Witching You a Merry Christmas

by Colbie Dunbar

  “Not sick,” I mumbled.

  “Just ignoring me.” His voice faltered.

  Damn! I’ve hurt him. “Never. Sorry, I was busy doing… wizarding stuff.” I hoped he wouldn’t pick up on my small fib.

  “Thought you were on vacation.” He stalked past me.

  Come on in. “Coffee?”

  “Is your boss making you work from home?”

  “Sort of.” I was digging myself in deeper and it left a nasty taste in my mouth. I hated lying, especially to the omega standing in my living room. “Shouldn’t you be at the office?”

  “It’s Saturday, Charlie.” He glanced around the dark living room. “Why are the curtains closed? Did I wake you up? He peered at his phone. “It’s 11a.m.”

  I sidled over to the sofa and threw a cushion over a pile of papers, hoping the omega wasn’t paying attention.

  “What’s that?”

  Damnation! He’s caught me. “Nothing.”

  “And why have you got a weird expression on your face, as though your mother caught you wanking?”

  “Miles!”

  “What? Don’t tell me you didn’t jerk off when you were an adolescent? It’s completely normal. Nothing to be embarrassed about.”

  I grimaced at his use of those expressions, and my cheeks burned. “Yes, I masturbated but we never spoke of it. My nanny would have washed my mouth out with soap.”

  “Fine.” He paused. “Ohhh, nanny.” He rubbed his hands together, and his eyes lit up. But his gaze rested on the couch. “We’ll discuss the nanny thing later. Let’s get back to that pile of stuff on the couch.”

  I plonked my behind on the sofa and smiled at my visitor. “Did we have plans today? I’m awfully tired.” I yawned. “Perhaps we could put off whatever it was until tomorrow?”

  But Miles marched over and grabbed the stack of papers under me. “For someone who’s over a hundred years old, you’re not very good at this.”

  “At what?”

  He leaned over me until his face was an inch from mine. Is he going to kiss me? My thoughts went to the previous night in the woods. His mouth was soft and sensuous, and his breath had reminded me of peppermint.

  “This!” Miles tickled me under the arms, and I hunched up and cackled. I yelled, “Stop!” but he ignored me. I fell onto my side and put my arms over my chest.

  “Thanks.”

  I opened one eye. “You don’t play fair.”

  The omega was waving the things I’d been hiding. “Comics? Why were you hiding comic books?”

  “They’re for kids. I was embarrassed.”

  “Charlie, there are so many things to unpack here. Firstly, I didn’t realize you were a fan of comics.”

  “I’m not. Well, I wasn’t. Until you mentioned the bat signal last night. I did some research when I got home, and I was intrigued. I downloaded some movies and then I called Darby at the Quill and Cape. He was a little annoyed with me.”

  “Can’t imagine why?” Miles put his hands on his hips.

  “Neither can I. I was a potential customer, but he was grumpy.”

  “Let me take a wild guess.” He tapped his lips. “Did you wake him up?”

  “He didn’t say I had, but when I got to the shop, he was in his PJs and yawning.” Now I think about it, it was late.”

  “Oh, Charlie.” Miles slumped beside me and put an arm around my shoulders. “The poor guy!”

  “I’m the poor one. I spent a fortune at his store.”

  “Couldn’t you have waited until morning?”

  “Why? And technically it was morning. After reading about superheroes and watching some frankly terrible movies, I wanted to read the original comics.” I waved a bunch in his face. “But whoever wrote these got the basics of flying completely wrong. And don’t get me started on levitating. No wait, apparition was worse. They hadn’t a clue.”

  “Perhaps you should tell them.”

  I couldn’t decide if he was laughing at me, but I ignored the smirk on his face and continued, “I tried, but couldn’t find an email for complaints about how comic book superheroes don’t levitate or fly correctly.”

  “Can’t imagine why?” He closed one eye. “Ponder. Ponder.”

  Something about his expression and the tone of his voice had me glance sideways. “Are you making fun of me?”

  He took both my hands. “Never. I can honestly say I’d never do that.” But his lips were twitching.

