Morning Magic

by Meriam Wilhelm

  “Oh, Okay. No problem, we can do it another night,” I said, sounding more than a little disappointed.

  “Hey, do you want to come with Marcy and me?”

  “No way. I am not into anything that has to do with pain or babies. You go ahead and have fun,” I said as I turned off the lights in the classroom thinking that I may have just escaped a bullet.

  “Well, well, well,” Gail whispered. “I don’t think that you are going to be alone tonight after all. Oh, and Olivia, Blessed be to you as well.”

  Looking into the shop I saw that Jonathan was sitting at one of our cutting tables concentrating on our book of Halloween costume patterns. Remember that bullet I mentioned?

  “Did I just overhear that you were looking for a dinner date to celebrate the success of Mystique Creations?” Jonathan asked looking directly at me. “Since Gail dumped you, I’ll gladly volunteer to step in.”

  “Oh, that’s okay. It’s been a long day and I really should go home and take care of some paperwork tonight,” I said turning away from Gail and him. My heart was racing and I knew that it was telling me to run, don’t take this chance to get hurt again.

  “Come on, Olivia. A little dinner and then you can go home to your boring paperwork,” he said, flashing a tentative, questioning smile at me.

  I tried, I really did. I tried to think of every reason why we should not have dinner together, as he smoothly directed me towards my door. I was an idiot. I knew it; knew it just as well as I knew that with each step I was falling back into my old ways. What in the heck was I doing getting involved again with Jonathan Maxwell?

  “Don’t worry Olivia. I’ll close up before I go meet Marcy,” Gail explained nudging me towards the front door. “See you tomorrow.”

  Why was she suddenly in Jonathan’s court? Had her spell foretold something that I didn’t know? I trusted Gail completely, but I would still have to make it a point to ask her tomorrow.

  Acting on Gail’s words, Jonathan opened my shop door and escorted me out into the night air.

  “Let’s walk a little,” he suggested, silently linking my hand with his and leading us down towards the beach. It felt like old times. The gloom had departed and the moon was shining brightly; a perfect night for a little broom riding, if I ever had time for that sort of thing anymore.

  There was a slight chill in the air and I shivered as Jonathan took off his jacket and put it around my shoulders. Was I shivering because I was cold or scared or unsure of whether I should be doing this at all? I was suddenly lost inside my own head.

  “So what would you like to eat tonight?” he asked, breaking my spell of uncertainty.

  “There’s a great Italian place around the corner,” I answered after considering his question for a moment or two. “They have incredible lasagna, spinach tortellini and meatball sandwiches.”

  “Sounds good to me,” he said. So off we went to the Bottle Bay restaurant to savor a true Italian experience.

  “I presume that they serve wine?” he asked.

  “You presume correctly.”

  Three hours later, stuffed with a delicious meal and feeling a little light headed from spending a candle lit dinner too close to Jonathan, we headed back to my shop. The walk back seemed so much shorter and our hands had once again been linked together. I always park my car in the same spot, so Jonathan knew right where to deliver me.

  “I had a great time Olivia,” he said, pulling me in towards his chest. “I remember this.”

  “What?” I asked.

  “You, in my arms where you belong,” he answered. “This is right Olivia, you know it,” he said as he leaned in touching his forehead to mine.

  “I made some stupid mistakes before and I’m sorry. I won’t make them again. I love you, Olivia. I always have.”

  Kissing me like he had never kissed me before, I could feel my toes curl. As much as I wanted to fight this, I just could not find the will to continue the fight. And before I knew it my fingers were entwined in his long black hair, making ringlets out of each section I touched.

  “I’ve been thinking about us Olivia”

  “Us?”

  “Yes, US”.

  “I have something that I want to ask you.”

  Fearing what he might say, I took a step away and looked up into Jonathan’s eyes. These were the same eyes that had deceived me before; the eyes that I had been afraid to trust. But I was a stronger woman, a stronger witch than I had been before. I was capable of handling so much more. I was also smart enough to not throw caution to the wind. SO I took a step back and listened.

