DISC: I DO NOT own any of the chars from BSC. They belong to Ann M. Martin. I Do however own anyone you don't recognize!
Enjoy!
"Kristy's Big Decision"
CHAPTER 15
After everyone had gotten ready, we headed downstairs for breakfast.
Karen asked Alex to sit next to her, but she decided to sit next to her mother instead.
The older kids ordered their breakfasts and I helped Emily order hers.
As we sat there, munching on pancakes, bacon, hash browns and French toast, Anya asked everyone what they wanted to do.
Margo spoke up before anyone else could.
"I want to go on Tower of Terror."
"NO way!" Mal said sternly.
"I wanna go too!" Claire declared.
"Neither of you are going." Mal said still in that same stern tone.
Claire glared at her eldest sister. Her lower lip jutted out and I had a feeling I knew what was going to happen next.
"No fair! No fair!" Claire yelled.
Mallory blushed to the roots of her hair and glanced at me for help.
As Claire continued to throw her mini tantrum, we started getting looks from the people across the way.
"Mama, I have to go to the bathroom." Alex said.
"Okay. Take someone with you though." She advised. "I don't want you going anywhere alone."
Alex nodded. She didn't' dare object. She was still pretty shaken from her dream.
"I'll go with you!" Karen volunteered.
"Thanks, Karen." Anya said.
Karen nodded. She took Alex's hand and the two were off.
While all this was going on, Claire was still in full tantrum mode.
Mal's embarrassment was clearly evident on her face along with some anger.
Having no other choice, she picked Claire up and carried her youngest sister out of the food court for a little talk.
Anya, Claud and I glanced at one another.
"Does Claire do this often?" Anya asked.
"Not as much as she used to." I replied. "To tell you the truth, it's been a long time since she's had one of her tantrums."
Anya nodded. She continued eating her breakfast and the three of us started a conversation while keeping an eye on the remaining kids.
Meanwhile in the bathroom, Karen and Alex were talking while Alex waited for Karen to be done.
"What are you doing in there?" Alex asked. "You've been in there for a long time."
Karen had chosen one of the grown-up bathrooms with the sink and mirror inside of it.
"French braiding my hair." Karen replied.
"You can do that later." Alex told her. "I'm hungry. Mama can do it for you."
"I wanna do it myself." Karen said. "Besides, Anya knows we're together."
"So?" Alex challenged. "I really wanna get back to-"Her sentence was cut short when the bathroom door opened and two people stepped through it.
A woman with brown hair and blue eyes and a little girl who looked a little younger than Alex.
The little girl had brown eyes and thinn, but long blond hair.
She was crying something awful.
Alex frowned. She hated seeing anyone sad.
"Hi." She greeted with one of her famous smiles. "I'm Alex. I'm seven. What's your name?"
The little girl ignored Alex as she continued to sob.
The woman gave the other little girl an apologetic frown.
"It's nice to meet you, Alex." She said. "My name is Valerie. And this is my daughter, Zoe."
"Hi Zoe!" Alex tried again. "That's a really pretty name."
"I'm sorry." Valerie said. "She's just really upset right now."
"Can I help?" Alex asked.
Valerie smiled at her.
"I don't' think so." She said.
"Try me." Alex said undeterred.
Valerie nodded. She was really starting to like her. Before explaining, she asked a question of her own.
"Are you here alone, sweetheart?"
"No." Alex replied. "I'm here with my Mama and some friends. My friend, Karen, is in the bathroom taking a long time on her hair!" She said loudly towards the closed stall door.
"I'll be right there!" Karen shouted back.
Valerie chuckled good-naturedly.
"So why is Zoe sad?" Alex asked. She then noticed the Anastasia doll in Zoe's hand. She had the same doll at home. "I have the same doll!" She said. "Anastasia is one of my favorite movies."
Valerie smiled.
"Zoe's too." She said. "That's partly why she's so upset." Seeing the confused look on Alex's face, she explained further. "She really wanted to meet Anastasia. I guess she thought she would be here since she's a princess."
Alex's eyes lit up.
"She is here!" She said. "I can take you to meet her."
"She is?" Valerie asked.
Alex nodded.
"Yes." She said.
This got Zoe to smile a little.
"That would be wonderful." Valerie replied. "It would mean the world to Zoe."
Alex nodded.
Just then, Karen joined them.
"It's about time." Alex said with a glare. "My Mama could have ridden the train from Russia to Paris in the time it took you to do your hair."
Karen didn't' catch the sarcasm in Alex's tone.
"She could?"
Alex rolled her eyes.
"Come on." She said. "My Mama's probably worried about us."
"If you ask me," Karen said before she could stop herself, "she's too over protective."
"She is not!" Alex cried indignantly.
"Is too!" Karen insisted.
Alex shouted something at her in Russian that she was sure her mother would ground her for if she had heard her.
"I'm telling!" Karen proclaimed.
"Fine. " Alex said. "It's not like you understood what I said anyway."
"It doesn't matter." Karen shot back. "You shouldn't have yelled at me."
