Graceful Disaster

Kara slept over again that night after a meal of macaroni and cheese (using the oven and stove top was out of the question since my hand wasn’t fully healed yet). We watched some episodes of Heroes on my laptop so we were caught up for the next season.

“I don’t get it.”

I rolled my eyes. “How could you not get it?” I was going to let her figure it out herself since she usually got mad at me when I made it too easy. She liked a challenging plot. Then again Lost had almost made her head explode (“Why would they kill Merriadoc Brandybuck?! What did he do to them!?”).

I closed my computer and patted her on the head. “Time for bed little’un. We have work tomorrow.”

She pouted, but when all of the challenges that faced her the next day danced in her head, she jumped up from the couch and dove to my bed. “Read me a story!” She clapped her hands together.”

I laughed. “I think you had one too many PopTarts today.”

“No!” She so did. “I just wanna hear a story. When was the last time someone told you a story. Not a gossip story. A real story that you would tell a child?”

I thought about it for a moment. “Alright fine. How about…” I tapped my chin and looked around the room. “Beauty and the Beast. But I’m modernizing it.”

Kara nodded enthusiastically and pulled the comforter up to her chin (you may be wondering why I have a comforter in the middle of the summer, but my building has really good air-conditioning). I smiled. It was like my high school summer job all over again.

“Once upon a time, there was a girl who lived with her father and sisters.” Kara made a face and I poked her nose. “Everyone agreed that she was so beautiful and smart. She would definitely have a good future ahead of her and her sisters were jealous. One day, her father lost his job and they had to move into an apartment from their comfortable townhouse in Manhattan. They had lost so much space and money, but Beauty (which had been her nickname in school) agreed to drop out and get a job to help her father.

“Her father didn’t want to hear any of this nonsense and went into the City to see an old friend who had guaranteed him a job if there had ever been trouble.

“‘So to celebrate,’ he said, ‘What do you want me to get you on the way home?’

“The sisters wanted Beauty simply asked for a flower. She hadn’t seen any since moving away from Central Park, and she missed them dearly. Her father agreed and set off to his friend’s company.

“Sadly, when he got there, he discovered that his friend had gone bankrupt and closed his doors. The father knew that he would not be able to afford Beauty’s flower. So he started back to the apartment empty handed, until he saw a small garden next to an abandoned warehouse. There were many beautiful flowers and the father decided to pick one to bring to Beauty. But once he pulled it from the ground a terrible yell was heard.

“A beast jumped out the second story window of the warehouse and landed in front of Beauty’s father in a crouch.

“‘Why are you tearing my beautiful flowers from my garden?’ the Beast demanded.

“‘Please, sir, my daughter wanted a flower and these are just as beautiful as she is and I cannot afford to buy any,’ he cowered.

“‘If she is as beautiful as you say she is, bring her here in a week and I shall spare you, if not then you may come here to die,’ the Beast said.

“Her father agreed to it, but knew that once he left he would take Beauty and move away as fast as possible. The Beast warned him as he walked away that he would always know where they were.”

“Creeper…” Kara said in a singsong voice. I gave her a stern look. “Keep going.”

“So the father went back home and found a pile of cash on his bed with a note. It said, ‘Here is a little persuasion for you. You may keep it and let your family spend it if you send me your Beauty.’

“Her father could not bear to do this, so he told Beauty about his conundrum. She resolved to go with him when he returned to the Beast. Her father was horrified and pleaded for her to stay and let him die. He was old anyway; she had her life ahead of her. She refused.

“So in a week Beauty followed her father to the Beast’s hide-away.”

I went on to tell of the enchantment on the warehouse, but when I looked down, Kara had fallen asleep.

I sighed and got under the covers as she turned over and began her intense breathing.

“Rude, thy name is Kara.”