Karen laughed. "It's nice to see you doing that. Sometimes I didn't think we'd ever get back here again."
"Well, yeah" Angie said. She took a cautious sip of her coffee and smiled her approval. "Then again, in some ways, it seems like we never left." She inclined her head toward Patrick Stewart. He had a look of giddy anticipation as he uncapped the infamous Magic Marker.
"I think he is" she said. "All right, you" she said to Patrick. "Come on over." That distinguished gentleman squealed with delight and hurried to the table before Angie had hardly finished her invitation. Wolf quirked his head to one side and gave an inquiring whistle.
"It's okay" Karen assured the animal. Then, whispering, "He's just a little crazy."
"A little?" Angie asked, hearing her. She took the proffered marker and opened it with a flourish. Patrick gasped as Angie uncapped the pen and began drawing on his bald pate.
"Pretty undignified for a Starship captain" Karen observed.
"Oh, I think I can oblige you" Karen replied, manifesting a lit match. The man slowly rolled the cigar above the flame before putting the stogie into his mouth. He cupped Karen's hand in his own and raised them to light his cigar. He then rolled the cigar in a small circle with his tongue to get an even burn. Karen felt a warmth that had little to do with the burning match.
The older man smiled at her around his smoke before removing it from his mouth. After blowing smoke away from her, he blew out the match with a gentle puff and softly lowered Karen's hand.
"James T. Kirk" he growled before sauntering away to join a bemused James Spader.
Karen realised she was gaping with a burnt match in her hand. Then she realised that Angie was gaping as well, and had drawn a long black line down the side of Patrick Stewart's head that trailed down onto his neck. Patrick looked more than a little miffed and cleared his throat noisily to break the spell.
"What? Oh shit" Angie swore, seeing her handiwork. She licked her thumb and began to rub at her mistake.
"That was--distracting" Karen said at last. She put the burnt match in a convenient ashtray and focused on returning her heartbeat to normal. Wolf gave her a concerned yip and she rubbed his head in assurance. He gave her an odd look and wondered, not for the first time, at the odd behaviour of the Two Legged.
"Um, yes. To say the least. Oh sit still!" Angie ordered as Patrick squirmed under her wet thumb. He complied with with what he thought was an unintelligible grumble as she began her artwork anew. "I should draw something really obscene on the side of your head for that" she threatened. Patrick muttered an insincere "Sorry" as Angie proceeded to draw the Mona Lisa. Naked.
"Oh sugar, you are so bad" Flo said, appearing at the table with a fresh cup of coffee for Angie and a Mountain Dew for Karen. As she set down the glass, she asked Karen, "Ain't that Bill a caution?"
"Is that what he is?" Karen took a long drink from her straw and tried to make sense out of what had just happened.
"Honey, you cain't make no sense outta that" Flo said, taking the ashtray to empty it. "And you shouldn't try. This is the Dreamtime, remember? Leave the 'sense' in the Real World and just have fun."
"She's right, you know" Patrick added. He pulled a nectarine from his pocket and took a bite from it. "Bite?" he asked Angie, offering the fruit to her.
"I've been known to, on occasion" she answered. Angie waggled her eyebrows at Patrick before taking a healthy bite of the nectarine. Like everything else at the Dreamtime Bar and Grill, it was wonderful.
"You see?" Patrick said to Karen as Angie put the finishing touches on her Magic Marker Masterpiece. Patrick gave her hand a gallant kiss before standing. He spun around, and was instantly dressed in a tuxedo and holding a vintage microphone. He walked over to a raised platform that had materialised just for him.
"Ladies, this one is for you. Lights!" Patrick called in his best stage voice. The lights dimmed and a spotlight illuminated the actor. Soft, familiar music began to play, and Patrick began to sing in a deep, rich baritone.
"When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference who you are
Anything your heart desires
Will come to you.
If your heart is in your dream
No request is too extreme
When you wish upon a star
As dreamers do.
Fate is kind
She brings to those who love
The sweet fulfillment of
Their secret longing.
Like a bolt out of the blue
Fate steps in and sees you through
When you wish upon a star
Your dreams...come...true"
All the occupants of the bar and grill stood and applauded, whistled and cheered. Patrick took a gracious bow and stepped down from the platform, now dressed in his regular clothes. He rejoined Karen and Angie at their table. "It isn't just a song, you know" he advised. "It's everything here, it's everything out there, and best of all, it's everything in here" he said, placing his hand over his heart. He smiled at both women. "But you know that."
Angie reached across the table and squeezed Karen's hand. "We forgot for awhile" she admitted.
"But now we remember" Karen finished.
"And knowing is half the battle" Bruce Willis finished as he walked by the table with a wink and a nod.
Everything in the Dreamtime had been restored, and the DTB&G was permanently open for business.
***************
"...The second star to the right
Shines with a light that's rare
And if it's Never Land you need
Its light will lead you there..."
"Second Star to the Right" by Jesse McCartney
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