Lonnie peered nervously out of the limousine's window as it pulled up to Prince Charming and Cinderella's castle to see Chad's mother standing on the wide evenly mowed lawn, waving furiously. Even the white marble castle, which was bathed in the soft golden glow of the waning sunrise, couldn't outshine this famously flawless wife and mother.
Her heart started pounding as she wondered what she'd gotten herself into.
"Oh, Lonnie!" Cinderella squealed, throwing the door open almost before the vehicle had completely stopped, "I'm so excited!"
Even though she'd been to Chad's home thousands of times, Lonnie was stunned speechless by this kind of reception and couldn't help a reflexive cringe when the queen wrapped her into a smothering hug.
"Oh, we're going to have such a wonderful time—," Cinderella continued, then stopped abruptly and blushed deeply.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" she cried, "Am I being a bit much, dear? I'm just so excited that I didn't even think. You can't imagine how much I've dreamed about Chad finally get married and settling down and now that dream is finally coming true!" She giggled excitedly, trying to smother it behind her hand.
"My son is, as you know, quite particular so I used fret about him ever finding someone and Prince Charming was absolutely dead set against hosting another ball, no matter how many times I reminded him that that's how we met, so I didn't know what to do, but now-"
"Well, never mind all that," she, breaking off suddenly, "Let's go inside. I made chocolate chip cookies for us to have while we plan our day."
"Plan our day?" Lonnie echoed, wide-eyed, her mind spinning.
"Oh, my yes, there's just so much to do," Cinderella answered, "Prince Charming and I were so thrilled when Chad told us that you'd accepted that we gave all the servants a week off and now there's a whole castle too—"
Lonnie skidded to a stop and spun around to face the queen, her eyes almost bulging out of her head, "You what? Oh, no, no, no! You—I can't—"
"Shh, shh, Lonnie," Cinderella soothed, gripping her arm, "It'll be alright. I promise you." She took the teenager's face in her hands. Staring into the wide frightened eyes, and repeated herself for emphasis, "I promise, Lonnie."
As they resumed walking, Cinderella casually wrapped an arm around her charge's waist to steady her. She also continued to reassure her,, "You, me, the mice, and the birds...we'll get everything done, you'll see."
"It's just amazing how quickly I've gotten out of practice." she continued, as they entered the kitchen and surveyed the mess, "This wouldn't have fazed at all when I lived with my stepfamily, but now the servants have spoiled me rotten!"
"I'll help you," Lonnie offered quietly, without thinking. Then she remembered that she'd never done housework before and, blushing deeply, tried to correct herself, "I mean-"
"That's the spirit, dear!" Cinderella encouraged, ignoring the teenager's suddenly red face, "But, let me call the others first; they've been dying to help." Glancing at a small crack in the wall, she called, "Jaq. Gus; Tell everyone that Lonnie is here, please."
Next she opened the big bay window over one of the counters and whistled a gentle melody, calling her bird friends. They came almost immediately, landing on her outstretched fingers, hand, and arm.
Lonnie stood in awe of the way that Cinderella communicated with her little animal friends and quickly turned away, knowing that she could never measure up. When she spied the plate of cookies, she asked, "How did you know that chocolate chip is my favorite?"
Pausing, she corrected herself, "Oh, right, I've probably mentioned it a thousand times before, haven't I?"
"Actually, your dad told me yesterday," Cinderella answered, setting the young mouse that she holding on the counter, "I had to, ah, deliver some things for Chad's Man Camp yesterday." She smiled, "But we need not go into that right now. Come sit, eat, and we'll plan things."
"The kids have been beside themselves to help," Jaq said, as he passed out cookie crumbs to the young mice and birds, "ever since we told them about the time that we helped you with your dress."
Cinderella sighed happily, remembering that night so long ago, then she shook away the daydream, "It was a wonderful thing that you all did for me and I'll treasure that memory forever, but remember what Fairy Godmother says now; if you focus on the past, then you'll miss the future." She squeezed Lonnie's hand, "And the future looks so bright!"
