After snapping my jaw shut, I was able to voice my thoughts. “What happened? I thought you were seeing Penelope tonight.”
“Oh, I am…but later. She has some after-school conferences to attend to first.”
As Joseph ate away at my enchiladas, at least giving me a few moans and accolades at how good they tasted, I decided not to let his presence ruin Roman’s and my evening. Sure, we craved some alone time, but Joe would be leaving at some point tonight. In the meantime, we could take advantage of our time together.
“Hey, Dad.” Roman looked a bit hesitant with big eyes that waited until he had his father’s full attention. I filled my mouth with another bite and waited, hoping he’d make our proposition. “Do you know how long Ettie and I have been married?”
“Hmm, mm.” Joe looked back down at his plate while he filled his mouth, then shoved his food into his cheeks like my new hamsters did, to mumble, “A year or so.”
Roman laughed. “Try about half that long. We haven’t even gone on a honeymoon, yet.”
Joseph swallowed and pointed his fork between the both of us. “You haven’t gone on a honeymoon? What’s wrong with you two?”
Roman looked at me. “Neither of us wanted to spend the money, but that’s not the point.”
“Not the point? Come on Roman. You’re a warlock. All you have to do is zap the two of you somewhere.”
Roman and I looked at each other, then back at Joseph. It was like it finally dawned on him. “Oh, neither of you have that kind of power yet. I was a handful of years older than Roman when I married Ruth. Doesn’t matter. A honeymoon doesn’t have to be far away.” Joe smiled mischievously. “It’d give you two some alone time. Ya know what I mean?” He winked and chuckled.
Leave it to me to stand up to Roman’s father. “That’s exactly what we want to talk to you about. Alone time. We love having you, but Roman and I haven’t had much time alone since you moved in.”
“Nonsense. I’m gone all day long.”
“So are we, Dad!” Way to go Roman! There was his backbone. I waited for the rest of the argument, but it didn’t come.
“What we’re saying is that there is an empty apartment above Ettie’s that we’d like to offer you.”
“It’s not needed,” Joe said, filling his mouth again. “You have plenty of room here and don’t let me cramp your style! If you want to have a bit of hanky-panky, go right ahead. I don’t mind.”
“But we do!” Roman said.
My cheeks grew uncomfortably warm. “After dinner, I think we should all go to Ettie’s so you can see the apartment. It’s rough, but I think you’re going to love it.”
“It’s too small.”
“It’s not too small for one or two people. You haven’t even seen it.”
“Ettie’s is small, and I assume the apartment is the same size.” He quieted, looking back and forth between the two of us, then slowly arched an eyebrow. “You really want me to move out? I thought this had been good for us.” He specifically looked at his son. The rigid lines of his face melted and showed his age. “We hadn’t spent much time together since…well…since Roman took off on the family.”
Roman stood, throwing the napkin off his lap and onto the floor. “I didn’t take off! You kicked me out. After mom died, you couldn’t handle it when I told all my friends that I could do magic. You said you didn’t want someone who was open as a warlock living under your roof. And look at what’s happening now? You’re staying here.” With jagged movements, Roman swooped up the napkin that had dropped on the floor and moved to the far side of the kitchen, standing behind his father and twisting the napkin in his hands.
Joe’s voice softened. He twisted in his seat. “Nobody knows that I’m staying here other than Penelope. I transport to your front door when nobody’s looking. I wouldn’t want anyone putting two-and-two together.”
I might have huffed out loud, but Joe didn’t seem bothered by it. He turned back to the enchiladas and finished the last bite on his plate.
I caught Roman’s attention and jerked my head to his empty seat. Joe might be afraid to reveal his heritage to the mortal world, but I wasn’t going to judge him for that. If I expected him to be open and accept Roman and me, I had to be the same way about his beliefs. When Roman sighed and rejoined us at the table, I looked Joe directly into his eyes, ignoring the bit of fear I saw. “Just come and see the place. Please?”
