Paranormal Beverages, Potions and Tonics
By SusanG Charles
©2013 SusanG Charles
Preface
Who would ever have thought that a simple chain of events could have such an everlasting effect on a persons life? Now imagine if that whole cycle of events were based on a series of mistakes? That is certainly something to think about. So this book is dedicated to each and every one of us, the world over, to those of us who make mistakes, and to those of us who don’t, and especially to all of us that constantly yearn for that most universal of emotion – love!
©2013 by Susan G. Charles
All Rights Reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including scanning, photocopying or otherwise without prior written permission of the copyright holder.
Chapter 1
The store now known as Henry Sister’s Potions, Tonics, and Magical Beverages had a long history of being a place to find help for all those situations that needed assistance outside the realm of ordinary, day-to-day life. If you needed something extra-ordinary, this was definitely the place to check. Almost a century ago this building was owned by a family of wiccans, after that it was a tattoo parlor for a while and then it sat empty for a long, long time. So this particular building had a long and colorful past and seemed to draw to it people outside the realm of the ordinary.
But for now, the current owners were sisters, spinsters by best guess, who had a flair for the unusual – but most especially for their knowledge of medicinal and magical herbs, oils and their abilities to make the best potions in the state. In fact, on their business card it even stated the following, “Henry Sister’s Potions, Tonics, and Magical Beverages, The Best Notions and Potions This Side of the Ocean” all in a wonderful scripted font that was both beautiful, yet easy to read, at the same time. In fact, it was the girls dad who had come up with the ocean slogan. It made Susan smile every time she read it as it so reminded her of her dad and his pride in the sisters small, yet unique, business.
And people did come from all over to purchase potions from the sisters. It was not uncommon at all to see all manner of cars with out of state license plates near the sisters small shop just about any day. Many had advised them to get their business online but they had not yet opted to do so out of a dislike for the impersonal nature of the internet.
But the sisters were also well known in their tiny little town for their long standing rule that all their potions and magical concoctions would only be made for the good of everyone – they would never make a potion to be used for negative reasons. So those hoping for something to harm another knew never to come here for help. No type of poisons or harmful elixirs would ever pass through their doors. To this one rule they vowed always to stay true and never to break.
Daily activities here overall were no different than at any other store you might frequent. The main difference being that the products for sale here were hand crafted one at a time by a pair of gifted potioneers, not something pre-packaged in a colorful box that hundreds, or even thousands, had been made of at a faceless factory in another land. And the staff here were knowledgeable, helpful and freely gave advice as needed with their clientele. Not the same kind of atmosphere that you’d expect at your typical “big box” store at all.
When you first entered the Henry Sister’s Potions, Tonics, and Magical Beverages you would at once be overcome with the amount of shelves the store contained for it’s intimate overall size – all filled with bottles, boxes and vials filled with every kind of herb, stick, twig, oil, leaf or powder that you might have ever thought of. And more. Many more.
And the smell inside, a hard one to describe due to all the products they had in stock, but needless to say it was very unique. And if the girls were brewing that day, in the tiny area in the back of the store, which they did almost every day, then there was no telling what smells you might encounter. But the fragrance was often compared to old libraries for some reason by their newest customers when described to others.
As it turns out this day was nothing out of the ordinary – Susan Henry, one of the stores owners, carefully stirred all the contents of her enameled spell pot in the back of the store. The fragrant liquid she was currently brewing had the entire room smelling absolutely delicious. She was all caught up on orders and trying to restock the shelves a bit and noticed that she was low on love potions. One of her most popular items, she knew she did not want to run out so she decided to brew up a batch before she was completely sold out.
Now love potions in particular were always tricky to mix – that was just one of the tricks of the trade, so she always paid careful attention when making these in particular. Now some potions and elixirs she could mix up blind folded, left handed, hanging upside down and in the dark – but not love potions – they demanded a lot more time and attention to detail.
She had spent all morning adding just the right amount of ingredients to the one she was working on. As it turns out she had been distracted on more than one occasion while putting this mixture together so she felt she really ought to have been done an hour ago. At least that was what she had planned. But when you are dealing with customers you just have to work around their schedules and needs and that is just the way that it is.
But she was getting close to completion now, she only had three more items left to add to create the magic necessary to complete their own brand of popular love potion. “Red rose petals, gold shavings from a wedding band and purple violets.” Susan muttered the remaining ingredients to herself over and over as she rummaged through her incantation rooms reserves, quickly locating the items.
All the shelves in their little store were filled with an assortment of jars, boxes and containers, each one filled with something unusual and intriguing. And these shelves and tables in the back were filled with items normally collected before a potion was made so that all ingredients would be in arms reach at any time during the brewing process. She had just grabbed the bottles containing the first two items, and was about to take the box filled with the third, when a noise from the front of the potion shop interrupted her concentration.