  “You’re being sarcastic.”

  “More a gentle ribbing.” He squeezed my fingers and let go of my hands. “Well, at least you have a new hobby.”

  “And I have you to thank. A whole new world has opened up. Darby and I are going to be great friends.”

  Miles flipped through a comic book. “Are we doing anything today?”

  “I was hoping we could stay in. How about grabbing food from The Chef’s Corner and watching superhero films. I have a lot of catching up to do.”

  “You’re not going to critique their flying skills, are you?”

  “I’ll try not to.” I grabbed a pad from the coffee table. “I’m making notes instead.”

  The omega burst out laughing. “I love…” I held my breath waiting for the next word. “…that.”

  I exhaled. “Okay.”

  Later that evening, after we’d watched countless films and I’d read comics out loud to him, Miles fell asleep with his head slumped onto my shoulder. I counted the seconds as he breathed in and out. Drool pooled in the corner of his mouth and I longed to wipe it off, but decided against it.

  After muting the TV, I sat without moving, trying to imagine what it would be like if we were more than friends. Damn not being able to see the future. How do people blunder through life this way?

  Having lost my family, I moved far away from where I’d grown up. Anyone I had held dear was dead. Until that time, I’d mixed with both non witches and the witching community.

  But not wanting to lose anyone else I was close to, I’d asked a powerful wizard to weave a spell over me. While I couldn’t protect myself from all earthly hurts, this would eliminate pain but also pleasure. It was a difficult decision, but necessary. But I wasn’t going to tell Miles. Not yet.

  I’d had little to do with people outside the community until arriving in Vale Valley. And working with Bedwyr at the coven headquarters, most of my friends were witches and wizards. Until I met Miles. Could it be only six days ago?

  Supporting his head, I wriggled off the couch and placed a pillow under him. After covering him with a blanket, I stared at him sleeping peacefully. I considered putting him in my bed and taking the sofa but decided against it when he mumbled, “You must tell me about your nanny, Charlie?”

  “Tomorrow.”

  “Okay.” He pulled the blanket over his head and rolled onto his side away from me.

  “Night,” I whispered. I grabbed a bunch of comics and crept into bed. But I couldn’t sleep and got up when he yelled out, “Charlie!”

  I held his hand and whispered, “I’m here, Miles.” And I spent the rest of the night on the floor beside the couch. Grandpa winked and gave me a thumbs up. It was a minor, but a very welcome, mishap for the day, and I blew him a kiss.

  Eight

  December Eighth: Miles

  When I woke, Charlie was standing beside the sofa holding a steaming cup of coffee. “Where am I?” I peeked under the blanket but I was fully clothed other than my boots on the floor.

  “You fell asleep while we were watching a movie.”

  The previous day’s superhero marathon came back to me. Charlie had kept his promise and not complained about the characters’ supernatural skills, though he made pages of notes.

  “Did I snore?” Or worse, yell stuff in my sleep? Jason occasionally appeared in my dreams. I hoped I hadn’t mentioned the wizard’s name.

  “No.” But he was lying, because he fiddled with a ring on his right hand and avoided my gaze.

  “Right!” I took a sip of hot coffee. �
��Thank you. Is it Sunday or did I skip it and go straight to Monday?”

  “It’s still the weekend.”

  “Great. There’s a pile of dirty clothes calling me.” I folded the blanket.

  Charlie tilted his head to the side. “I don’t hear it.”

  I flapped one hand. “It means I need to do laundry.”

  “Can it wait?” He sat on the sofa beside me.

  “I guess.” Any excuse to put off doing a load of washing. “What’d you have in mind?”

  He handed me his phone and pointed to the Vale Valley directory. I rubbed my eyes and read, “Beyond The Vale Tattoo Parlor.” Wow! “A tattoo. Charlie, I’m impressed.”

  “I’m throwing caution to the wind.”

  “Will that be your tattoo ‘cause it’s kinda long?”

  “No. I’m thinking of an image of a superhero.” He picked up a comic from the floor. “But I can’t decide which one.”

