Justin appears on the deck of the ship. He looks around, sees Joy and Charlie in front of him, and immediately shouts, “Ahoy, maties!”
“Ahoy!” Joy and Charlie yell back at him, all excited. It’s been only one night for Joy, one day for Charlie and Justin, since Justin came in with Joy’s last baby tooth.
“Joy Shelley, are you ready to see the Tooth Fairy?”
“Aye aye, Dad!” she salutes him, something I’ve almost never seen her do.
“Charlie Blacksnake, are you ready to see the Tooth Fairy?”
“Aye aye, captain!” Charlie salutes. He’s just as excited as Joy. Ever since they met, he’s been a part of every Tooth Fairy adventure she’s had. Each time it was the most fun I’d ever seen them have.
“Master Mind, are you ready to see the Tooth Fairy?”
“Clearly, I was born ready, Pirate,” Master Mind returns drily.
“Suzy Shelley, are you ready to see the Tooth Fairy?”
Joy and Charlie had already gotten Suzy and I to the ship with the last tooth.
Suzy smiles, “Aye aye, captain!”
“Walter Shelley, are you ready to see the Tooth Fairy?”
I try to come up with something smart to say, like ‘ready as a bird of prey descending on a dead wolf’, but I feel I’ll regret it, so I just say, “I’m ready.”
“Is the last tooth here?”
Suzy raises the small plastic jar that holds it. “You asked me to put it in a–”
“That’s perfectly good! The jar is necessary when it is the last tooth! The rules, you see, are different!”
“They are?”
“Me hearties, I will lead us to Tooth Island!”
Justin helms the ship and within minutes docks it at the side of the small island.
Joy lowers the ramp. Suzy, who has never been in a Tooth Fairy adventure, looks over the railing and says, “But it’s just a small desert island with nothing on it. Where’s the Tooth Fairy?”
“You’ll see!” Joy runs down the ramp.
“Remember, my pirates,” Justin says once we’re on the island. “The magic is different when it’s the child’s last tooth!”
“Different how?” Joy asks.
Justin extends his arm, “Now, if you don’t mind, bring me the jar please!”
Joy and Charlie squeak with expectation.
(To be continued…)
—Told by Grampa Walt