Having just polished off her third brownie, Haley licked away the thick fudge covering her fingertips before resuming her typing. Three paragraphs in and her article was running along so smoothly it practically wrote itself. She was about to start the fourth paragraph when there was a knock at the front door. Pulling her glasses off she lay them next to her notebook computer and hurried to answer.
She squinted while looking through the peephole at a man she couldn't recall ever having seen before. "Who is it?"
Evidently sensing or guessing that she was looking at him, the stranger waved two fingers toward the peephole, an amiable smile on his boyishly handsome face. "It's Nathan Haley." After a brief pause he added, "I mean it's Nathan. Haley isn't my surname, but it is your first name." Another pause. "Although I'm betting you already knew that." He laughed.
"Don't know a Nathan and how do you know my name?"
"Let me in and I'll tell you." He comically wiggled dark brows.
Haley removed her cell phone from the deep right pocket of her gray sweatpants. "Why don't I call the police and you can tell them?"
"Haley, sweetheart don't be so paranoid."
Releasing a high-pitched scream that could surely garner her a role in a horror film, Haley turned toward the deep voice. There Nathan was seated comfortably on her couch, long arms spread out along the back of the couch and left ankle resting atop his right knee. Although his smile remained friendly, Haley dropped the phone in fear.
"What the…? Are there two of you?!"
He laughed. "God, I hope not. Please don't be alarmed. I'm not here to hurt you Haley. I only want to help you."
"H…how did you enter my house so quickly?"
"I'm a fairy."
Haley spent the next few seconds staring at him as if he had just sprouted a second head. "Excuse me? Was that supposed to be a derogatory remark?"
"No! Absolutely not. I'm your fairy godfather."
"Oh, I see." The brunette slowly nodded. "Well that explains everything." Leaning over, she grabbed her phone and flipped it open to dial for help in getting this wacko out of her house. Immediately after she pressed '9' the cell disappeared from her hand. "What the hell?" She searched her surroundings only looking toward Nathan when he cleared his throat. Her mouth fell open. Although he hadn't moved, Haley's phone rested in his palm. "Look Houdini you need to get out of here! I have a gun and I'm not afraid to use it. In fact, I've been itching to! There's nothing more satisfying than pulling a trigger."
"You don't own a gun Haley," Nathan confidently replied. "Even if you did you don't need it. Honestly I mean you no harm. I've come to help you."
"Help me with what?"
Placing his foot back on the carpet, Nathan leant forward. "You're going to the annual Goodies Magazine yacht party. You have to be a minimum twenty-one years old and an employee or plus one of an employee to attend. You started officially working at Goodies after graduating college and then last year couldn't go because you were sick. This year you aren't sick so you're going." He lightly tapped the notebook computer's screen. "That article won't keep you from attending. If you'd put your foot down with Rachel and Peyton it would have been completed days ago."
"How do you know all of this? Have you been spying on me?"
Nathan sent her a grin. "I guess there's only one way to prove to you that I'm not a total nutcase. So," he clapped his hands together, "let's get you ready." Merry cerulean eyes glanced toward the 17-inch screen. "First things first. I realize you're a staunch believer in no play before work so let's finish this article." Standing, he pulled a slim rectangular electronic gadget from his pocket that looked similar to the Apple iPhone. Haley observed as he spent the next ten seconds pressing keys on its small screen before aiming it at her and then the notebook computer. Something must have happened on the computer that he approved of because Nathan broadly smiled. Leaning down, he punched a couple of keys to save his work. "Presto! Come here and read this Haley."
Hesitantly approaching, Haley started to read and then skimmed the rest of the article in amazement. She glanced between the familiar words in the Microsoft Word document and the man claiming to be her fairy godfather. "This…how…these are my words! I mean I hadn't written all of them yet, but this sounds precisely like what I would have created. How did you do that?"
Nathan appeared very pleased with himself. "With modern fairy technology I was able to pull your thoughts from your head and onto the computer. It's not cheating--that's what you would have written and I'm not being biased when I say it sounds great. So it's saved and now you'll just have to turn it in on Monday morning." Exiting out of Microsoft Word, Nathan closed the lid on the computer. "It's makeover time!" Tapping a finger against his lips, he scrutinized the young woman. "Let's do something with your hair."
Haley self-consciously tugged on her ponytail. "What's wrong with it?"
"I think the better question is what's not?" The fairy godfather gently responded. "It's basic brown, wracked with split ends, needs a better conditioner and it appears that you created that ponytail while half asleep in a pitch black room."
She smirked. "Please don't hold back."
"Don't get me wrong Haley. You're very lovely. You just need to…upgrade yourself. You work so diligently at Goodies Magazine and tend to others so much that it leaves very little time to dote on you. Tonight I hope that will begin to change. Now your hair…" Lifting his iPhone like gadget, Nathan brought up an application titled 'Hair Care'. Again he aimed the device at Haley and selected a key that unleashed her locks from a purple scrunchie.
"Now a trim," Nathan muttered, actually speaking to himself at this point. "Hmm, maybe three inches." The correct length chosen he aimed the gadget toward his charge and clicked. Three inches of Haley's hair along with her split ends vanished into thin air. An erect index finger flicked images across the screen until Nathan found the ideal conditioner. He showed the bottle to the other brunette. "You pull in a high five figure yearly salary. Therefore, you can afford to purchase a better conditioner. The conditioner you're using now costs about two bucks and this one costs an average of $10.99. It's worth the extra nine dollars for your hair to look like this." Nathan aimed and clicked. He smiled admiring the young woman's now lustrous, flowing, smooth and begging for fingers to be sifted through it hair.
