by A. G. Mayes
He cracked a small smile, but his brow was still furrowed. “How do you feel?” he asked.
“Like someone knocked me out with a spell.” I groaned. “But otherwise fantastic.”
I felt something on top of my stomach. It was furry. I looked down, and Duncan was resting his head on me. He was whining softly.
“It’s okay, buddy,” I said. I moved my arm to pet him, and I felt leaves brush against the back of my hand. The tree was on the ground. I did it! I knocked it over before I passed out. The IMPs wouldn’t ever be able to get to the magic now. The trunk wasn’t glowing anymore. I reached out to touch the nearest branch. It felt cold against my fingers. Tears pricked in my eyes.
There was some yelling, and I sat up quickly to see what the commotion was all about. I felt woozy.
“Careful.” Henry grabbed my shoulders.
Violet, the Morning Pie Crew, and several Magic Enforcement Officers were there detaining the IMPs. Brenda was yelling at Dennis and Stan, and Ivan was yelling at Brenda. From what I could gather, Brenda blamed Dennis and Stan for not finding the tree sooner and Ivan blamed Brenda for scaring away half of their IMP recruits with her off-putting personality.
They were detained in magic handcuffs. They looked like regular handcuffs, but Henry explained that they couldn’t do magic while they were wearing them. Stan almost looked relieved to be caught. Maybe magic jail would be a better place for him, as long as he didn’t end up in a cell next to his mother.
They were lining up more people in handcuffs. People I didn’t recognize.
“Those are other IMPs. They were in the woods looking for this, apparently,” Henry said, pointing to the tree. “What exactly is this?”
I told him about the tree. It didn’t seem as if I had to keep the secret anymore. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier,” I said.
“I understand why you didn’t,” he said, pulling a twig out of my hair.
I was still sitting on the ground, and Henry was crouching next to me when Aunt Erma walked towards us. My stomach did a flip.
“I’m sorry about your tree,” I said.
She crouched down in front of me. “You did exactly what you had to do. You saved us all. If the IMPs had gotten a hold of the tree, it would have been catastrophic,” she said firmly.
I looked deep into her eyes, searching for something. Maybe a hint of betrayal. She held my gaze, and I knew. She’d been on my side the whole time we were in the woods.
“I’m very proud of you,” she added.
I blinked back tears and nodded.
“Now here, eat this.” Aunt Erma handed me a taffy. “It should make you feel better.”
I put it in my mouth and the queasy feeling faded. “What exactly is in these?” I asked as I chewed.
She smiled at me. “I still have one or two secrets up my sleeve.”
Henry offered to drive me home, and Aunt Erma said she would stay and help Violet.
Once we were in the car, Duncan leaned over the front seat and rested his head on my shoulder. I felt more love for him than I’d ever thought would be possible to feel for a dog.
“Do you think Aunt Erma is capable of doing bad magic?” I asked.
Henry paused for a minute. “I think everyone is capable of doing bad magic,” he said.
Exhaustion set in, and the minute we got back to the apartment I stumbled to the sofa and collapsed. Duncan carefully climbed in next to me. I didn’t bother to shoo him out. He opted to be the big spoon. I mumbled goodnight to Henry and was out.
Chapter 18
Dear Elodie,
Over the years I’ve helped all of my friends move. Some multiple times. Hours of work with nothing but the promise of pizza and beer and their help when I moved.
Well, last week I moved for the first time, and NONE of my friends could help. They all had excuses from feeling sick to being tired to having a hangnail. Yes. Seriously. Is it time for me to get new friends?
Sincerely,
The Loneliest Mover
Dear Loneliest Mover,
It’s funny how our friends seem to disappear when we need them the most. People have a tendency to forget about favors they owe. Especially when it comes to moving. You can either be “tired” or suffer from a hangnail next time they need help or you can talk to them and tell them you’re frustrated. If talking to them doesn’t get anywhere, it might be time to find new friends.
