Night Flight

by Meriam Wilhelm

  “I know and love everything I need to Miss Gail Winkler, my purple haired beauty,” he said laughing. And with that pronouncement the group erupted.

  “Good job Larry,” said Jonathan. “We all love you Gail,” he continued attempting to lighten the situation. And we did. Gail was one special witch. I just wondered if Larry knew what a wonderful treasure he’d found.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  “How long were you there?” asked my father as he took a seat next to Harmony’s office desk.

  “Only about an hour,” said Harmony. “But it sure felt a lot longer.”

  “Yeah, I bet. They can be really intense women,” he said.

  “How old are they dad? Because whatever wrinkle cream they are using, I want some!” declared Constance. “I mean, especially Great-Aunt Lavandar; there is something beautiful inside that seems to radiate outward. I don’t know what it was about her, but I felt like she could be a real friend.”

  “I don’t know,” said Harmony. “I think that Great-Aunt Olivia is the real beauty.”

  “I remember them all being beautiful,” said dad. “But I’m going to caution you both to take it slow. They are not quite the same caliber of witch as you and your sister are,” he said, pausing as if uncertain what to say next. “All three of your Great-Aunts are extremely powerful witches.”

  “Do they ever leave that creepy old house?” Harmony asked as she offered her father a cup of coffee from the urn on her desk.

  “Not your Great-Aunt Rue so much, but the other two do. For a while Olivia was a regular at Tommy’s Beach Tunes on the pier. She has a thing for karaoke music,” he said, adding sugar to the Styrofoam cup he held.

  “Really?” both sisters said in unison. “She seems pretty tough. Beautiful but tough,” said Constance. “I can’t imagine her having a beer and singing tunes with the New Moon Beach fisherman at Tommy’s,” Constance said raising her coffee cup as if in a toast.

  “Stranger things have been known to happen,” responded her dad.

  “And Lavandar?” asked Constance. “Does she like karaoke too?”

  “No, no,” he said. “She is quiet by nature and actually volunteers at Children’s Hospital in the city. I heard that she read books to sick kids and among the witch community, it’s been rumored that she casts spells to move along the healing process for children, when she can.”

  “I thought she seemed nice,” said Constance.

  “What’s wrong with Rue that she never goes out?” asked Harmony.

  “I’m not really sure. Something happened a long time ago and your mother would never talk about it,” he said. “Your mom felt that it was up to Rue to share, if she wanted to, and she never did.”

  “Now my turn to ask a few questions,” said my father. “Did your Great-Aunts know anything about Olivia’s night flying?”

  “We don’t know,” said Harmony. “After we had our tea and just when I thought we could have a real conversation, she came downstairs and everything stopped. She really is quite intimidating.”

  “But as we were being shuffled out, Lavandar whispered that she would get word to us. I can only hope that the word she is sending will help Olivia,” said Constance.

  “Oh, and one more thing; our Great-Aunt Olivia was bragging that she was mom’s favorite aunt and that our sister Olivia was named after her,” said Harmony. “Is that right dad?”

  Both sisters waited for their dad’s response, but were less than fulfilled when he said, “It’s something like that.”

  “Dad,” started out Harmony “why did mom live with her grandmother and aunts and not her parents?”

  “Her parents died a long time ago. I don’t really know all of the particulars. I just know that she ended up with her aunts and grandmother and that she loved them all; even her grandmother.”

  Constance looked between her father and Harmony and finally asked, “Do you think that we should tell Olivia where we went?”

  “Wait, I have a better question,” said Harmony. “Do you think that we should take her with us the next time we go?”

  “That implies that you are going again,” said Alistair with a question in his voice.

  “I think that we have to if we are going to help Olivia. I mean, I’m not sure that we can just sit around and wait for Lavandar to seek us out.”

  As if a tiny, tinkling bell had gone off repeatedly, my sisters heard, “Well, patience is certainly not your strength Constance is it?”

  “Lavandar?” said both sisters.

  Rising from his chair and walking across the room my father extended his hand towards Lavandar who had just appeared in the corner of Harmony’s office.

