Morning Magic

by Meriam Wilhelm

  Picnic basket - check, food-check, blanket-check. I was ready to go. Or not. A bottle of wine and two plastic goblets appeared on the counter. Looking at the bottle I said, “Good choice Marv” adding the wine and glasses to my basket. Now I was ready to go.

  I had told Jonathan that I meet him at my shop at eleven o’clock today and there he was on time and waiting for me when I arrived.

  “Where are we off to Livy?” he asked.

  “It’s a surprise. All I will tell you is that we are going to have a great picnic lunch with some super potato salad.”

  “Did your sister prepare our lunch?” he asked innocently enough.

  “NO. I did,” I said acting more than a little hurt.

  “Oops, sorry. I guess I thought that she did most of your cooking for you,” he offered with a slight smile on his face.

  “Um, no. I can cook. I do cook…. sometimes.” I decided not to tell him about the help that Meghan had given me with the potato salad; especially since he knew nothing of my phantom visitors.

  Heading up into the hills in my little orange VW Bug the sun shone brightly. The air was just starting to turn crisp with the arrival of fall. The hills of Rolling Rock are gorgeous and with every turn of the roadway your eye sight is drawn further and further out to the rocks and crashing ocean waves beyond. The sea mist lingers most mornings, but today it was clear as far as you could see.

  I pulled my car off the road and headed down to a spot next to what was left of a struggling apple grove.

  “This is gorgeous, “Jonathan said. “I don’t think that I’ve ever been anywhere as beautiful as this. But I dreamt of a place just like this,” he said in a hushed voice.

  “Years ago these hills were all filled with orange groves, apple groves, and fields of carnations and other fresh flowers. The land used to hold an incredible sea of colors. Now there are only a few remaining untended groves. And on the other side of the hills someone is actually growing cactus, Kind of weird I guess.”

  “I bet it was incredible when the flowers were all in bloom. Could you actually smell the flowers?” he asked. “Orchards or cactus, I still think that it’s a pretty awesome place,” he said.

  Grabbing the basket and blanket I led Jonathan to a spot where we could see the ocean waves more clearly. The pint sized apple grove provided the shade that we needed and the fresh sea mist was more than refreshing.

  Spreading out the blanket I motioned for Jonathan to join me.

  “Would you mind if we walked a little first? I’d love to get a better look at what’s around here,” Jonathan asked. “What city are we in anyway?” he questioned, looking down at the village area of New Moon Beach below.

  “I can see now that we are right above New Moon Beach but what is this area called?”

  “Believe it or not, this land is still part of the city of New Moon Beach,” I offered. “There is a wide strip of land that hugs the coast and runs south for several miles through the hills. The early developers of the city wanted to include the best of both worlds in the city of New Moon Beach. So they extended the city borders to include where we are standing. It is beautiful, isn’t it? A great combination of land and sea. The perfect location,” I said.

  “Yes,” was all he said as he continued to wander down closer to the ocean cliffs stopping to pull one of the young apples off a tree. “I can see that.”

  “I’m not sure how good that is going to taste,” I said scrunching up my face.

  Without waiting for any further comments on my part, Jonathan took a big bite. “Tart. Wow, that is what I call tart,” he said making an equally funny face.

  “Well, it’s a little early for harvesting apples. And these groves have not been cared for in many years. I hope you don’t get sick.”

  “Me too,” he said with a laugh. “Speaking of getting sick, what did you make for lunch?”

  “Ouch! That hurt. No dessert for you,” I said as I grabbed his hand and pulled him back towards the picnic blanket.

  Reaching for the wine bottle Jonathan opened the cork and poured two full glasses of wine.

  Taking a sip, he said, “This is excellent wine Livy, great choice.”

  I put my wine glass down and told him that I thought I’d start with lemonade first. I didn’t want anything to get in the way of my ability to convince him that this was the best spot for his hotel.

  An hour later we were both lying on the blanket with full stomachs and Jonathan had apparently drained both his glass of wine and mine.