The little group enjoyed the soft warm cookies in silence for a few minutes before Cinderella picked up a piece of paper that had gone unnoticed before, "Let's see, for today, we'll need to clean up the kitchen, make the beds upstairs, mend some of Chad's shirts, clean all the fireplaces, paint one of the walls in the man cave, and-oh, I want to show you how to make Chad's favorite kind of cake."
"Hey, honey?" Prince Charming suddenly appeared in the doorway. "Oh, hi, Lonnie, It's great to see you! Cinderella and I are thrilled that you're willing to take Chad on." He paused, "Ah, honey, can you come help me for a minute?"
"Oh, well, ah, sure," she said, quickly scanning the room and giving Lonnie a small apologetic smile,, "Will you be alright to start cleaning up here, Lonnie? Hopefully, I won't be too long."
"She'll be right back," Prince Charming assured.
"Oh, ah, sure," Lonnie answered, her voice squeaking, "I have help, don't I?"
"That's right," Cinderella nodded, "They're the best helpers ever!"
"So, guys?" Lonnie asked, once the royals were gone, "Are you ready to clean this place up? I don't know the first thing about what to do."
"Yes, yes, yes!" the youngsters jumped around excitedly, "We can do it; we can do it. We can help our Lonnie!"
"Settle down, kids!" Jaq admonished authoritatively, "Work doesn't involve play!"
He turned to Lonnie and began to advisor her, "Wash the dishes first. Just rinse them off in the sink, load them into the dishwasher, then put in the soap and let them wash on their own. It's easy."
"Okay," Lonnie agreed, hastily starting the chore.
She worked alone because the dishes were too heavy for the little animals and everything went smoothly until she couldn't find the dishwasher detergent. After looking under the sink and in multiple cupboards, she was beginning to get frustrated. Even the mice and birds didn't know where to look.
It should be easy to find soap, shouldn't it, she thought, maybe I'm not cut out for this.
"What about this?" Gus asked, using all his weight to push a bottle of Dawn across the counter.
"I don't know…" Lonnie hesitated, "That don't look like what grandmother uses…"
"I've seen the maids—and sometimes Cinderella—use it to wash dishes," a young mouse piped up, enthusiastically cheering Gus on. The young birds twittered excitedly in agreement.
"I don't know…"
"But you said that you don't know what to do, Lonnie," another youngster pointed out, indigently putting his front paws on his hips despite a glare from his mother.
"Well…" she began wavering, "Alright." Gingerly, she squeezed some of the dish soup into the dishwasher, closed the door, and hit the start button, "Now, let's finish cleaning up while they wash."
"Can you help me wipe off the counters?" she added, "This kitchen is huge!"
"Yes, yes, yes!" the youngsters cried, happy to be doing something.
The younger mice and birds took up the task of pulling dishtowels off of racks and the adult birds got them wet in the hot water that Lonnie supplied from the faucet. The older mice stayed busy by scrubbing the stove top with tiny brushes.
With the room a bustle of activity, Lonnie's frustration quickly melted away.
"Help, help!" frantic little squeaks suddenly broke everyone's concentration. Lonnie whirled around to see a young mouse flailing wildly in the soap suds that were bubbling out of the dishwasher and running onto the floor. Reacting quickly, she scooped him up before he got swamped and handed him to Jaq on the counter.
"Oh, my word," she said slowly, her eyes growing as wide as saucers as she stared at the mess, "Oh, my word!"
"Wh-what happened?" a little mouse asked, mystified.
"That doesn't happen when Cinderella does the dishes," another one added, then shrank back when her mother gave her a look, "I-I mean—"
Lonnie was too preoccupied to be bothered. She quickly turned off the dishwasher and started grabbing handfuls of dry towels. Dropping to her hands and knees, she frantically began trying to sop up the ever growing mound of foam.
"Oh, oh, oh," she muttered, "How did this happen?"
