Sleeping Beauty's Castle to put her in a romantic mood, then you progressed to Thunder Mountain because when the cars went up and down she'd let you hold her tight. The clincher was the Haunted Mansion, because with any luck she'd hold
She chuckled. 'You're evil!'
'I know. It's been very useful.'
They laughed together, and she slipped her arm about his waist.
'Shall we start from the beginning?' he asked, 'and see if my technique's improved over the years?'
'No need. Let's take the early stages as read, and just wander.'
'That sounds good.'
As they strolled along Main Street he said, 'I suppose in a sense we really have just met.' There was a question in his eyes.
'Yes,' she said, understanding him.
It was the perfect way. To meet again, without memories or pain, nothing in fact but the charm they had always had for each other: to meet practically as children, in an enchanted world.
Since coming to Los Angeles, Pippa had had a sense of unreality, as though she'd strayed into a hologram, and if she turned the wrong knob everything would vanish. Now that sense was heightened. She'd been given the chance to find Luke again in a dream, and when that dream was over the wounds would have healed, leaving her strong enough to face whatever she had to.
They stopped in a gift shop and he gallantly presented her with a Mickey Mouse necklace and a pair of earrings to match, assuring her solemnly that this had always 'paid great dividends.' Whereupon she made a sound that he called a snigger. She denied it, he insisted, and they were still arguing as they climbed aboard the railway.
When they left it they were arguing about something else in a manner that might kindly be described as 'Yah! Sucks! Boo!' Josie chanced to come across them, and declared, enchanted, that she'd heard her father say, 'So there!' although he insisted he'd actually said, 'Take care,' as Pippa neared a step. Pippa was unable to settle the argument as she was laughing too much to have heard what he said.
The two parties had lunch together. Josie, sporting a necklace and earring set that exactly matched Pippa's, talked nonstop. She was totally happy, not only with Disneyland, but with her new family, and Pippa's heart eased.
Afterward they split up again, Josie and entourage heading for Thunder Mountain, and Luke and Pippa for the calmer delights of the steamboat.
As they leaned on the rail watching the water drift past, Luke said suddenly, 'Pippa, can I ask you something?''
'Sure.'
'If you could go back and wave a magic wand over the past few years-what would you change?'
Dangerous territory. The sun was so warm and the air so sweet that for a moment she almost admitted, 'I would have liked to spend them with you.' But to say that was to put emotional pressure on him, and risk everything she'd gained. Safer to pass it off lightly.
'I might not have wanted to run a guest house,' she mused. 'They're all lovely people, but it's the culinary equivalent of being exiled to Siberia. I created a new recipe once, a fruit dish with cherries and lemon and a mystery ingredient. I was feeling cross about being 'exiled' with all the stodge I had ft) cook, so I called it Siberian cherries. Josie loved it but everyone else thought I was mad.'
'I wouldn't have,' he said seriously.
'No, you'd have understood. I could always talk to you about things that meant a lot to me, and you picked it up at once. Other people just looked blank.'
'It was like that for me,' he said, much struck. 'We talked the same kind of nonsense and understood the same kind of world, and we were almost telepathic. Do you remember how we used to finish off each other's sentences?'
'That's right.' It was coming back to her. 'I hated it if anyone else tried to do that, but I didn't mind with you, because you always got it right.'
'So did you. Always.' He straightened up, alert as though a momentous thought had come to him. 'That's what we really had, wasn't it? The rest was…icing on the cake.'
'Beautiful icing,' she reminded him with a smile.
'The best. But underneath, we had a perfect cake, too.' He took her hand and looked at it. 'Wouldn't you change anything else?'
'No,' she said after a moment.
'Nothing? Nothing at all?'
'What happened gave me Josie. And she's perfect. Thank you, Luke. Thank you for Josie. Thank you for everything. I've wanted to say that for a long time.'
He was still tracing patterns on the back of her hand. 'Nobody ever got to me the way you did.'
'Nor me. We were very young and very intense about everything, weren't we? Too intense, maybe.'
'I don't think so.'
Something in his voice caught her, made her look up quickly, but he was still studying her hand, as though he feared to meet her eyes.
'Luke, I-'
There was a slight thump as the boat reached the landing stage. All around them people were getting to their feet, preparing to disembark. He raised her hand and kissed it and led her from the boat.
He kept hold of her hand until they met up again with the others, then let it discreetly fall. A riotous meal was followed by the fireworks display. Josie was openmouthed, staring up into the dark sky as it was flooded with brilliance. Luke's parents, too, seemed to be seeing it all for the first time.
Nobody was looking at Luke and Pippa. In the midst of that huge crowd they were invisible. Luke's hands were on either side of her face, his thumbs gently caressing her cheeks. His eyes were warm, and then his lips were on hers, as tenderly as a boy with his first kiss.
'Pippa,' he whispered. 'Pippa, my Pippa-'
He kissed her mouth softly, almost reverently. Her returning kiss was the same, loving rather than passionate. It was all part of the dream, and dream she would take it, not asking more, for that was when dreams died.
He seemed to understand that, too, for he drew back and rested his arms on her shoulders, his forehead against hers, his smiling eyes close to hers. Suddenly a tremor overtook him. In a shaking voice he said,
She hugged him back in the same way, her eyes closed as she guessed his were, so that the world contained nothing but their shared warmth and the tightness of their arms about each other. And neither of them saw the three interested pairs of eyes watching them.
It was midnight when they reached the home of Luke's parents, but they stayed for a quick snack. Pippa would have been glad to fade into the background and let Josie be the star, but Luke's mom had other ideas. She had called Pippa 'my daughter-in-law,' and it clearly hadn't been an idle remark. Now she treated her with conspicuous honor, and although she only repeated the dangerous words once, her feelings permeated the air. Pippa felt awkward, but Luke seemed surprisingly unfazed when she tackled him about it.
'She's a mother,' he said. 'It goes with the territory. She's been trying to settle me down with a good woman for years.'
'Someone should tell her that good women give you a wide berth,' Pippa replied crisply. 'This is about Josie, not me.'
'Well, she's not happy about the fact that her new granddaughter is going away in a few days,' he retorted. 'Maybe she's trying to tell you something.'
'No, it's you she's trying to tell, and you ought to warn her off, Luke. It's not fair to anyone.'
His mother called him at that point, so he didn't have to reply, but he gave her a strange look.
At last it was time to say goodbye, but only until the next night when the family was coming over to Luke's home to watch the show. His mother hugged Pippa fiercely. As they were in the front hall she seemed to remember something.
'Luke, before you go-'