  “That was super good chicken Olivia. But my favorite was that potato salad. Where did you learn to make it that way?”

  “Oh, you’d be surprised where I get my cooking tips from these days,” I answered with a smile.

  “Did you pack any coffee in that basket of yours?” he questioned as he moved to his knees and began rummaging through the basket. “AH! Are those flip flop cookies from Gino’s?” he asked as he unearthed our dessert.”I think that I died and went to heaven today,” he said as he lay back down with a cookie firmly planted between his lips.

  “You are really something, Olivia,” he said with a few cookie crumbs still clinging to his chin. “This is just what I needed today. I have had about enough of my dad and his ways,” he said with a sigh. “It really doesn’t matter what I do any more, I will never measure up to be what he wants. And I’m getting tired of trying.”

  Watching a group of pelicans fly over the cresting waves, their wings fully extended; they appeared to almost drag their feet in the water. “That’s the life. Play in the waves, eat when you want and fly away when you’ve had enough,” he ended. Draping his arms over his eyes, Jonathan shut out the sight of the pelicans along with the rest of the world.

  “Jonathan,” I started off. “I’m so glad that I got to share this place with you. I’m just wondering what you would think about moving your hotel up here. Isn’t this the perfect location?” I asked, hoping for a positive reply.

  Not hearing anything, I turned around to find that Jonathan had fallen fast asleep. Deep heavy breathing was soon followed by a soft, steady snore. Poor guy, I had never seen him so tired or so depressed. I could tell that he was close to giving up. But that was the last thing he should do. I had to find a way to introduce the thought of moving the hotel right here.

  But what could I do? I had tried to get him to see the value of this place. I couldn’t just flat out say “Hey, wake up and move your hotel here.” He had to find his own way to this decision.

  So I quietly contemplated my next move. I know that I promised no more spells, but maybe I could make one small exception. Maybe just one little spell to plant a magical thought deep within Jonathan’s mind. One spell to nudge him out of his depression and into some excitement.

  Moving oh so slowly I stood up and walked towards the bluff. Stopping to think for a moment I conjured the perfect spell in my mind. I would have to chant it telepathically or risk the possibility of awakening Jonathan. Hopefully, I would also not also wake up dad’s Astro-answering machine. I could hope anyway.

  Collecting my thought I began:

  Mother Nature hear my plea

  Awaken a thought in Jonathan that is sent from me

  Let him see this site as pure

  And a place to plant his hotel for sure

  As your apple trees choose here to grow

  Let him recognize this spot where your sweet winds blow

  To set down his hotel roots and more

  To show his father all that he knows

  Three times I mentally plead my case to Mother Nature hoping against hope that it would work. The clouds parted for a brief moment and the sun sparkled down on the water. It was beautiful, but fleeting. I couldn’t help but wonder if my spell had worked.

  “What are you doing Olivia?” Jonathan asked, coming up to stand right behind me.

  “Oh! You scared me,” I answered, jumping as he touched my shoulder.

  “You looked so intent that I didn’t want to
interrupt you,” he said, “but I couldn’t figure out what you were doing over here. Were you, um, praying?”

  “I was just thinking that this is a wonderful place and I was thanking Mother Nature for sharing her beauty with us today,” I replied a little uneasily.

  “Mother Nature, huh? That’s cute. I would never think to thank Mother Nature.”

  Turning to face the sea, he bowed and said, “Thanks Mother Nature, you really outdid yourself here.”

  Returning momentarily to the blanket Jonathan let out a loud yawn. “Thanks for letting me take that cat nap. I can’t believe how deeply I slept! I think that was the best sleep I have had in a long time. I feel great and boy did I have one crazy dream.” Suddenly looking at his cell phone Jonathan yelped, “Wow. Did you realize that it’s almost 4:30? I really need to head back. Dad has another one of his brainstorming meetings this afternoon and he gets royally ticked off if I’m not there and on time.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. I’ll get you back in time. Let’s go.” I was more than a little disappointed. I was sure that my spell had been lost in the wind or drowned in the ocean after never having reached Jonathan. Oh well, I would have to think of some other way.

