Since Ettie’s opening, Natalia had run a handful of articles in the paper, all twisting witches as bad for society. Her stance on having Roman and me in town was clear, as clear as the trouble she had caused the witches over in Crystal Caverns. She had tried to drive that town’s resident magic practitioners away, but the town turned on Natalia, shunning her instead. People like this made me realize why Roman’s father kept his witch heritage a secret.
And Mayor Raab, who had pulled my retail license and was overruled by the city council to reinstate it. She hadn’t visited my shop since. Her son had died due to some bad magic he had gotten himself into, and I understood why she struggled with sharing her town with witches.
Well, I couldn’t let them conspire against me, right in front of my shop, now could I? I snatched the bear totem off the Earth charm table, and headed outside to face my demons head-on. “I’ll be right back,” I called to my customers.
Outside, Brittany’s eyes widened when she saw me marching up to her. “Ettie,” she said with as much fake sweetness as one’s stomach could tolerate.
Mayor Raab and Natalia spun around, the surprise that was clearly on their faces told me everything I needed to know. They were talking about Ettie’s…or me.
“Anything I can help you with?” I asked with a few innocent eye bats.
“No,” they all said in unison.
“Are you sure? Would you like to come inside?” I waved my hand in Ettie’s direction, welcoming them to the shop.
“No,” Mayor Raab said. “We were just discussing the charity auction for the after-school program at the Children’s Club.”
“Really?” I raised an eyebrow. “Without Principal Prusa? She basically runs the Children’s Club.”
“She was here,” Brittany said a bit too eagerly. “She helps with the guest list and the events, but we’re in charge of the silent auction. And there’s nothing wrong with continuing to plan after she went into your shop. We have lots of businesses to contact for donations.”
“Donations? Silent auction?” Maybe this was my chance to get in nice with the three of them. “What kind of donations are you looking for?”
“Anything, really. Hopefully items that’ll bring in quite a few dollars at the Children’s Ball,” Brittany said, almost a bit boastful in the way she spilled information.
I rubbed my chin. “I read about that Ball in the paper. I’d be happy to donate something from the store.”
“No,” Mayor Raab snapped, then looked at her companions for support.
Natalia clarified, “I don’t know how the town would handle a magical item at a children’s charity.”
“Nonsense,” I said. “Most people in the town have come to show their support of Ettie’s Enchanted Effects already. I think they’ll love something from the store.”
“Well, if you want to donate, you’ll have to drop it off at the Children’s Club yourself,” Mayor Raab said.
Was she so afraid of enchanted objects that she wouldn’t even touch one? “No problem. I’ll drop something off after work tonight.” With that, I smiled and headed back into the shop where I had someone waiting for me at the counter. I doubted the three stooges standing outside would have ever invited me to participate in the event. If I didn’t integrate myself into this town, I’d always be the outsider.
As I helped the older woman at the counter, who was a repeat customer, my mind dwelled on the auction. I needed a fantastic enchanted object to showcase my importance in this community. I needed to get the biggest and best price for the item.
And even then, I’d still be outside Brittany, Mayor Raab, and Natalia’s circle, but if the entire town welcomed me with open arms, at some point, they would have to, too.
Right?
Chapter Three
After Ettie’s closed for the day, I climbed the creaky steps to the upper floor of my building that I used for storage. I needed the perfect enchanted object and could think of only one. Maneuvering around the enchanted suitcases and totems, as well as half-used boxes of pendants and charms, I stopped at the furniture I had lined up on the far wall of a room that looked like it used to be part of a living room.
I wanted to donate an old wooden wardrobe made from a charmed tree from the witch’s realm to the silent auction. The charmed tree wood by itself had no magical abilities, but with a simple spell, my people had figured out how to make a wardrobe that cleaned your clothing. All witches had one, but the charmed tree didn’t grow in this realm. After the Magic Movement twenty years ago, all witches agreed to stop traveling between realms to prevent invasive species, out-of-control hexes, and to ease fear of the unknown among the mortals. That left very few enchanted witch wardrobes and, as I understood, very few non-magical folk had one of these rarities. It was sure to bring in a substantial donation.
