Isabelle did her half twirl and her swoosh—just for fun.

She said, “Your wish has been granted. We will be friends. No matter what!”

Then she gave Nora a huge hug. Then they went into the house and gave Nora’s stepmom a huge hug. They hugged Gregory, too—not that he really understood why.

Nora was feeling almost as sappy as Isabelle. “For a long time,” she said, “I stopped wishing for a best friend.” She stood taller. “Then you showed up, and I knew I had found one.”

The irony was obvious.

Isabelle and Nora were already friends, and Isabelle had already made her happy. Now they needed to figure out the ever after part.

Obviously, they started with snacks.

They ate two sundaes and also some cookies and some of that bread that Nora’s stepmom had just made. Even though bread didn’t technically go with the rest of the snacks, it was warm and delicious. Especially with a spoonful of honey on top.

When people are happily ever after, they don’t worry about silly things like matching food.

Isabelle might have hung out there all night, but about midway through the second sundae, her stomach started to feel strange.

This time it wasn’t because she had done anything wrong.

It was someone (or something) tugging at her. Like a clock.

“The Extravaganza!” Isabelle cried. “I forgot! I need to go home and get ready.”

When Nora looked confused, Isabelle made her promise to wait up. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. I’ll tell you everything later.”

Back at the castle, Isabelle found Clotilda in Grandmomma’s office. Both of them had their feet up on the desk.

“Right under the wire, just like I told you,” Clotilda said, holding out her hand for a large envelope, probably full of sparkles.

Isabelle was too happy to be mad. “You bet against me?” she said to Grandmomma. She couldn’t believe it. She turned to Clotilda. “You bet with me?”

Grandmomma put her feet on the ground and smoothed out her dress. “What was I supposed to do? You never read the books. You didn’t even pretend to read the contract. All that fine print—you think I made that up for my health?”

Isabelle waited for her to mention other things. Like the stolen sparkles. And the spyglass. But she didn’t.

“So, yes, I bet against you.” She almost smiled. “But I’m glad I lost.”

Clotilda peeked in the envelope. (She was really enjoying this.) “I told her you had it in the bag.” She patted Grandmomma on the back. “She was the right princess at the right time. Just like you always say.”

Grandmomma nodded. “But you took such a long time.”

Clotilda agreed. “We kept waiting for you to find her a friend. But you ended up becoming her friend instead. It was sort of charming. A real happily ever after. Just like it should be.”

“That is true,” Grandmomma said. She picked up a picture of Nora. Unlike in the first one, now she was smiling. “But you could have made it a lot easier on yourself. Why do you think I made you play the trust game? How many times did I have to tell you that there is no purpose more important than helping others achieve their happily ever after? Or that happily ever after isn’t only about magic? Or that the magic didn’t come just from sparkles?”

If there was one thing Grandmomma liked to say, it was “I told you so.” Also “I was right.” And “How many times did I have to tell you?” Today she finished with “You really should have read the books. The fine print is not that fine.”

Clotilda agreed. “After the Extravaganza, I’ll help you review.”

Even though this was technically a very good idea, Isabelle didn’t want to think about the rules. She wanted to go back and visit Nora. (She didn’t tell Clotilda that. It would have hurt her feelings.) Grandmomma handed her a book. “Can you read Rule Ten out loud?”

Isabelle looked at the writing. “Can you turn on a light? The letters look fuzzy.”

“Fuzzy, you say?” Now Clotilda handed Grandmomma an envelope—probably full of sparkles. “Meaning you can’t read it?”

“Yes. Fuzzy.” She’d never thought about it before. “What is going on?”

“Grandmomma thinks you need glasses.” (The fine print was, in fact, not that fine.)

Isabelle put the book down. “You can’t just wave your wand and make them better?”

Grandmomma looked a bit sheepish. “Sorry. Not everything can be solved with magic.”

Tomorrow there’d be plenty of time to check her eyes and order some glasses. Right now, they had to get ready for the Extravaganza.

Grandmomma waved her wand and turned Isabelle’s regular clothes into a pretty orange-and-purple dress, complete with new shoes and a fancy hairstyle. Isabelle twirled one time—without knocking anything over. She admired her bright green sparkly sneakers—a little worn in. It was a nice touch. She knew Nora would approve.

“Ready?” Clotilda said. (In the fairy godmother world, there was no such thing as fashionably late. Fashionably late was another way of saying rude. Especially when it came to the Extravaganza, everyone showed up on time.)

“Ready,” Isabelle said. A few sparkles flew in the air. She couldn’t stop herself. She needed one more spin.

For once, Grandmomma did not object. “You did it! And now, it’s party time.”