  “Hello, Lavandar. It’s been a long time,” said our father.

  “Hello Alistair. You are certainly looking well,” she said as she rose to kiss both sides of dad’s cheeks. “I was so pleased to meet your daughters.”

  “Yes, they said that they got a chance to meet all of their Great-Aunts, and their Great-Grandmother too,” he said. “I’m sorry that you didn’t get the chance to meet their sister, Olivia,” he said.

  “Oh, we’ve met,” said Lavandar to the surprise of both Harmony and Constance.

  “I understand that you two came to ask some questions. I’m sorry that my mother appeared when she did and we were unable to talk more. I would have liked to get to know you girls a little better,” she said with a sweet smile on her lips and a nod to Constance.

  “Can I go back for a minute?” asked Harmony. “You said that you met Olivia. Did you mean our sister, Olivia?”

  “Yes,” was all that Lavandar said.

  “Okay, I’ll bite,” said Constance. “Where did you meet Olivia and when?”

  “Oh, that’s simple,” Lavandar responded. “I ran into her at the cottages open house the other day.”

  “We didn’t know that you were there,” said Harmony.

  “Yeah, we would have liked to show you around,” said Constance.

  “Well, I only popped in for a minute to check out the site,” she said. “It’s truly lovely and your mother would be so proud of all that you have done,” she ended finding a place on the office couch for her diminutive frame to rest. “Seems like such a shame that she is not here to share in your joy.”

  “Um, Great-Aunt Lavandar, may I ask you a question?” asked Harmony.

  “Only if you drop the Great-Aunt part of it. That title makes me feel so old!” Lavandar giggled.

  “Okay, Lavandar,” she started again. “We are really worried about our sister, Olivia.”

  “I know,” she responded. “I’ve been keeping my eyes on you girls for the past several months. It’s only lately that I realized what was going on and that you needed my help,” she said with her eyes cast downward. “I’m truly sorry for my sister’s actions.”

  “Your sister?” asked Harmony

  “Which sister?” asked Constance. “And what has she done to our sister?”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  It was an exceptionally calm Tuesday morning in our shop. I had just made a pot of Hazelnut coffee and Gail had grabbed double chocolate donuts from Gino’s Bakery. As we sat and talked about our upcoming classes, materials that we needed to order and whether we should have our front window painted by a local graphic artist, I noticed that Gail seemed far away and not connected to our conversation.

  “Yeah, I think that we should start selling cats and dogs in our shop next month,” I began.

  “Okay, whatever you think,” Gail responded.

  “Or maybe we should consider providing magical tattoos. I’m not much for needles, but I guess I could learn.”

  “I’m sure that you could,” responded Gail.

  “Oh, and you’ll volunteer to have me give you the first tattoo, right?” I asked rather loudly.

  “Tattoo? What? You know that I don’t like tattoos. What are you thinking?” Gail said in a rather annoyed voice.

  “No, the question is what are you thinking?
Where are you Gail?”

  “Oh,” Gail responded as her eyes began to fill with tears.

  Pulling her legs up Indian style and staring at me through large mournful violet eyes, she said, “What am I going to do Olivia? I guess that I never thought it would go this far. I’ve never been in a relationship that lasted this long,” she rambled. “Remember in college, whenever anyone got too close, I pushed them away.”

  “I remember.”

  “But I don’t want to do that to Larry,” she said, tears freely streaming down her cheeks. “Me, I’m in love with Larry,” she said.

  “I know,” was all that I could say. And I did know. I knew exactly how she felt and what she was going through.

  “Oh boy. How did I get myself into this mess? Why do I have to be a witch? Why couldn’t I just be a normal, amazingly talented tiny, purple haired shopkeeper?” she asked giggling through her tears.

  “Oh Gail,” I said, getting up and wrapping her in my arms. “Maybe it won’t be that bad if you tell him that you’re a witch,” I said. “Besides, I’ve always wondered if he has some hidden magical talents or if he might actually be charmed.”

