Page 148 of The Nanny and the Nerd
“The robot liked cookies, too,” Phoebe added.
“Okay, the robot and a hot dog fairy, who both loved to eat chocolate chip cookies,” he said, editing the line.
“And pizza! We should add pizza, Uncle Row!” Phoebe exclaimed, causing the audience to chuckle, and Penny couldn’t help but smile at the sight of the two people who had surprised her yet again.
“One day, a beautiful princess arrived at their castle on the hill,” Phoebe continued. “Her name was Princess Penny, and she was the princess of sticky notes and do-overs.”
The breath caught in Penny’s throat.
Do-overs?
“She brought light to the castle,” Rowen continued, taking over. “She made the robot smile, and she made the hot dog fairy laugh. You see, darkness had fallen on the castle, and there hadn’t been joy in their lives for a very long time. The princess changed that. She reminded the robot that he hadn’t always been a robot. He was once a man with a real heart. But he had been cursed by the darkness, and it had turned him into a creature, part man and part machine.”
“But the hot dog fairy was always a hot dog fairy because hot dogs are yummy and delicious. Almost as yummy and delicious as pizza and cookies,” Phoebe added as the auditorium exploded into laughter again.
This kid might have a future in writing comedy.
“With her slips of paper and angelic smile,” Rowen continued as the crowd quieted. “The robot believed the princess could turn him back into a real man and break the curse that turned his skin to steel and his heart to stone.”
Penny pressed her hand to her heart.
“Feeling joy for the first time in a long time, the robot thought the princess had reversed the curse. But at the first hint of trouble, the robot became the worst version of his robot self,” Rowen read, his voice shaking.
“But he still ate lots and lots of cookies,” Phoebe added, eliciting more chuckles from the auditorium. But Penny wasn’t laughing. In front of hundreds of pairs of eyes, this man was laying his soul bare for all to see.
No—not for everyone to see—forherto see.
“One day,” Rowen continued, “when the robot feared that he would never become human again, he set off on a long, lonely trek and, by accident, or perhaps by fate, he wandered into a magical realm—the Realm of Gratitude. Here, a group of wise mystics proclaimed that he wasn’t destined to live with a heart of stone. He had friends and family. And that would give him the strength to fight the wretched curse. When he asked why the princess couldn’t turn him into a man, they sent him to the Pool of Honesty for answers. In the gentle waters, a prophecy was revealed.
“What did the robot learn?” Penny asked, breathless.
Rowen held her gaze. “It was never the princess’s job to break the curse.”
Penny took a step toward him. “It wasn’t?”
“No, the robot had to find it within himself to face his demons and end the curse.”
“And to do that,” Phoebe read, “the robot had to believe in love with his whole heart. Only then would he be able to become a man and make the ultimate sacrifice. The sacrifice that would ensure he could be with the princess and the hot dog fairy.”
“And what’s the ultimate sacrifice?” Penny whispered.
“A sacrifice that requires a do-over,” Rowen answered.
“A do-over?” she repeated.
“In the Realm of Gratitude, a wise man gave him an enchanted box. He instructed him to fill it with items to convince the princess that he believed in love and was worthy of one of her precious do-overs.”
Phoebe pulled the old wooden domino box from her hot dog backpack and opened the lid. “A piece of magical paper,” the child said, holding up the pink sticky note she’d placed on her laptop when she’d returned it. “An irreplaceable image,” Phoebe continued, revealing the photograph she’d had as her screen saver—the one with the three of them holding cookies in front of their eyes. “A shell from the Ocean of Love and this charmed tile.” Phoebe held the last two items in her palm.
Penny stared at the domino—a domino with RT written on the corner. “You found one? They weren’t all lost?”
Rowen peered into the audience. “It found me.”
“Keep reading, Uncle Row! This is your part,” Phoebe directed to the delight of the audience.
Rowen’s chest rose and fell as he exhaled a slow breath. “Finally,” he continued, “the robot and the hot dog fairy went on a quest for the final object needed to convince the princess. Only together could they retrieve this item known as the infinity halo.”
“Infinity halo?” Penny asked, looking from Rowen to Phoebe.