Luckily, I had a spare that would be perfect for the auction. Actually, between Roman and me, we had a few spares. What mortal wouldn’t want to never have to do laundry again?
I grabbed a cleaning rag and wet it from the sink in the old kitchen, listening to the rattling pipes as I waited for the water to warm. As I cleaned the dust from the wardrobe’s surface, the tiger-striped wood went from a dull-gray to vibrant light and dark tans. When my rag was filthy, I simply set it inside the wardrobe for a few minutes and it was as good as new.
Man, it was nice being a witch, sometimes.
My cell phone screen read that it was five thirty p.m. Roman had to be finishing up his workday. I clicked on his contact info.
“Hey, Hon. What’s up?” Roman greeted me.
“Can you swing by Ettie’s on your way home?”
“Sure. What do you need?”
Before I could answer, the overhead lights went out. Odd. That was twice today I had a lighting issue. The darkness didn’t stop my conversation. “Two things, I guess. First, the lights are acting up here. I was wondering how are your electrical skills?”
“I can troubleshoot,” Roman said. “I might not be able to fix it, but if it’s something easy like a fuse, I’m your guy. What else did you need?”
“Second, there’s a charity auction that I want to donate the old wardrobe I have upstairs to. I was wondering if you’d help me transport it to the Children’s Club.” When the lights stayed out, I snapped my fingers, causing all the enchanted objects to light up with a magical glow. Each item’s magic glowed, filling the room with a soft glow that resembled candlelight. Only, it didn’t flicker.
“Are you sure you want to get rid of that thing?” Roman asked.
“Yeah, the Children’s Club needs money more than I need a dust collector.”
“I’m just finishing up here. I should join you in about fifteen minutes.”
“Perfect. Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
The call ended, and I continued to clean the now softly glowing wardrobe. If using magic didn’t make me so tired, this would be a much nicer way to light the place. The dim amber hue that filled the room was easy on the eyes and created a stunning beauty, especially combined with the underlying tiger-striped wood. Whoever won this was going to be a lucky mortal.
I couldn’t help but smile as I dug the dust out of the wardrobe’s grooves, causing the magical glow to intensify the cleaner it got. My excitement wasn’t because I was buying my way into the community, but rather, I was really glad I was able to help the Children’s Club and was excited to see a different part of this community. Maybe I’d even meet a few of the children who utilized the program.
I had become a mail-order bride and married Roman because I wanted to keep pure-blooded witches alive in this world. To do so, it was my duty to have children. I had thought I wanted to wait a few years, but now?
I had been thinking about it more and more.
Things were settling down, and Roman would make an amazing father.
If I wasn’t so set on getting a year of marriage under our belts first, I’d say we could start popping the young ones out as fa
st as rabbits. Maybe I could do something with the charity to satisfy whatever motherly urges I was having?
And besides, we couldn’t have kids just yet. We hadn’t even had much alone time yet…not since Roman’s father moved in.
By the time Roman arrived at Ettie’s, the lights had flickered back on and I removed my glowing spell from all the enchanted objects. I followed my husband into a storeroom I hardly used which contained our electrical box. He opened the panel’s door and rubbed the five o’clock shadow on his chin, flipping a few breakers one way then the other with his other hand. The lights flashed on and off like a disco throughout the shop.
“There’s nothing wrong here,” Roman said, closing the small gray metal door. “And the lights came back on, by themselves, which means it wasn’t a circuit breaker.” Roman traced a thick cord made from multiple wires tied together that extended out of the top of the electrical box up into the open ceiling. His finger traced various wires as they branched off. “Was it one specific room that had trouble?”
“No. The main store retail space’s lights flickered earlier and then the upstairs later.”
