The Princes of Tangleforest (16 page)

 “Yeah,” Tanner said. “Some jerk outbid me on Baby Bear.”

Julia playfully slapped him on the arm. “Your mom would have killed you.”

“What in the world are you holding?” Myra asked.

“Oh,” Julia said.

“I told her not to wrap it,” Tanner said.

She handed the jumbled present, tied with a pink ribbon, to Myra. “It’s a rose bush. We thought Poppi might like something that bloomed during the day.”

“That was very thoughtful. I’m sure she’ll love it. I have a few things to finish up. Poppi’s still in her room if y’all want to go on up.”

“Sure,” Julia said. “Come on, Tanner.” She grabbed his hand and led the way upstairs. 

Poppi sat at her vanity brushing her short and bouncy blonde hair. When she noticed Julia and Tanner in her mirror, she jumped up and ran, throwing her arms around Julia and giving her a huge hug, followed by the planting of a loud kiss on Tanner’s cheek.

“Thanks for coming to my birthday party!” she said.

“We wouldn’t have missed it,” Tanner said.

“Do you like it?” She twirled around in her yellow sundress. “It’s new! Grandma bought it online.”

Julia smiled. “You look very pretty, and your hair is fabulous, if I do say so myself.” 

“Thank you, Jules. Hey, we’re going outside for lunch in the garden. Grandma made me a double chocolate cake. Is Zachary here?” Poppi eyes grew wide with hope as she looked back and forth from Tanner to Julia.

“I’m sure he’ll be here, soon.” Julia still couldn’t believe what had happened between the two of them. Poppi had latched onto Zachary almost immediately after she started going to his dad’s home office for therapy. What a pair they made. Zachary had even given up his reign at school, letting the mind-controlled brains lapse back into regular high school brains. He took some hits for being smart and for being a nerd, but the insults seemed to bounce off of him like he wore a shield. She had never seen him so happy. He had found the person he needed… someone who needed him.

“Is someone looking for me?” Zachary poked his head in the doorway.

Poppi screamed, like she hadn’t seen him in forever. “Zachy!” She jumped in his arms, planting kiss after kiss on his face.

“Whoa, whoa… Don’t you want your present?” he teased.

“Do I? What did you get me? What is it?”

He brought a small, red present with a huge, gold bow from behind his back. Poppi grabbed it from his hands, tearing into it.

“They’re really good together,” Tanner said.

Julia couldn’t help but smile at the way Tanner’s face lit up. It reminded her of how her father glowed whenever she did something to make him proud.

Zachary tried to put the necklace around Poppi’s neck as she bounced up and down. “Well, hold still a second,” he said.

“Look, Jules!” Poppi showed her the necklace. “Look what my boyfriend
got me. Isn’t it pretty? It’s for my birthday.”

“Wow.” Julia whistled. “That’s a rock. Looky at that, Tanner. You know my birthday is right around the corner.”

Tanner cleared his throat. “Thanks, Zachary.”

“Come on, Poppi,” Zachary said with a grin. “I think I hear your grandma calling.”

Poppi grabbed Zachary’s hand. “It’s time for my party!”she said.

After Poppi dragged Zachary out the door, Julia could hear Zachary telling her to slow down before they fell down the stairs.

“Are you ready?” Julia asked Tanner.

“Yeah, I guess.” He scratched his head and gave a loud sigh.

“What’s the matter?” Julia sang. “I was only joking about the diamond.”

“No, I guess I still feel kind of stupid for trying to rescue someone who really didn’t need rescuing.”

“Are you kidding me right now? You did rescue her… and her grandmother, and as strange as it might sound, you even rescued her prince.”

He laughed. “Zachary turned out to be a real Prince Charming. Huh. Who knew?” He wrapped his arms around Julia’s waist and arched his eyebrow. “What about you? Did I rescue you?”

“Are you saying that just because I’m a girl I’m a damsel in distress?” She beamed. “You know, I’m not the princess, Snow White type.”

“You’re absolutely right. I think you’re actually the prince because you rescued me from myself. I don’t give a flip what people think about me anymore. Wait a minute… Daaaang. I guess that makes me the damsel!”

The End

Copyright

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

The Princes of Tangleforest
Copyright © 2011 by Dorlana Vann. All rights reserved. No part of this text may be reproduced, electronically or in print, in any form.

A Pixie Punk Press eBook

Houston, TX

www.dorlanavann.com

Dedication, Acknowledgements, and Bibliography

Doria, Darah, and Dean

A special thanks to my daughter Darah Vann, who was the inspiration behind Julia’s independent spirit. I would also like to thank the following people for critiques, cover art, formatting and/or encouragement: Don Vann, Doria Vann, Timmy Orr, and the Humble Fiction Café.

References:

Grinder, John and Bandler, Richard:
Frogs into Princes: Neuro Linguistic Programming
: Real People Press Moab, Utah 1979.

Psychological illusionist Derren Brown’s website: http://derrenbrown.co.uk  and videos.

Grimm, Jakob Ludwig Karl and Grimm, Wilhelm Karl (Brothers Grimm):
Rapunzel
part of
Children's and Household Tales
: Germany 1812.