A Howling Good Time
by
Sara Bourgeois
Chapter One
“Get the heck out of here,” Ginger snapped.
“What?” I asked. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m busy in here,” she said through the door.
“Busy doing what? Come on, Ginger, tell me what you’re up to in there. I’m starting to worry. You’ve never locked me out before.”
“No.”
She’d locked herself in one of my spare bedrooms, and I could smell candle wax and incense burning. I knew she was doing some sort of magic, and it worried me that she was trying to keep it a secret.
I did the most logical thing I could think of and knocked on the door. When I tried the knob, it wouldn’t budge. She’d used magic to keep me out.
It took all of my strength not to stamp my foot like an angry toddler. “Ginger, this isn’t funny at all.” I only stomped my foot once. It didn’t count as a temper tantrum.
I’d had no clue in the days leading up to the event that anything was wrong. She’d been binge watching shows on my computer and eating Blueberry Bliss cupcakes like they were going out of style. Or had she? Maybe she had been eating fewer cupcakes. What did that mean?
“I’m not trying to be funny, Zoe,” she said. “Go away.”
“I’ll help you,” I said. “Whatever it is, if it’s important to you, I want to help you.”
“You’ll make fun of me.”
“I would never. Ginger, please let me in.”
I heard the door click, and when I twisted the knob, it turned. Inside was Ginger in the middle of a salt circle. She’d surrounded herself with herbs, pink candles, and galbanum and clary sage incense. I racked my brain at the setup. What was she trying to do?
“I can see that you’re confused but let me start with some background information,” Ginger said. “I’ve been chatting online with Lupin almost every day. We’ve become very good friends.”
“You chat with the plumber online? How do you even reach the keys?”
“It’s not easy, but it’s worth it. Anyway, that’s not the point. So, Lupin casually dropped it on me that he’s taking Angel Lawson out on a date this Friday. He can’t do that, Zoe.”
“He can’t do that… Why?” I was perplexed.
“If you laugh at me, I’ll die,” Ginger said dramatically.
I couldn’t help but chuckle. “I’m sorry. Go ahead. I really won’t laugh at you.”
“You already are laughing at me and I haven’t even told you the secret yet.”
I sucked in a deep breath and forced myself to stop giggling. “Okay, sorry. I promise, I won’t laugh at you. Just tell me what’s going on here. Because I swear to the Goddess you better not be doing a spell to turn Angel into a toad.”
“I mean, it’s not like that,” Ginger said softly.
“Ginger.”
“It’s not to turn Angel into anything. It’s me. I’m trying to change me.”
“Why?”
“Because I love Lupin. I want to become a shifter, so he can take me out on a date, Zoe,” Ginger said with a sigh.
“Oh.”
Do not laugh at the thought of a guinea pig shifter. Do not laugh.
“Oh?” Ginger’s eyes narrowed.
“If that’s what you want. Are you sure you want to be human? It’s not all it’s cracked up to be.”
“I wouldn’t be totally human. I’d still be half familiar.”
“Would you still be my familiar?” Suddenly, the prospect of losing her forever made my heart heavy.
“I would for the time,” Ginger said thoughtfully. “But what if we get married?”
My first impulse was to stop her, but that wouldn’t have been fair. Ginger wasn’t the first familiar that wanted a human life, and she wouldn’t be the last. Who was I to stop her? No, if I loved her then I had to let her go.
“Then we’ll be sisters,” I said.
“Yay!” she exclaimed and did her piggy booty dance.
“Okay, so the only shapeshifting spell I know is the one that witches use to turn into hares under the full moon. And then, there’s the spell to bring them back to human form. We’ll have to modify that for you.”
“Awesome. But, I do have one other concern about this thing.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Do you have an outfit I can borrow? I think I’m going to need that.”
“Yes. You will need that. Hopefully we’ll be the same size. I’m not sure how much control we’ll have over that, but I’ll do my best. Hang out here for a second. I’m going to get you some clothes.”
I went to my room and pulled a t-shirt and jeans from my dresser drawer. Thankfully, I always kept a bag of brand new underwear and socks on hand just in case of emergency. So, I had those for Ginger too. I wished she’d told me about her plans. We could have been better prepared.
Items in hand, I went back to the spare bedroom and laid the clothes on the floor next to her circle. “Are you going to invite me in?”
“How do you enter?” she asked.
And away we went. “With trust in my heart and love in my soul.”
I kept my back to Ginger as we performed the ritual. I had no idea when she would actually turn into human form, so I wanted to make sure she had her privacy.
“I have this,” Ginger said and used her nose to push a moon charm toward me. “I figure we’re not going to want to do a ritual every time I need to change back into my familiar form. So, I thought we could try and contain the reverse ritual in this. I can use it to shift back.”
“That sounds like an excellent idea.”
With the plan drawn, we began the ritual to turn Ginger into human form.