Alex walked purposely ahead of her as she led the way out the door and back to their table.
Upon seeing her mother, her annoyance at Karen dissolved almost instantly.
"Mama! Mama!" She said excitedly. "I need to talk to you. It's important."
"Okay. " Anya replied. She got up, took Alex's hand and found a quiet spot near a small area with benches. "What's up?" Anya asked.
Alex quickly explained what had happened in the bathroom, minus the fight she and Karen had had.
Once she was done, Anya grinned.
"Of course I'll help." She said. "Where is she?"
Alex smiled from ear to ear as she pointed over to where Valerie and Zoe were eating.
Well, Valerie was eating, but Zoe was just picking at her fruit salad.
"Come on, sweetie." Valerie coaxed. "You have to eat."
"I'm not hungry." Zoe said.
"Sweetheart, I know you're tired and the medicine makes your stomach hurt, but you have to eat. Even Anastasia ate breakfast."
Alex nudged her mother forward and stayed out of sight.
"Your Mom's right." Anya said as she made her presence known. "I do eat breakfast. In fact, you know what?"
Zoe couldn't speak as she gazed into the familiar blue eyes.
"Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day."
When Zoe finally regained her voice, she gasped.
"Anastasia!" She said excitedly. She then added, "You really like breakfast?"
Anya nodded.
"Uh-huh. Zoe, right?"
"Ha-how did you know my name?" She asked.
Anya grinned.
"My daughter, Alex told me." She replied.
"Alex is your little girl?" She asked.
"Yup." Anya replied.
"is she a princess like you?"
"Most of the time." Anya said with a wink.
Zoe giggled.
"She was nice to me." She said.
"Alex is very nice." Anya agreed. She gave Zoe a warm smile. "I hear you like my movie a lot."
Zoe nodded.
"Like it?" Valerie piped up. "She loves it! She watches it every day in the hospital."
Anya nodded. She frowned.
"The hospital?" She asked.
Zoe nodded. Her expression matched that of Anya's.
"I have cancer." She explained.
"I'm sorry." Anya said sincerely.
"This trip was sponsored by the Make a Wish foundation." She explained. "Zoe wanted to come here more than anything. She wanted to meet you most of all. She was really upset when we couldn't find you."
Anya frowned at the little girl in front of her.
"I'm here now." She said. "I'm sorry you couldn't find me before. I was spending time with Alex and then Pucca got away from me. Something tells me I don't have to tell you who Pucca is."
Zoe shook her head.
"He's your dog. " She said.
Anya nodded.
IN truth, she did have a dog named Pucca, but he was back at home in Stoneybrooke probably driving Sara crazy.
"That's right. " She said. "Hey, Zoe, do you like to sing?"
Zoe nodded.
"It's my favorite thing to do." She said.
"Would you like to sing a song with me?"
"Really?" She asked.
Anya nodded.
"Yup. What's your favorite song?"
"Once Upon a December." Zoe said without hesitation.
Anya smiled.
"I love that one too." She said. "let's sing it together."
Zoe nodded.
"Which version?" Anya asked.
"Yours." She said. "Please?"
"Now how can I say no after you used your manners?" With that, she started to sing and Zoe joined in.
The child's voice was like that of an angel and Anya found herself fighting back tears.
It wasn't' fair. Zoe didn't deserve to have cancer. Then again, no child deserved to have it.
When they finished the song, Valerie had tears in her eyes.
"Thank you." She whispered.
Anya nodded.
"Shall we sing one more?" Anya asked.
"Sure!" She said. She giggled as she asked, "Can we sing Learn to Do it? Please?"
Anya giggled as well.
"I know what you're thinking of." She said.
As they started the song, Zoe didn't miss one beat. She played Demetri and Vlad's parts really well.
When it came time for her favorite part of the song, she tried her best not to laugh until she was done.
"Now, elbows in and sit up straight and never slurp the stroganoff."
"I never cared for stroganoff." Anya said perfectly.
Zoe was laughing so hard, she couldn't say her next line.
That was fine with Anya. She was laughing too.
When it was time to say good-bye, Anya knelt down in front of Zoe and the child frowned.
"Do you really have to go? " She asked.
"I'm afraid so, little one." Anya said. "I need to get back to Alex and Pucca needs to be fed."
Zoe nodded.
"Can I give you a hug?" She asked.
Anya nodded and held out her arms without any hesitation.
"Of course you can." She said. "Come here, kiddo."
Zoe did so.
They stayed like that for a long time.
As they broke apart, Anya whispered something in her ear.
Zoe nodded.
After they pulled away, Anya stood up to leave.
Valerie's voice stopped her in her tracks.
"Thank you so much." She said. "You'll never know what this meant to Zoe."
"It's really my pleasure." Anya said truthfully.
"Do you mind if I take a picture with you and Zoe?" She asked.
"Not at all." Anya said.
Zoe willingly went to Anya's side.
As she wrapped a loving arm around her, a cast member who was almost in tears, approached them.
Fortunately, she was thinking clearly enough to bow to Anya.
Zoe smiled approvingly.
"You're Grace?" she started.
