Read Online Mythe: A Fairy Tale by P J Gordon - Free Book Online

birthday cake onto the bar.
    “Is there anything else you need right now?” Jonathan asked.
    “No, we’re fine, thank you very much,” David assured him, and Jonathan excused himself and slipped out.
    “Can I open my presents now?” Stacey pleaded, picking up David’s present.
    “Yes, now you may open your presents,” David intoned, like a king granting a favor. Stacey wasted no time ripping the paper from the package to reveal the black velvet box inside. David had shown Manda the gift the day before, right after he’d picked it up. Stacey flipped open the lid and delightedly turned the box around to show Manda and Katie the gold charm bracelet in the satin-lined box.
    “It’s beautiful! Thank you!” Stacey gushed, removing the bracelet from the box and fastening it around her wrist. She kissed David enthusiastically, and then admired the bracelet on her arm again.
    “Open Aunt Manda’s card now,” Katie prompted eagerly, handing it to her.
    Stacey, happy to comply, slid her finger under the flap and tore open the envelope. She smiled as she read the comical card Manda had made for her, and then opened the smaller envelope that held the gift card to a boutique that Manda knew she liked. Her eyes widened when she saw the amount on the card and she hugged a startled Manda.
    “Oh, you shouldn’t have! You really, really shouldn’t have, Manda!”
    “I figured you deserved it for putting up with David,” Manda joked, downplaying the gift. “Happy birthday.”
    “Thank you,” Stacey replied earnestly. Before she could continue the crowd in the arena roared and the group in the suite turned as one toward the stage.
    The opening band had just appeared. It was a group that Manda had heard of but wasn’t very familiar with. David, Stacey, and Katie knew them well, however, and dessert was forgotten while the band played.
    At the end of the performance, as the group left the stage to the sound of enthusiastic applause, Manda stood and stretched. She had, it turned out, recognized several of the group’s songs. David had occasionally played them at work.
    “They were great,” David enthused.
    “Yeah, they were pretty good,” Manda agreed. “Shall we cut the cake now?”
    “Yes, definitely,” Stacey said. “It’ll take them a while to reset the stage anyway.”
    Katie groaned unhappily. Manda sympathized. Rain couldn’t take the stage soon enough for her. Her appreciation of the opening band had been diminished by her eagerness to see Richard and Josh perform.
    “Come help me cut the cake,” Manda suggested to her niece. The busier they stayed the quicker the time would pass. Katie jumped up to join her, taking pieces to David and Stacey as Manda cut them. Katie took a large piece for herself and Manda took a small one. After two bites she found she wasn’t hungry and pushed the cake around on her plate idly until David finally took it away from her and threw it in the trash.
    “For Pete’s sake, Manda! You’re worse than Katie,” he accused. Katie was prowling the suite like a nervous cat. She’d eaten her cake quickly, and then returned to her seat in the front box. After a few minutes she’d grown restless and wandered to the bar, where she’d flipped through the channels on the flat screen television there before returning to her seat. Now she was alternating between surfing the Internet on the suite’s computer and sitting restlessly, watching the crowd.
    “But I’m just sitting here quietly,” Manda protested.
    “Exactly. We’ve been talking to you for the last ten minutes and you haven’t heard a word,” he told her, exasperated.
    “Sorry,” Manda apologized sheepishly. “What were you saying?”
    “I was just warning you that two of the guys in the next suite are checking out Katie.”
    “Hmmmm” Manda responded with a frown. She dropped her chin and tilted her head, letting her hair swing forward to hide her face from the occupants of the adjacent suite. She peered