Joe looked between Roman’s and my expectant eyes. “Okay. I’ll go see it.”
“Good. Thank you. We’ll go right after dinner.” I smiled at my husband, but the worry lines around his eyes told me he wasn’t quite as certain as I was that everything was going to be okay. Had his father’s words twisted his resolve?
Well, I wouldn’t let Joe change Roman’s mind. Roman and I were married and were entitled to having a household of our own. We had only agreed for Joe to stay with us while he got situated here in Watersedge, and a month had already passed. Yes, we enjoyed the rent he paid, but it’d be a different story if he helped out with chores, wasn’t as much of a homebody, and didn’t play that dang piccolo all the time.
Halfway through another serving of enchiladas, Joe picked up the invitation from the Children’s Club sitting beside me on the table. “Penelope got one of these, too. She’s helping host the event. I didn’t know you two were involved.”
“We weren’t…up to a few days ago when we donated an enchanted wardrobe for the silent auction.”
“You donated an enchanted wardrobe? Made from a charmed tree?” Joe’s jaw tensed, his eyes narrowed, and he shook his head back and forth. “That’s not something for the mortals to have. There’s only a finite amount of them in this realm.” His cheeks turned pink, and soon his entire face was red and it wasn’t from the spices in my dinner.
“Ettie can donate anything she likes.” There was my husband, standing up for me. Finally.
“But an enchanted wardrobe? Those must stay in the hands of the magical.”
“I don’t see what the big deal is. We all have extras, and all it does is clean clothes. It’s not like it can manipulate free will or anything.”
“But in a few generations, there won’t be enough for our kind.”
“In a few generations, there might not be many of our kind left, anyway!” I laughed at his absurdity. “And even if there were still enough pure-blood witches and not enough wardrobes, we’d just have to learn to do the laundry. It’s my piece of furniture and I can do with it as I please.” I shocked myself with the firmness of my voice.
I must have shocked Joe too, because even though the redness of his face didn’t lighten, he went back to eating his food.
After some uncomfortable passing minutes, we finally took the last bite of our enchiladas. Roman wiped his hands on his napkin and stood. “No sense in wasting time. Let’s see the apartment ASAP so we can get on with our night.” His firm look to his father softened when he gave me a shy glance, telling me exactly what he was thinking. I loved how quickly he could get over such a heated argument like the one we had had over dinner.
Joe didn’t disagree. His red face was gone, but his expression wasn’t as warm as usual. Maybe tonight wasn’t the best time to show him the apartment, but when would be better? We couldn’t wait forever. We had already broken the news to him.
The three of us gathered in a tight circle, and Joseph swirled his finger in the air, transporting us all to Ettie’s. Gosh, how nice it would be to have that kind of power. All Roman and I could do was transport ourselves, but never more than that. Hell, I couldn’t even transport myself out-of-town by myself. When the glittering magic cleared, we all fell silent while Joe took it in.
“This is it?” Joseph asked, his footsteps echoing in the empty space while he walked around. The floor was still dusty, with clean spots where all my stuff was piled. I had spent the past few days shoving everything into a few enchanted suitcases and hauling them downstairs. I hadn’t wasted much time sweeping yet, since every
time I swept, the next day the floor would be piled with insulation from the walls and even some small piles of birdseed.
“I’ve been working on fixing it up,” Roman said, leading Joe to the kitchen to show him the new sink and faucet he had just installed—with no magic at all except to get the air out of the water lines when he was done.
“Seems like a lot of work.” Joe opened the main entrance door, peering down the steps to the street level. “Hmm. Too many steps. I have a bum knee.”
I laughed. “You’re a witch. You can just zap yourself up here.”
“But it’s downtown. Someone’s sure to see me appear inside the apartment through all these windows. That’s a sure way to get discovered as being a warlock. And that’s another thing. I don’t think living above a magic shop is best for me.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but Joe didn’t give me a chance.