Ask and I’ll Answer,
Elodie
I straightened the wreath on the door. I felt the familiar thrill of Christmas run through me. Everyone was coming to my new apartment to celebrate. Duncan and I had moved in a couple days ago. Aunt Erma, my mother, Flora, Lena, Mr. Barnes, Holly and Henry had all helped me move, so it had only taken about five minutes. I didn’t have much stuff yet.
I’d gone back to my apartment in the city and sold a lot of my things after it had become apparent that I would be in Hocus Hills for a while. So I was mostly starting from scratch here, and I liked that.
Flora had an old bed I could use, and Lena and I had built a small coffee table out of some of the wood from the magic tree. Aunt Erma had given me lots of twinkle lights to hang around the apartment. I’d found an overstuffed blue chair at the consignment shop. When I sat in the chair, I felt as if I were sitting in a cloud. That was all the furniture in my apartment so far. So, Christmas was going to be a “bring your own chair” event.
On moving day my mother had brought me a potted plant and a healthy dose of motherly guilt. “Are you sure this apartment is a good idea?” she’d asked. “It’s just so … permanent.”
My mother had gotten the gist of what had happened out in the woods. I’d tried to sugar-coat the story for her, avoiding details like Brenda casting a spell on me and just how many IMPs we were up against. Even so,she’d doubled down on her efforts to get me back to the city.
“It’s a month-to-month lease, Mom. And yes, I’m sure,” I’d said, giving her a hug.
Aunt Erma came early to the celebration, carrying a bottle of champagne. We hadn’t had much chance to talk since that day in the woods. I had some questions for her about the things Ivan had said.
“Quite a week we’ve had.” She popped the cork while I stared at the few dishes in my cupboards.
“More exciting than most I’ve had,” I said. I opted for the chipped mugs I’d swiped from the pie shop.
Aunt Erma had brought Mitzy along, and Mitzy was staring intently at Duncan’s sleeping body as though she could will him to wake up. When subtlety didn’t work, she walked over and stepped on his head. He woke up for a moment, sniffed her, and then went back to sleep. Poor Mitzy. She’d got the short end of the stick when she’d ended up with Duncan as her best friend.
We clinked our mugs and sat down. I sat cross-legged on the bed and Aunt Erma sat in the blue chair.
“I know you’ve learned some things about my past. Some things I was hoping you’d never find out,” she started. I nodded and took a sip of champagne as I waited for her to continue. “Your father was one of my best friends. After he died, your mother forbid me from ever seeing you or her again because she blamed me for not trying to save him with magic.”
I nodded again. I’d heard this part before, but I had a feeling she had to ease into the story, for her sake as much as mine.
“I was lost. Everything I’d held onto before, the things that stabilized me, the people who made my life make sense, were gone.”
“Did you ever try to talk to Mom again? After Dad died?” I asked.
She nodded sadly. “I tried many times over the years to talk to her, but she always refused to let me back in.” She picked a couple dog hairs off the blue chair. “While I don’t agree with her decision to cut me out, I know she was in so much pain after your father died. She was lost too.” She took a breath. “I was at my lowest point when I met Ivan. He had just lost his sister. We were both looking for a new beginning, and we understood each other in a way I didn’t know if I would ever find again.
”
I stood and refilled both of our mugs with champagne.
“I can’t pinpoint exactly when things got out of control. We were both a little bitter and felt like we deserved better. More people joined us. We formed a sort of family, I suppose. The magic we were doing seemed harmless at first. We took some things we wanted. Small stuff. We would control non-magic people for just a few minutes here and there to get our way. To get free drinks or a table at a restaurant. I don’t know when it became bigger. It was gradual. Mr. Barnes saved me from that life. The others don’t even know about it,” she said. “He saw me put a spell on a man, so I could steal his car. The man almost got hit by oncoming traffic when I made him step away from his vehicle.” She glanced at me. “I know, not my proudest moment. But Mr. Barnes saved the man and reminded me that I could do good things with my magic. He has a way of making the world sound beautiful and hopeful. He brought me to Hocus Hills. I opened the pie shop and never looked back.”