Roman nodded. “Maybe the entire building lost power both times.” He switched over to another wire, following it along a wall to where he stopped. “Well, here’s your problem.” Roman laughed. He reached into a hole double the size of his fist and pulled out the fuzziest little creature ever. “You’ve got a rat problem.”
“A rat?” I shook my head, examining the little tan and white furball. “That doesn’t look like a rat.”
“Rat? Gerbil? Mouse? I’m not good with my rodents.”
I took the little guy from Roman, watching its twitching whiskers. “It’s only a baby,” I said, cupping the tiny cutie-pie between both hands. I opened my palms some, seeing the little stub of a tail. “It’s not a rat, mouse, or gerbil. This sweetie is a hamster.”
“Whatever it is, looks like its mama chewed through the wires.” Roman snapped his fingers, causing all the little pieces of wire and loose plastic coating that laid next to the hamster’s nest to weave themselves back in place, fixing the wiring problem. He pulled out two more little hamsters from the opening. “We’ll have to do something with these guys, and we’ll have to catch their mother…and maybe their father, too. How do you think they got in here?”
“I have no idea.” I looked at the little ball in my hands and my voice raised an octave. “I’d be happy to take care of you and your brothers and sisters.” I glanced up at Roman, reading his face for any sign of protest. I knew my husband, but didn’t know him that well. We had never had a conversation about pets. He didn’t flinch at my suggestion, so I went with it. I had just caught myself longing for a child and if I was going to take care of the motherly instinct that was kicking in, taking care of these little hamsters was exactly what I needed.
Roman helped me get the hamsters comfortable in a box while we combined our magic to move the giant wardrobe across the upstairs to the steps. While I was getting ready for the amount of magic it’d take to get the thing downstairs, Roman stopped and put a hand on his hip.
“Ya know, Ettie, this used to be an apartment.”
“Well, it’s filthy and…well…broken. I don’t know who’d want to live up here.”
Roman turned to me with a bit of a sparkle in his eye. “Dad would. I mean if we cleaned it up some, why wouldn’t he live here? He’d have his privacy, and so would we. With the ease he can magically transport himself wherever he wants, nobody would ever see him coming and going. He’d still have his secrecy about being a warlock.”
“It needs a lot of work.” I took in the torn linoleum floors covering old, worn wood and the cracks in the plaster from years of no heat, all covered beneath a pile of dust. My father-in-law hated that I had a magic shop that catered to mortals. Would him living above it cause any issues? I didn’t see that causing any more problems than him living in the same house as Roman and me…plus, we’d still get the rent he was paying us. That money was helping us get ahead of our bills. I took a deep breath, seeing the piles and piles of merchandise and…well…junk I had accumulated in a few short months. “Where would I go with all my stuff?”
Roman laughed. “Just put it all into one of your enchanted suitcases. That’s the easy part. Fixing everything? That might be a bit tougher.”
I could easily stuff most my things into an enchanted suitcase, as they were bottomless, and I could even keep it in the first floor store room, closer to the shop so I didn’t have to do all the steps when restocking. “Who’s going to fix this all up?”
“Me.” Roman puffed out his chest. “Sounds like lots of fun. I can work here, close to you, all day on Saturdays and Sundays when I’m not at the firm.”
“Well, it would be good to get Joseph out of the house. I’m in. I don’t know how to fix plaster or floors, but I can clean. I have a few magical fingers for that.” I smiled and snapped my finger, causing a layer of dust to fall off a kitchen wall and onto the floor. “I’ll get that later.” I winked. “Right now, we have a wardrobe to donate.”
Roman smiled, and I could tell he was as excited at the prospect of getting his father out of the house as I was.
The only problem?
How long it would take to turn these shambles into something livable?
Chapter Four
A few days after we donated the enchanted wardrobe to the Children’s Club, Roman laughed as he threw his keys on the kitchen counter after work and took a seat at our table. “Enchiladas? We haven’t had enchiladas since…”
I smiled. “Since our first day together as a married couple.”
