At this point in my life I was pretty much willing to accept whatever nonsense spouted at me including the concept of real fairies. Okay. That was something with which I could deal. Not a bad thing. I wasn't about to deny what was right in front of my face. But all through beauty school Monica had been my idol. Which I suppose in many ways made her super-wonderful, but she was certainly no fairy. "What the heck are you talking about?" I demanded.

Rowe plunged back into his seat, face still glowering. "She's a fairy."

"And you are sounding like a crazy person. A crazy person who… believes in fairies and all that." Not the best comeback of my life, but it still fit the situation. Maybe I was crazy.

He stood up again. He was probably going to sit back down. He wasn't going to make up his mind. It was kind of cute. But then he had to speak. "Get your bag and let's go. I'm sorry to end this date early, but it was spur of the moment."

"Not until you tell me what's going on." I was very good at being stubborn when the moment arose. "Just because I'm not very smart doesn't mean you have to ignore me."

He sighed and rolled his eyes, his entire face going red with an emotion I couldn't quite place. Embarrassment? Anger? Some other emotion with a funky name that went between? "Tansy, that is not fair! I never said you were stupid."

So it was cheap of me. I crossed my arms over my chest. "I want an explanation."

"I already gave it to you!" He grabbed at my bag, but I kept it held back with a silent "mine." It was kind of fun, playing this little game of keep-away. "I told you what she was."

"Say it louder so the rest of the place can hear you," I whispered.

"Now you're just being cruel." He bit his lip. He looked like he was about ready to run out screaming into the rain. "You're right, people are here. How about I tell you in the car?"

"How about I finish my ice cream?" It was a cruel game indeed, I admitted, but it was fun to watch him squirm.

"Tansy, please."

And that ended the game. He just looked so cute and adorable that I… I grabbed my bag, glared at him, and followed him out to the car. Tragically the rain was no longer as fun as it had been earlier and the parking lot seemed a mile long. I thought he was angry, but the more I watched him as we trudged through the downpour the more I realized he was just on edge. About what? Thinking Monica was a fairy? If she were a fairy, was that such a bad thing? It would be cool to find that I had been learning beauty from a real-life fairy that did not work behind a desk. Maybe I was angry at him as well. No, no, I wasn't angry. Rowe was a difficult person at which to get angry. He was too cute for that. Mysterious beyond words, but cute. I think I just enjoyed being pouty.

Finally we were in the car. He was polite enough to open the door for me, though he still didn't say a word. He had the car in gear and out of the parking lot before I made the demand.

"So tell me why you think Monica is a fairy?"

"Because she is one." He didn't even look at me.

"You have to have evidence for those kinds of conclusions. Did you see her sprout wings? Did you see her help a princess? I help princesses all day long and I'm not a fairy."

"You're a godmother," Rowe said. "That's different. You get to wield a magic wand, but it's not like you're Mary or Monica. You can't do real magic."

There were plenty of days when I thought being a beautician was real magic, but I did not say that aloud. "You're avoiding the real answer, Rowe."

He grinned at me. The first glance at me since entering the car and it held the most adorable grin I had ever seen. I melted. "Would you believe me if I said I have met her before?"

"Met her?" I echoed. Raindrops were pelting the window, and suddenly it seemed that the only light and warmth came from Rowe and this bizarre conversation. "But if you had met her before she would have recognized you and you would have said something polite and charming and friendly instead of just sitting there like an idiot and—"

"I'm sorry I embarrassed you in front of your friend," Rowe interjected, "But did it ever occur to you that maybe the reason she wanted me to introduce was because she wanted you to—"

Oh. How silly of me. "To think she didn't know you." I laughed. "Okay, okay. Very impressive and tricky and sneaky. So you really have before met Monica? How cool. She should have set us up ages ago."

Rowe laughed as well, but it was deathly dry. "Uh, yeah. Monica doesn't set people like me up with people like you."

I felt myself blush, and eased as close to him as the seat would allow. "How flattering. But Monica isn't a snob."

"Monica doesn't set people like me up period. It wasn't that kind of an encounter."

"You're still confusing me." So much for romance.

A red light appeared in front of us, and Rowe brought the car to a halt. For a long time I just stared at the smear of red-lit water and the motion of the windshield wipers.

"I'm under a curse," Rowe finally said. "That's why you only see me at night."

I removed my eyes from the windshield and stared at him as a strange feeling of horror settled into my stomach and sent rather delightful chills up my spine. "What?"

The light turned green and Rowe sped through the intersection. And I mean sped. I was surprised no one honked at us. Washington Boulevard was known for its angry drivers. "I'm under a curse," he repeated.

It couldn't be. Mary was under a curse, yes. And Mr. Maser had mentioned other curses around the place. But Rowe? How could Rowe possibly be under a curse? "But… but we're in Ogden! We have a haunted train station and apparently this whole fairy godmother place but…" I wasn't making any sense. Just sounding like an idiot. Of course Rowe could be under a curse. I stared down at my nails and wistfully wished I could have a manicure to make everything all better. "What kind of curse?"

"I'm afraid that part of the curse is that I can't tell you about it."

"And how does this involve Monica?" I was afraid to ask the question, but it shot out of my mouth anyway.

Rowe just looked at me.

"Oh." That was all I could say, at least for the first few seconds. "But Monica would never do that to anyone! Monica's too nice. She helps people."

Another scoffing laugh. "Whatever."

"But she's Monica."

He swung the car around the corner. The street where I lived. "I'm sorry. I know you like her, but I don't and I have my reasons."

I tried to laugh, but it wound up as tear-spilling sob. "Well, I guess if she had cursed me…" I really hoped that Monica had not cursed me. "Would I know if she had cursed me?"

