Chapter 13: The Problems are the Answers

Princess didn't feel like eating right now. She watched her dream crumble before her eyes, and she felt her once immortal appetite drift out of her body. Children cried, and parents yelled, and the Cowboy just sat there in his seat, staring. She would never be hungry again.

"Children, children, you needn't be afraid!" It was Chucky. He stood on top of a table, out of his robot clothes. He looked different somehow. There was a twinkle in his eye, and he wore a strange lopsided smile. His voice even sounded a little different.

Somehow, the children stopped yelling. They listened to him.

"You actually thought the masked man was the real Ninja?" Chucky laughed. "He was an imposter! A fraud! A cheat! I acted crazy because I wanted to disorient that villain! Because, my children, I am the real Ninja!"

There was silence for a few seconds, then the children cheered. The parents smiled. Even the Cowboy grinned just a little.

The children swarmed around the new Ninja. "What kinda super powers do you have?" "Who's the worstest villain in town?" "Do you know Jackie Chan?"

Princess sighed so deeply she almost knocked herself backwards. She walked over to Sunflower, who was standing at the kitchen entrance. "Is the real Ninja alright?"

Sunflower peeked into the kitchen. "He's gone."

Princess looked too. "I hate when he disappears like that." She turned back around, and jumped, startled by the Cowboy standing right behind her.

"I decided on yer grade, little missies." He took out his handkerchief and wiped the sweat off his forehead. "You know, my mamma used ta always make me and my brothers peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Every day, she did."

Princess smiled.

"And I hated them sandwiches. Ate 'em so much, they made me sick."

Princess swallowed.

"But I haven't eaten a peanut butter and jelly sandwich since I was a boy, and it sure brings back good memories. Yer restaurant here might not got much of a selection right now, but it sure got atmosphere. It's got excitement. Some people say there ain't no wild west left in this here town. But I say, they outta come here ta this place. It's all the wild west any cowboy could ever dream of." He wrote someone down on his handkerchief and handed it over. Then, he walked away.

Princess and Sunflower looked down at the grade.

They passed.

***

Ein washed dishes. He washed and he washed and he washed, and it was never going to stop. He saw himself as an old man, scrubbing the dishes with his long white beard.

And Ein still thought he was daydreaming, when he thought he saw Vincent walk into the kitchen.

Vincent pulled up his sleeves, and started washing the dishes with him. "I told the manager I would help you clean. That way you can finish in half the time."

Ein blinked his eyes, hard, then pinched himself. This seemed to be real. "What are you doing here, Vincent?"

"Helping you, of course."

This had to be bad. "Did you tell Princess what I said? Did Princess tell Daisy?"

Vincent smiled. "Oh, those are the least of your worries now, Mean Boy."

"What do you think you're doing? Have you forgotten about the pictures?"

"I've done nothing of the sort."

Ein scrubbed so hard, he almost lost a layer of skin. "What is this about?"

"We'll discuss the details later. For now, let's just enjoy this moment in silence."

Vincent kept scrubbing and smiling. Scrubbing and smiling.

This wasn't good.

***

Princess walked over to Chucky. She wanted to talk to him, but she wasn't sure why. There was just something about him. Wait, was he looking at her?

"Excuse me, children," Chucky said. "I'll be back in a minute, but right now I must speak to someone." Chucky walked right toward her.

"Hi, I--" Princess started.

"Excuse me," Chucky said, and walked past her. He sat a table with a young girl who was sitting all alone.

Princess clenched her teeth, and cleared a table near the girl's, so she could listen in.

"You are alone," Chucky said to the girl. "But you do not seem like you should be. Are you waiting here for someone?"

She nodded. "He's late."

"Oh no, he's not late. He is exactly where he should be. As am I." Chucky grinned. He held out his hand, and a rose appeared. "A rose for a rose."

She took the rose. "Actually my name is Daisy."

Princess's eyes widened. So THIS was Waitress Girl. So Ein had a DATE. Where was he? If he was here, then he could be with Daisy, and Princess could be with--

"And my name is Dante," Chucky said. "Dante Marionte, Esquire. It is a pleasure to meet you." He took her hand and kissed it.

What kind of game was Chucky playing?

Daisy smiled, but pulled her hand away. "It's nice meeting you too, Dante. It was a nice thing you did, pretending to be the Ninja like that."

"And how do you know I'm not the real Ninja?" he asked.

"I'm a good judge of character, and you're not the kind of guy who would become a super hero."

"And the boy you're waiting for, is he the hero type?"

"I don't know," Daisy said. "But he might be."

***

The words in Vincent's mouth were so sweet, he almost didn't want to every let them out. But of course he did. "It's time now, Ein. It's time for you to learn your destiny."

"Get to the point."