Goddess be your will
Grant us permission to change
Grant us wisdom to grow
What was once one thing
Let it become another
So mote it be
We chanted the words over and over until a neon pink sigil appeared on the floor beneath us. I could feel a bit of heat coming from it, and it pulsed as if it were alive. The air in the room grew heavy, and the scent of fresh pine and cold wind filled my senses.
“It’s working,” Ginger said excitedly. “I can feel something happening.”
Instinctively, I started to turn. I knew I had my back turned to give her privacy, but it was so hard to keep my eyes on the wall. I didn’t want to embarrass her, but the curiosity killed.
“Don’t look,” she said.
I heard her pick up the clothes and begin to put them on. A couple of minutes later, I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. I turned around, and the surprise nearly took my breath away.
Ginger lived up to her name. Her hair was long, wavy and red. It looked very much like my own. In fact, Ginger looked a great deal like me. It wasn’t just like looking in the mirror, but she definitely looked like family.
Sisters.
“I guess the thing about us being sisters had some influence on the spell,” I said as I studied her sparkling blue eyes. My eyes were green, but Ginger’s were shaped the same as mine. Her skin was fair and there was a smattering of freckles over the bridge of her nose.
“What do you mean?” Ginger asked.
“Go look in the mirror. You’ll see what I mean.”
Ginger walked out of the room, and I tried to wrap my head around what we’d done. Surely, I couldn’t be the first witch who’d helped her familiar turn human. I didn’t think there were any laws against it, but I wondered if I should have checked before we did the ritual.
What was done was done. Ginger had left the bathroom door open, so I walked down the hall to join her.
She was looking in the mirror and running her hand through her wavy ginger hair. “It’s incredible,” Ginger said. “Do you think Lupin will like me?”
“If he doesn’t, he’s a fool.”
“How do I tell him? He had no idea I was going to do this. What do I say?” Ginger asked.
“You tell him the truth. Just tell him.”
“I’d better call him,” she said. “He’ll recognize my voice, but if I just show up on his porch, he might think it’s a joke.”
“All right,” I said. “Let’s get my phone, and then I’ll give you so privacy.”
“Oh, no. You’re staying right by my side. I would puke on my shoes if I had to talk to him by myself. I need you there.”
“Well, that’s graphic,” I said. “Sure, let’s go downstairs. I’ll get us a drink.”
“Like booze?”
“Like a diet soda,” I said with a chuckle.
Chapter Two
“I don’t even know what to wear on a date,” Ginger said as soon as she hung up the phone.
“Did he say it was a date?” I asked skeptically.
“No, he said we should hang out tonight. He didn’t say it was a date, but I need to be prepared,” Ginger answered. “I want it to be a date. I’m going to dress for the job I want, not the job I have.”
“I think I can help. You can borrow any of my clothes that you want. Do you have any idea what you might like to wear? I’ve got dresses that I never wear. I’m pretty sure there are some in there with the tags still on them. I think you ordered a couple of them online too,” I said with a snort.
“Hmm,” Ginger said and pressed the tips of her fingers to her lips. “It’s a big decision. This will be my first time choosing clothes. I think you’re right, though. I may have ordered a few dresses when I was dreaming of this day.”
“We can go through my closet,” I offered. “I had no idea you’d been thinking about this for so long. You should have told me, Ginger. Let’s go see if there’s a perfect dress for your date with Lupin. I’m sure I’ve got shoes too.”
“Before we do that, I think I need makeup,” Ginger said. “No offense, but I don’t want to borrow yours.”
“I could do a cleansing spell on it.”
“It’s not that,” she said and looked away sheepishly.
“Oh, you don’t like my makeup,” I said.
“It’s just not my style. I know that sounds stupid because up until ten minutes ago I was a guinea pig, but I want something a little more glamorous. I’ve always seen myself as colorful and glitzy. At least, that’s what I wanted to be.”
I totally understood where she was coming from. I hardly ever wore makeup, and when I did it was sparse at best. I could handle a swipe of mascara and some powder if it didn’t have a strong smell. I loved lipstick, but most of the time I chewed it off. I hadn’t had my nails done in forever because it was against the health code for me to work in the kitchen with my nails polished.
“Well, we have two choices. We can go to the pharmacy and pick out our own stuff, or we can go to the mall in Granite City for a makeover. I’m not sure how much help I can be in this department. We might need professionals.”
“You would do that? You’d take me to the mall?” Ginger asked and bit her lip so hard that I was afraid she’d draw blood.
How could I say no to her enthusiasm? “Well, I have the rest of the day off. My Mom and Tom are at the bakery.”
“Hiring him was such a good idea. He and your mother get along so well, and you really did work too hard before trying to do it all yourself,” Ginger said. “So, are Willow and Tom an item yet?”
“I think they’re still just friends. It’s good for me because I don’t have to do much around the shop once the baking is done. He and Mom work well together, but I think she’s still gun-shy because of the whole Richie thing.”
“Well, at least she has someone to help her get through it,” Ginger said.
“So what’s it going to be? Pharmacy or mall?”
“The mall, of course. Let’s go!”
“Great, let’s get you some shoes and then we’ll take off.”
