Hocus Pocus Baby

by Scarlett Cantrell

  ***

  Verbena didn't have this many babies or children in it, so where had they all come from?

  As Leanne navigated her way through the sea of boisterous children, a bowl of potato chips in one hand, a plate of homemade cookies in the other, she only recognized a couple of faces.

  'Who are all these kids?'

  She put down the food and joined Melissa at the far end of the living room, after having survived being mauled to death by ravenous toddlers. Melissa had been quietly observing the party since it had started. She didn't look as though she was at a party, she looked as miserable as she always did, paying particular attention to how much fun her daughter was having with Janice, as they watched the puppet show.

  'I suspect none of them even know my daughter. Tell people there's free food and the whole town turns up. I can't wait until this is over!'

  'You know why that is, don't you?' Leanne sneered. Leaning closer, she whispered in Melissa's ear, 'You can't wait to get me out of this tacky white dress!'

  Melissa didn't know what insult to hurl first. She couldn't get the words out fast enough. She opened her mouth to speak, to expel all manner of vitriolic comments, telling Leanne that undressing her was the last thing she wanted to do, but Dillon's arrival curtailed the verbal abuse Leanne had been on the verge of receiving.

  He approached his mothers, video camera in hand, a broad grin on his face. The camera had almost become another limb; he was never without it these days, always afraid he'd miss something special.

  'Smile, Moms,' he said, zooming in on Melissa's sullen face. When he focused in on Leanne, his blonde mother offered him a goofy smile, nudged Melissa to do the same, but received only exasperated sighs from her.

  'You're the only person in the world who would scowl at their daughter's first birthday party,' Leanne said, in disbelief.

  'You know how I feel about being on camera.'

  When Dillon had decided that his parents were too boring to have on camera, he started filming the puppet show instead. He seemed to be the only one interested in it; the other children were now all running away from Megan, who had busied herself finding stray balloons and squeezing them in her little hands until they popped. Many children cowered behind their parents, not knowing that their fear only encouraged her.

  'I think you should take the balloons from her,' Leanne suggested, making it very clear that she herself wouldn't attempt anything as bizarre as that.

  'Why should I do it? This party was your idea,' Melissa countered.

  'Well... you gave birth to her, therefore you have to do the disciplining...' She really didn't have anything better than that.

  Dillon sighed. 'I'll do it!'

  He handed the camera to Leanne, and with an intrepid trot he crossed the room to where his baby sister was torturing a pink balloon, utilizing her hands and teeth for maximum effect. In a stealthy move he snatched the balloon from her, abruptly wiping the smile from her face.

  The whole room fell silent. Everyone held their breath. Leanne winced and looked away. At the very least there would be a tantrum, if they were lucky.

  But then, 'Di-yon.'

  The voice was tiny, the word just about coherent (in absence of the much needed Ls), the whine as clear as day.

  'Did you hear that?' Dillon asked, dropping the balloon, turning to face his mothers and the rest of the guests, more jubilant than he'd ever been. 'She said my name! She said my name first!'

  It didn't matter that only a few moments ago he'd been reprimanding her for scaring her guests. All was forgiven as he scooped her up merrily and squeezed her in a tight hug, leaving his mothers to stare in awe, shock and envy, because they'd both lost the bet that they'd had going since Megan's birth. Who would have guessed that their daughter's first word would be her brother's name, as opposed to “Mom”?

  ***

  'The kids are bored with the donkeys; they're asking for the clown.'

  Janice came rushing into the house from the garden, where she'd been supervising the donkey rides. Leanne, Melissa and Keith were in the living room doing an early clean up, pulling discarded lollies and cupcakes out of the carpet.

  'Perhaps someone shouldn't have put a clown on the invitations.' Melissa shot Leanne an accusatory look, screwed up a used paper plate and threw it in the bin, all the while imagining it was Leanne's head.

  'How was I supposed to know my daughter would cause him to break both his arms and legs?'

  Keith took a peek out of the window. 'They're getting restless.'

  'What should we do?' Janice asked, worrying enough for everyone.

  'If we had the clown costume, I'd do it.'

  'No need to wear the costume, Leanne...' Melissa interjected, as though she'd been waiting for the opportunity to taunt her.