  “Why would you say that?” Gail asked.

  “Twice. Not once, but twice, Larry has walked right through doors that we locked; one door locked with a key and one locked with a magical ward,” I said.

  “Really?”

  “Think about it for a minute and you’ll remember. Once it was at the city council meeting about the hotel and the other time was a couple of weeks ago when we had the trouble with the poltergeist,” I said letting out a long sigh. “Do you remember now?” I asked.

  “I do,” she said quietly.

  “So you think that I should tell him?” Gail asked, her eyes shining brightly. When I nodded an agreement she continued.

  “Well, if you think that I should tell Larry, then I guess you think that you should tell Jonathan too,” said Gail staring intently at me.

  “Why would I tell Jonathan that you are a witch?” I asked, knowing that I was being difficult.

  “You know exactly what I mean,” Gail said. “Tell Jonathan that you are a witch!”

  “Oh, wait a minute! There is a big difference. Larry is in love with you.”

  “Jonathan is in love with you,” Gail said. “If you’d just open up your stupid eyes and look.”

  “When I open my eyes all I see is Jonathan and Blitz,” I responded bitterly.

  “Well then you are looking in the wrong place,” Gail blasted back at me.

  “Wait a minute. How did this turn from you and Larry to me and Jonathan?” I said. “That’s not fair Gail, so let’s move back to you. So when are you going to tell him?”

  “Tell him what?” Jonathan asked as he walked into our shop.

  Hesitating just a second I said, “We need to tell the graphic artist that we do want him to paint our shop windows,” I covered.

  “Does Gail always get that emotional about window painting?” asked Jonathan with a look of suspicion on his face.

  “You know how dedicated she is to Mystique Creations,” I responded. “Anyway, what’s going on with you? Why did you stop by?” I asked, perhaps a bit too harshly.

  “I haven’t seen you for a while and I wanted to know if you wanted to grab a pizza tonight and maybe watch a movie at Larry’s?” he asked. “Larry is going to ask you the same thing Gail so I’ll give you a forewarning.”

  “How about pepperoni, sausage and extra cheese? Wasn’t that your favorite?” he asked expectedly. And I instantly thought of the little blue eyed woman I’d met at the cottages. Maybe he did still care.

  “Yes,” I said softly. He remembered. “What time?” I asked.

  “Why don’t you and Gail come by about six o’clock? We’ll have time to eat and watch a movie or two,” he said, zipping up the front of his jacket. It had suddenly gotten cold in my shop and I wondered who was doing that. I knew it wasn’t me.

  As Jonathan turned to walk out the door, it slammed right in his face.

  “What the heck,” he said, opening the door to leave.

  “Wow, it’s really getting windy out there,” I said. “See you about six,” I said making sure that the door stayed open this time.

  A wicked little laugh emanated from behind the closed door.

  “Who is that?” I shouted. “Why did you do that? If you don’t show yourself, you are a coward!” I shouted. With that, several boxed crafts flew off the back shelf.

  “I’ve about had enough of you,” I said as I picked the boxes off the floor and returned them to their shelves. “Knock it off!” And they did. Two more boxes landed on the floor.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Who knew that Wedding Crashers with Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn would be so funny? Jonathan and I laughed so hard it felt as if all of our joy and laughter had cleared the air. We finished off more that our share of pizza and beer before it was time to head home. And a feeling of relaxation and peace settled over me.

  Matt had joined us half way through the movie complaining that Harmony had another crummy city event to attend so he was flying solo. As I moved towards the kitchen with my hands full of dirty dishes and empty pizza boxes Matt followed me.

  “I’m glad to see you here again Olivia,” he said smiling.

  “I’ve been in Larry’s mega garage before, but this is the first time I’ve ever been in his house. It’s such a nice place,” I said casually not allowing my eyes to meet Matt’s and hoping to get out of the kitchen and away soon.

  “Yeah, right,” he said. “Remember, I told you that your secret was safe with me. I saw you sneak out of Jonathan’s room the other morning. And don’t try to tell me it wasn’t you. My brother already tried that.”

