“Oh, no—” Zoe cried.
“Don’t worry,” Dottie inserted. “Your daddy is a big boy. It won’t hurt him.”
So their visitor had noticed. Was that a negative in her eyes, too?
Zoe scrutinized him. “You’re a boy?”
“Yes. He’s a very big one,” Dottie answered for him and his daughter laughed. Soon Zoe was using all her powers of concentration to turn the rope correctly and was doing an amazing job of it. After four times to get it right he heard, “You can jump in anytime now, Daddy.”
Alex crouched down and managed to do two jumps before getting caught around the shoulders. He was actually disappointed when their leader said, “Okay, now it’s Zoe’s turn. How many can you do?”
She cocked her dark brown head. “Five—”
“Well, that’s something I want to see. Watch while we turn the rope. Whenever you think you’re ready, jump in. It’s okay if it takes you a whole bunch of times to do it, Zoe. Your daddy isn’t going anywhere, right?”
She didn’t look at him as she said it. He had a feeling it was on purpose.
“We’re both in your hands for as long as it takes, Dorothy.” He’d read the background information on her and knew it was her legal name.
“I never go by my given name,” she said to Zoe without missing a beat while she continued to rotate the rope. “You can call me Dottie.”
“That means crazy, doesn’t it?” he threw out, curious to see how she’d respond.
“Your English vocabulary is remarkable, Your Highness.”
“Is she crazy?” Zoe asked while she stood there, hesitant to try jumping.
“Be careful how you answer that,” Dottie warned him. “Little royal pitchers have big ears and hers seem to be working just fine.”
Alex couldn’t help chuckling. He smiled at his daughter. “She’s funny-crazy. Don’t you think?”
“Yes.” Zoe giggled again.
“Come on and jump.” After eight attempts accompanied by a few tears, she finally managed a perfect jump. Dottie clapped her hands. “Good job, Zoe. Next time you’ll do more.”
She put the rope aside and reached into her bag of tricks. His daughter wasn’t the only one interested to see what she would pull out next. “For this game we have to get on our tummies.”
The speech therapist might as well have been a magician. At this point his daughter was entranced and did what was suggested without waiting for Alex. In another minute Dottie had laid twenty-four cards facedown on the floor in four rows. She turned one card over. “Do you know what this is, Zoe?”
His daughter nodded. “Pig.”
“Yes, and there’s another card just like it. You have to remember where this card is, and then find the other one. When you do, then you make a book of them and put the pile to the side. You get one turn. Go ahead.”
Zoe turned over another card.
“What is it?”
“Whale.”
“Yes, but it’s not a pig. So you have to put the card back. Okay, Daddy. It’s your turn.”
Alex turned over a card in the corner.
“Tiger, Daddy.”
Before he could say anything, he saw their eyes look to the doorway. Alex turned around in frustration to see who had interrupted them.
“Hector?”
“Forgive me, Your Highness. There’s a call for you from Argentum on an urgent matter that needs your attention.”
Much as Alex hated to admit it, this had to be an emergency, otherwise Bari would have sent him an email. Barisou Jouflas was the head mining engineer on the island of Argentum and Alex’s closest friend since college. He always enjoyed talking to him and got to his feet, expecting an outburst from Zoe. To his astonishment, Dottie had her completely engrossed in the matching game.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Dottie nodded without looking at him.
“Bye, Daddy,” his daughter said, too busy looking for a matching card to turn her head.
Bye, Daddy—Since when? No tantrum because he was leaving?
Out of the corner of her eye Dottie watched the prince disappear and felt a twinge of disappointment for his daughter. They’d all been having fun and it was one time when he hadn’t wanted to leave, she felt sure of it. But there were times when the affairs of the kingdom did have to take priority. Dottie understood that and forgave him.
He might be gone some time. Dottie still had other tests to do that she preferred to take place outside the palace. Now would be a good time to carry them out while Zoe was still amenable. Her speech was close to unintelligible, but she was bright as a button and Dottie understood most of what she was trying to say because of her years of training and personal experience.
Once they’d concluded the matching game she said, “Zoe? Do you want to come down to the beach with me?” The little girl clapped her hands in excitement.
“All right, then. Let’s do it.” Dottie got up and pulled a bag of items out of the bigger bag. “Shall we go down from here?”
“Yes!” Zoe stood up and started down the stairs at the far end of the patio. Dottie followed. The long stairway covering two stories led to the dazzling blue water below.
It was a warm, beautiful day. When they reached the beach, she pulled out a tube of sunscreen and covered both of them. Next she drew floppy sun hats from the bag for them to put on.
“Here’s a shovel. Will you show me how you build a castle?”
Zoe got to work and made a large mound.
“That’s wonderful. Now where do you think this flag should go?” She handed her a little one.
“Here!” She placed it on the very top.
“Perfect. Make a hole where the front door of the castle is located.”
She made a big dent with her finger at the bottom. Dottie rummaged in the bag for a tiny sailboat and gave it to her. “This is your daddy’s boat. Where do you think it goes?”
“Here.” Zoe placed it at the bottom around the side.
“Good.” Again Dottie reached in the bag and pulled out a plastic figure about one inch high. “Let’s pretend this is your daddy. Where does he live in the castle?”
Zoe thought about it for a minute, then stuck him in the upper portion of the mound.
“And where do you sleep?” Dottie gave her a little female figure.
“Here.” Zoe crawled around and pushed the figure into the mound at approximately the same level as the other.
“Do you sleep by your Yiayia?” “No.”
“Can you show me where she sleeps?” Dottie handed her another figure. Zoe moved around a little more and put it in at the same height. Everyone slept on the second floor.
“I like your castle. Let’s take off our shoes and walk over to the water. Maybe we can find some pretty stones to decorate the walls. Here’s a bucket to carry everything.”
They spent the next ten minutes picking up tiny, multicolored stones. When they returned to the mound Dottie said, “Can you pour them on the sand and pick out the different colors? We’ll put them in piles.”
Zoe nodded, eager to sort everything. She was meticulous.
“Okay.