  “Would you ever consider leaving New Moon Beach and moving back with me to San Francisco? I have to head back up there and I want you with me.”

  “I was wondering what you were doing down here Jonathan,” I said with a questioning look on my face.

  “Looking for you, Olivia. I was looking for you,” he said, pulling me back into his arms.

  Oh wow, this was all happening a bit too fast for me. Did he just ask me to leave? Move away from what I had just started. This was way too much for me to digest.

  “Jonathan,” I cried, “I don’t know how I feel about this. I need time. You are moving too fast,” I said, pushing gently on his chest attempting to separate us. “I love New Moon Beach. This is where my family is and my shop. Did you forget about that?” I asked.

  “You could always start a new shop in San Francisco. You know that Gail will follow you wherever you go. And your sisters can always come up and visit.”

  Pulling me back into the warmth of his arms, he continued, “Okay, I guess that I did move a little fast. I can tell that you’re starting to freak out,” he said gently squeezing my arms. “But I know what I want and what I want is you. Think about it Olivia. Just think about it. Why should we waste anymore time apart?” he said as he offered up another one of those zero to one hundred mile an hour kisses.

  I separated myself from his arms and promised that I would think about what he had said. Little did I know that I would be living this night over and over again in my head for the next few weeks.

  Driving back to my house I suddenly ached to have my mother. Harmony and Constance had really tried to fill in for mom. And the fact was that I had very few actual memories of my mother at all. But tonight, just tonight, I wished that I was a little girl again and that I could climb up into my mom’s lap, put my head on her shoulder and ask for her help. I just wished that she was here to hold me, help me; just be here for me.

  Instead, I went home, washed my face and put on my favorite cotton jammies; the ones that always made me feel safe. Turning on my Sounds of the Ocean CD and opening my bedroom windows I listened as seed and sea shore waves crashed together, silencing the rest of the world and calming my brain. Miss Cassandra sprang up onto my bed, quietly curled herself at my feet and began to purr.

  I was just nodding off when I heard Miss Cassandra say, “I’m watching out for you witch. I’m doing my job and you can be sure that no one will hurt you. And if that mortal even tries, he’ll be sorry!” And with a smile, I fell asleep and dreamt that I was in a boat being gently rocked by the waves of New Moon Beach while a woman in a long white gown watched over me.

  _____

  Before we knew it, it was time for our open house. I don’t think that Gail or I have ever worked so hard or been so excited. We had sent out flyers, created individual invitations, tweeted and Face booked the world and finally finished our website all to announce the official opening of our store. We’d also cast a welcoming spell to draw in anyone who wandered by the shop. Okay, so I let Gail do the spell as I was not quite as a confident spell making witch as I pretended to be.

  “Your sister Constance did an awesome job preparing the bowls of fresh fruit, sub sandwiches and potato salad,” Gail raved. “If I wasn’t so nervous I’d dive right in.”

  Bowls of pickles, olives and various condiments lined the table. “I am so happy that Gino’s came through for us,” I said
, looking at the fanciful cookies made in the shapes of sewing machines, craft boxes and beach flip flops. “These are going to be a hit. Make sure you save me one,” I said to Gail checking to make sure that there were adequate napkins, spoons and forks on the table. The aroma of my favorite Hazelnut coffee brew intermingled with the cinnamon smells of the carnations that Jonathan had sent earlier that day. Life was good!

  I had opened the card that was attached to the bouquet as Gail quietly came up from behind me and quietly put her arms around me.

  “I so want you to be happy Olivia. Just be careful. I did another reading on Jonathan last night and I’m sure that he thinks that he’s in love with you. But there is something dark that keeps getting in the way, blocking me from seeing the entire picture. Be careful my friend.”

