One Perfect Night by Rachael Johns

firmly, silently trying to decode his auntie’s gibberish. Obviously there was a problem and he was happy to help—for Auntie Rose he’d move mountains if he could—but he needed to understand what was wrong first. “Take a breath and tell me what is the matter.”
    “Haven’t you been listening, dear?”
    It wasn’t like Rose to snap. Anxiety coiled inside him.
    “I’m trying to. Now tell me what the problem is.”
    Another sob and then he heard a muffled sound. He guessed she was blowing her nose. Finally, she breathed deeply, loudly. “The woman from The Fairy Party Shop cancelled Scarlett’s birthday entertainment—family emergency. Chelsea has called every kid’s party planner in the state practically and no one is free.”
    What? She was calling him on the first business day of the year about a kid’s party? The anxiety popped and was quickly replaced by frustration. “So give the kid an old-fashioned birthday party. A bit of cake, some balloons, a couple of rounds of musical chairs and a game of Pin the Tail on the Donkey.” Quite frankly, he didn’t see what the big deal was or why it had anything to do with him.
    Nowadays he attended Christmas and Easter celebrations because he felt he owed it to Auntie Rose and the odd christening or wedding if he couldn’t find a good excuse to get around it. But he drew the line at kids’ parties. In fact, if he recalled correctly, the last one he went to would have been Scarlett’s first, the year before Kristen died.
    He pushed that thought aside, focusing on Rose’s dilemma.
    “We couldn’t possibly do that to Scarlett,” said Auntie Rose. “She’s been telling all her friends she’s having a magic fairy since June. Besides all the kids have entertainers these days.”
    “Surely you haven’t tried everyone?” he told her, already thinking that if Rose continued to insist on the need for a fairy, he’d get Molly on to it. He’d inherited a gem there—that PA could work miracles.
    “Well, not everyone,” replied Auntie Rose in a strange sing-songy type voice.
    An eerie cold flooded him because the minute she spoke he suddenly knew what she was going to say.
    “We couldn’t find your new girlfriend listed anywhere. She’s an entertainer, isn’t she?”
    Hell! Just the word girlfriend made his toenails scrape the soles of his shoes. He almost said he didn’t know if Penelope did birthday parties, but bit that faux pas before it jumped off his tongue.
    Auntie Rose continued, “Do you think she might do Scarlett’s party as a favor to you?”
    “Um…” Dammit, he never said “um.” Contacting Penelope again would go against everything he’d decided that night Kristen died, but this was Auntie Rose. She’d always looked after him, always given him everything she could, yet had never asked for anything in return. “Sure, Penelope will do it. Give me the exact date and times and I’ll sort it out.”
    He scribbled the few details down on a scrap of paper and promised Rose he’d call back soon.
    And then he disconnected his phone and swore.
    The intercom buzzed. “Cameron, I’ve got Myles Jones on line one.”
    “Thanks, Molly, but can you tell him I’ll call him back. I have another matter I need to deal with first.”
    “Okay, then…” Molly’s voice was wary.
    “And I need your help. Do have the contact details for the entertainer from the family Christmas party? I think her name was Priscilla or Penelope or something.” He hoped he sounded as nonchalant as he’d intended.
    “Oh, you mean Peppa?”
    Did he? Although she’d been fiery in the bedroom, he’d never heard Penelope shortened to that before. Perhaps it was a stage name. “She’s the one that dressed up as a fairy?”
    “Yes, that’s right,” replied Molly. “She filled in at the last minute because the entertainer cancelled.”
    Cameron chuckled. “What’s with dodgy entertainers in Sydney? That’s what’s happened to the entertainer who was supposed