Despite desperately trying to clean up the mess, her ears didn't miss the soft gasp that came from behind her; she whirled around to see Cinderella standing in the doorway, muffling giggles behind her hand.
"Oh, Lonnie," she said, when the girl's face turned crimson, "Don't worry a thing about it. There's absolutely no harm done." She stooped down to help with the mopping, and added, "In fact, all this soap will help clean up the rest of the room."
"I just don't understand how it happened..." Lonnie said, trying to explain herself.
Cinderella shook her head and patted the teenager's shoulder, "You don't need to explain yourself, dear. I understand."
"You do?"
"Certainly," she nodded at the Dawn sitting on the counter, "That's for washing dishes by hand in the sink. There's a box of other detergent—it's called Cascade—in the cupboard above the refrigerator for washing them in the dishwasher."
"Oh," Lonnie was quiet for a moment, "How did you know that I used the Dawn?"
"Well, it is what's on the counter."
Lonnie laughed sheepishly, "Oh, right." Then her expression clouded and she glanced up at the little mouse in Jaq's arms, "I'm afraid that he got caught in the suds."
"But, he's alright," Jaq added quickly when Cinderella's face paled, "He's just catching his breath."
"Oh, I'm so thankful," the queen sighed with relief, holding her hand on her chest to steady her heart, "I can't imagine losing someone." She nodded at the crack in the wall, "Why don't you take him home and put him in bed; he'll recover faster there."
After Jaq and his young son disappeared into the wall, the rest of them went back work and with the near tragedy behind them, the older mice told Lonnie a story about the time that they outsmarted the cat, Lucifer, and scared Cinderella's stepsisters.
"And got me in trouble with stepmother," Cinderella reminded them with a smile.
"Oh, wow!" Lonnie gasped, looking around, "We're finished already!"
Cinderella grinned, "Well, it's like what Mary Poppins said, a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. That's what a good conversation is."
"Sometimes I like to whistle while I work or hum a merry tune," she added.
"Really? I don't know how to whistle...and I'm pretty sure that I can't carry a tune."
"Oh, girl! Just do it like Jiminy Cricket said, pucker up and blow!"
"Well," the queen added, getting to her feet and pulling Lonnie up, "Let's get on with the next thing. There's plenty to do today."
"Okay," Lonnie agreed, her confidence soaring, "What's next?"
"I think we ought to make the beds upstairs, in case someone stops by for the night." Cinderella answered, "Our doors are always open to the weary hero, heroine, or their child." She paused for a moment, cocking her head with a small smile, "And now we're open to several villain kids too!"
Lonnie nodded silently, a tiny bit of trepidation rising within her; she'd never made a bed before. Her heart rate increased even more when they reached Chad's room.
"My son," Cinderella explained, "is, as you know, quite fastidious and you'll find that the way his bed is made is no exception." She gave an involuntary sigh, "Once, when he wasn't much older than a toddler, he refused to go to sleep until his nurse made his bed correctly."
Why is she telling me this? Lonnie thought, gulping, I don't need to know that, do I?
"He hasn't pitched a fit like that since then," Cinderella continued, looking relieved, "Although, I did see him speaking to a new servant about her technique last week." She nodded at the mound of sheets on the floor, "Let's get started. First, we'll need to shake the wrinkles out; I'm afraid that those sheets have been left on the floor longer than usual, what with the servants off this week. If we'd gotten them on the bed straight out of the dryer, they'd be wrinkle free."
"Now," she went on, when they'd finished shaking them out, "take the fitted sheet-that's the one with the elastic at the corners-and slip it over the mattress. Make sure the elastic fits over the corners or the sheet won't fit correctly. Next, lay the top sheet over it and make sure that it hangs evenly off both sides."
"Oh, not quite, dear, pull your side down a little more," she coached, as Lonnie followed her instructions, "That's okay; I'll just pull it back on the other side. There, that's better."