"Very well." Vincent grinned. "I have in my possession a very special set of photographs. I took them today, actually. One of them, you might be particularly interested in."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I have a picture of you and that giant sharing a wonderful moment. Kissing, I should say. A photograph of you kissing a woman who is not Waitress Girl." Vincent inhaled deeply, and let the sweet soapy air rest in his lungs. "And I'm afraid if you don't do what I want you to do, then I will have to show said photographs to your most beloved."

"You wouldn't dare." Ein fumbled with the dish, and it cracked into a hundred pieces on the floor. "If you show that picture to Waitress Girl, I'll show your pictures to Sunflower."

Vincent roared with laughter, then stopped. "You would never let it come to that. And do you know how I know?"

Ein just stared.

"Because you were right about me," Vincent said. "I am a spoiled brat and I got everything I wanted growing up. But being a spoiled brat has its advantages. You learn to read people. Manipulate them. You develop a kind of sixth sense and you can tell exactly how far weak people like you will go."

Ein sighed. "You win. What exactly do you want from me?"

Vincent took out his list and let it roll out like a red carpet on the floor.

***

Ein couldn't believe this was happening. He carried Vincent on his back into the haunted house, then lowered and let him off.

"What do we say?" Vincent said.

Ein sighed. "Thank you for riding on me, Sir."

"That's right."

Princess approached them, with an arched eyebrow. "What's going on, guys?"

"Oh, nothing," Vincent said. "Ein and I are simply playing a little game. Isn't that right, Ein?"

"Yeah. He's right." Ein worked hard to keep himself from vomiting, then took a moment to look around. There was a hole in a wall, busted skeletons hanging from the ceiling, food and plates everywhere, a few broken tables--"So, how did it go?"

Princess grinned. "It went great! Where were you?"

"It was my Grandma's fault. I'm sorry I couldn't make it. I gave Vincent a message about where I was…but I guess he forgot. It's an...honest mistake."

"Do you forgive me, Ein?" Vincent asked, in an utterly fake, pitiful voice.

"Y…yes. I forgive you." He turned to Princess again. "You didn't happen to see a girl here with long black hair, probably wearing some flower-print dress?"

"You mean Waitress Girl? Yeah, she was here. Waiting for you."

Ein swallowed. "Did she look upset or anything?"

"The opposite, actually. She kinda hit it off with that friend of yours. Chucky, or Dante, or whatever his name is."

Ein narrowed his eyes. Chucky? That couldn't be possible, could it? Chucky would never…could never--"Thanks, Princess, for telling me. I'm glad your grand opening went well."

"I wish you could have been here."

"Yeah, me too."

Princess's stomach growled, then she checked her watch. "I need to go to the treehouse and get some food. I haven't eaten for hours."

"Hours? That must be a new record."

"It is. Trust me."

"Why don't you just eat some food here? Fridgy is full of--"

"Fridgy is empty. He got cleaned out this morning before we opened. We had to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches."

"Who took the food?"

"We think it was Ratty."

"But you still did alright?"

Sunflower stepped inside, from her office. "More than alright." Sunflower had such a bright smile on her face. Ein had never seen her so happy before. "The numbers are singing."

***

Before Ein left, Vincent made him kiss his feet.

Old Hobo Joe looked a little upset, for some reason.

Vincent told Old Hobo Joe to go back to the castle and prepare his dinner, so now the only ones in the haunted house were Vincent and Sunflower.

He stepped into her office, careful not to release any skeletons from above. "Sunflower?"

"Oh, hello, Vincent. It was too bad you missed the grand opening today. It was quite a show."

"I'm glad to hear it went well." He looked down at his shoes. They were so dirty now. They used to be white. "I know how hard you've been working to make this restaurant do well. And perhaps now that we've gained some notoriety from within the town…perhaps you can relax more than you have been. You've been working too much, I think."

She looked up from her papers. "Maybe so. I'll see you tomorrow, Vincent." She looked back down at her papers.

Vincent didn't move. "Up until now, I would have been afraid to ask you this question, for reasons that I cannot explain." Because of stupid Ein! He would have ruined everything if he told her the truth about Vincent! "But the problems have been resolved, so I am no longer afraid to ask you."

"What are you talking about, Vincent?"

"I…I want to ask you…would you like to…to…."

Sunflower cleared her throat. "Now that I think about it, this really isn't a time for me to be relaxing. We may have won this battle, but that only means we can keep fighting the war. And the war will be tough to win. If this restaurant is going to be a true success, I'm going to have to work harder than ever. So, Vincent, I think you should go now…and leave me to my work. Alright?"

Vincent looked down at his shoes again. His shoes were worn out, but he would never stop walking. Never. "I understand. Goodnight, Sunflower."

"Goodnight."