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“Or mine,” said Janine as she dabbed at her eyes. “My face is a mess, isn’t it?”

“Your face is beautiful,” said John as he gave her a tender kiss on the cheek. “And so are you.”

“Did you really mean what you said? About buying my grandparents’ house and starting a family?”

“Of course. There’s nothing I want more.”

“Can you please save it for the interview,” asked Opal, clapping her hands. “Let’s get back into position, folks. I’m not done with you yet!”

A crackling sound came from the baby monitor, and we all looked up. The next moment Grace’s loud wailing sounded through the room and Chase quickly got up. “I’ll go,” he assured his wife.

“She probably needs a new diaper,” said Odelia.

“Don’t worry, I’ll do it,” said Chase, and was off at a trot.

“A glimpse into the future, John,” Opal remarked. “This is going to be your life from now on.”

John gulped, then promptly teared up again, and started blubbering like a baby.

“Look how happy he is,” said Dooley. “He can’t wait to start changing diapers!”

CHAPTER 30

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“I wish there was an Opal for pets,” said Little Janine with a sigh. “The things I would tell her…”

“I could be the Opal for pets,” said Harriet. “I think I’d do a great job. And the camera obviously loves me.”

“Don’t we already have an Opal for pets?” asked Dooley, and gestured to Prunella.

Harriet gave Prunella a not-so-friendly look.“You have to have the ambition to become a world-famous talk-show host, of course, and I’m not sure Prunella has that ambition.”

“Definitely not,” was Prunella’s response. “Though if Opal keeps cloning me I could have a very long career in show biz. An indefinite career, in fact.”

Now there was a thought. Since the original Prunella had been cloned several times, and this particular Prunella was the sixteenth iteration of the original version, she probably had a point. And if pets could be cloned, why not famous talk-show hostesses?

“Opal should have herself cloned,” I suggested. “She could keep doing what she’s doing… in perpetuity!”

“Interesting suggestion,” said Prunella. “Maybe you can talk to your people, and they can talk to my people.”

The interview was finally in the can, and all those gathered seemed pleased as punch. Except for one person, who stood musing on the sidelines, and regarding Opal with a grave expression on his royal face.

“Prince Dante looks unhappy,” said Brutus. “I wonder what’s wrong with him.”

We were about to find out, since he now approached Opal and whispered something in her ear. A moment later the two walked out into the backyard. And since curiosity is a cat’s second name, we all followed, wondering what was up.

“The thing is, Opal,” said Prince Dante, clearing his throat, “that all this talk about becoming a billionaire and signing lucrative deals left and right… Well, I’m not sure it’s really my thing, you know.”

Opal stood listening intently to the young royal.“What do you mean?” Then she held up her hands. “Oh, no. Don’t tell me you want to move to Hampton Cove and live the quiet life, too!”

“Actually… I was thinking more along the lines of doing the exact opposite.” He released a deep sigh. “I’ve been feeling so homesick I could cry, Opal.”

“You want to move back to England.”

He nodded furiously.“I miss my friends, I miss my family. I miss… polo matches and cricket games. LA is all fine and dandy, and the weather is a nice bonus, but… I even miss the rain, can you believe it? Rain and snow and smog!”

“Have you discussed this with Tessa?”

“No, I have not.”

Opal planted both hands on her sizable hips.“Why not, pray tell?”

The prince shrugged.“I’m afraid that if I tell her she won’t like it. And besides, what’s the point? She’ll never want to leave home and return to my country.”

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that, sonny Jim,” said Opal. She placed a hand on the young man’s arm. “You want my advice?”

He nodded anxiously.

“Talk to your wife. Tell her how you feel. You can’t keep this to yourself, Dante. This is an important discussion and if you keep bottling up those feelings they’re going to form a barrier in your relationship. They’re going to eat you up inside.”

The young prince’s bottom lip was quivering dangerously as he took this in.

“He’s going to cry,” said Brutus.

“No, he’s not,” said Harriet.

“I think he’s going to laugh,” said Dooley, who always has trouble reading human emotions. “See? He’s going to burst into a big laugh any moment now.”

But instead, the prince suddenly burst into a flood of tears, and as Opal gave him a big hug and patted his back consolingly, he was letting it all out.

“Oh, Opal, I just want to go hoooooooome!” he blubbered.

“There, there,” said Opal. “Don’t hold back.”

And he certainly didn’t.

The next moment Tessa came walking up, drawn by the wailing sounds, and so Opal transferred the teary prince to her care, walking away with an expression on her face that unmistakably said:‘I still got it, you guys!’

“Isn’t this annoying for you?” I asked Prunella, “that wherever your human goes people spontaneously burst into tears?”