  My thrill at him being so brave was dampened. But he’d achieved so much in a little over a week, I didn’t want to say anything. He’d be crushed. “Sounds great!”

  “What about you? Maybe we could get a discount for getting one together.”

  “I have one, but haven’t thought of getting any more.” I didn’t go into detail. “Think I’ll give it a miss.”

  “Okay.” Charlie was practically bouncing up and down I’d never seen him excited. We’d met eight days ago but had been through so much together.

  “You’re in a good mood.”

  “I can’t wait to go outside, Miles. It’s a beautiful winter’s day. Crisp and clear, and this morning the sunrise was a gorgeous pink.”

  I sniffed my sweater. “I should head home and shower before we go out.”

  “I’ll pick you up in thirty minutes.”

  “Make it an hour.”

  “Really?” Charlie checked his watch. “It takes that long to have a shower?”

  “No! But I need more coffee, and I’ll have to rummage through my closet and find clean clothes. I haven’t had much time for housework lately.”

  “I didn’t think of that.” He inspected my sweater and jeans. “I could do it for you if you’ve got nothing to wear.”

  “You’d do my laundry?” No one had done that since I was a kid.

  “Not exactly. I’d use my powers. I tend to avoid magic until after Christmas Eve, but I don’t want you running around town in your boxers.”

  An image of me horrifying the patients and nursing staff as I skipped along the hospital corridors had me giggling. “Briefs!”

  “Sorry?”

  “I wear briefs, not boxers.” My cheeks flamed as I picked fluff off the blanket.

  “Oh.”

  What sort of ‘oh’ is that? Oh, that’s weird? Oh, that’s too much information? Or could it be oh that’s sexy? I was hoping for the last one, but expecting the first or second.

  We sat in awkward silence until I was ready to scream. I was wishing Mr. Snowman would burst through the door and waltz me around the room. Where’s that damned frosty guy when I need him?

  Charlie cleared his throat. “I prefer boxers myself.”

  I pictured him wearing red boxers with Christmas lights and snow-patterned fabric. “I just thought of something. Why do you have so many Christmas decorations when the season is so problematic?”

  “I love Christmas and I have great memories of my family’s celebrations. It’s the before part that’s hard.”

  “That makes sense.” I got up but, without my glasses, tripped on a rug. Charlie grabbed me and held me steady. “Thanks, I’m as blind as a bat.” He made a face. It was then I remembered Gerald. “Have I insulted bats?”

  “They aren’t blind.”

  “Really? Well, I’ve learned something new.” I was babbling as I inspected the scruff on his chin and was tempted to run my fingers through it. “Nice.”

  “Bats are nice?”

  Shit. I said that out loud. Think fast, Miles. “Ice. There’ll be ice on the sidewalk.” That is so lame! “I must be careful ‘cause I don’t want to fall!” I groaned inwardly.

  He frowned. “I see.”

  My cheeks were burning as I pulled away, grabbed my glasses and belongings and raced for the door. “See you at the tattoo place in an hour.” I stood outside putting on my coat and beanie and relished the frigid air while it cooled my flaming cheeks.

  But as I sprinted home, my mind wandered to Charlie naked, standing in the snow and twirling a pair of boxers on one finger. “More than nice!” My cheeks flushed again.

  The warlock was scuffing his feet on the sidewalk outside the tattoo parlor when I arrived. “Did you bring a picture of what you want?” I asked.

  “No. I’ve been thinking.”

  “Have you changed your mind?” I hoped he hadn’t.

  “Not about getting a tattoo. But I’ve decided on a quote.” He pointed to his forearm. “Here.”

  “That’s cool.” He handed me a piece of paper and I read the scribbled words, “Sometimes you have to fall before you can fly.”

  Awww. He gets it. “That’s perfect.”

  But after discussing the procedure with Myra, the owner of the tattoo parlor, and waiting as she prepped the equipment, the blood drained from Charlie’s face as he eyed the needle. I had to distract him.

  “Ready?” Myra said.

  Charlie nodded.

