Page 77 of Positively, Penelope

“They look like they tossed something together at the last minute,” Grandfather said, waving his phone in the direction of his attention. “And collected a few vampire mannequins from the wax museum in Port Quinnick.”

“Grandfather!” Matt attempted to reprimand through a laugh.

“Whatever they’ve done, they’ve got a good spot for visibility, haven’t they?” Alec offered, shaking his head. “Only a few places behind the royals.”

“And sandwiched between Avontur’s overcrowded but eye-catching display and—” Grandfather clicked his tongue. “Well, well, what do we have here?”

Matt turned his attention back to the parade and his jaw slowly and quite impressively dropped. A massive float, easily the best in Darling’s history, followed a distance behind Emblem Studios’. Pulled by a lorry that was driven by Dani, dressed in top hat and suit, came a display made up of two trailers fitted tightly together to encompass the whole ensemble. The lead actors forMy Fair Lady—Professor Higgins, Colonel Pickering, and Eliza Doolittle—danced about a smaller version of Professor Higgins’s study with the song “I Could Have Danced All Night” sounding from the speakers. Interestingly, a wardrobe had been placed within Professor Higgins’s study and stood, doors open, to reveal the next part of the presentation. A step into Narnia, completewith a small spot for a lamppost and the four children already chosen to play the main roles. And just behind, on a raised section, taken from the Darling’s set, stood the front third of a pirate ship with a clashing sword fight happening between Captain Hook, currently played by Mark, and—a laugh burst from him—Gwynn as Peter Pan.

The float displayed the three upcoming productions.My Fair Lady;The Lion, theWitchand the Wardrobe; andPeter Pan. Brilliant. And easily one of the largest floats of any he’d ever seen at the parade, which wasn’t saying a great deal when compared to much bigger parades, but for Mountcaster it certainly stood out.

There was no mistaking whose handiwork was behind this creation. This style of float must reflect some of her American grandiosity.

But where was Penelope?

Grandfather laughed and gestured with his phone toward the float. “She really outdid herself, didn’t she?”

“I’ve never met anyone who enjoys ‘outdoing herself’ more,” Matt replied, chuckling and meeting Alec’s astonished expression before turning back to the parade. “Grandfather, is that the wardrobe from your study?”

His grandfather’s smile grew so large that it stretched his graying mustache.

“You used the wardrobe from your study and let them cut out the back of it?” Alec gaped.

“Nothing a few nails won’t fix afterward.” He turned back to his videoing. “Besides, Lorianna would have loved it.”

She certainly would have. Matt drew in a deep breath, his chest expanding with waiting laughter.

On either side of the float walked various people dressed in costume. A few Lost Boys. The White Witch. Two or three couples dressed in Edwardian finery fit for the races inMy Fair Lady. And then a little pixie in green caught his attention. She carried a basket and tossed something that looked like sparkling confetti toward thecrowd. His eyes stung at the sheer delight on his daughter’s face. His very own Tinker Bell, with her golden hair in a high ponytail on her head. She danced beside the float, her smile bright, and she looked every bit the part of a happy, healthy child.

And right by her side, looking just as happy and giving a nod to their spring performance, walked Cinderella, except instead of pixie dust, she was handing out small packages of some sort. He couldn’t quite make them out, but they looked like little golden bags. Her red hair piled on top of her head featured a silver crown, similar to the one she’d worn on her dinner date with Alec, and the gown bloomed out around her in a shimmery hue of pale blue.

Penelope embraced her part, her pink smile on full display as she strategically approached families lining the road and gave the golden bags to the children.

On several occasions, Penelope leaned over to give Iris guidance; all the while, his little girl stared up at the woman with a look of unadulterated pleasure. Matt’s internal arguments against pursuing Penelope hit a snag. What did Iris need most? Could it be the same thing that his heart wanted?

“What... h-how?” came Alec’s stuttered response.

“Magic, I’d say,” Matt responded without one hint of a smile. “She is fairly teeming with it.”

Alec opened his mouth as if to respond, but merely turned to stare back at the parade.

“How on earth did Emblem get ahead of her, is my question?” grumbled Grandfather. “I called and made the arrangements myself about placement, and I was assured we’d follow directly behind Avontur.”

“You knew about...” Alec blinked, waving toward the float. “This?”

“I’m assuming she didn’t divulge the information to you at dinner?” Matt pinched his lips tight to keep them from curling with a bit too much pleasure.

“She . . . she mentioned a surprise”—Alec shrugged—“but I never imagined something so . . .”

“Marvelous?” Matt finished, his grin breaking free. As marvelous as the creator.

The float passed, and pasted on the very back hung a large sign that read:

Celebrating 100 Years of Magic

Become a part of The Darling House storytoo

And beneath was listed the phone number and web address in bright red.

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