  “Oh,” I said. “Who did he try to convince you that it was?” I asked curiosity stoking my fire.

  “Good one,” replied Matt.

  Gail walked up right about then and I had never been happier to see her face. “You about ready to go?”

  “I am,” I said.

  “Not staying over?” said Matt. “No need to hide anything from me. I know all about it.”

  I had grown incredibly uncomfortable and was more than anxious to get out of Larry’s house. Jonathan unknowingly walked over and took my hand.

  “I had fun tonight. We should do this again and soon,” he said.

  “Won’t Blitz mind?” I asked in a semi catty voice. I’m not sure why I said that; it just slipped out.

  “What the heck does that mean?” said Jonathan.

  “Well, you and Blitz seemed to have become a pair. I mean every time I see you, there she is,” I said, trying really hard not to look in his eyes. “I just assumed.”

  “Is that why you have been so distant lately? You didn’t trust me and assumed that I was dogging your cousin?” he said fiercely.

  “All I know is that it sure doesn’t feel as if you’ve made any effort to see me, but there was always time for Blitz,” I said getting more and more embarrassed and angry.

  “Sometimes Olivia you make me so mad!” he sputtered.

  “I make you mad? I make you mad!” Turning my back, I charged away from Jonathan and headed straight towards my car.

  “Sure, run away when it gets hard Olivia. Run as fast as you can back to your weird cat and your spooked house.”

  It wasn’t until I turned on the car ignition that I actually thought about what Jonathan had said. “My weird cat? I didn’t think that he had ever paid any attention to Miss Cassandra. And what was my spooked house all about? I waited until Gail jumped into the front seat and we tore off.

  “Gail. I think that Jonathan may know something about who I am or actually what I am,” I said more than a little panicked.

  “Wouldn’t it be nice to just tell him and get it out?” asked Gail. “That’s what I’ve decided I’m going to do. I just don’t know when or where but I’m going to do it,” she said as we drove off in silence.

  Walking in
my front door, I found Miss Cassandra anxious to report. “Olivia, do you think that you might have brought home some wild spirit with you?” she asked.

  “Other than Marv and Meghan?” I asked smiling.

  “Yes, someone who likes to giggle and play mean tricks. They have been bugging me all afternoon.”

  “Oh no. Alright, I have had enough!” I shouted, racing towards my cauldron and my cabinet of spices. I am going to take on this spirit once and for all.”I want you out of my life.”

  “That might not be so easy.”

  “Why do you say that Miss Cassandra?” I asked looking at her.

  “I didn’t,” she responded.

  “I did,” said Lavandar who now sat on my living room couch.

  “How did you get in here?” I asked less afraid than I should have been.

  “Hello, Olivia,” she said. “I didn’t mean to startle you. I’m your Great-Aunt Lavandar and I think I have answers to many of your questions.”

  “I recognize you. You were at the cottages. You told me that I should follow my heart. Well, guess what? I did and it didn’t work!”

  “It didn’t? Are you sure?” she asked. And just as she finished her question a loud banging started at my front door. I turned to walk towards the door before turning back to see my Great-Aunt smiling as she vanished in the air.

  “What the heck? Can this get any more confusing?” I asked, staring at my cat.

  “Olivia, open the door. I want to talk with you and now!” Jonathan shouted from the other side.

  I opened my front door and walked off to my kitchen, intent on starting a pot of coffee. “Where are you going?” he asked gruffly.

  “I thought I’d make us a pot of coffee,” I answered.

  “Oh. None for me, thanks. I’m already too worked up,” he said.

  I carefully measured the grounds and added the water before pushing the button to start my brew. I turned around to find Jonathan running his hands through his black hair looking as if he’d like to pull it all out.

  “I don’t know what to do Olivia,” he said softly. “I don’t know what it is you want. I thought you wanted space so I gave it. I thought you wanted me to help your cousin so I did. I have busted my back at the cottages. And still it’s not enough. What do I need to do to make you happy? I am lost right about now.”