Chapter 12: Just One Kiss

The weekend before Mardi Gras, Tiana went to the place where her future restaurant was going to be which was at an abandoned sugar mill along the river. Having obtained a key from the Fenner Brothers, who were the real estate agents that managed the property, she went inside along with her mother.

"Isn't it grand, Mama?" Tiana remarked, staring at the empty space in front of her that included a second-story railing and a shoddy roof.

"It's…a fixer-upper to be sure, but I think you'll manage it just fine," Tiana's mother said encouragingly. "Your Daddy would be so proud of you."

"If only he didn't die overseas," Tiana replied, looking sad.

"He was serving our country," Tiana's mother reminded her. "And that is a great honor despite what happened to him."

"But before that, he had a steady job in this sugar mill," Tiana recalled. "Sure, he had to work long hours everyday with little to no benefits but it was something. Then this place shut down—

"Don't linger on the past, Tiana," Tiana's mother interrupted, squeezing her daughter's hand tightly. "Think about the future, and your own happiness."

Smiling, Tiana put a hand on her mother's shoulder. "When I'm running my own restaurant, and you're no longer having to work all the time as a dressmaker, then I'll be happy."

"Just don't forget to think about yourself," Tiana's mother mentioned. "Apart from Charlotte, you haven't made any friends at school nor had time to date anybody."

Sighing, Tiana said, "I don't have time for friends when I'm working two part-time jobs, and I don't need a man in my life. Maybe later when my restaurant's successful…"

###

"Ooh, that Prince Naveen's playing hard to get!" Charlotte complained to Tiana during lunch at school the following day.

"Why do you say that?" Tiana asked.

"Have you been giving him the Beignets I asked you to give him?"

"Yes, but Naveen's valet Lawrence insists on taking them for himself to check if they're poisoned," Tiana answered, hesitating to tell Charlotte about her theory that Lawrence was secretly eating the Beignets meant for Naveen.

"That's absurd," Charlotte remarked. "But I guess that's something valets do. There must be some way for me to impress him, without having anyone else interfere."

"Well, can't you throw a party for him?" Tiana suggested. "Your father's going to be crowned the King of Mardi Gras by the city again, right?"

"For the fourth straight year, despite people complaining about not having someone from an ethnic minority be elected," Charlotte replied. "But I could persuade my Daddy to throw a masquerade ball to celebrate his upcoming title, and invite Prince Naveen as an honored guest. That way, Naveen will have to pay attention to me and if Daddy approves of him we can get engaged sooner."

"Uh, let's not worry about that yet," Tiana advised. "It's best to focus on the ball first."

"Right," Charlotte nodded, though she kept staring over at Naveen who was playing his ukulele much to the chef's annoyance. "If you could cook a bunch of Beignets for the ball, I could lend you some money to help you pay for your restaurant."

"Oh, you don't have to go that far, Lottie," Tiana insisted.

"Nah, I don't mind," Charlotte replied, taking several hundred dollar bills out of her purse. "And you don't have to pay me back. Just call it a favor from a friend."

Seeing the hundreds of dollars in front of her, Tiana took them and hugged Charlotte. "Thank you, Lottie! This is just what I need for the down payment."

###

Though the Fenner Brothers agreed to talk to Tiana about her bid for the sugar mill, their schedules were so ridiculously busy that she decided to meet with them at the masquerade ball Charlotte's father was hosting. Because her mother was busy making dresses for Mardi Gras, she didn't have time to stitch a costume for Tiana who ended up renting a dark-green medieval dress from a local store.

Hanging out at the catering table serving fruit punch and Beignets, she watched Prince Naveen arrive in a fancy white limo wearing an outfit that reminded her of a prince from a fairytale. Meanwhile, Charlotte was wearing a pink dress that fanned out with her hair tied up in a bun that had a tiara wrapped around it. While some of the student attendees remarked how much Charlotte looked like the mystery girl that appeared at the Fall Semester ball a year and a half ago, Tiana was preoccupied by two men wearing a horse costume with one man dressed as the head while the other was the rear.

"Tiana Chase, I presume," said the tall man wearing the horse's head.

"Are you the Fenner Brothers?" Tiana asked, looking confused.

"That we are," responded the shorter man who wore the horse's rear. "We agreed to discuss your bid for the sugar mill, which you hope to turn into a restaurant."

"Yes," Tiana confirmed, reaching into her dress-pockets. "I've even got the down payment."

"Unfortunately, someone else recently made a higher bid on the mill," the tall man stated. "So unless you have double the amount you're willing to offer…"

"But this is all I have!" Tiana argued. "You told me I had first dibs on the mill, since no one else wanted it."

"Yet you don't have much of a credit history, Miss Chase," the short man pointed out. "Whereas this other client has a much stronger one, plus the money he's willing to offer is quite generous."

Frowning, Tiana clenched the cloth on the catering table instinctively. "Now wait a minute—

As she moved closer to the men, the cups of fruit punch on the table moved with the cloth causing them to spill onto her dress which briefly distracted her. By the time she wiped it as best she could, the Fenner Brothers had disappeared.

"What happened?" Charlotte asked, coming up from behind Tiana. When she noticed the stains on Tiana's dress, she frowned. "Aw, had a little accident? Come up to my room. I'll give you a replacement dress."

Unsure of what to say, Tiana followed Charlotte into the large plantation-style house up a flight of stairs and into a large bedroom she remembered hanging out in when she was a little girl. From a large closet, Charlotte pulled out a thin blue dress with matching gloves and a tiara that was similar to the one she wore.

"Isn't this precious?" Charlotte smiled, handing the dress to Tiana. "I was originally going to wear this for tonight, but I think it'll look better on you. Go ahead and change, while I'll leave you be. Can't keep Prince Naveen waiting too long!"

Then Charlotte left as quickly as she came, leaving Tiana to change into the new dress all by herself. Though it did look good on her, as the large mirror in Charlotte's room attested, this didn't make Tiana feel any better about her situation. So she went out onto the balcony and stared up at the moon which had a bright star next to it. This was what her mother referred to as a Wishing Star, which supposedly could fulfill any wish. Turning away from it, Tiana spotted a green frog sitting on the balcony railing.

"How did you get up here?" Tiana wondered out loud.

"Well, it wasn't easy but I managed," said a male voice with a foreign accent that escaped from the frog's mouth.

Surprised by this, Tiana shrieked and backed away. "You can talk?"

"Of course I can," the frog replied, standing on its two feet. "I am Prince Naveen of Maldonia."

"You can't be," Tiana objected. "Weren't you just dancing with Charlotte not too long ago?"

"That was an imposter of me," the frog claiming to be Naveen stated. "Recently, my valet Lawrence and I made a shady deal with a voodoo man named Doctor Facilier where he turned me into a frog and made Lawrence look like me. Fortunately, I escaped and have been looking for someone who can break my curse."

"And who would that be?" Tiana asked.

"A Princess who could kiss me and turn me back into a Prince," Naveen claimed. When Tiana looked doubtful, he said pleadingly, "Please, all I ask for is just one kiss."

"'Just one kiss'?" As Naveen nodded, Tiana sighed. "All right, I'll do it. But if you really are a Prince…will you help me pay for a sugar mill that I want to turn into a restaurant?"

"Absolutely!" Naveen grinned. "Now kiss me."

Closing her eyes, Tiana put her lips against the frog's forehead.

End of Chapter 12