The four Nelson sisters had just gotten upstairs and were changing out of their ballet outfits when they heard the doorbell. Paige and Gwyneth poked their heads of their room. Felicity and Lulu’s heads also popped out from the room they shared across the hall. “I hope it’s for us.” said Felicity.
Just then, their mother called up, “Girls! Mrs. Key is here for you!”
The girls hurried down the steps to see a worried looking Mrs. Key.
“Oh, girls, at last, you’re home! I was watching for your car. I need to hire the Secret… um… Agenterlinas?”
“Agentlinas,” said Felicity helpfully.
“Oh, yes, that’s it! I’m here to request the services of the Secret Agentlinas!”
“How can we help you, Mrs. Key?” asked Paige, the oldest, politely.
“It’s about this Saturday evening. As you know, our Isla is getting married and we’re having the wedding at our home.”
All four girls gasped. “A wedding!” They breathed out together.
“There’s so much to do and I don’t know how I’m going to keep it all straight! There’s the shadow display, the caterer, the flowers, not to MENTION Mr. Leopald and THAT DOG of his….I just really want it to go perfectly. What do you say? Are you available to take on a wedding?”
The girls looked at each other. Paige raised one eyebrow, Gwyneth grinned, Felicity’s eyes twinkled, and Lulu tilted her head. Paige spoke for all of them. “We accept the mission, Mrs. Key! We’ll be there Saturday!”
Saturday afternoon was bright, sunny, warm, and quite windy. The Secret Agentlinas were ready with their black leotards, black leggings, and hair pulled neatly into four smooth buns. They had just rung the doorbell when a young man drove up in a car. He walked to the door as Mr. Key opened it.
“Hello, girls! Allow me to introduce you to the groom, Blake. Blake, these are the Secret Agentlinas. First off, we have Paige. She’s 11. Gwyneth here is 9, Felicity just turned 7 and Lulu is five and a half, if I recall correctly.”
The girls nodded. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Blake,” they said.
“Hello, secret spy kids!” he said.
“Secret Agentlinas, “ the four girls and Mr. Key corrected him in unison.
“It’s short for Secret Agent Ballerinas,” Mr. Key explained. “They’re quite a helpful group we have on our street here.”
“Oh, ok, I see.” Blake leaned forward and whispered loudly, “What’s the secret?”
“Because you won’t even know we’re there!” answered Gwyneth cheerfully.
“Ah, of course… and the ballerinas part? Is that because ballerinas are… good at being quiet?” he smiled.
The girls were used to this kind of question. They always answered it the same way.
“Ballerinas make great secret agents. They’re strong,” began Paige.
“Graceful, controlled,” added Gwyneth.
“They can jump high, they’re flexible,” said Felicity.
“And they’re tough and they never quit!” chimed in Lulu.
Blake looked at all of them. “Alright, then.” he said. He didn’t seem convinced.
“And if all else fails,” Paige said. “We also have The Secret Weapon.” The three older girls looked at Lulu, who curtsied.
“How is she-” Blake started to ask.
He was interrupted by loud yapping barks that echoed down the street.
“Girls, I think your mission has begun,” smiled Mr. Key. He turned to Blake.
“The Key ladies have been worried about that dog there. His owner insists on walking him on the exact same schedule on the exact same route every day. And the next time they are planning to walk right in front of this house is….”
“During the wedding?” Blake winced as the yaps got louder and and louder.
“Correct!” Mr. Key looked back at the girls. “We’ve tried asking and we’ve tried insisting. He won’t listen to any of us. Maybe you could try?”
The older three looked at Lulu again. She smiled. “Good morning, Mr. Leopald!” She called out as she skipped a perfectly graceful skip right to the older man and his dog, who immediately stopped yapping and rolled over for a tummy scratch. After a short conversation the rest of them were too far away to hear, the man looked over to Mr. Key and gave a slight nod. He smiled at Lulu before pulling on the dog’s leash and walking back the way he’d come.
“What…how…” Blake stammered.
“No one’s immune to Lulu,” Gwyneth tried to explain.
“Not even dogs,” added Paige.
“Not even us,” admitted Felicity as their youngest sister skipped back.
“He said of course he would go to a different street tonight and he’s sure it will be a lovely wedding.” Lulu relayed with a charming smile.