"Now, when you tuck in the sheet—and Chad get's extremely agitated when this isn't done correctly—you tuck it in at foot of the bed, then make a triangle at the corner and lift the top of it out of the way. Next, tuck in the bottom of the triangle and lastly tuck in the top part of the triangle. Make sure that the sheet is kept smooth throughout the process; Chad can't stand the sight of wrinkles."
"Oh, dear," she added, looking at the finished product, "That's a bit lumpy, dear. Try again."
Lonnie did as she was told, frowning in concentration, but Cinderella said that it still wasn't up to par. Again and again and again Lonnie tried and failed and soon she became fed up.
"I don't think I'm cut out for this," she said, sinking to the floor and burying her head into the sheet; tears came to her eyes.
"Nonsense," Cinderella encouraged, "Don't give up now."
"But I'm no good!" Lonnie protested strongly, "I've tried and I've tried and I've tried and I still can't do it!"
"But, it's only your first time, dear," Cinderella countered gently, "I've never known you to give up so easily."
Lonnie frowned and sighed; Cinderella had struck a nerve so she gathered herself to try again and this time Cinderella came to help.
See, there!" she praised, when they'd finished, "I knew you could do it!"
Lonnie laughed weakly, "Yeah, with you helping."
"Everyone needs help from time to time."
"I bet that you didn't."
"That's not true. When my mother taught me how to make a bed, I made all the same mistakes that you just did." She took Lonnie's hand, "Come on, there are plenty of beds left to practice on."
"How many rooms does your castle have?"
"Too many to count, dear."
Groaning inwardly, Lonnie steeled herself for a long day making and remaking beds. Things seemed hopeless. She wondered if this was how her mother had felt when she first joined the military.
Her thoughts turned out to be prophetic as she made mistake after mistake and had to redo practically every step. Cinderella was always patient, but Lonnie felt increasingly inept alongside her.
"Don't compare yourself to me, Lonnie," the queen said tenderly, reading the teenager's thoughts.
"But, how can I not?" Lonnie argued, her angst rising, "I can count the beds that I've made today on one hand and you said that there's innumerable rooms in this palace. How will I ever become a good wife for Chad?"
"Lonnie, Lonnie," Cinderella interrupted, anxiously taking the girl's hands, "First off, Prince Charming and I employ hundreds of people. None of them make all the beds and I have no illusions that you will either. But, they're beds, dear. They can remain unmade. And if we actually have enough guests to fill this palace to the brim, then we'll have plenty of extra hands to help us make beds for them."
"And, second," she said, her voice firmer, "Chad doesn't know what he'll want or need from his wife because he hasn't got one yet and he certainly hasn't lived life yet, so don't despair because you can't yet make a silly ole bed correctly."
"Now, come on," she said, sensing that the girl needed a break, "We'll do something different. I want to show you how to sew a button on a shirt."
"Okay," Lonnie agreed, hope rising in her heart again, "Dad taught me a little bit about sewing. He said that it's important to know when you're on the battlefield because you might need to stitch up a wound or maybe make your own shelter by sewing something together."
"Oh, my goodness! I've never thought of sewing like that before."
"Well, I've never sewed a button," Lonnie said.
Cinderella laughed, "I'm quite certain that it has nothing on sewing up wounds or sewing shelters. In fact, it seems rather lame compared to those; I bet it'll be easy for you."
Lonnie waited in a chair while Cinderella rummaged through a closet. "I like to keep up with sewing," the queen explained, "regardless of the fact that my ladies-in-waiting think of it as work and hate it when I do it. I can't seem to make them understand that it's fun for me."
I'll probably make a mess of this too, the teenager thought, as she silently reviewed how her day was going.
"Here it is," Cinderella said, pulling out a box laden with spools of thread, needles, scraps of fabric, a pair of scissors, and a number of other things that Lonnie couldn't identify.
"First, thread the needle and tie a small knot at the end of the thread," Cinderella demonstrated as she taught, "Then slide the thread up through the backside of the fabric and through one of the button holes, all the way to the knot."