  “I will,” I said before opening the shop front doors to welcome all of our guests. It was a gorgeous day at the beach. Tiny wisps of clouds opened up to allow the sun to beat down in all its glory. When the sun comes out at New Moon Beach the mood of everyone in the town goes up; way up. Both Gail and I mentally thanked Mother Nature for providing us with a perfect day for our formal Open House.

  Even before my flowers had arrived earlier that morning, Jonathan had stopped by to tell me that he had to work, but to wish Gail and me a successful Open House. Jonathan and I have been seeing each other for the last few weeks and I was starting to let my guard down. Who knew? As hard as I had tried, I just could not resist this guy. Sometimes I worried that I was being stupid and other times I couldn’t believe how happy I was. Gail’s warning words worked their way back into my brain as I took a closer look at her open house outfit.

  “I love your outfit today, Gail. It’s happy and summery and you wear it well!” Dressed in a bright pink headband, pink sandals and a flowered halter top long beach dress Gail looked too cute for words and I noticed that more than one of our male guests seemed to be taking a special notice of her. I suddenly wondered if Larry might stop by today. Hmm? Where would that go, if anywhere?

  At one o’clock I refilled the lemonade bowl and started a fresh pot of coffee. I was happy to see both Harmony and Constance had come bringing with them a few of their friends.

  “Olivia, you and Gail have done a great job here. I love this shop and everyone in town is talking about it. Congratulation, Mystique Creations is a hit.”

  “Thanks Harmony. Hey, have you been purposely avoiding me? I haven’t seen you lately to ask you about any hotel news. Any word? Anything that you want to share with me?”

  Looking a little uncomfortable she answered, “Let’s talk about it later. I don’t want to mess up your celebration.”

  “Mess up… Harmony, what’s happening?” I asked, more than a little nervous.

  “Later,” was all she said as she waved goodbye to Constance and their friends and darted out the front door. Apparently Constance didn’t know anymore than I did because she shared a bewildered look with me as Harmony left. I was going to need to get back into this hotel garbage and soon. Oh, and once again, Harmony had slipped away without any mention of Larry. I was starting to wonder if Gail had been wrong.

  In the mean time, I was happy to see several people looking at our class registration board. I stood around wanting to be available to answer any questions and to encourage our guests to actually register for a class or two. Sometimes all it takes is a little encouragement to get someone to take a chance and actually join us to fulfill their crafting dreams.

  After signing up three new customers, I looked up a little later to see that my father had joined us and was in an animated conversation with my sister, Constance. Working my way across the room, I reached dad only to catch the last of his words, “I don’t want her hurt either.”

  “Who?” I asked. “Who don’t you want to get hurt?” Constance did a good job of moving the conversation forward without ever answering my question. In other words, she lied and changed the subject.

  “Hello, Olivia,” my father said “Looks like you have a great turn out here today.”

  “Thank you. Yes, we are really pleased to see so many people from town coming in.”

  “I noticed that you got your website up,” he said “Better late than never,” then continued on as if he might have wished that he hadn’t made that last remark. “You did a good job on it. It’s both informative and nice to look at.”

  “Thanks. That means a lot.” Did I just say that? Why was I always trying to earn my father’s approval?

  Taking me by the arm and leading me to a corner of the shop dad said, “I understand that Jonathan Maxwell is back in your life, Olivia. Do you think that’s wise?”

  Surprised, I asked him, “How do you know about Jonathan?”

  “I keep tabs on all of you girls.”

  “Well, yeah, we have started seeing each other again. It’s really no big deal. Why, is there something wrong with me seeing Jonathan? Don’t you like him?” I asked as I watched he and Constance exchange a look. Okay, what was going on here?

  “Just be careful. Your sisters informed me of what happened the last time you linked up with him.” Was that actually concern I saw radiating from those black eyes?

  Feeling a tap on my shoulder I turned to see Mr. and Mrs. Schwartz. “We both wore our walking suits so that we can advertise the magical work that you and Gail do,” she said walking about as if she was a paid model. Even Mr. Schwartz was puffing his chest out proudly as he strutted around the shop wearing a face that said ask me about the outfit I’m modeling. These two were really something else.