Blake’s mouth was still open when Mrs. Key bustled to the door. “Blake! Here’s the wedding rings, thank you for picking them up. Now get going before you see the bride on accident. Oh, girls, thank goodness, the list keeps getting longer! Come in, come in!”
Stepping around the speechless groom, they made their way inside.
“Alright, let’s jump right in. First up is the caterer.” Mrs. Key pointed toward the kitchen. “She’ll arrive any minute. I’ve made the mistake of reading reviews after hiring her. They all say the food is delicious but she refuses to start working until the guests arrive. She thinks the food will taste stale. But then she runs out of time and everything gets delayed for hours. Now, if you’ll follow me to this room,” Mrs. Key walked into the office where the desk was covered in flowers.
“Here, you see, are the bouquets and flower arrangements and I’m convinced they’re going to wilt! It’s so warm today! Oh, and also-“ Mrs Key rushed out the door to the backyard where a beautiful white tent was set up. The girls followed, leaping and skipping to keep up.
“This is where the ceremony will take place, but let’s go around back here-“
Following Mrs. Key, the girls saw cardboard cut outs and a spotlight set up.
“Isla has her heart set on having a shadow display during the ceremony. I don’t really understand, but I think that one is a cutout of her doing her favorite King of the Dance something or other pose and then the other is Blake skiing and when they’re together, they join to look like a heart? I’m not sure, but it’s very important to her that right at 6 o’clock when the ceremony begins, someone turns on the spotlight.” She paused. “I know that’s a lot- is it too much?”
Paige stepped forward confidently. “Mrs. Key, leave the caterer, the flowers, the shadow display, and everything else to us. We won’t let you down.” Gwyneth, Felicity, and Lulu nodded.
“Thank you so much, girls! I’ll leave you to it. I need to check in with Isla and see how she’s getting ready. Oh, and here comes the caterer! I hope she gets started soon. Well, bye for now!” And off Mrs. Key, Mother of the Bride, went.
The girls stayed behind to make their plans for Operation Perfect Wedding. “First things first, I think we need to get the flowers somewhere cooler. I say we put them in the little attic room. I’ll go home and borrow that window air conditioner unit from Dad. That should do it. You girls get all these vases up there, and I’ll be right back.”
A few minutes later, Gwyneth, Felicity, and Lulu were carrying the last of the flower vases to the attic. Mr. Key paused on his way to check on the caterer, “Hey, do you girls need any help?” He asked.
“No, but thank you!” said Gwyneth cheerfully.
“We’re pretty strong,” added Felicity.
“Oh, yes, of course, you’re ballerinas!” smiled Mr. Key. He froze as he looked up and saw an enormous metal box disappear around the corner of the stairs. “Is one of you carrying an AC unit?!”
“Oh, yes, it’s Paige. Don’t worry!” reassured Gwyneth. “She can handle it! All those plies and exercises at the barre, you know.”
The Agentlinas continued on their way and put the last of the flowers down just as Paige finished stretching to get the unit into the window and switched it on.
“Right, there’s that. It’s already getting cooler in here. Let’s go see what we can do about the caterer.”
Downstairs, Paige listened at the kitchen door. “No sound of any activity whatsoever. Lulu, do you want to go in there and see if you can Secret Weapon convince her to start earlier? Lulu?”
“She went home to get a snack,” explained Gwyneth.
“Oh. ” Paige thought for a moment. “Maybe I can try…” She started to open the door.
An unfriendly voice shouted out at her. “I’M NOT STARTING UNTIL THE GUESTS ARRIVE AND DON’T SEND ANYONE ELSE IN THIS KITCHEN TO TELL ME OTHERWISE! I HAVE NO INTEREST IN SERVING CONGEALED AND UNAPPETIZING FOOD, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!”
Paige closed the door.
“Wow, you didn’t even get a chance to try,” sympathized Gwyneth.
“Ok, then.” Paige reached into her backpack and pulled out her tap shoes. Gwyneth and Felicity grinned. She put them on in record time and began to tap. She started with a slow series of steps. Then she added a shuffle that sounded like perhaps two people walking. She added yet another shuffle step and another until it sounded like a whole crowd of people were making their way across the floor towards the backyard. Gwyneth and Felicity put their ears up against the kitchen door and heard, “Ah, there they are! Time to get cracking!” The girls nodded encouragingly at Paige, who kept her furiously fast tapping pace up while the sounds of clinking plates and wrinkling foil came from the kitchen. Paige tapped on and on while her sisters watched in delight, until at last they could smell the delicious aromas of melting butter and garlic. Confident that the caterer was definitely on schedule, Paige tapped herself right out the back door.