"Next, you go back down through the other hole and back up through the first one. Repeat the process four or five times until the button is securely attached to the fabric, then make another knot and clip off the excess thread with the scissors. I got these two-hole buttons out for you to practice on because they're the simplest to learn with, but if the button had four holes, then you'd use a criss-cross pattern to sew the thread through the holes."
"Okay," she said, finishing, "Do you want to give it a try?"
Lonnie nervously took the needle, thread, and fabric in hand, but she soon discovered that threading a needle is harder than it looks.
"Lick the end of the thread, dear," Cinderella coached, "That helps sometimes."
"The eye of the needle is so tiny," Lonnie answered in deep concentration. Then, a moment later, her eyes lit up with success.
"There you got it!" Cinderella enthused, delighted that she'd succeeded before she got upset, "Threading the needle is the hardest part, I think."
"Now, tie a knot at the end," she went on, "That can be tricky too because the thread is so small. You don't want it to be too large but you need to make it big enough so that the thread won't slip back through the needle."
Whoops," she laughed lightly, "I guess that was a little too small. No harm done, I do that sometimes too, even now; just thread the needle again and tie another knot next to the first one. The two together should suffice."
"Good, now, just sew the button like I showed you. Here's another one. Practice makes perfect."
Lonnie, with difficulty, was able to sew several buttons onto the scrap of fabric before Prince Charming came into the room.
"Hey, I found you!" he said, his eyes lighting up, "I thought we were eating lunch today? I've been waiting down in the kitchen for a while."
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Cinderella gasped, glancing at the clock on the wall, "Gosh! It is late! Forgive me, honey. Lonnie and I were making such good progress that I forgot all about lunch."
"Oh, course," Prince Charming laughed, his eyes dancing, "I'm glad things are going well."
"Say, honey," Cinderella added, "I've got lunch frozen in the fridge; would you go down and warm it up in the microwave? Lonnie and I will be down in a minute."
"O-kay," he answered, surprised; his wife usually served meals fresh from the oven when the kitchen staff was on vacation. He stood frozen in confusion for a moment, then shrugged and headed downstairs. Knowing her as he did, she had a very good reason for deviating from the norm.
"Let's sew a few more buttons before we go down," Cinderella said to Lonnie, "I want you to help me replace some old loose ones on Chad's old shirts this week and you've almost got the technique down well enough to please him." She grimaced, "When he was about eight or nine—maybe ten—he tore all the buttons off one of his shirts because our seamstress hadn't sewed them to his liking."
Lonnie felt a stab of fear rise into her chest and she concentrated all the more until Cinderella said that they'd done enough.
"Prince Charming must be pacing the floor by now," she chuckled, "I didn't mean to keep him waiting for so long again." Her eyes twinkled, "I planned a surprise for you too."
"I'll have to tell Mal that I pricked my finger," Lonnie said, even as her curiosity perked about what Cinderella's surprise might be, "She'll get a kick out of that."
"Oh, wow!" she gasped, when they arrived downstairs and she saw what they were having, "Chinese food with chopsticks! I didn't know that you guys knew how to use chopsticks!"
"We don't," Prince Charming replied, a little stiffly.
"Now, dear," Cinderella admonished, "I wanted Lonnie to teach us something this week. I don't think that Wife Camp should be all about me teaching her how to do housework. I want to learn something from her."
"Oh, that is a great idea!," he replied, nodding; his wife's kindness and discernment was part of why he'd fallen in love with her.
He pulled out their chairs, "Let's do it then!"
"Okay," Lonnie said, nervously eyeing the two royals seated across from her; however unintentionally, they made her feel awkward and foolish. It didn't even matter that she knew more than them on this subject.
"It's alright, dear," Cinderella reassured, after the protracted pause, snapping Lonnie's overwhelmed trance. After briefly giving instructions and demonstrating the technique, the teenager and her royal hosts settled into eating their lunch.