"A nice shade of brown you have but it needs something to make it pop…" As a thought occurred to him, Nathan's blue eyes brightened. Gazing at the screen, his digits flew across it. "Highlights. Let's try a blend of gold and copper." Aim and click. His eyes seemed to brighten further. "Awesome! One more thing-- we'll add a few curls for bounce." Search, aim and click. "All right! Your hair is done. What do you think?" Touching the 'Camera' app. Nathan snapped a picture of Haley and then showed it to her so she could check out her new hairstyle. If her astonished beam was any indication she approved.
"It looks as though I just stepped out of a salon!" Staring at her image she gingerly touched the silken locks.
A few icons away from 'Camera' was the 'Clothes' application. Choosing it, Nathan asked Haley what she would like to wear. "It's a casual affair so would you like to try a slinky little dress?" He released a boisterous laugh when she made the face one might drum up when sucking on a lemon. "Okay, okay. Pants it is. Lemme see…" Within one minute Nathan had put together an outfit he could imagine Haley dressed in. He handed her the gadget to view and taught her how to navigate 360 degrees so she could see the outfit from all angles. "How's that?"
The brunette gasped as her eyes were riveted to the wide leg blue jeans. Peyton was correct when she mentioned earlier that Haley lived in jeans, but no pair of jeans in her closet compared to these. These jeans had to be the Cadillac of all jeans. With five pockets sewed in, the two back pockets were encrusted with dainty crystals in the shape of butterflies and a combination of crystals and beading trailed down the outer thigh area of the jeans. A tailored white long-sleeved shirt with concealed button placket and a satin and twill red, navy blue and white striped tie completed the outfit.
"Nathan you have great taste. I love this. Love this! Those jeans look so opulent…"
He chuckled while nodding in agreement. "At two grand they are."
Haley almost dropped his little electronic fairy helper. "Two grand? As in two thousand dollars?" Nathan nodded again. "For one pair of jeans? I can't accept."
"You can and you will." He winked at her. "If it makes you feel any better they're only on loan. I agree that two thousand for one pair of pants is ridiculous, but tonight is special, you're special and you should have a special pair of jeans. Please wear them."
Haley glanced at the screen and sighed. They were so beautiful. "Okay. Aim and click when you're ready sir."
Her fairy godfather complied. "Like chef Emeril Lagasse would say--BAM!" The duo shared a laugh while Haley looked down at her new outfit. This made her want to go shopping, something she usually wasn't a fan of. She would have to schedule a trip to the mall next week. "Now you just need some shoes and a bit of makeup if you'd like and we're good to go." Just as Nathan tapped the 'Shoes' app. Haley asked him if she could wear a pair of shoes she already had. "Sure sweetheart. I'll wait down here for you." He watched while she hurried toward the stairs and reminded her not to forget her wallet and Goodies yacht party invitation.
It took Haley five minutes to return wearing a navy blue fedora with a satin crimson band and red Converse sneakers with blue and white trim. He expected the shimmering lip-gloss but Nathan was pleasantly surprised by the carefully applied dark shades of eyeliner and eye shadow, which gave the young woman a dramatic sensual appearance.
Speaking of dramatic, Nathan clutched his chest, his lips curved into a silly grin. "I may be the first fairy whose breath has been taken away." Just to see that blush on her cheeks deepen he added a catcall style whistle.
"Oh stop!" Cheeks ablaze, Haley waved a dismissive hand.
"Why? I just like calling 'em like I see 'em and you're a hottie." Strutting toward the dining room table, Nathan picked a polished Red Delicious apple from the fruit basket resting there. Indicating for Haley to follow him, he headed out the front door not stopping until he reached the sidewalk.
"Papa needs a brand new set of wheels!" Blowing on the fruit like a professional gambler at a craps table in Las Vegas, Nathan tossed it toward the street. Landing on the asphalt the apple rolled a few inches before it was replaced with a red and truly delicious 2009 Lamborghini Gallardo.
Brown eyes comically bulged. This car was so sexy Haley wanted to ask it to marry her. "Hot damn!"
Nathan was quite pleased by her reaction. "My sentiments exactly." He tossed her a set of keys, which Haley dubiously gazed upon. "Scared about operating it?"
She swiftly nodded. "Although this car blows my mind it's far too fast for me. I just know I'll wind up wrapping it around a tree."
"No you won't." Fairy godfather device making another appearance, Nathan scrolled down to the 'Skills' app. A minute later he had the gadget pointed toward Haley and clicked. "There. Now you're capable of handling the mighty Lamborghini because you have the driving talents of race car drivers such as Danica Patrick, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon."
"Really? I don't feel any different."
He grinned. "You will when you get behind that wheel." He pointed toward the car. "Now you best be on your way before you miss the yacht. You'll need the Lambo's speed to make it on time and don't worry about driving fast--you won't encounter much traffic on your journey to the marina." Stepping behind her, Nathan placed his hands on her shoulders and gently guided her toward the drivers' side. "Relax and have oodles of fun. Oh and I recommend that you return back home by 8 o'clock in the morning because that's when your new threads and whip vanish."
Haley quickly turned around to regard him. "So I could end up out in public naked and without transportation?" She didn't know why she was concerned though. The yacht was supposed to return to the marina by midnight and she planned on being back home before one o'clock.
Nathan laughed. "Yes, you'll be without transportation but you will have your sweats to wear. Also, the Converse sneakers and the fedora will remain because those are your items. You get to keep the new hairdo though. Consider it a bonus." He offered her an adorable little smile along with a wink. Opening the car door, Nathan waited for Haley to slide in before he closed it. When she rolled the window down he removed her fedora to place a kiss on the top of her head.
"Remember--have fun."
"Thank you for all your help Nathan." Reaching for his hand she squeezed it.
"You're very welcome." He slapped the Lamborghini's immaculate sloped hood. "Take this baby for a spin!"