“Well, I gotta get going. Did you want a trip home, or will you coordinate it yourself?”
“Sure,” I said, but Roman overrode me.
“We got it, Dad. We’ll see you later.”
With that, Joseph disappeared into a shimmer of magic, leaving Roman and me alone in the apartment.
I threw up my hands. “This wasn’t exactly the romantic evening I had planned.”
“Oh, Hon, the night is young.” He took me by the waist and pulled me into his warm body, planting a soft kiss on my lips. “And don’t worry. Dad will come around.”
“Will he?” I asked.
Roman smoothed the wrinkles on my forehead with his thumb. “He will. I know him well—at least I used to know him. Give him time…and we need the time, anyway. There is a lot of work here.”
I laughed. “Okay. I trust you.” I dug my index finger into Roman’s waistband, tracing the curvature of his pants. “We should be getting home. Our place is empty and time is a-wasting.”
I snapped my fingers, transporting myself home, certain that Roman wouldn’t be too far behind.
Chapter Five
“What is that?”
Bev Lucero, Roman’s secretary from the Watersedge Architectural Group, had finally made it down to my shop, searching for something to help muscles recover quickly after a tough workout. She pointed towards the back corner of my store.
“That’s the teen section,” I said. “There are charms for luck with catching a ball, but nothing for sore muscles.”
“No,” Bev clarified, jetting her arm to the section again. “Not that…but that!”
I tilted my chin and circled the checkout counter to see nothing there other than the teen section. I followed Bev’s finger through the shop, stopping when I noticed a bit of dirt on the floor. Not a bit, but a pile of dirt. More like stuffing, or insulation.
Bev was on my heels when I approached the edge of the bookshelf where the insulation seemed to be pouring out from behind, then out came a big gray puff.
“Ahh!” Both Bev and I shrieked at the same time, making the rest of the customers in my shop jump.
I stepped forward with my hand covering my racing heart, carefully leaning around the edge of the shelving unit.
“What is it?” Bev asked.
My heart pounded as I leaned my head against the wall to get a good look at what was behind the wall.
More insulation moved, then a little furry creature scampered out, right towards my leg, crossing over my foot before my brain even connected with my body to pull away, and disappeared behind another bookshelf. I don’t know why I did it, probably more shock than anything else, but I let out another ear-piercing scream that rivaled any helpless woman in any horror movie ever made.
My scream triggered a chain reaction of feminine screeches, and before I knew it, my entire store rushed out the front door with their arms up and a chorus of exclamations like, “Rat!” “What is it?!” “Run!” “It’s going to crawl up our legs!”
Now completely alone in my store, I got a grip on my initial terror as I slinked forward, checking behind the shelf again. When I couldn’t get a good view, I snapped my fingers, releasing enough magic to make the wall glow to light up the dark corners and move the shelving unit away.
And that’s when twenty hamsters scattered: tans, grays, whites, and all the spotted variations in between.
As cute as they were with their little furry bodies, wiggly noses, and cheeks full of whatever seeds they had gathered from who knows where, my stomach twisted. Twenty hamsters couldn’t make their home in my store.
And where there were twenty that I had now found, how many more were still hiding out of view?
I turned around to see another twenty faces, only these were from my customers, as they pressed up to the glass front windows of my store.
Would this start mass panic? Would we face an epidemic similar to the fox tail one we had encountered a month ago? I snapped my fingers, replacing the shelving back where it belonged and stopping the magical glow, and headed outside to do some damage control.
“Did you get the rat?” Bev asked.
“It wasn’t a rat,” I said. “Just a few hamsters.”
“A few?” An older gentleman asked. “How many is a few?”
“I couldn’t see them all.” As soon as the words were out, I kicked myself, opening up the situation for criticism.
And criticism I received from none other than my neighbor, Brittany. Her voice was clear from the edge of the crowd. “Your store is infested with rodents?”
