and got a bowl of water for Patch for him to lap from. "So, what would y'all like to eat now?"
"These beginets look really good." Darla said once she spotted them on the menu and they attracted her hunger and attention the most.
"They're our best treat, for breakfast or any other meal of day." Tiana smiled.
"Four plates of beginets please." Atticus smiled.
"You won't be sorry." Tiana smiled and went to get their orders.
The four waited and wondered what their adventure would be as everything seemed peaceful and friendly so far. Tiana apologized to Cherry, Atticus, Patch, and Darla for missing them at times, but it seemed busy in Duke's diner, soon enough, she came to them with their orders and wished them happy eating. The man who was Charlotte's father came into the diner with a friendly smile.
"Um, excuse me, Tia, but who is that man?" Atticus asked.
"That's Eli LaBouff," Tiana quickly introduced. "He's my best friend Charlotte's daddy, he comes in here all the time."
"So, what does he do for a living?" Darla asked.
"I'm sorry, I have to get his order ready." Tiana dashed off.
The man greeted Tiana and took his seat.
"Congratulations on being voted king of Mardi Gras parade." Tiana told the man.
"Caught me completely by surprise for the fifth year in a row." Eli chuckled.
'Whoa, fifth year in a row? He must be lucky.' Patch thought to himself while eating the beginets on his plate.
"Now, how's about I celebrate with-" Eli was about to request what he wanted to eat.
"Beignets?" Tiana already came with the platter of the treats for him, already knowing he would want them. "Got a fresh batch just waiting for you."
"Well, keep 'em coming 'til I pass out." The man took one of the beignets with a joking smile about what he just said as his mouth watered over the freshness and powdered sugar and he bit into one.
Atticus, Cherry, and Darla did the same to see how good they tasted. Darla moaned and squealed in delight, loving the beginets more than the others did. She even hugged herself and licked off the powdered sugar off of the first one that stuck to her face.
"Guess you like them." Cherry said as she took small bites so she wouldn't have a sugar rush.
"I can see why, these beginets are delicious." Atticus smiled.
"Yay, no chocolate!" Patch cheered, this meant he could keep eating without poisoning himself.
"Oh, Tia!" Charlotte slammed the door open in her Sunday best and looked like she was bursting with energy. "Tia, Tia, Tia, did you hear the news?" the blonde young adult woman went all around the young, stressed, waitress.
"Hey, Charlotte." Tiana greeted, sounding almost like she didn't care.
"Tell her, "Charlotte sat beside her father. "Oh, tell her, Big Daddy!"
'Whoa, it must be something really big.' Patch thought to himself.
Every time Eli tried to tell Tiana what was happening, Charlotte would keep bursting in due to her excitement being unable to be contained. Cherry, Atticus, Patch, and Darla overheard and they found out Prince Naveen was coming into town and the LaBouff family had invited him to their masquerade ball and staying at their house as their personal guest.
"Oh, Lottie, that's swell," Tiana said as she got a new batch of beginets for the most important and rich man in town. "A little word of advice. My mother always said, 'the quickest way to a man's heart is his stomach'." She set the plate down for the LaBouffs.
"Ah, that's it!" Charlotte swiped one treat just as her father was about to eat it and came to her best friend's side. "Oh, Tia, you're just a bona fide genius! I'm gonna need about 500 of your man catching beignets for my ball tonight," she then turned to the quad that came into the diner. "And I'd like that little girl and her friends to come too, she's just the most adorable and sweetest little angel I've ever seen!"
"Oh, thank you." Darla smiled after finishing her beginets.
Atticus then came over to Tiana after cleaning his face and Darla's face from the powder and gave the waitress twenty dollars.
"Oh, thanks a bunch!" Tiana was surprised at the money, it seemed like an awful lot, this was a different time after all. "Would you like change?"
"It's on me." Atticus insisted.
"Excuse me, Daddy," Charlotte took her father's wallet and took out more money. "Here, Tia, will this help cover it?"
"This should cover it just fine, Lottie," Tiana smiled as she noticed how much money was given to her. "This is it! I'm getting my restaurant!"
"Tonight, my prince is finally coming!" Charlotte gushed.
"So, where's this restaurant of yours going to be?" Atticus asked.
"Would ya like to come?" Tiana offered.
"Um, sure, why not?" Cherry shrugged.
Darla came over to Eli and took a look over to him and tilted her head, curiously.
"May I help you, dear?" Eli asked.
"Oh, uhh... I..." Darla stammered, unsure of what to say as an excuse.
Charlotte came behind Darla and hugged her. "Oh, Daddy, I just love this little girl, she's so sweet and adorable, she's like the little sister I've always wanted!"
"She does seem to have a little resemblance to you." Eli smiled at his daughter.
"You think so?" Charlotte asked.
Darla hid a giggle to that.
"Could they come to the party though, please, Daddy?" Charlotte begged, still sounding like a little girl.
"Well, alright." Eli said.
"Yay!" Charlotte squealed and hugged her father. "This day just keeps getting better and better!"
Cherry, Atticus, and Patch were on their way to following Tiana.
"Come on, Dimples!" Cherry called to Darla. "We got work to do!"
"Okay, okay, I'm coming." Darla said.
Charlotte and Eli waved to the blonde girl as she went off. Darla smiled back to them, but followed her friends and family out the door.
