Trouble's Brewing (Stirring Up Trouble)

by Alexander, Juli

  “Sounds like a plan.” I needed to remember my own plan. Get my mother a date before things got too weird around here. I knew I could sic Anya on the problem. She adored my mother, and she’d love to find her true love. The problem with getting Anya involved was that, well, Anya would be involved. Once I opened that can of worms, I’d never be able to close it. Anya would be in my face.

  I definitely couldn’t handle Anya right now. Although the more she was around, the less we’d see of Finn. I needed to continue my lessons with Finn. Anya was going to have to be Plan B. Or Plan E.

  Maybe Milo would have a great idea.

  “Hey, Mom!” I called from my spot on the couch. “What do you want me to do?”

  “Keep the laundry moving,” she said. “I want the hampers empty when they get here.”

  “I’m sure they know we have laundry. I don’t think we need to hide it.”

  “We’re going to have cloth napkins, extra towels, extra linens… lots of laundry to pile up over the next few days.”

  “Okay,” I said. “I’m on it.” I gave Jasmine one last pat and then got up.

  “I haven’t made the bed in the guest room, yet. Make the bed first. Then make up the sleeper sofa in the library for Milo.”

  “Got it.”

  “I laid out the bedding, and don’t forget you’re feeding Snowball for Mrs. McGregor this week.”

  “I won’t forget.”

  A comforter, sheets, and pillowcases were piled on the bed in the guest room. I grabbed the fitted sheets and moved the rest onto the dresser. Then I played figure-out-which-way-the-sheet-goes for about five minutes. I finally tugged the fourth corner onto the mattress. The bedding had been clean already. Mom was washing it so it would smell fresh and because she didn’t want anybody to see dust in her home. Lucky for me, she’d cut corners because she hadn’t taken off the bed skirt this time. I could never get those things on right.

  I rushed downstairs to make up the couch for Milo. Mom had given him the most masculine stuff from our linen closet. Last time he visited, other than Halloween, I think she’d given him Mickey Mouse sheets. I had just managed to stuff the pillow into the dark blue case when the doorbell rang.

  Milo!

  I dashed for the door, and jumped over Jasmine who was rushing to hide in the library. Milo!

  Mom was only a few steps behind me when I flung open the door.

  “Milo!” I shouted as I flung my arms around him. “You’re here!” And taller. Hadn’t I just seen him at Halloween? “You’ve grown!”

  “Zoe!” His deep voice rumbled through me like thunder as he picked me up, a foot off the ground.

  I screeched. “Put me down!”

  “Marjorie!” Mom exclaimed. “I thought you guys would never get here. Bill, so good to see you!”

  It hit me suddenly that Mom had been looking forward to seeing them as much as I had.

  Milo set me down, and I hugged his mother and then his father. I didn’t talk to them on the phone much anymore. I didn’t answer the house phone now that I had my cell. When I was younger, I used to talk to Marjorie a lot. I owed them so much for all their help during the Frog Fiasco. I hugged Milo’s mother again.

  “We are so glad you guys are here,” my mother said, pulling me off of Marjorie. “Come on inside.” She released me and pulled Milo into a hug. “Such a handsome one you are.”

  “What should we help with, Annie?” Milo’s mother asked. “We have Milo for any heavy lifting.”

  “That’s what we had the boy for,” his father joked. “He needs to earn his keep.”

  “Whatever you need, Mrs. Miller.”

  “No hard labor for you here, Milo,” Mom said. “I think everything’s under control, Marjorie. Let’s catch up and then bring your luggage in. I’ll be glad to let you help me with dinner.”

  “Annie, you shouldn’t have overdone it. You’ve been sick.”

  “You don’t know the half of it,” Mom said. “And I have a surprise for you at dinner tonight.”

  “Dr. Finnegan!” Marjorie screeched. “We get to meet him tonight?”

  “I’ve been driving all day,” Bill said.

  “Oh, honey,” Marjorie said. “You’ll make a good impression.”

  “Maybe I should freshen up a little?”