Prince Charming had the typical troubles of someone learning to use chopsticks for the first time, but Lonnie was astounded that Cinderella needed only a few clumsy tries to perfect the technique. Towards the end of the meal, she couldn't help but blurted out, "Even I didn't learn to use them that fast!"
Cinderella blushed a pretty pink, "Yes, well, remember that I asked you to never compare yourself to me."
"Yes, I remember," Lonnie answered, frowning a little, "I'm just flabbergasted!"
"My wife does have a knack for just about everything!" Prince Charming boasted proudly, then grimaced when Cinderella kicked him under the table.
"I won't hear that kind of talk in front of our guest," she admonished with narrowed eyes.
"Yes, of course, dear," he replied, properly subdued, "I'm just so proud of you!"
"Still…"
"So, what will you two be doing for the rest of the afternoon?" he asked, quickly changing the subject.
"Well, we were going to replace the buttons on some of Chad's old shirts and then do some other chores, but since we're here in the kitchen, I was just thinking that I should go ahead and teach Lonnie how to bake Chad's favorite cake."
"Very good. He'll appreciate that."
"I think so too."
"Well, I'll leave you to it," he said, getting up, "I need to finish some paperwork and then I'm meeting with Fairy Godmother this evening."
"Say hi for me."
"Will do."
After he left, Cinderella and Lonnie cleaned up the kitchen, which went much more smoothly under Cinderella's supervision, then got out a recipe book.
"Chad's favorite cake is called a pound cake," Cinderella explained, as she looked up the page, "Let's see, you read off the ingredients and I'll get them out."
"Okay," Lonnie nodded, "Three cups of sugar, three sticks of butter—"
"We'll have to let the butter soften," Cinderella noted, interrupting.
"Five eggs," Lonnie continued.
"They need to be room temperature," Cinderella answered.
"Three cups of flour," Lonnie resumed, "Lemon extract, butter flavoring, and...sprite?"
"The Sprite gives it a tiny kick, "Cinderella explained, "You can use either 7-up or Sierra Mist too,"
"Although," she added, "Not today because we only have Sprite. I forgot to have our housekeeper get groceries before she left on vacation."
"Oops," Lonnie giggled, "What does Chad like best?"
"Oh, he likes Sierra Mist-that supposedly makes the kick a little stronger than the others," Cinderella answered, proud that Lonnie had asked, "Good thing that he's not here this week. He'd be upset if he knew we didn't use his favorite ingredient."
Lonnie's eyes widened; she known that her fiancé was picky and obnoxious, but what she'd learned today made her increasingly scared to be his wife.
"Now you read off the directions and we'll do make the cake together," Cinderella instructed, drawing the teenager out of the thoughts that plagued her.
"Put the butter in a mixing bowl and beat it until it's fluffy, then stir in the sugar." Lonnie both read the directions and did as they told her, "Grandma used to tell me stories about mixing butter by hand—I'm very glad that we have electric mixers in Auradon."
"Me too," Cinderella replied, "I didn't have a mixer myself until I married Prince Charming—oh, watch the edge, dear. You're making the butter fly out of the bowl." She nodded, "That's better. Remember to scrape it off the sides so the whisks have a chance to mix it."
Okay," she continued, instructing from memory, "Now, mix in the sugar."
Gasping suddenly, she interrupted herself, Oh, no, not that fast! That won't do!" She stopped abruptly, catching herself, "I'm sorry, dear, I didn't mean—I meant that you should stir in the sugar one cup at a time."
"Have I messed it up?" Lonnie's voice quivered; she really wanted to learn how to make Chad's favorite cake correctly.
"Truthfully, Chad would be upset, yes," Cinderella admitted with a sigh, "But it all gets mixed in either way. It's just easier to do it a little bit at a time." She shrugged, smiling coyly, "Besides, Chad isn't here this week, so he'll never know, will he? And you'll learn before he gets back."
"Thanks," Lonnie said, seriously doubting that.
"Come now, dear," Cinderella admonished gently, reading her mind, "You can do anything that you put your mind too."