He nodded, loosened his tie, and dropped the pile of mail on the table. “What’s the special occasion?”
“Oh…just that we have the house to ourselves. Your dad is out with Penelope tonight and the shop was closed today, so I had time to cook. These were made completely with my own two hands.” I lifted my hands and wiggled my fingers. “No magic involved!”
“Dad’s not here tonight?” His flat expression wasn’t what I was expecting. “Too bad. I was hoping to break the news about him moving into the apartment above Ettie’s. I thought he’d come help me work on the place this evening.”
I tried to seductively smile, but I probably just looked like I was having a leg cramp. “Oh, come on, Roman. That can wait. I’m sure we can find something else to do tonight.” I snapped my fingers, lighting the candles on the table and dimming the lights.
Finally, the smile I had been trying to squeeze out of Roman surfaced. “Oh, perhaps I could come up with something else for us to do.”
Good golly, I loved this man. I lifted the cover of the casserole dish and scooped out two enchiladas for Roman and one for me, laying them beside the salad already on our plates.
Roman went for his silverware, but then hesitated. “What’s that noise?”
I tilted my head, picking out the squeak I had tuned out all day. “Oh, that’s just the hamsters. I bought them a wheel down at Pet Palace.”
“Sure, we don’t have my father, but we have three little hamsters to cramp our style instead.” Roman laughed, finally picking up his silverware.
“Hey, I love those little guys.” I playfully stuck out a pouty lip. “I even took them along with me today when I worked on cleaning the apartment above Ettie’s. What nice little companions!”
Roman shook his head with a giant grin. “If they make you happy, they make me happy.”
The sound of creek-creek-creek-squeak-creek filled the air. “Yeah, but maybe the wheel is a bit noisy. I’ll be right back.” I headed out of the kitchen to adjust the hamster wheel a bit, noticing two of my three were toppling over each other as the wheel went around and around. I tightened the attachment and returned to the kitchen where Roman was opening the mail.
“You got a letter from the Children’s Club.” He handed over a big glamorous envelope that was made of a heavy, metallic silver paper with raised letters…and a wax se
al.
“If they sent their mail in the plain white envelopes other businesses used, they might not need to raise so much money. I know Witch Way would never use such nice stationary.” I worked my finger along the seam to open the card, expecting a thank you for the donation of the enchanted wardrobe. “Hmmm.”
“What?” Roman asked.
“I didn’t expect an invitation to the Children’s Ball.” I handed the card that matched the fancy envelope across the table for Roman to read.
“Do you want to go?”
“Do I want to get all dressed up and bid on items we can’t afford?” A slow smile grew on my lips. “You betcha!” When Roman looked at me confused, I clarified. “Not that I want to get dressed up and spend money, but if they’re inviting me…it means, I’m being accepted into this community. We have to go.”
“Ettie, you’ve already been accepted. Look at how busy your shop is getting.”
“That just means they’ve recognized my shop or at least see benefits from what I offer, but not necessarily accepted me yet. We haven’t been to anyone’s house yet or even invited to any parties.” I took the invitation from Roman and waved it in the air. “I know you’d been content with your routine of working and coming straight home every day before you met me, but I need a bit more. This is our key.”
“I was content, but something had been missing. I thought it was you, but perhaps I was just missing attending big fancy parties.” Roman laughed at his own humor. “Do you even own a dress?”
I dropped the invitation and cut myself a gooey bite of enchilada. “Of course, I own a dress! I actually own two of them.” I winked.
“Then it’s a date.”
“Like tonight? With the house to ourselves? Maybe I could model those two dresses for you.” I plopped a bite of enchilada in my mouth and playfully wiggled my eyebrows, but before Roman could react, the front door swooshed open.
Wayward Magic (Magic Underground Anthologies Book 2) Page 39