  “That means Dad needs a nap,” Milo said in a loud fake whisper.

  “Oh, Bill,” Marjorie said, tucking a strand of her red hair behind her ear.

  “Your room is all made up,” Mom said, glancing at me for confirmation. “So you make yourself at home.”

  “When should we start cooking, Annie?” Marjorie asked as she and Mom walked toward the kitchen.

  “Milo, help me unload the car,” his dad said.

  “I’ll help too.” I followed them out the door.

  Milo handed me a suitcase. Then he grabbed two for himself and we went back inside. “That one’s mine,” he said.

  “I’ll take it to the library.”

  “And I’ll take these upstairs.”

  I stuck my head into the kitchen to find my mother and Marjorie giggling and talking so fast that they were both talking at once and yet somehow following each other. They didn’t notice me, and I backed away quickly.

  Milo and his dad were coming back in, each of them loaded down with a variety of backpacks, totes, and bags.

  “Good grief. Is that everything?”

  “One last thing,” Bill said. “The cooler, but I’ll get it.”

  “Where do you want all this stuff, Dad?”

  “Why don’t you put it over by the window there, and your mother and I will sort it out.”

  Milo left his burdens by the window. “Upstairs?” he asked me.

  I nodded and we escaped to my room to talk.

  “Please tell me it’s going to be an all-witch holiday,” he said. “We have so much to talk about.”

  “No non-witches here. Unless Jake comes over. But you are invited to Thanksgiving with Dad and Sheree and Jake tomorrow.”

  “No Anya?”

  “She doesn’t know you’re in town.”

  He sighed with relief. “I can’t wait to meet Dr. Finnegan. My parents are dying to meet him. They bought my dad a new outfit.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yeah. I would tell you that they reread his potions text but they made me promise not to.”

  I laughed. Wait. “You don’t tell them my secrets do you?”

  “Of course not,” he said.

  Looking like Chace Crawford may have been stunting my friend’s character development. “Do girls believe everything you say?”

  “Usually.”

  “Poor stupid girls.”

  “Not fair, Zoe. You can’t tell me that you aren’t using your looks to get away with things.”

  What looks? “I hope not. I’d be in trouble.”

  Milo rolled his eyes. “You’re pretty, Zoe. You should look in the mirror once in a while.”

  I felt the heat rise to my cheeks. “Shut up. I don’t look like Chace Crawford.” I had boring brown hair and average everything.

  “Uh. No. You don’t.” He tilted his head as he asked, “Are you saying I do?”

  My cheeks flamed. “You know you’re hot.”

  Milo grinned.

  “I think we should change the subject,” I said.

  “Okay, friend who thinks I’m hot.”

  “Shut up.”

  “Fine. Change the subject.”

  I tried, but my mind was blank. The blood had rushed to my cheeks. Desperate, I blurted out, “You know who else is hot?”

  Milo grinned at me.

  “Dr. Finnegan.”

  Milo almost swallowed his tongue. Finally, he managed to say, “Are you nuts? The man is 90.”

  Chapter Eleven

  “He looks like a model for an upscale men’s clothing line.”

  “Nuh-uh. That’s crazy.” Milo shook his head.

  “You’ll see. Anyway, we have to find somebody
for my mother.”

  “What about that producer guy you caught her kissing? Is anything happening with him?”

  “No. He’s not right for her. She’s not going to take him seriously.”

  “Is there anybody else that she knows?”

  “I can’t think of anybody. There’s nobody that works with her, and she doesn’t do much besides work.”

  “Maybe Jake’s mother knows someone to set her up with.”

  I gave him an evil glare. “What do you want them to do? Double date? My mother out with some stranger, and my father and Sheree there too? I don’t think so.”

  “Right,” Milo said. “I guess it is a bad idea.”

  “Possibly the worst idea in the history of the world.”

  “You ask for my help and then you insult me?”

  I shrugged. “That’s what friends are for.”

  “What are your ideas then?”

  “I don’t have any. I guess the obvious. Internet dating.”