I spun around. “Nobody said it was infested. I’ll have this all under control in no time.”
“It’s out of control?” Brittany threw it out there, no doubt her intentional way to wind up the crowd. So much for us being at some kind of truce.
“No, no, no. Everything is under control,” I assured my customers, glaring at Brittany’s smug expression. She’d like it if Ettie’s Enchanted Effects was full of rodents, wouldn’t she?
“It better be,” Brittany said. “I don’t want those things coming over into the church. We share a wall!”
Another familiar voice filled the air, and when I looked up to see the middle-aged woman in her navy-blue police uniform, my shoulders relaxed. I hadn’t even realized how worked up I had been.
“Everyone should give Ettie some space,” Officer Gabby Gates said, pushing through the crowd. “I’ll work through this with her. Either get back in the shop or give us some space.” Officer Gates broke up the crowd, even sending Brittany back into her next-door church.
“Thank you,” I said once the commotion was under control. “You had great timing.”
“Nah., I swing by here every day since…you know…the fox tail incident. We still haven’t figured out how that happened, and I’m always on the lookout for anything suspicious.”
“I appreciate that,” I said, opening my front door, sending the chimes singing.
None of the customers followed me back inside. That was just my luck. As soon as business was booming, and it appeared we were going to get ahead, poof, something happened.
“So, what’s going on, exactly?” Officer Gates asked.
“Last week Roman and I found a nest of hamsters by the electrical box. I didn’t think much of it and took them home. Named them Alvin, Simon, and Theodore, if you’re interested,” I smiled teasingly, waiting for Officer Gates to stop chuckling. The little exchange made me feel like…I had a friend. It was nice, and I suddenly relaxed, spilling out the rest of the story. “Then today, Bev Lucero noticed something over in this corner,” I led Gabby to the back of the shop over to the teen section. “One hamster came running out, and when I moved the shelving, there was at least twenty more. Want to see?”
When Officer Gates nodded, I snapped my fingers, moving the shelves again.
This time, we only saw a handful of hamsters, as it appeared the others hadn’t returned.
Gabby rubbed her chin. “Hmm…Where there’s a handful, there are ten times as many. It looks like your place might be infested with these things. You’re best to get
an exterminator in to clear them out before they start destroying things, like chewing through your wires.”
“Yeah, they did that last week.”
“And you haven’t done anything yet?”
“I really didn’t expect to have an entire colony of hamsters living in my walls. I mean, how does that even happen? Where did they have come from?”
“Rodents breed fast,” Officer Gates said. “Someone probably lost a pet who took inhabitance in your walls.”
Sure. That was a perfectly logical explanation, except… “How could one hamster turn into a hundred or however many I have here? I mean, I might not have children yet, but I know how the birds and the bees work. Last time I knew, it took two.”
Gabby rocked back on her heels with her thumbs tucked into her belt. “Actually, with as big of a variety of color I saw, I bet it was more than two.”
“Do you think someone planted these hamsters here?” My stomach twisted as a realization hit me. “Do you think this is like the fox tail incident? I’m being set up! I know I am! It’s just another attack to get Ettie’s shut down.” After the fox tail issue last month, I still had a short list of suspects who wanted to get Ettie’s closed, permanently.
Of course, there was Joe, but I didn’t want to believe it was him. Sure, he didn’t like magic being out in the open and offered to mortals, but he was family. It’s why we had opened our home up to him. Then, there was Brittany, who stood behind the church’s claim that witchcraft was an act of the devil. That claim had been disproved over and over again in the scientific community once us witches came out in the open during the Magic Movement, but some churches stuck to their old ways. Nataila Young, a reporter who moved here from Crystal Caverns hated witches for some reason. I still wasn’t sure why. And finally, the fourth person on my list was Watersedge’s mayor, Matilda Raab. She had lost a child due to a magic addiction of one kind or another.
Could any of these people be behind the hamster infestation?
Wayward Magic Page 40