The drive to the mall was quiet. Ginger spent the whole time watching out the window. I thought it was strange at first, but then I realized she’d never seen the world from that angle when we drove anyway. Plus, she got most places by teleporting into my purse.
We arrived at the mall and I parked far out in the lot. It wasn’t because I was worried about someone hitting my car. It was important to get exercise in where you could. Unfortunately, not everyone found the practice endearing.
“Can’t we park closer to the door?” Ginger asked.
“It’s good for us to walk,” I said.
“That’s easy for you to say. You’ve had human legs your whole life. I’m not that used to it yet.”
I’d noticed that she’d been a little wobbly going down the stairs, but I guess I hadn’t thought too much of it. “Well, you’re going to have to be able to use those legs tonight when you’re out with Lupin. He’s not going to carry you around anymore. It’s good practice,” I said.
Ginger surveyed the distance between the car and the mall entrance before looking back at me with puppy dog eyes. “What if I fall? I’ll be a mess for tonight.”
“I’m not going to let you fall. Trust me, Ginger, you can do this.”
Her first few steps seemed a bit unsure, but by the time we got to the door, she was an old pro. I held the door open and she walked through. My front almost collided with her back when I followed. Ginger was planted in place right inside the door with her mouth gaping in wonder.
“Let’s go. People really are going to think you’re weird,” I said and hooked my arm around her elbow.
The mall in Granite City wasn’t huge. In most malls in bigger cities there were two or three big anchor stores. When you got into the actual big cities, there were even more. Granite City Mall had one.
Our mission was to make it to the makeup counters in that anchor department store without Ginger having a stroke. We probably should have started with something a little smaller that didn’t have so many lights.
As we walked into the store, I felt Ginger’s hand come up and cover mine. She gripped me so tight that I thought she was going to leave a mark.
“Calm down, Ginger,” I whispered. “It will be okay. I promise.”
“I don’t think it’s going to be,” she responded.
“Why is that?”
“Because the girl behind that counter over there is Lupin’s ex-girlfriend. I didn’t know she worked here.”
“How would you have known that?” I asked.
“I guess I wouldn’t have.”
“Just like she’s not going to know that you’re going out with Lupin. It will be fine, but if it makes you feel better, we can go to another counter.”
“Yes, let’s do that,” Ginger said.
We walked into the store and made our way to the makeup counter as far away from the one Lupin’s ex-girlfriend was manning as we could get. It was Lancôme, and I knew that was French for expensive. It was too bad Lupin’s ex was at the Clinique counter, I didn’t know much about high-end makeup, but I thought that brand was more reasonably priced.
“Lancôme,” Ginger said as we stepped up to the counter. “I don’t have any money,” she said as if she’d realized it for the first time.
“It’s okay,” I said. “I do. Let’s have them do a makeover on you, and then we’ll buy a couple of things. I can’t afford a whole face full of products, but we can pick up some lipstick and mascara. The rest you’ll have to buy at the pharmacy.”
“Oh, lipstick is a good choice. The more expensive ones have more pigment. So they are actually higher quality. It’s not just a fancy name and price.”
“How do you know that?” I asked. “Before today you didn’t have lips to use lipstick.”
“Hey, I had lips.”
“Not that you could put lipstick on.”
“Point taken,” she said. “The reason I know is online research. You don’t spend as much time on the internet as I did and not learn a few things.”
“I’m not sure if you should brag about that,” I said with a chuckle. “Anyway, let’s ask that nice lady about a makeover.”
It was as if my words made the woman’s ears prick up. Within seconds she was in front of us.
“How may I assist you today?” she asked. “My name is Mona and it’s my mission to provide you with the best service possible. I’ll be giving you a web address for a survey with your purchases today, and I strive to provide a five-star experience.”
“Hi, I’m Ginger,” Ginger said.
Mona and I waited for her to say something else, but it appeared that Ginger had frozen up. Interacting as a human must have made her nervous. I hadn’t expected it to be so hard for her.
“I’m Zoe,” I said as a follow-up. “We’re here to get Ginger a makeover. She’s interested in purchasing some makeup, and I’m afraid I don’t know much about it.”
“Are you two sisters?” Mona asked skeptically. “You almost look like twins. You can’t possibly be her mother.”
At first her statement confused me completely. Then, I realized that I was talking about Ginger like it was my job to teach her about makeup, but that wouldn’t make any sense. We looked like we were about the same age.
“We’re cousins,” I said quickly. “I don’t wear much makeup and Ginger grew up with missionaries in the jungle. So we need your help.”
“I understand,” Mona said with a big warm smile. “What is the occasion?”
“First date,” Ginger said. “I really like him. His name is Lupin, and he’s a very successful plumber,” she gushed.
“You’re going out with Lupin?” a voice snarled from behind us.
We whirled around and Lupin’s ex was standing right behind us. She was trying to glare holes into Ginger’s head. So much for trying to lay low.
“Yes, but we’re just good friends,” Ginger said.
A Howling Good Time (Wicked Witches of Destiny Cove Book 3) Page 1