“Sue, I’m gonna take a break! Can you watch the front up here for me until I get back? You’ve finally finished the love potion, right? Sue?” Susan’s younger sister Emma popped her head in the door to the potion incanting room when Susan didn’t immediately answer her back. It was clear from Emma’s voice, that she was a bit perturbed over the delay this potion was making.
Guiltily Susan blushed as she glanced up at her sister. “Sure, oh yeah, go on ahead, I just have a few more things to stir in and I’m all done! Shouldn’t take but a couple more minutes.” Susan grabbed the last bottle quickly, and strode back over to her bubbling pot. She tried to focus once more on the recipe. It was just as important to be clear of thought as it was to add the right ingredients when mixing up a love potion.
The jingle of the front door bell told her Emma had already headed out of the shop for her lunch break. She knew her sister was already an hour overdue and didn’t blame her for being a little upset. Quickly she added the last three ingredients to the pot already at full boil. She hesitated momentarily as she glanced at the violets, frowning a bit at the light color of the dried flower. They should have been a dark, deep purple but instead were more of a lighter mauve color. “We need to talk with our supplier about these.” Susan muttered to herself. “These purple violets are really off color.”
She was always very specific about her ingredients when she placed her orders from suppliers. There was nothing that she detested more than someone who did not take good care
of the products they sold to her store first, or someone who did not pay perfect attention to all the items they were sent or sent them the wrong thing all together.
Every single concoction, potion, elixir and tincture on the shelves of their little shop was carefully created and hand crafted, a labor of dedication by the two sisters. They took absolute pride in their work and full well understood the implications of a bad mixture, most importantly for their customers but for themselves and their reputations that they had so painstakingly created over years and years of work too. Susan took her role and influence in the town very seriously. She knew that many people still considered what they did to be a bit strange, maybe even odd if you asked some, if not downright fantasy.
But Susan had enough confidence and experience with her own skills to be absolutely certain that the spells she created always worked. Always! And sometimes too well. So she always made sure to warn her customers, that they be careful what they wished for, and be certain that they really wanted what they thought they did. Finally, when the last of the ingredients was added to the bubbling caldron, she sighed with satisfaction. She knew this potion was done. With a dramatic poof of fragrant mauve smoke, the potion condensed down and finally, a few minutes later, she was done.
Just then, their little shop’s front door bell jingled, letting her know that a customer had just arrived. “Hello, Welcome to Henry Sister’s,” Susan called out into the shop in the sweetest voice she could muster, as she brushed the hair back from her face. “I will be with you in just a minute!”
Susan carefully poured the contents of the swirling mauve liquid through a funnel, which filled out into another container, which eventually poured itself in a group of 10 awaiting tiny green glass bottles, all lined up perfectly in a row, to capture the fragrant concoction. She quickly closed all the little bottles with a cork plug and walked out into the front shop area, with the last bottle of the love potion still firmly in her hand. With her free hand she straightened her strawberry blonde hair, and raked free a stray sprig of peppermint as she walked to the front.
She finally happened to catch a glimpse of her customer standing at the front counter, a handsome young man. Immediately she found that she was somehow a bit startled by him for some reason, not just because of his attractiveness, because he was really a good looking man, but because something about him, she couldn’t quite put her finger on it, just seemed a little different.
Judging by the nervous expression marring his striking features, he was clearly uncomfortable being in the shop. Moving up to the counter, closer to the handsome young man, Susan set the love potion she was holding down on the counter and smiled her best, encouraging smile at her new, handsome, yet fidgety, uncomfortable customer.
Chapter 2
“Hi there! Welcome to Henry Sister’s Potions, Tonics, and Magical Beverages. My name is Susan. I’m the owner. How may I help you today?” Susan said trying her best to make him feel more comfortable, as she could tell already from his body language, that he was not.
The new customer who had just entered the store looked up, stared right into her eyes and Susan’s breath caught in her throat. He had the most amazing deep blue eyes. They were almost like what you would expect to see in a magical wild beast, but also, so very beautiful and breath taking to observe. She tried hard not to stare, but they were certainly beautiful to behold, such beautiful blue eyes. If she didn’t pay attention she might just lose herself in them.
He shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other as he spoke to her trying not to make eye contact again. “Umm… a friend of mine told me, err, that is, that I have this little problem and should come here. That you could help me. With my problem that is.” He trailed off, and immediately flushed a bright red as he looked away, trying not to be too noticeable.
Susan sighed as she assessed what she thought his needs must be. Clearly he must be having some sort of trouble in the bedroom. This was the most common reason men ever came into the shop, almost all of them having the same uncomfortable, embarrassed expressions and fidgety body language. By now she was used to it – the almost comical lack of eye contact, stuttering and fidgeting, almost as if they were hiding something, yet too ashamed to admit it.