"Yes?" Anya asked. She had perfected this when she portrayed her name sake for Alex when they were playing and when she had been taken back in time and mistakened for the real Anastasia.
"If You're Majesty doesn't object, may I have a few minutes of your time?"
Anya nodded.
"Certainly." She replied. "I'll be right back, Zoe." She said.
"You're not leaving yet, are you?" Zoe asked.
"Soon, but we don't have to say good-bye just yet." She told her.
Zoe nodded. She went back to her mother while Anya followed the cast member.
Once they were out of earshot, Anya dropped all pretenses.
"What's up?" She asked.
"First of all, I think it was very admirable what you did for that little girl. I've seen you around here with your own daughter, so I know you're who you say you are."
Feeling she had to put her two rubles in, Anya cut in just then.
"I was named after her." She told her.
The Cat member nodded.
"My real name is Anastasia, but most people call me Anya."
"Be that as it may, due to company policy, you can't sign anything as Anastasia."
"But that's my real name!" Anya blurted out. She felt as though she was back in Russia and Demetri was trying one of his cons.
"However, if I don't see it, as far as I'm concerned it never happened."
"Thank you." She said. "You don't know what this means to that little girl."
The cast member shook her head.
"I think I do." She said. "Princess, as far as I'm concerned, you have a little bit more magic to make." With that, she walked away to help some of the other princesses hand out toys.
Anya went back to Zoe and Valerie and knelt down in front of the little girl once again.
"Preveit." She greeted. "I'm back."
Zoe jumped up and ran to her.
"What does Privet mean?" She asked.
Anya giggled softly at her mispronunciation.
"Preveit." She said. "It means hello in Russian. Do you know how to say good-bye?"
Zoe nodded.
"Dosvedanya." She said.
"That's right! Good girl! But you know what?"
"What?"
"Dosvedanya really doesn't mean good-bye." Anya told her.
"It doesn't?"
"Nope. It means until we meet again."
"So I'll see you again?" Zoe asked.
"Maybe." Anya said with a grin. She gave Zoe one more hug before standing up and draping her arm around her for a picture.
After the picture was taken, Valerie took Anya aside.
"Can I talk to you for a minute?" She asked.
"Sure." Anya said. With that, she followed the young woman to a corner off to the side.
They could still keep an eye on Zoe, but she wouldn't overhear them.
"I can't thank you enough." She began.
"It's really my pleasure." Anya reassured her.
"It's our last weekend here." She explained. "We're heading home on Sunday."
"Okay." Anya replied.
"I was wondering if you would like to join us for dinner tomorrow night? Alex is welcomed to come along too if you don't wanna leave her behind."
Anya nodded. She made a mental note to ask Alex if she wanted to come that night.
"I would love to." She said.
Valerie smiled.
"I won't tell Zoe." She said. "I want it to be a surprise."
"Good idea." Anya agreed. "Well, I better get back to Alex and my friends. They're probably wondering where I've been."
"Of course." Valerie replied.
The exchanged information and agreed that Anya would meet them in their room for dinner.
After they were done talking, they returned to Zoe.
She was still smiling a mile a minute.
"All right, sweetheart," Anya said. "I need to go now. Dosvedanya."
"Dosvedanya." Zoe said. She gave Anya another hug and the teenager hugged back fiercely.
As she was walking back to her table to meet up with Alex and the others, she was getting an idea.
As she neared the table, the cast member from earlier approached her again.
"To what do I owe this second meeting?" Anya asked.
The cast member who later introduced herself as Danielle, gave Anya a smile, followed by a hug.
She was taken aback at first, but then hugged back slightly.
"What was that for? " Anya asked.
Danielle smiled.
"Our job is to make magic in children's lives. The amount of magic you made is indescribable."
Anya nodded. Without knowing why, she told Danielle about her and Valerie's plans for tomorrow.
By the time Anya reached the table and was sitting down again, we all assaulted her with questions.
Alex was the only one who stayed quiet. She greeted her mother with a hug and her mother hugged back.
"What was she like?" Alex asked after everyone had asked her what they wanted to know.
Anya grinned from ear to ear and started to explain.
As she finished up her story, she noticed Karen shooting Alex a glare and Alex ignoring her.
"Okay, what's up with you two?" She asked.
Alex answered at exactly the same time Karen did.
"She started it!"
Anya rolled her eyes, then lifted them to Heaven above, asking God for patience.
"Don't' worry." I said. "They'll be friends again soon enough."
Later that night, Anya tucked Alex into bed, sung her "Once Upon a December" and stayed with her until she fell asleep.
Once the seven-year-old was out, Anya got out of bed and went outside to the balcony.
Sitting down in one of the chairs, she sighed.
"Please watch over Zoe." She said softly. "I know you didn't' do this to Zoe, but please, watch over her. I know you had me cross paths with that little girl for a reason. Please watch over her." With that, Anya let the tears she had been holding back since early that afternoon burst forth.
If there was one thing she was sure of, it was that she was going to help Zoe in any way she could. Even if that meant sticking with her until the end…