"Usually."

How selfish of me. "I'm sorry."

He pulled into my parking lot where he parked and opened the door for me. "Do you want me to walk you up?"

I shook my head. I did not know what to think. "I can make it on my own."

That seemed to disappoint him. He looked so sad! "Can I see you again?"

I nodded. Most likely. I just need to be upset for a while.

"Are you sure you don't want me to walk you up?"

"You'll just get wet when you come back out," I replied. "Rowe, I'm sorry. It was a great night even if we didn't stop for hot chocolate. I had fun and I'm sorry about your curse." I seriously hoped no one was listening.

"I had fun, too." Then, without warning, he swooped in and gave me a peck on the lips. Very brief, but it burned like some spicy dish. I wish it had lasted longer. Then he was gone, hopping back into his car and driving away.

For one exhilarating moment I wanted to run screaming after him, the weird stalker cursed boy with the delicious kiss. But it was raining and I couldn't run very fast. So I just headed back up to my apartment in a daze.

It had been a very delicious kiss. It should have lasted longer.

Then I remembered that I was upset and somewhat mad at him.

As I was still mad and upset the following morning, I made Michael drive me to work. I had never realized how useful ex-boyfriends could be. He was nice enough about the situation and we even made some polite chitchat that had nothing to do with his iPod. He drove a nice car so I made an impression when he stopped in front of Mr. Maser's mysterious shop.

"Can I come in?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Suit yourself." Actually, I wanted him to. I had to experiment more with him and Mary. So he followed closed behind me, whistling some country song, and opened the door.

Fortunately, Mary was wearing a bit of make-up today and her hair was pulled back with flower clips. Kind of cute, if childish. I would have expected a fairy to have better taste. She stood up as we entered. "Tansy, Mr. Maser wants to speak to you in his office. And… Michael, is it?"

I glanced back at Michael. To my delight, he did not seem to mind Mary's semi-fashionable taste. "Mary?"

She nodded, smiling. She had such a pretty smile.

"Well, bye Tansy," he said. Then he turned and left without so much as a wave.

Moron. I said as much to Mary before I entered Mr. Maser's office.

And instantly my mood returned to upset. My boss did not look happy to see me. He stood behind his desk, his balding head gleaming something rather red. Demon light, I quickly decided. Even if demon light was impossible as I made it up on the spot. Oddly enough, when glaring he looked almost handsome.

I put on my sweetest, most innocent smile and waved at him. "Good morning, Mr. Maser." What in the world had I done wrong?

"Monica's Beauty College, eh?" It was a demand, only with the little rising of the voice to make it a question. "You attended Monica's Beauty College?" My resume was right there on his desk.

Rowe must have said something. If he were in front of me I would have slapped him! "Yes. I told you that when you interviewed me."

He sighed, though the glare remained. "I would have hoped that if you had trained under a wicked fairy you would have told me upfront. Honesty in the workplace and all that."

Oh, that was it! I stamped my foot on the ground—my strappy sandal covered foot. "What is so wrong with Monica?" Other than the fact that she may or may not have cursed Rowe.

"I just told you that she was a wicked fairy."

"And the greatest beautician in this state! And if that was because of magic then so be it! She used her magic for a good purpose!"

"As well as several evil purposes," Mr. Maser countered.

I stomped over to his desk and picked up my resume. His eyes widened as I did so; I don't think he expected that kind of reaction. "I put it right here! If you were so against me training under her than you should have stopped me right off! Instead of having your son skulking around spying on me…"

"No one was spying on you. Monica—or Fiardiltia as she is properly known—was doing the spying." He snatched the resume right out of my hand. "And I almost would have expected you to be on… Rowe's side about this. I was under the impression that you cared for him."

My lip trembled. "You don't get it. I like Rowe and I like Monica. I'm torn right now."

"Then maybe you should get wise and make a decision!" I had never heard him shout before. It was not a pleasant sound.

"You're a jerk," I whispered, taking a step away from the desk. "You're a jerk. I'm trying to deal with this the best I can. All I know of Monica is good things. I like Monica. How am I supposed to know if she really cursed Rowe?"

"I thought you would want to trust people." He also brought his voice down to a whisper.

"And what if I don't know who to trust?" I think I was tearing up at that moment. It was so infuriating. I could accept that maybe Monica was a fairy, but I still could not decide whether to believe the Masers about her.

"Then learn." He handed me a box of tissues. "I hate to see women cry. Clean yourself up."

I snatched a handful of tissues. He was still a jerk.

With a heavy sigh he sat down at his desk. "I'm truly sorry I upset you. It looks like you're upset enough. But if Monica knows you are working here… that information could endanger this entire facility. Everything we have worked for."

No more making princesses beautiful. I nodded in agreement against my will. "I understand. I just don't see how Monica could be beautiful."

"Fiardiltia is a very powerful fairy. She's not the one who cursed Mary, but she is far more powerful. She has been around for nearly two thousand years. If she is able to infiltrate this place… who knows what could happen?"

I still liked Monica.

"What is your schedule like for today?"

I tried to remember. "I think I'm visiting Susanna."

"Who?" It was a gruff voice and Mr. Maser looked confused beyond words.

"Susanna," I repeated. He ran the place and he couldn't even keep the princesses straight. "She's the Beauty one. With the Beast."

"You're doing her hair at her palace?"

Sure, why not? "Yep. She insisted upon it."

Mr. Maser sat still a moment. "I'll come. It will help me watch for Fiardiltia."

"How?"

"I have my ways."

I couldn't have my boss attending me! Not when I was mad at him and his son! "You don't need to come, Mr. Maser."

"I run this place and I assist upon it. Besides, I can find out that door."

At least I had found someone else at which to be angry.

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