“That was amazing, Paige!” Gwyneth said as she handed her a water bottle and Felicity gave her a high five.
“Aw, man! Did I miss Paige tapping!?” Lulu whined as she arrived back from their home.
Paige smiled at her, “Next time. Ok, so that’s the flowers and the caterer we can check off the list. We have a few hours now. Maybe we can walk the perimeter-“
Just then a gust of wind went through the yard and knocked over something that began to move down the street.
“It’s the bride!” Gwyneth cried in a panic as she took off in pursuit. A moment later, she was back. “No worries, I’ve got her!” She said triumphantly as she held up the cardboard cut out from the shadow display.
“Oh.” Felicity and Lulu said. “I thought you meant the real one,” added Lulu.
Gwyneth smiled. “Nah, just this. It’s okay, I saved it before it got to the main road. I had to do a grand jete over a hedge, but I got it! Let’s get her back to her spot.”
After replacing the cardboard cutout, the girls stood back to look at the shapes.
“I guess it kinda looks like a heart.”said Paige.
“It definitely does! Just squint a little like this,”Gwyneth demonstrated.
“I don’t see a heart. Just a girl stretching with her foot and a man hunched over with two sticks.” Felicity stated.
“I think that’s the pose Mrs. Key told us about. And the man is supposed to be Blake skiing,”said Paige.
“He looks like an old man when he skis,” Felicity said.
“Maybe a little. Ok, let’s make a plan for this shadow display. I’ll be in charge of keeping track of time. The moment it’s 6:00, I’ll signal to Gwyneth, who will flip the switch for the spotlight. Sound good?”
Her sisters nodded. “Great. Well, let’s see if there’s anything else we can do while we wait.”
The next few hours were spent admiring Isla’s dress hanging in the closet, waving her off to get her hair and makeup done, and walking through the house and tent to make sure everything was in place.
“Everything is on track so far,” said Paige as she checked their schedule.
“Let’s go ahead and get the flowers down from the attic and in their places. Is there anything else, Mrs. Key?” She said as Mrs. Key walked by looking especially worried.
“Oh, well, yes! Isla and Blake wrote their own vows only yesterday. Now they’re both sure they have them memorized, but I’m just a little nervous they might forget. I begged them to let someone have a copy at the ceremony. Just in case, you know. Would you keep track of these for me? We have to pick up my parents at their house and Isla at the salon.”
Paige took the folded papers. “We’re on it, Mrs. Key. Don’t worry!”
Paige, Gwyneth and Felicity had just closed the door after Mr. and Mrs. Key when there was a commotion. “What was that?” Paige exclaimed. “ And WHERE’S LULU?!?”
A door down the hall opened and Lulu walked out.
“Lulu! Were you in Mrs. Key’s room!??!
“Yes! I found a portal!”
“A WHAT?” Her big sisters asked.
“From the attic! I went up to get the flowers and I fell through a portal and that was a little scary but I landed on the bed so I didn’t get hurt and then it was fun! Achoo!” Lulu sneezed. “Portal dust,” she shrugged. Paige stared at her a moment, then ran through the open door. She was looking up as the others followed her in.
“Lulu! That’s not a portal! You fell through the ceiling! There’s a huge hole!”
“I can’t believe this! We failed our mission!” Gwyneth’s lip trembled, which made Lulu’s lip tremble.
“Both of you stop, right now! We have NOT failed our mission. Our mission is the wedding, not the house. Daddy can fix it later, I’m sure. We’ll clean it up the best we can for now. But first, we might as well get the flowers down the….portal. I’ll go up. Felicity, get ready.”
“All set!” Felicity announced after doing a few quick stretches. “Drop ‘em down!” Paige dropped the vases through the hole as Felicity jumped, leaped, and jeted with perfect grace as she caught each one and placed them securely on the floor.
“The flowers look great!” Gwyneth said. “So fresh! I think the cold air up there worked!” Paige rubbed her forehead. “Ok, we’ll let Mrs. Key know the moment she gets back about the hole. In the meantime, let’s get all these flowers where they need to be.”
Soon the guests started to arrive. The Secret Agentlinas quietly and gracefully stayed in the shadows as they surveyed the crowd and made sure everything was going according to plan.
“Get ready to light the spotlight,” Paige said. “It’s almost time.”
