Cupid's Paintbrush

Once upon a time in a land far away, there lived a handsome prince who was in love with a beautiful princess.

Okay, so he was co-owner of a Duncan's Toybox, but he did fall in love with a woman who worked there. Maybe they weren't royalty, but the two ended up sharing the kind of love that many believe can only be found in fairy tales. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

"...and, well, working at your toy store would just be the--" It was just an interview, but Stacey Miller already knew things weren't going well.
"This is ridiculous!" someone shouted from the next room.
"If you'll excuse me Ms. Miller," Mr. Duncan said quietly, excusing himself from the small office.

Stacey shifted nervously in her seat, she knew this day wasn't going to end well. All morning she had been excited about the interview. She woke up feeling that this was going to be the best day of her life. Well, she definitely wasn't feeling that anymore.

"My apologies Ms. Miller, my brother had a--situation--to attend to in the store. I'll be finishing this up for him," a man Stacey supposed must have been the other Mr. Duncan, said as he took a seat behind the polished wood desk.
"Well, Mr. Duncan," Stacey began.
"Woah, let's get one thing straight here, Chester is Mr. Duncan, I'm not. Just call me Jack."

Stacey breathed easier. Jack didn't seem to be as intimidating as his brother. She knew this was going to be a great day.
"Okay, Stacey, all I want from you is two things: Tell me why you want this job, and just relax a little. Chester and I are normal people. We live in a small house that kind of smells funny, and we like to make people happy, but that's not the point. Why do you want this job?"

"I just, well, I love kids, and anything that makes their day better, makes me feel good. I just love seeing the looks on their faces when their parents finally buy them that toy, that they spent their entire Saturday inside, cleaning their room to get. You know, that just describes working in a toy store perfectly. I just want to know that, in a way, I helped make a child happy," Stacey said. She knew she was rambling, and hoped that this could be the one time it wouldn't make her sound like an idiot.

"Taryn, this isn't working. I'm not saying we're letting you go, but I am saying you're not going to be our cashier anymore." came Chester's voice from outside of the office.
"Do you think you could start right now?" Jack whispered.
Stacey smiled. She knew this was going to be a great day.

Over the next few weeks, Stacey and Jack really hit it off. Whether Jack was teaching Stacey something knew about the job, or the two were just talking over coffee in the break room, they both had smiles on their faces. Everyone that saw them knew there was something there between them. It took a while, but Jack finally plucked up enough courage to ask Stacey to dinner. Smiling, she accepted.

He took her to a relatively popular place in the city. It may have been small, but the food was good and the staff was friendly. Jack wanted to make an impression, so he kind of hoped that she had never been there before. He wanted to take her somewhere new and exciting, not somewhere where she'd know what to expect.

Fortunately, she'd never been there. The two made small talk over dinner, but something was missing. They were enjoying themselves and each other's company, but they weren't exactly having fun. Stacey didn't seem like the kind of girl who would have fun clubbing or at a bowling alley, and there were no good movies playing. How were they spposed to have any fun when all the classics were no good?

He took her to the park. It was romantic, but they still weren't having any fun. Sure, Stacey was smiling, but Jack could tell she was bored. He had to think of something out of the ordinary, but he couldn't. When he thought of a date, he thought of the usual dinner and a movie, but that just wasn't Stacey. He couldn't think of anything Stacey would have fun doing.

"Hey, Stacey? Why don't we stir things up a bit. How about you choos where we go and what we do next." Jack said.
'Smooth,' he thought, 'Stacey's going to see right through that.'
"Um, sure, I guess," Stacey said.

To his surprise, Stacey took him home.
"No offense, but this, isn't working," Stacey said.
"Yeah, I know, I ran out of ideas," Jack admitted, "So what would be the perfect date?"
"I don't know. I never really thought about it," said Stacey.

Jack walked around to the backyard and took a seat. To his surprise, Stacey joined him.
"I'm really sorry," Stacey said, "but this just wasn't what I had in mind."
"Then what did you have in mind?" Jack asked.
"I don't know, just not this," Stacey said.
When Jack didn't respond, Stacey got up to leave. When he didn't stop her, she slowly walked away.

Before leaving, Stacey turned back hopefully one more time, but Jack had already gone inside. So maybe they weren't meant to be together, but that didn't mean he had to act like this. There could have been so much more. It wasn't like she didn't have fun, but it was too late to change anything. Jack didn't want to see her, no matter how much she wanted to see him, and it hurt.
"Stacey, before you leave, there's something for you in here," Chester called form the doorway.

"What's this?" Stacey asked when she saw the painting. It really was beautiful.
"A present from Jack," Chester said.
"But I don't understand, who made this?" asked Stacey.
"Stacey, there are some things you we will never know," Chester said, "Jack's in the kitchen if you want to thank him."

"That's what I wanted, to be surprised," Stacey said, taking the coffee Chester offered her.
"But I--" Jack began.
"Jack, I showed it to her," Chester said, trying to make a subtle hint.
"Oh, well, I was going to give it to you if we had a good time, but I guess there's no point," Jack said.

"But, I did have a good time, I had a great time actually," Stacey said.
"But you just said--" Jack started.
"I know what I said, but I saw what I wanted. I saw us having a great time. I realized then that I had the best time. That's the most fun I've had in a long time, and I have you to thank," Stacey said.

From the other room, Chester smiled to himself. It was fun to play Cupid sometimes. Neither of them knew what was going on, but Chester did. He saw those two together, sitting outside and just had to do something, so he made them a painting, no big deal. All he'd done was made sure those two ended up together, like they were supposed to.

So in the end, the prince did get the princess, with a little help from Cupid's Paintbrush.

And like with most fairy tales, they lived happily ever after.