  I held his other arm and asked, “Tell me about your nanny, Charlie.”

  “She was nanny to all my brothers and sisters, and I was the youngest child. Even when I was a teenager and no longer needed looking after like that, she stayed. She was part of the family, and she lived with us until she died.”

  He screwed up his face as Myra concentrated on her work and the machine whirred. “We adored her, and she helped me enormously when it was obvious I was a wizard.”

  “Obvious how?” I was ready to hear the details.

  “Objects would float around my bedroom and doors slammed. Simple stuff, but I didn’t understand how to wield my powers.”

  “Was that scary?”

  “At first, but then I used to play tricks on my siblings and that was great fun. Of course, now they’re long dead, I regret being a bit mean.”

  I squeezed his fingers.

  “But I apologized to them in later years. And they said how they’d envied me. Being special. At the time, I thought of it as being different, because when people ran away from me, I wished I could get rid of my powers.”

  “And your nanny?”

  “There was a witching community living deep in the forest but my parents were wary of letting me go. But Nanny had a bit of magic in her.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Her siblings were witches, but as she had no powers, she had to get a job. But when I was developing my ability, she’d seen it all before. She’d make me practice over and over until I got it right.”

  As Myra continued to work, I held Charlie’s hand, but he was lost in his memories. And when he finally spoke again, it wasn’t about his past. “But what about you, Miles? Are you comfortable telling me more about your life?

  Nine

  December Ninth: Charlie

  Miles hadn’t answered my question yesterday because Myra turned off her machine at the same time, and we admired her work. Or we tried to. Instead, the three of us gasped.

  “Charlie, I don’t understand. I wrote the word ‘fly’ not ‘come’,” Myra wailed.

  “Interesting,” Miles noted as he leaned over my shoulder.

  The tattoo read, ‘Sometimes you have to come before you can fly.’ Why? Why? I couldn’t look at Miles as I assured Myra that Hugo would sort it out. My skin was pink and a little tender and swollen but she told me that was normal as she bandaged it and gave me aftercare instructions.

  As we left the shop, the omega’s phone rang. Judging by what he said, it was Calista on the other end so I wandered away and left them to chat. When he’d finished, he said, “I have to go
into work. Calista’s there already. There’s a problem with a new program we implemented. Can we pick this up tomorrow?”

  “Absolutely.”

  Instead of going straight home, I headed to the lake. I’d gained confidence in the last eight days and even though I’d caused disruptions, nothing major had happened, but the incident with the Christmas trees was scary for Miles. I didn’t want his past rearing up and hurting him, but was helpless to stop it.

  Though the weather was bitterly cold, the lake never froze and was always warm. Families huddled together on the shore, before flinging off their winter clothes and leaping into the warm water.

  Swimming should be tomorrow’s activity, and when I phoned him, Miles agreed and said we’d meet at ten o’clock Monday night. “But what about your tattoo?”

  “This is Vale Valley. It’ll be healed by then.”

  It was closer to 11p.m. the following evening when the omega appeared. A muted glow from the street lights and the moon gave the dark water an eerie appearance. We both shivered as we stood on the edge wearing our winter coats, hats and gloves.

  “Last one in is a rotten egg,” I yelled.

  “Do not use magic,” Miles shouted as he tore off his sweater and pants.

  “I won’t.” I tossed off my clothes, leaving me in boxers, and after wading into the water, I dived in. Warmth rippled over me, chasing the cold away and soothing my shivering limbs. “Hurry up.”

  Miles splashed through the tiny waves, and I eyed the bulge in his briefs before he submerged himself. And is that a tattoo on his hip?

  When he came up for air, he spurted water upward, reminding me of a fountain. “Charlie, this is amazing. I’m warm and toasty. In a lake. In the middle of winter!”

  “Did you live near the sea before you came here?”

  He gave me an odd look. “I see what you’re doing.”

  “What?” I put on what I hoped was an innocent expression. “No idea what you’re talking about.”

  “You can’t fib to save yourself!” He splashed water on my face and I returned the favor. “You want me to explain how I got to the Valley.”