“Didn’t Ivan ever come looking for you before now?” I asked.
She shook her head. “I assumed he moved on with his life too. I heard the IMPs still existed, but I hadn’t heard from him until his voice was on my answering machine.”
“Did you consider going back to the IMPs?” I couldn’t look at her when I asked the question, but I needed the answer.
“No,” she answered firmly. “They were a mistake from my past. They’re not a page from my future.”
We finished the bottle of champagne, and with each clink of our mugs came more love and understanding.
Buster Hopkins had called again to see if I’d reconsidered his offer. I’d told him I really appreciated it, but I was going to be in Hocus Hills for the foreseeable future.
The only thing left hanging over my head on Christmas morning was Josh. I hated how we’d ended things, but I pushed that out of my mind, so I could focus on the festivities.
My mother came over to help me make veggie lasagna, mashed potatoes and four kinds of pie.
Once everything was prepared, my mother surveyed our meatless meal and asked if I was sure I was getting enough protein in my diet.
“Yes, Mom.” I answered the question for the thousandth time with an audible sigh.
Mr. Barnes arrived with a salad and some candles. “They’re made from a mix of essential oils, including lavender, to promote tranquility,” he said. I lit them right away.
Lena brought cheese puffs and a bottle of wine. Flora brought a fruit salad and a stack of framed pictures for my walls. She had been making us pose all week, every time we were at the pie shop, and now I knew why. I laughed when I saw the one where Lena had flung a bite of pie at the camera. The camera had caught the moment right before blueberries hit the lens. Everyone except Lena was in the background looking shocked. Lena was laughing hysterically.
Holly and her mother, Luanne, came next. Holly brought chocolates shaped like Santa Claus and Luanne brought something with kale and spinach. She was always critiquing the food I bought at the grocery store and telling me I needed to eat more greens.
Violet arrived looking exhausted, but satisfied, and carrying a large basket of garlic bread. She told us they had detained several more IMPs, and the rest had gone back underground. We wouldn’t be hearing from them for a while.
“What about the people who were thinking about joining the IMPs, but hadn’t yet?” I asked. I thought back to the partial conversation I’d overheard on the bobsledding hill.
“We’re keeping an eye on them, but we generally find they’re more talk that action.” I hoped that was true.
She also lectured Aunt Erma and me again on how dangerous it was to be out in the woods with the IMPs without the Magic Enforcement Officers behind us. The first time had been right after the day in the woods. Aunt Erma had argued with Violet, saying that she’d had to go in alone.
“If the IMPs had even gotten a whiff of the Magic Enforcement Officers, things could have gotten really ugly really quickly,” Aunt Erma had told her. But Violet wouldn’t have any of it.
I took every lecture with a bowed head and a lot of nodding because I didn’t see a point in arguing with Violet. I would never win.
She must be in a good mood today. This time she kept her lecture short. I considered that to be her Christmas gift to me.
Henry burst through the door next wearing a Santa hat and carrying a large tray of something covered in powdered sugar in one hand and his guitar in the other. His giant dog, Willy, followed closely behind him. I gave Henry a kiss, and he held up a bag that was wrapped around his wrist.
“Claire sent over some of her special eggnog. Drink at your own risk,” he said.
With ten people and two dogs, my new apartment was at capacity, and I loved it. The room was filled with food and cheerful chattering.
There was a knock at the door. Everyone was here. Who could it be? The room quieted, and they all turned toward the door. Clearly, they were wondering the same thing. I opened it, and there was Josh, looking sheepish and uncomfortable.
“Hi,” he said. Then he noticed the packed apartment and he shrank back. Everyone was quiet and staring at him.
“Hi,” I said with a sigh. I hadn’t told anyone besides Henry and Holly exactly what had happened between Josh and me, but they’d clearly picked up enough to know that Josh and I weren’t speaking anymore. Flora had asked me the other day when Josh would be coming by again because she had a book she wanted to lend him. I’d said, “Don’t know. Don’t care.” The line of questioning had stopped there.