  “Your mother would kill you.”

  “I don’t have a choice. I have to try it.”

  “How are you going to pay for it?”

  I smiled. “I’ve already got that covered. I’ll transfer some money from my mother’s credit card into the InternetPay account. I use it a lot for potion ingredients. She’ll never notice that I’m using it for something else.”

  “Do those dating sites take InternetPay?”

  “One of them does so I guess we’re stuck with that one.”

  “All right,” he said. “When do we start?”

  “After dinner? If that’s okay with you.”

  Milo grinned. “I’m your partner in crime for anything that doesn’t involve magic. I can’t afford to get into trouble with the Council. I’m not a brilliant prodigy. They’d take my powers and never look back.”

  “First, thank you. And second, you are brilliant.”

  “How are you going to get your mother to go on a date with someone?”

  “I don’t know,” I admitted. “I’m thinking I’ll either trick her or use guilt to make her go.”

  “You can come live with me.”

  “What? What are you talking about?”

  “When your mother kicks you out.”

  “Ha. Ha. Now help me decide which picture to use for her profile.” I grabbed my laptop and showed him my top four. “I don’t want her to look too pretty. This one is one of those soft light pictures, and I think it will attract the creeps. Mom needs a decent guy.”

  “I thought we were going for distraction here. Are you aiming for a serious relationship?”

  “Not really, but a creep is a creep. Even if it’s only for a couple of dates.”

  “I guess,” Milo said. He examined the pictures carefully. “I like this one with her hair up.” Milo pointed to the photo of my mother holding a paintbrush.

  Dave had taken that one during a shoot last summer. Now that I knew he had a thing for my mother, the shot made more sense. And Mom was smiling at the man behind the camera as if she had feelings for him too. I shook away the thought. “We’ll use that one then. I’m tired of stressing about it.” Maybe Dave would be my backup plan.

  Unless I could get Finn interested in somebody. I mentally kicked myself. He was ninety-five. And there wasn’t anybody in town who would be better suited for him than my mother. Unless I could find a nice elderly witch who’d made herself young again. Or talk someone into transforming their body. Hmm. That would have to be Plan C. I didn’t want to cause anybody pain and suffering. Then I remembered Milo’s remark about the Council. I didn’t want them taking away my powers either.

  “After we eat, we’ll work on the test.”

  “Test?”

  “We have to answer one hundred questions so they can find somebody compatible with Mom.”

  “Zoe,” Milo said, exasperation sneaking into his voice. “We can’t answer those questions for your mother. Unless it’s about her favorite color and what car she drives.”

  “Not exactly. They’re more complicated, but I think between us we can do it.”

  “You think you know your mother well enough but only if you have my help? That’s nuts.”

  It was. I didn’t bother to answer. So it wouldn’t be my mother’s best match. At least she’d have a date.

  “Dr. Finnegan will be here any minute,” I told Milo.

  “My parents are going to gush all over him. I probably won’t get a word in.”

  I suspected he was right. “You have days and days to get to know him. Your parents can’t interfere all the time.”

  “You’d be surprised,” he said.

  “They have to give my mom equal time, Milo. Otherwise, it would be rude. Your parents would never be rude.”

  As we neared the kitchen, I heard my mother talking.

  “I know you donate to the food banks and homeless shelters, but I decided to send some money to The Hospital this year. After all, with Zoe’s recent mishaps, it isn’t outside the realm of possibility—”

  “What hospital?” I asked when we stepped into the crowded kitchen.

  “What what?” Mom said.

  “We were talking about various charities,” Marjorie said. “Milo, do you want a snack while we’re waiting on Dr. Finnegan?”

  “Yes, please.”

  Confused about what we’d overheard, I wanted to ask more questions. Milo handed me a piece of bread covered with honey butter.

  “Oh, yum,” I said, taking a bite.

  Then Finn came through the front door, and I rushed over to help with the introductions.