  We reached the car just as I noticed the fog rolling in. With a slight shiver, I started my engine and headed back to town. But not before I saw Jonathan looking back through the fog at the orchard as he rolled an apple thoughtfully between his fingers. Hmm?

  Chapter 19

  I didn’t see Jonathan for a couple of days. He called once and left a message saying that he was swamped, but that he’d stop by as soon as he could. After a few more days I was convinced that I had made a terrible mistake trying to use a spell to solve a problem. But because I could do nothing about that now, I decided to put my energy into work and Halloween-ize my shop.

  I decorated the store windows with orange paper pumpkins, ghosts and goblins and giggled when I added flying witches on broomsticks.

  “Gail, can you please put that wooden cat you made up on the counter near the cash register. Whatever you do, keep it away from Miss Cassandra. She made it clear to me that she finds it insulting,” I said in a whisper. “I think it gives her the creeps because it looks so much like her!”

  “I know it does,” she said, smiling with an all knowing grin. “It’s supposed to.”

  Gail carved ghoulish faces on several fresh pumpkins and lined them up on the store shelves facing the street. Candlelight bled through orange crates with crooked teeth and slanted eyes; just one more of Gail’s many talents. I laughed until I stopped and actually noticed that one of the faces bore a striking resemblance to Larry. “Wonder if someone else is going to be insulted?” I said to no one in particular.

  Finding the large ceramic pumpkin and filling it with candy, Gail clapped her hands together in joy. “I love candy corn. In fact, it is my all time favorite candy in the whole world. I would eat it all year round if I could find it,” Gail said after grabbing a handful from the bowl.

  “Hmm? I never thought of buying it now and freezing it for later,” Gail said in an apparent conversation with either Meghan or Marv. “Are you sure you can do that? It won’t get all crusty?” Appearing to be happy with the response she received, Gail went on about her business stopping momentarily to ask Olivia a quick question.

  “Olivia, are we going to sponsor a Halloween costume party for the kids in our neighborhood?” Gail asked. “I think that it would be a lot of fun and might just bring more customers into the store.”

  “I hadn’t thought of that,” I answered. “Do you want to put an age limit on it?”

  “Yes, birth to age twelve. Kids older than that are teenagers and can be a pain in the neck if they don’t win,” Gail said.

  “Well, that’s kind of narrow minded, isn’t it?” I asked.

  “Yes, but you know I’m right.”

  “Okay, age’s birth to twelve years old and they have to make their costumes,” I said.

  “What five year old can make their own costume? That’s just dumb.”

  “Alright, alright. Their costumes have to be homemade, but not necessarily by themselves.”

  “Are we giving away prizes?” Gail asked.

  “Yeah, but I need to think about that a little bit. I want them to be fun, but not cost a lot. We are still on a budget, you know.”

  After pulling out several sewing patterns for making Halloween costumes and putting them where people could easily see them, I looked up to see my dad enter the shop. Taking a moment to add Make Your Own Costume to our registration board I turned to greet him. Even though we were getting on a lot better I was always a little apprehensive when dad just showed up.

  “Gail, it’s nice to see you again,” he said nodding his head. Then turning to me he asked, “Can I see you for a minute?”

  I suddenly remembered my spell from last week and wondered if my dad knew anything about it.

  “Olivia wasn’t performing one spell with your sisters and me enough?” he asked.

  “Hey dad, how are you doing?” I started off. “I’m so glad that you stopped by,” I lied.

  “Olivia.”

  “Listen dad, I want to thank you for joining the girls and I to cast that spell the other morning to find the perfect place for the hotel. We did it. I can’t believe that we found such a super spot. It is so incredibly beautiful. I took Jonathan to see it and he agreed that it was beautiful.”

  “Yes, yes, I agree that it is a beautiful spot and a great location for the hotel. But, couldn’t you just have told Jonathan and his dad that?” he asked appearing more than a little frustrated with me.