“Can I talk to you?” he asked quietly. “Please?”
There was no place to talk privately in the apartment, unless we went into the bathroom, which would certainly be one way to make an awkward conversation even more awkward. I stepped out to the hallway, closing the door behind me.
I walked halfway down the hall before stopping. I knew every ear in the apartment would be pressed against my door the second I closed it. I was tempted to throw it open just to watch them all scatter.
“What’s up?” I asked after we’d stood for a moment in silence.
“First, I wanted to say I’m sorry,” he said.
“Oh? For what?” I wasn’t going to let him off the hook that easily.
“For coming here and saying I love you without thinking of the repercussions. I should have told you a long time ago. I had no right coming here and messing with your life. Especially since you seem so happy, and Henry seems like such a stand-up guy,” he said.
“Yeah, he is,” I said. Josh met my eyes for the first time since we’d gone out to the hallway.
“That became even more apparent when he invited me here today,” Josh said.
“He invited you?” I was a little surprised. Wow, Henry really was a stand-up guy.
“I’m also very sorry that I called you selfish. I was hurt, and I lashed out, but that’s no excuse. I was the one being selfish. I shouldn’t have projected that on you. I put you in a terrible spot and I’m sorry,” he said.
“Thank you,” I said. “And I forgive you.”
“My project is almost done, and I’ll be leaving to go back home in a couple days.” He paused for a breath. “I don’t know how to be your friend when I feel like this. Maybe one day I can find my Henry.” He smiled a little. “Or Henrietta.”
“I’d like our friendship back,” I agreed. “Some day. You should come in for dinner, though,” I said. The time apart could start after Christmas dinner.
He smiled. “I’d like that. Thank you.”
Everyone’s wide, curious eyes stared at us when we walked through the door.
“Josh is going to join us for dinner,” I said with a smile, so everyone would know he was forgiven. My mother looked thrilled.
Flora poured Josh a glass of wine, and he slid right into a conversation with Mr. Barnes and Luanne.
Henry followed me as I went to check on the lasagna in the oven.
“Is everything okay?” he asked in a l
ow voice. The chatter had started up again, so we could talk and not be overheard.
“Yes. Thanks for inviting him here so we could patch things up. All feels right with the world now,” I said.
“I just wanted to give you this.” He pulled a package wrapped in sparkly blue snowflake paper from behind his back.
I smiled at him and unwrapped it. It was a tool belt. Soft, but strong and just the right size. I turned it over in my hands. It was made out of red canvas, just like my tool bag.
“I love it!” I said.
“I thought maybe you could use it when you do projects around town or maybe you’ll start a handyman business of your own,” he said. “And look.” He showed me the inside of the hammer loop. H heart S was embroidered on it in gold thread. It was the perfect gift. I pulled him in for a kiss.
“There’s more,” he said. He pointed to one of the pouches on the belt. I opened it up and peeked inside. There were two tickets to see the musical Annie in the city next month. “I thought we could have a night for just you and me.” He kissed me again.
“I love Annie.” I beamed at him. I also loved the idea of having Henry to myself for a whole evening.
I pulled out my package for him, cringing a little as I thought of the gift inside. I’d put it in an Erma’s Pie Shop box and tied a silver ribbon around it. He opened the box and lit up. “I love it! In fact, I’m going to wear it right now.” He pulled off the shirt he was wearing and put the sweater on.
Holly hadn’t been as kind as Flora when I’d shown her the blue sweater I’d planned on giving to Henry. She scoffedshook her head and said I needed to do better for our first Christmas together. She’d helped me personalize it by sewing a fabric version of Henry’s dog, Willy, on the front. I’d offered little help, but lots of encouragement throughout the project. Luckily, I’d been able to avoid her offer to include my likeness on the sweater too.
I stepped back to admire Henry in the sweater for a moment. He was particularly adorable with his hair sticking out in all directions after pulling on the sweater. I couldn’t help but smile at the way he looked at me. I was pretty sure I had the same gooey look on my face.