"Next," she went on, hurriedly getting back to the recipe before Lonnie could protest, "Add the eggs, one at a time and mixed well. Then add a teaspoon of butter flavoring and two teaspoons of lemon extract and mix them in. After that comes the flour, one cup at a time, and mix it in well before you add more. Then pour in a cup of sprite."
"After it's all stirred in, you preheat the oven to three hundred and twenty-five degrees, then you grease a bundt pan—I use cooking spray—and pour the batter in. It's supposed to bake for an hour."
Cinderella smiled triumphantly once the oven door was closed, "There dear, you did it!" She grinned, "Want to go celebrate by sewing buttons on Chad's shirts? I know that it's not a typical celebration for you but, truly, a wife's jobs are never done—and when you become a mother—"
She started laughing so hard that she couldn't even finish her sentence.
They briefly returned to Chad's room where Cinderella grabbed a handful of cotton polo shirts, "Cotton is the easiest fabric to work with," she said, as they walked back to the sewing room.
After working in silence for a while, each concentrating on their task, Lonnie got brave enough to ask questions that had been bothering her most of the day, "Do you think that I'm good enough for Chad?"
"Why, dear," Cinderella was startled, "Why would ever ask that?"
"Well," Lonnie explained, "You've told me about how Chad gets upset and even angry if things aren't done to his liking around the house and I've seen him get the same why at school and I'm just unnerved, I guess."
"I know that I'm engaged to him," she continued, "and I do love him, but how can I be his wife until death do us part if I can't do the things that he needs me to do? And how can I keep on loving him if I can't please him? And how can he keep on loving me?"
"You know, dear," Cinderella answered carefully, her mind recalling things that she hadn't thought about in many years, "I struggled with those same questions after my father died."
"Until his death, my stepfamily treated me basically like the sister that I was, but when father died, any pretense of their love for me died with him. I had to give up my own bedroom for the attic, take on all the chores after the servants were dismissed and become a servant in my own house, all that while being criticized and humiliated at every turn."
"You must have hated it," Lonnie said quietly; she knew Cinderella's story, but she'd never heard her tell it.
"I did," Cinderella was truthful, "But, I kept trying to love them anyway because that's I thought that's I should do-what I thought my parents would want."
"How did you manage?"
"Well, I just tried to remember that we, as the human race, have but one calling, and that is to love one another. Of course, that doesn't mean that our calling is easy, but it remains our calling nevertheless."
"It was helpful to me to remember," she continued, "that it is not within a human's capacity to change another's heart, so I didn't feel that burden, even when things were really horrible. I also took heart in knowing that I didn't have to like or approve of them in order to love them."
"To like someone or approve of their actions and love them are two mutually exclusive things." she finished, "Please remember that." After a pause, she added, "I think—I hope—this helps you."
"I'm sure that it will," Lonnie answered quietly, still afraid.
"Good," Cinderella said, "And, please remember that I'm always here for you, whenever you have questions or just want to talk." She paused for a moment, then changed the subject, "But, for now, let's go check on your pound cake."
They hurried downstairs and Lonnie opened the oven with breathless anticipation. Then her heart dropped when Cinderella pursed her lips.
"Well, shoot," the queen said, "It's a bit flat; we stirred it a bit too long. I'm sorry, dear. This is my fault. I should have paid better attention."
Lonnie scowled at the cake in the bundt pan, unable to think of anything decent to say.
Then Cinderella patted her back and retrieved a knife from the drawer, "You know, however flat or not a cake comes out, it still tastes the same. Have you ever had pound cake before?"
"No…"
"Then...let's eat!"
Author's Notes: Alright, sorry about the long delay. This chapter turned out to be longer and, I think, harder to write than I originally thought that it would be. You can expect the following chapters to possibly take as long, although I actually have a better idea of how things will go in the next chapter.
Each incident that I used in this story comes from either something that I've done or from an old family story.
Stay tuned to see what it was that Cinderella delivered for Chad to use at Man Camp!