If you saw the same behavior in a child you might think it had to go to the bathroom really badly. It always amazed her at just how many men tended to be so out of touch with their own bodies, and the level of insecurity they felt when it came to pleasing the woman they were with. She has always thought it somewhat sad really.
Now, most of the time, Susan barely gave their discomfiture a second thought, she had just seen it so much she had grown accustomed to it. In fact, she discreetly assisted them as best she could, making sure they had exactly the potion that they needed, and they left filled with happy anticipation – and as fast as they could. If she never saw them again she assumed the potion worked, but if she did she knew they were more than likely coming back for more.
For some reason, though, the knowledge that this handsome young man was having bedroom issues, just made her feel disappointed. She did her best to push down that thought as she did not want to judge him. Coming to her, in her mind, was the same as confiding in a doctor or a counselor. The customers secret, whatever it was, was always safe here.
Shaking that silly feeling off, Susan smiled reassuringly to her customer. “Don’t worry. We get a lot of guys in here who need that sort of assistance.”
The young man looked taken aback and even more confused. “You do?”
“Of course, all the time!” Susan smiled, and stepping away from the counter began to move towards the love and reproduction section of the store. It was filled with an assortment of enhancers, enticers, and even a few herbal tonics that could steer you toward the type of sexual experience you desired. “It’s far more common than you might realize. Come right over here, describe your problem to me and I’m sure we can find something to address your particular situation,” she flashed him a bright smile over her shoulder, and motioned him to that area of the store.
When she caught a glimpse of his eyes again, she felt that same strange shudder inside she had felt just moments ago. Obviously confused, the handsome man slowly followed her to where all the various fertility elixirs where shelved, carefully arranged according to the issue needing to be addressed. “Now I realize this may be a bit embarrassing, but in order to make sure I give you the correct potion to help you, I need you to be as specific as possible all about your problem.”
Turning from the group of potions all along the shelves back to her customer, Susan began the familiar line of questioning. She did her absolute best to keep her expression void of any emotion, and to make him feel as comfortable as possible. “Now, to start, how exactly would you characterize your problem? Is it related to performance, fertility, or romance, generally speaking?”
“Huh? What do you mean?” He stared at Susan, completely dumb founded, his deep blue eyes blinking rapidly, clearly more confused as time passed by.
“Well…” She started again, trying to further clarify what she was asking, without further embarrassing him. “Don’t worry. Anything you tell me is completely confidential here. Kind of like when you talk to your doctor or lawyer. So, are you having trouble trying to conceive children?”
Startled, the man shook his head, his eyes wildly staring at her now. “What? No! No! I’m not trying to conceive anything. I’m not even married.” he said, thoroughly embarrassed.
“Ok, so that narrows it down a bit more for me, thanks!” Susan looked away from him and continued on as patiently as she could, hopefully without stressing him out even further. She could easily see that this man was too inhibited to be open about his needs, so she decided to question him in more detail.
“All right, so is your problem more… endurance related, or perhaps”, she gave his trousers a discreet glance, but from what she could tell, it wasn’t his size that was giving him trouble in bed. “Um, clearly not size,�
� she cleared her throat and tried not to blush. “So, are you having trouble pleasing your lady friend? I have a wonderful potion that completely divines a persons erogenous zones, in case you’d be interested with that.” She began to reach for the potion, but stopped as she heard him stutter.
“What do you mean?!” he gasped out, clearly flustered, his tone indicating he was completely shocked by her line of questioning and her assumption concerning his sexual prowess to begin with. “You thought I was having trouble with my… with sex? No, oh, no! No way!”
He was clearly horrified by her insinuation as he stared at her with a mixture of embarrassment and irritation. “I mean, I don’t even have a girl friend or lover right now, but I have never had any problems, of any kind, at least I haven’t had any complaints. Er… no, that is not my problem at all! Not at all.”
He put a frustrated hand over his eyes, and sighed, his whole body shaking a little bit by this time. “Clearly this wasn’t the best idea I’ve ever had. I don’t know why I let my friends talk me into this. Maybe I should just leave….” and with that he turned toward the door of the shop to get out as fast as he possibly could with whatever shred of dignity that he had left.
Chapter 3
Yikes, Holy Cow, or any other term of excitement or alarm, would have been a complete understatement for what this situation required. Susan was horrified as soon as she realized her mistake.
“Sir! Wait, please! Please don’t leave.” She put her hand on the man’s arm to stop him as he turned to leave. “This is completely my fault. I should know better than to ever assume anything like that. But the usual things men come in here for, by and large, are almost always related to sex – or their lack thereof, in some way. So please, really, Sir, let me help you, Mr. – what did you say your name was?” She smiled gently at him, hoping he would give her a chance to rectify her mistake.
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