  Unfortunately, their arrival had given my father ample time to slip out. Gone again; and he had taken Constance with him.

  I was flying high by the time are open house was over. To our surprise and complete pleasure, our sales had gone through the roof as people had loved shopping, in addition to eating. And at the end of the day, there was only one flip flop cookie and a cup of coffee awaiting my attention. Gail grabbed the class SignUp sheets, turned the closed sign over and we both sank into the couches in the back of the store to review our class registration numbers.

  Wow, look at these numbers. We have people signed up for classes from now until December. Life is good!

  Chapter 13

  Sweeping the floors and putting the last fold up table away a tapping at our front door drew our attention and we both looked up to see Larry Webber.

  “Oh my,” was all that Gail could say as she slowly made her way to the door. Opening it, she said, “Sorry, Larry, the party’s over.”

  Apologizing, Larry wiggled his way through the shop front door. “I know. I know. I’m late. I got held up, but I wanted to come and bring you guys some congratulation champagne,” he said smiling up at Gail.

  “Wow, Larry, that was sure nice of you,” I said, taking the bottle from his hands. “Ooh Lah Lah, this is the good stuff Gail.”

  “Of course it’s the good stuff; I guess that I can afford to spend a few bucks on some friends who’ve done well.”

  “Thank you. Larry that really was nice of you,” Gail said “Want us to open it while you’re here?”

  Before he even had a chance to answer I had popped the cork. “To Mystique Creations, to friends and to New Moon Beach,” I said pouring the bubbly into the last of our clear plastic glasses.

  Raising his glass Larry added his own, “Cheers, to two hard working ladies!”

  Moving over to the couch to enjoy our brew I asked, “I really am sorry that you missed all of the delicious treats we had. Where were you today?” I asked, not expecting to receive the answer I did.

  “I was over at that proposed hotel site,” he offered as he stretched his long tan legs out on the sofa. “This is really a great couch, really comfortable.”

  “Thanks,” I said more than anxious to hear if Larry had learned anything new; especially since Harmony had alluded to a problem.

  “I told you guys that I’d keep my ears open,” he said, looking at me as if he had something im
portant to share.

  “You know how I sometimes just sit around at different places and people don’t even seem to know that I’m there?” he asked with a laugh. That was an easy question for me to respond to.

  “Yes, you’re quite good at that. You have the ability to magically melt into the fabric,” I answered with a smile, encouraging Gail with my eyes to jump into the conversation.

  “So did you see anything exciting while you were just sitting there?” Gail asked.

  “Well, remember that things are just getting started. They don’t even have their plans approved yet. But I did pick up a few things that I thought you’d like to know. Like the entire hotel is supposed to have a Mediterranean theme; tile roofs, stucco exteriors, very unique furnishing and incredible artwork. There will be arches and gardens everywhere; long walking paths by the ocean too. The foot print is apparently a bit larger than they had originally anticipated.”

  “You learned all that by just sitting around unnoticed?” I asked.

  “Well, I sort of made friends with Jack, the security guard there. He loves to talk a lot and I like to listen, so I’ve been listening a lot. That’s why I was so late today; Jack was in a talkative mood.”

  Without realizing just how much we didn’t know, Larry continued on with his story. “Jack says that the MaxDon Land Development Corporation has decided to increase the number of rooms in the hotel. They're convinced they’ve found a golden spot and they want to capitalize on it.”

  More than a little concerned, I plunged in, “Larry, where did you say that hotel is going to actually be?”

  “Oh yeah, but before I get to that, I forgot to tell you how surprised I was to see your old boyfriend, Jonathan, at the proposed site ordering people around. I never could see you two together when you brought him around here in the summers. I guess that I was surprised that you went for someone who flew on their daddies coat strings. Sorry if that sounds mean, but that’s how I see him right now. You seem far too independent to go for a guy like that,” he said.