  “I tried. I took Jonathan up there, but he never heard me tell him that this was the spot he should be recommending to his dad. I got all tongue tied and then he fell asleep! What do I tell him now? By the way, my family performed a spell the other morning to help you find a new hotel spot. How did we do that? Oh yeah, Jonathan, I forgot to tell you that we are all witches.”

  ”Slow down a little bit. Just tell me how you jumped from being tongue tied to feeling the need to spew out another spell?” he asked trying to appear a bit calmer.

  “Okay, so here’s the thing dad. I realized that I don’t know anything about hotels, but I do know one very important fact. The new hotel site had to be Jonathan’s idea and Jonathan, who pitches it to his dad. I understand now that all I could be was the driver; getting him to the right spot,” I said.

  “Hmm, I guess that makes perfect sense. Anyway, what happened after you cast your spell and set off my astro-answering machine….. Again?” he asked.

  Other than the sky opening up and the sun pouring down in concentration on one spot in the ocean, I didn’t notice that anything happened. And to make matters worse, I haven’t seen Jonathan since that day to ask him any questions.”

  “Ohhhh,” said dad reflectively.

  “Jonathan told me that he has been really busy, but he never shared what he is busy with. I think that his father has enslaved him and made him do a bunch of menial errands. He’s even been too busy to just stop by for a minute to see me.”

  “Let me take a look and see what I can find out,” my dad offered.

  “When you say take a look did you mean through your astro-communication system or your glass ball?”

  “How I obtain information is for me to know. I’ll stop back by when and if I hear anything,” my dad said as he headed to the front door.

  “By the way, are you and Gail dressing up as witches for Halloween?”

  “Only if you do,” I responded.

  “Well, stranger things have been known to happen.”

  Before we knew it the week before Halloween was here. Our store was rocking with business and so many people had signed up for the Make Your Own Costume class that we ended up offering more than one class.

  And one other thing, we’ve gotten so busy that we had to take on some extra help. I knew who to go to right away when I started looking; Mrs. Schwartz. She
was a perfect addition to our team working fifteen to twenty hours a week. I did have to ask her to stop wearing her uniform walking suit every single time she worked. Thankfully, Gail has begun work on a second suit for her.

  In the place of her green and pink outfit Gail convinced Mrs. Schwartz to start wearing stylish jeans and colorful tops. And she even made the cutest store aprons for each of us to wear. Embroidered with Mystique Creations on the front bib each apron was made from the perfect color fabric for each of us. I think that Gail must have added a touch of magic because none of us have ever looked so good in an apron!

  Jonathan called and told me that he wants to stop by and see me this afternoon. I nearly burst into tears because I’d convinced myself that my last meddling with spells had cost me what’s left of our relationship. I don’t care about the hotel anymore. I just care about trying to figure out what there is between Jonathan and me. But until he arrives, I need to get things ready for our Halloween festivities.

  Kids in costumes filled the store, anxiously awaiting the selection of our first Halloween Costume Contest winner. Giggling knee high ninja warriors, princesses, clowns and ghosts abound. And to add to the festivities, Gail and I had both agreed to wear our witch costumes for the day. So silly…… if people only knew that we rarely dress up in black dresses or hats. And brooms? Well, that’s another story. I would have been afraid to even bring mine into the shop.

  The corn candy, chocolate pumpkins and peanut butter squares are quickly gobbled up as kids found a space on one of our couches or the surrounding floors to await the announcement of Mystique Creations Halloween Costume Contest Winners. I wonder how many chocolate finger prints I will have to magically remove from our couch after this event.

  Gail and I decided that first place will receive the ceramic pumpkin head, filled to the top with corn candy and a twenty-five dollar gift certificate to the store. Second prize gets the wooden cat and a fifteen dollar gift certificate. Miss Cassandra was especially happy to see that leave our shop. And third place is a Halloween T-shirt that Gail made and a ten dollar gift certificate. And everyone who had entered the contest gets a special pumpkin cookie from Gino’s.