  His parents finally succumbed to their fatigue and went upstairs to bed. Mom rushed upstairs to be sure they had everything they needed. She had the guest bathroom stocked with fancy soaps, hand towels, and guest towels which matched the silver and green decor. I had hurried to make the bed, but I had probably done an okay job.

  “Well,” I said to Finn and Milo. “I guess it’s just us kids.”

  “Zoe,” Milo hissed in horror.

  I laughed.

  “It’s quite all right, young Milo,” Finn said. “Zoe and I know each other rather well. She’s entitled to some teasing. Besides, I’m well aware of my appearance.” Finn sipped his wine. “In a few weeks, I will be attending a chemistry symposium as my own great grandson. My life has gotten complicated.”

  “You basically just turned back the clock,” Milo said. “Is this exactly what you looked like when you were nineteen? I mean when you were really nineteen. Um. The first time.”

  “That’s a complicated question,” Finn said. “I look very much as I did when I was young.”

  It hadn’t occurred to me before. But it hit me upside the head. I hadn’t read anything about his drop dead looks or about him being a ladies’ man. Shouldn’t someone have mentioned those things if he was Hottie Finn back then?

  “Actually, no,” Finn said. “When I was younger, I had greasy, stringy hair and what they later called a ‘pizza face.’ Now I have access to good shampoo and anti-acne face wash. I was underweight because we didn’t have a lot of money for food, and I had poor posture and dentition. So I looked quite a bit different.”

  “Wow,” I said. “Those little things really make all that much difference?”

  “More than those little things, Zoe, is the fact that I have self-confidence now. I’ve lived a long time, and I’ve seen a lot. As a youth, I was shy and socially awkward. Now I don’t care what people think of me. I like myself.” He grimaced. “Other than the three years of stench of course.”

  “Seriously?” Milo said. “I wouldn’t think confidence could make that much difference.”

  “I’ve never had much time for social experimentation. However, I have no doubt that I can take any nerd from any high school. First I’d add self-confidence. Which is a difficult feat. Once the so-called nerd has self-confidence, I could drop him or her in any high school in the country and the nerd would gain popularity nine times out of ten.”
<
br />   “It can’t be that easy, Finn,” I said.

  “Well, certainly not. Imbuing someone with self-confidence could be a time-consuming process.”

  “Even with the self-confidence,” Milo said, “it can’t be so easy.”

  Finn nodded. “Well, yes. There would be a component of luck. If our hypothetical nerd had the misfortune to commit a social faux pas, say, shooting milk out her nose at lunch—”

  I giggled at the image.

  Finn smiled and continued. “If she were to suffer such a mishap on her first day, it would no doubt be difficult to overcome. However, short of that, I believe my theory holds.”

  “Maybe,” Milo said. “But Zoe’s right. You look like a movie star. It would be easy to have confidence and to be popular looking like that.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Milo, you aren’t exactly hard on the eyes either.”

  “What does hard on the eyes mean?” he asked.

  I winced. “I thought maybe it meant the opposite of easy on the eyes.”

  “So I’m easy on the eyes?” Milo asked with a wicked grin.

  Embarrassed, I looked over at Finn.

  “Perhaps one of you will find time to test my theory.”

  “Sure,” I said. “In my free time.”

  Milo snorted. “Zoe, you don’t have any free time.”

  “I guess that leaves you.”

  He considered for a moment. “It’s not a bad idea. Maybe I could get some course credit. Unlike Zoe, I’m not tied up with my brilliant advances in potions.”

  “No. Because you have charms.” I turned to Finn. “He made an amazing discovery with jumbo-sizing cans of food.”

  “Yes, your mother told me,” Finn said. “She indicated that you haven’t notified the Council yet.”

  “No,” Milo admitted.

  “We should take care of that before you leave. I can help you file a preliminary report. I’m sure the Council will be appreciative of the inroads you’ve made. Very exciting to blend two charms.”

  Milo beamed.

  “I don’t think you will have time for the social experiment,” I said. “You have your own contributions to make to magic.”

  “She’s right, you know,” Finn said. “You should continue to pursue these blended charms. You may have a future in research as well.”