  'Does it have to be a clown?' Leanne asked, letting the slight roll right off her – something she'd grown accustomed to doing. 'I mean, they might settle for something a little... different. I know someone with a costume.'

  Melissa was too busy fussing over the sandwich that had been trodden carelessly into her expensive carpet to notice all three Evans had turned to look at her.

  'What?' she asked, when she finally noticed them staring.

  ***

  'Are you sure this belonged to you, and that you didn't steal it from someone with a lot less... of that?'

  It turned out that Leanne did know someone with a costume, but not the type of costume anyone wanted to see again, and definitely not one certain people who'd recently given birth to a magic baby could easily get in to.

  There was a struggle taking place, as the kneeling blonde tried to help the brunette into an impossibly tight witch's dress. Not your average black dress; the top was a sleeveless bodice – which accentuated the brunette's ample bosom – and the bottom, a short leather piece that clung to her rear like it was a part of her skin. There would be a great deal of bruises later, on both parties.

  'One more word about my butt and I'll–'

  'All right, I'll stop. But seriously, Melissa, childbirth was easier than this. How did you manage before?'

  'I was slimmer when this was in fashion.'

  Leanne gave the dress a dubious look. She couldn't imagine a time when this outfit had been in fashion. Yet, despite its outlandish appearance, it worked on Melissa. She was the sexiest witch Leanne had ever seen, though she'd never admit that to her.

  'I'll get the hedge-trimmer ready for when you need to take this off again!'

  'I can't believe I agreed to this.' Melissa shook her head, disgruntled. So disgruntled, in fact, that she couldn't look at Leanne without seeing red.

  'You're doing it for Megan,' Leanne said encouragingly, placing the purple-speckled black hat atop Melissa's head to complete the look. 'Every other kid has to settle for clowns at their birthday parties; how many children can say they had a real witch?'

  ***

  Melissa's entrance caused quite a stir among the parents, many of whom had heard the stories of her days of murder and torture, and thus regarded her with caution. The children, however, were a different matter. They were positively terrified, but at the same time couldn't get enough of her. Every time she walked past announcing that she'd turn them all in to frogs (and meaning every word of it) the kids would scream excitedly, run and hide, then come out again for another dose of the wicked witch.

  No one was more excited than Megan, however; from the moment her mother appeared the baby was in hysterics, equally as terrified as the rest of the kids, yet completely drawn to the woman.

  Melissa thought the whole thing tedious and farcical; she despised Leanne for making a mockery of an outfit that had once instilled terror in the mortal peasants. But the smile on Megan's face made her momentarily forget vengeance, and for the few minutes that she stayed in character, a feeling of nostalgia swept over her.

  'That was quite a show you put on out there,' Leanne said later. She and Melissa had dispersed to the kitchen to cut the birthday cak
e and prepare the party bags. Outside, the sky darkened. In the rest of the house the guests were putting on their coats, preparing to go home.

  'You left me no choice,' Melissa said nonchalantly, the faintest glimmer of a smile creeping to her lips. 'I had to clean up your mess, as usual.'

  Leanne fell silent. She peered up finally, a troubled look on her face. 'They still remember the stories about you... They're still wary of you, I saw it in their eyes.'

  Melissa appeared to be unconcerned by what Leanne had said, but her careless cake cutting gave her away.

  'You wanted me to wear the dress...'

  'I'm glad I didn't know you back then,' Leanne continued.

  'I'm glad you didn't, either. We wouldn't have any of this now...'

  Melissa said it so quietly, so hastily, that at first Leanne wasn't sure that she'd even heard it, but when she looked at the woman she saw traces of a blush on her cheeks.

  Leanne smiled, and for the first time in a long time it wasn't a mischievous smile that she gave her, it was a genuine one that spread to her eyes. 'You have no idea how much I want to kiss you right now.'

  She said it before she could stop herself, and even if she'd had the capabilities to stop herself, she wouldn't have. She meant it.

  'My tight dress is still working its magic, I see.'

  'No, it's not the dress... it's you, Melissa. – Okay, so the dress doesn't hurt...'

  They continued cutting the cake in awkward silence, until Melissa stopped mid-cut.

  'You might as well get it over with. And try not to smudge my lipstick.' She would have said more, but Leanne had already embraced her and inserted her tongue into Melissa's mouth. There was no resistance from either party...

