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CHAPTER ONE Jackson Hole, WyomingJune, 1997
"Daddy, Daddy, look!" Jamie ran into the airplane hanger, her new sneakers squeaking across the shiny concrete floor. "Daddy! Where are you?"
She squealed to a halt in front of the office. "Daddy!"
"What is it, Muppet?"
Uh-oh. There was a big stack of papers on his desk, and he looked really serious. But he just had to listen. She was too excited to wait for him to get finished, because grown-ups could work forever.
"A rainbow! A really neat one. I think it's the one, Daddy. If you go now--"
"Jamie, I'm not going anywhere. I have to finish the log books and then order some supplies for the weekend. I'm going to be really busy, remember?" He smiled just a little bit before he picked up the boring old papers again.
"But Daddy..." Jamie just couldn't make him understand how important the rainbows were. She just knew that if he'd listen, they'd all be happy again. He'd get a new wife and she'd get a mommy. And not just any mommy, but a princess. A beautiful, nice princess who would smile all the time and bake sugar cookies with sprinkles on top.
"Jamie, I know you think that rainbows are special, but they're really just an optical illusion. The sunlight passes through water droplets and refracts into the colors of the spectrum. We can see the rainbow, but it really isn't there in the sky."
Jamie planted her fists on her hips and frowned at her daddy. He was the most stubborn daddy in the whole world. "I know the rainbow is real because I can see it. And you could too if you'd just come outside."
"I'm sorry, Muppet, but I'm really busy." He didn'teven look up from his ugly old desk. "Why don't you show the rainbow to Aunt Holly?"
"She's talking on the phone. And besides," Jamie said, wishing her daddy listen to her, "the rainbow is for you, not for Aunt Holly."
He finally looked up, a really serious look on his face. He was really handsome--a lot better than those men on the calendar in Aunt Holly's office--but most of the time he didn't smile enough. Aunt Holly said that he used to smile and laugh more, when Mommy was alive. Jamie didn't remember Mommy, but Daddy missed her a whole bunch. And all her friends had mommies, and most of them were really neat. Jamie wanted one too.
"Sweetie, I know you believe in magic rainbows, but I can't just fly my plane up every time we get a little shower and the sun comes out."
"But Daddy, how are you going to get happy again if you won't try?"
"When the time is right I'll start dating again. I'm just not interested right now." He sighed and picked up a pen, twirling it in his fingers.
"But I want a new mommy! This summer would be a really good time, so I could show her around the house before I go to first grade."
"I can't just order up a new mommy for you, Jamie. It doesn't work that way."
"Well, it could if you'd fly across the rainbow!"
"Jamie," he said in that voice he used when he was getting tired of talking.
"Okay," she said, miserable because he wouldn't listen. "But you'll be sorry."
Her daddy laughed. "I thought that was my line."
"Daaad-dy!"
He pushed his chair back and held out his arms. Jamie ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck. Her daddy always smelled so good. And he gave big, strong hugs that made her happy.
"Jamie, honey, how can I convince you that flying across the rainbow isn't magic?"
Jamie pulled back so she could look at his face. "Why don't you just do it, Daddy. You know, like the commercial says. Just do it." She smiled, raised her eyebrows the way that made him smile, and waited for his answer.
He looked like he didn't want to smile, but he did. Her daddy was the most handsome when he smiled. Any princess would be happy to marry him and come back to live in their house.
"If I go up in the plane, fly across the rainbow, and make a wish, you'll be happy?"
She pushed out of his arms and jumped up and down. "Yes! Yes! That's all you have to do. I promise I won't ever ask you again!"
"Okay, Muppet," he finally said.
"Yeah!" Jamie grabbed his hand and pulled him outside the office. "Come on, Daddy. The rainbow might be all gone."
"Let me get my jacket," he said, pulling her toward the wall by the big doors. He always hung his soft leather jacket on a peg by the door.
"It's not cold, Daddy. Hurry!"
He laughed. "I'm coming."
Her sneakers squeaked as she ran ahead of him toward the doors that let the planes come inside so her daddy could fix them. Outside the wind was kind of cold, but not like wintertime when it snowed lots.
"Daddy! Hurry."
"I'm coming." He stopped just outside the doors and looked around. Daddy always did that, like he could see the wind or something.
"See the rainbow! Isn't it beautiful?" Jamie pointed away from the airport, out where the ground was real flat.
"It's a beauty all right," he agreed, zipping up his jacket and checking his watch.
"Come on, Daddy!"
Aunt Holly came out of the big building. "What's going on?"
"She finally talked me into it."
"You're kidding!"
"No! Daddy is going to fly across the rainbow and make a wish. And then we'll all be happy again."
"I thought we were pretty happy the way we were," Aunt Holly said, ruffling Jamie's hair. "I'm happy. Aren't you, Muppet?"
"I'd be happier if Daddy had a new wife," she admitted. "You're a good aunt, Aunt Holly, but I think a mommy would be neat."
"And you think your daddy is going to get one by flying up into the sky?"
"Yes. And he has to make a wish." She turned to him. "Don't forget to make a wish, Daddy."
"I won't."
"David, this is silly," Aunt Holly said.
"Is not!" Jamie protested. What did Aunt Holly know about this really special rainbow?
"It'll make Jamie happy," Daddy explained.
Jamie smiled.
"Besides, I could use a break from all that paperwork."
"Whatever," Aunt Holly said, shaking her head. She wasn't very excited about things except for working at the airport and going to her meetings. And she always told Jamie that her daddy was spoiling her rotten. Jamie didn't know what that meant, but she didn't like being called "rotten."
"Why don't you two watch me and make sure I get across that rainbow up there? I'll need some technical help."
"Why, Daddy?"
"Because when I get up in the sky, I won't be able to see the rainbow. You and Aunt Holly will have to tell me where it is."
Jamie frowned. "Oh. Okay, we'll do that, won't we, Aunt Holly?"
"Sure. Let's get inside and get the headphones on."
"I'll see you soon," Daddy said to Aunt Holly. "And you, Muppet, need to watch very carefully and make sure that I get this right. I'm only doing it once. You understand?"
Jamie nodded. "I understand. I'll tell you exactly where the rainbow is."
"Okay." Daddy smiled. "You behave while you're on the radio, you hear?"
"I will, Daddy. I love you."
"I love you too, Muppet." He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I'll see you in just a little while."
"Will you bring the princess back with you?"
He laughed. "I don't think so. I won't be landing my plane anywhere, you know. I think that if this wish is granted, she'll probably show up later."
"Then how will we know she's the princess?"
"You can always tell a princess," Aunt Holly said. "And if we can't, we'll just put a pea under her mattress and see if she tosses and turns all night."
Jamie laughed at Aunt Holly's joke. Daddy had bought a bunch of fairy tales and folk story books, and Aunt Holly read them to her at naptime. Jamie loved them, especially the ones about magic kingdoms and handsome princes. She loved them almost as much as her favorite Muppet movie.
"Bye, Daddy." Jamie waved to her daddy, then took Aunt Holly's hand and skipped toward the building, humming her favorite song, "The Rainbow Connection."
She was going to be so happy with Daddy's new princess.