Felicity was just walking around the tent to check on the cutouts when the wind picked up.
“No! Not again!” She cried as the bride’s cutout flew off. She tried to follow but it was difficult to run safely now that it had gotten dark out. She’d almost caught up to it when they reached the main road. Felicity stopped running as the cutout kept going. Her mouth opened in horror as it collided into a large truck, was smashed under the front tires, became stuck between the back tires, and rode off into the night.
Felicity took a deep breath.
“Plan B.” She said as she raced back to the tent.
Gwyneth was waiting anxiously when Felicity ran into sight and signaled for her to go ahead and flip the switch. As Gwyneth reached for it, Felicity stood in the same place the cutout had been, raised her foot near her head, and made a perfectly balanced pose as the light switched on.
The Secret Agentlinas heard the pleased murmurs from the crowd. “How lovely,” “What is it?” “It’s that pose Isla loves!” “And an old man skiing?” “Maybe because they still want to be active when they grow old together?” “Aww, look, I think it’s supposed to be a heart.”
Music started to play as the ceremony officially began. Gwyneth made her way silently to Paige in the back of the tent.
“Felicity can hold that pose for the whole ceremony, right?” She whispered nervously.
“Of course. Probably. Yes. She knows it’s important to Isla,” Paige declared.
Gwyneth nodded. Then she noticed something floating along in the wind on its way into the tent. She quickly stretched a leg out and pinned it down with pointed toes. As she reached to pick it up, another something floated over her head. Keeping her toes down, she reached into an arabesque to reach the second thing.
“Paige!” she whispered as quietly as she could. Paige looked over and saw her sister and fellow agent frantically trying to collect pieces of trash from blowing into the tent. Quickly, she scanned the area and spotted a neighbor’s trashcan that had been knocked over by the wind. All sorts of rubbish were flying out. She signaled to Gwyneth to continue with her task and that she would take care of the trashcan.
The girls faced opposite directions and got to work. Paige leaped through the air to get to the trashcan as quickly and noiselessly as possible while Gwyneth stretched, twisted and bended just outside the door of the tent as silently as she could. After a few moments, her hands were full of sticky, clumpy, damp trash. But not a single piece has blown into the wedding.
“Phew,” she whispered as Paige returned.
“I think you mean, “Eww.” Paige smiled as she whispered back. She looked toward the front as the bride and groom prepared to exchange vows.
“Let’s see how this goes,” she said.
It wasn’t going as well as the groom and bride had hoped. For starters, the groom hadn’t planned on being so nervous and he had forgotten the vows he had written. “I promise to always….always….” when a tiny voice spoke, “Luck at her you.”
Blake’s forehead wrinkled in confusion a brief moment before he realized it was enough to help him remember. He smiled in relief as he said, “Look after you! And to be thankful knowing you’re looking out for me…”he continued through the rest.
Then it was Isla’s turn. After getting over her surprise that Blake had forgotten his vows, she realized she had also forgotten hers.
“I have always been….”
“Hop full that summer was…” a little voice said from somewhere close by.
“I have always been hopeful that someone was out there for me….” the relieved Bride said.
From the other side of the tent where they could hear everything, doing full splits so they could be low to the ground and avoid the spotlight, Paige and Gwyneth looked at each other. “It’s too bad we had to send the weakest reader out of all of us for such an important job.” Paige whispered.
“Aww, Lulu’s doing really well for a kindergartener! Besides, she’s the only one tiny and flexible enough squeeze under the tent and hide behind that flower arrangement. Good call bringing that little flashlight, by the way!”
“I guess we didn’t have any other options” Paige whispered back. “Those flowers are barely tall enough to hide her.”
“Good thing they didn’t wilt, ” added Felicity, still posing in her place in the spotlight behind them.
At last, the ceremony was over and it was time for the reception. The bride and groom cut their cake, the food was delicious food and ready on time, there was dancing and laughter and everything went smoothly along. All the guests were talking about how they kept waiting for something to go wrong since it was a wedding after all, but it was the best run wedding they had ever attended.
Meanwhile, the photographer had heard from Mrs. Key that four adorable ballerinas were running around the scenes being helpful, but he was never able to find them to to take their picture.
“She must have gotten confused,” he told his assistant. “If there were four ballerinas around here, I’m sure we would have seen them.”
“Yes,” his assistant agreed. “I don’t think they were ever here.”