  ***

  Dillon only came into the kitchen to see what was taking his parents so long; the guests were getting restless, and the kids wanted their party bags so they could make a hasty departure from the Rowe Mansion. Well, he got the answers he sought, and then some.

  Walking in and seeing his mothers lip-locked, as opposed to screaming at one another, was such a life-changing event that he switched on his video camera and zoomed in on them. They'd most definitely slaughter him if they realized, but they were so lost in the kiss that they didn't notice they weren't alone.

  'Hey, Megan,' Dillon whispered into the camera. 'When you play this back in a few years, you'll be able to pinpoint the exact moment that our parents finally got together. Nice work, little sis'!'

  ***

  'How many times did she get you?' Leanne asked, as Melissa entered her room, still in her witch's dress and drained of energy. Leanne handed her a glass tumbler.

  'Four and a half. She was out half-way through the fifth read,' Melissa said, taking a swig of her drink – brandy, just what the doctor ordered. 'How many times can one child listen to the same story before it gets boring? I'm sick and tired of reading about that goddamn gingerbread man!'

  Leanne chuckled. 'But that book has almost everything: adventure, talking animals, danger... The only thing that's missing is the love story.'

  The cheesy wink that Leanne gave her left Melissa no choice but to roll her eyes.

  'One kiss and you're already talking about love! Will you be wanting to take my surname next?'

  'Maybe... when we're married.'

  Leanne couldn't hide her amusement at Melissa's mortified expression.

  'I wouldn't marry you if you were the last person on Earth, just so we're clear.'

  'Got it. But I can help you out of your dress?'

  Melissa nodded. She put down her empty tumbler and sauntered towards Leanne.

  'And I can sleep in your bed?'

  Melissa nodded again, as Leanne placed her hands on her thighs, taking her time in pulling up the dress.

  'But I can't marry you?'

  Melissa shook her head slowly, smirking down at her blonde lover, teasing her with her eyes.

  'That doesn't sound very fair.'

  'Life isn't fair. Now hurry up and take this off; it's starting to chafe!'

  As they climbed into bed together, uncertain of where they were going or what they'd do next, Leanne was curious.

  'Why wouldn't you marry me?'

  'Witches don't get married,' Melissa explained, fluffing her pillow and trying to get comfortable. 'There's no point; we outlive everyone we love.'

  Several minutes passed before Leanne turned to her and whispered, 'If I do propose it won't be to a witch, it'll be to Melissa Rowe, the mother of my two amazing children, the woman who gave me the first real family I ever had... just so we're clear.' And she kissed her on the cheek, as though the kiss were some sort of affirmation. She knew that Melissa, thinking it disgusting, would wipe it off petulantly.

  But to Leanne's surprise... she didn't.

  A Note From the Author

  Dear Reader,

  I hope you enjoyed Book Two in the Magic Baby series and, at the very least, you came away well-informed about the perils of cavorting with 400-year-old witches and raising magic babies. Please consider leaving a review to assist others in their decision to read the book.

  For news of my new releases you can follow me on Twitter – @scarlettcan, or contact me via email – scarlettcan@gmail.com.

  I'll leave you with the blurb for the third and final book in the series, House of Magic.

  Thanks for reading,

  S. Cantrell

  House of Magic

  Not content just being Melissa's part-time lover, Leanne sets out to change things. She wants the real thing now, not a simulation of a real family. She's getting ideas into her head of the long-term commitment kind...

  But her efforts to woo Melissa are proving difficult. Not only is their sorceress daughter, Megan, losing control of her magic and causing havoc every chance she gets, Melissa's making it clear that she isn't the type of person who likes to be wooed. She also has other things on her mind. She's been acting strange lately – sneaking out at night, questioning her purpose in life, not arguing. Leanne worries that there's someone else on the scene.

  The reality, however, might be much worse.

  Other Titles

  The Leading Ladies Series:

  Marie

  Olivia

  Portia

  Leading Ladies: Collection (all three in one)

  The Magic Baby Series:

  The Not So Immaculate Conception

  Hocus Pocus Baby

  House of Magic

  The Magic Baby Series Box Set

  Standalone

  Cyndra: A Modern Fairytale

  That Girl