Seeing Witchy Things

by Leigh Raventhorne

  “I can pet him now? He won’t bite?” she asked skeptically.

  “It’s all good. He knows you’re okay.”

  She gave him an awkward pat on the head. “Good dog. You can go now.”

  “You don’t like dogs?” I asked, incredulous.

  “I like them plenty from further away,” she said, grimacing.

  The rest of the gang chose that moment to walk in and Toby trotted back to them, prancing a little next to Sam. He knew who his fans were.

  As we sat down to eat, Sam stepped away to grab a bottle of wine from the wine fridge–yes, the woman had a special refrigerator just for wine. She poured for all of us and then we dug in, making small talk between bites of pizza dripping with cheese. Tess already knew what happened, since she worked with Sam, but I told the story about what had happened at the park again for Annie and Leo’s benefit.

  “I’m glad you weren’t seriously hurt, you’ve spent enough time in the hospital.” Leo sat back and looked over at Toby. “But why would anybody abandon such a well-trained dog. To put so much time into him and then just leave him? That doesn’t make sense.”

  “Oh, she wasn’t his first owner. She got him from the shelter. She didn’t even know his background other than his owner had—” I stopped abruptly, realizing I’d said too much. It must be the wine.

  He turned to me, considering for a moment. “How is it you know so much about him? You know his training, his commands–those tend to be unique. Most dogs with training like his are quite hard to come by. What is he, ex-police? A friend of mine has been on a waitlist for quite awhile for a dog like him to become available.”

  Swallowing hard, I looked to Sam for help. She didn’t fail me.

  “Roxie was extremely lucky she was able to track down his history through his microchip. He used to be a—what was he again, Rox?” Cucumbers weren’t even as cool as Sam was at that moment.

  “H-he was a cadaver dog. But he didn’t make it all the way through the training. The man who adopted him was, um, he was shot,” I said nervously. “That’s how Toby ended up at the shelter. When Cruella, I mean the lady that adopted Toby after–well, I’ve already told you that part, I guess.” I finished rather lamely, taking a big sip of my wine.

  “I hope you know what a lucky dog you are, Toby,” Leo said to the dog. Toby’s ears pricked up comically as he heard his name. “It sounds like you just won the lottery getting to live with these two lovely ladies.”

  Sam blushed prettily, at least. I could feel my ears turning warm as I fanned myself with a napkin.

  “What, did I put too much ham on that Hawaian pizza? It’s getting thick in here.”

  We all laughed at that, the mood instantly lighter. After dinner we cleared the table and moved into the living room. Leo regaled us with stories about some of the more humorous things he’d experienced at the hospital. Annie told us about how well Cammie was doing with her physical therapy and school. Tess had recently bought a house and moaned about all the problems that came along with it. By that time, we were all well into our third glass of wine, except for Leo–he had stopped after one glass, as he was pretty much always on call.

  “Well, ladies, this has been a wonderful evening, but I have to stop in and check on the progress of a couple of patients tomorrow morning, so I’m going to have to call it a night. Does anyone need a ride home or need me to call for a ride?” he offered.

  Sam looked around the room. “Girls’ night, ladies?”

  “Girls’ night!” we chorused, holding up our glasses, laughing.

  “I will walk you to the door, sir.” Sam smiled at the doctor coquettishly.

  “You are too kind,” he smiled back, playing along, as they walked out of the room.

  “Yeah, they’re going to be a minute,” Annie said, rolling her eyes. “Those two have it bad.”

  And they did. Take a minute, that is. The three of us had just helped ourselves to more wine when Sam strolled back in, looking smug.

  “Dish! We want deets!” Tess squealed, her volume control broken.

  “You guys know I do not kiss and tell, Sam said with mock sternness.

  “Oooh. So is he a good kisser?” Annie asked. “He’s a doctor, so it seems like he should know what he’s doing, right?”

  “Am I going to have to cut you all off from the good wine?” Sam laughed.

  We teased her for a few more minutes and then the wine really started to hit us. We were getting too old to drink like we were thirty. It’s a good thing this house had so many bathrooms. We cleared up the glasses, stumbling a little.

  “I don’t think I can make it up the stairs. I’ll take the bedroom down here,” Tess said, eyeing the staircase distrustfully.

  Sam had renovated the old farmhouse when she bought it. Originally it had four bedrooms upstairs that were now two large suites. Here on the main level, there had been a small bonus room, of sorts. She had converted it into a guest room, but there was only a twin size daybed in there.

  Annie looked at Sam and I, swaying a little. “Well?”

  “Should we draw straws, Sam?” I asked, giggling. Crap, I must be sloshed, because I never giggled.

  “Nope. It’s my house. She sleeps with you,” she said, turning and making her way up the stairs, holding on to the rail with both hands.

  Toby laid next to the couch watching all of us, the only sober one in the house. He probably had to go out.

  “Go on up. You get the bathroom first. I’ll let Tobes out to do his thing while you get ready.” Wait, did I just call him Tobes? Nah.

  As she got to the bottom of the stairs and looked up, Annie waivered a bit. “That is a long way up there, chica. I’m small enough, I could probably tuck in with Tess, but that woman snores like a bear.” She took the first step up, paused, and then made her way carefully up the rest of the stairs.

  I snickered. “Wait until you hear how loud Toby snores.”

  Toby looked at me and whined. Whether in complaint to my comment or because he had to go out, I didn’t know.

  By the time his business outside was done and I made my way to the top of the stairs, my head was spinning. I think I might have tried to talk Toby into pulling me up the stairs but he must have refused because I had to make it up under my own steam.

  Chapter 3

  Annie was already in bed, completely out by the time I made it to the room. Toby headed straight for his bed while I headed straight for the bathroom. My bladder was not going to be nice to me in the morning, so I would appease it as much as possible now. Giving my face a half-hearted scrub, I fell into bed with my clothes on. Annie didn’t even stir.

  Was it possible for a darkened room to spin. I groaned. I was going to have such a hangover in the morning. My hand bumped the nightstand as I rolled onto my side, away from Annie. I wondered if the pink ring would help stave off a wine-induced migraine before it started. And maybe keep my stomach from roiling. I fumbled around trying to open the drawer and then the box inside of it. My fingers found the largest ring on top of all of the rest first. Ah, the Power Ring. I slipped it on my left hand. Maybe it would help, too. I felt around and found the ring I was looking for by the shape of the stone, I think. Or at least I hoped. I slid that one on my other hand. Grandmam and Rosemary would be proud of me. Snickering a little as I drifted off, I wondered if Elmer and Birdie were hanging out with the two old ladies.

  “Do I even want to know what’s going on this time?” The stern voice sounded like it was only a couple of feet away. With effort, I cracked an eye open. One side of my face was smashed into the pillow, which felt weirdly damp. I wiped at my mouth, realizing why. Blech.

  “Well?”

  Was that Elmer’s grandma, er, grandmam? What was she doing here—I lifted my head up to look at the clock—at one o’clock in the middle of the freaking night? I rubbed my other eye to try to get some of the sleep out of it so I could focus with both eyes.

  “Why are you all glowy around the edges, Grandmam?” I as
ked. “That’s new.” With that, I fell back against the pillow, shutting my eyes again, already falling back to sleep. Annie murmured something and curled up against my back. It took my brain a minute to remember what she was doing here. Pizza. Wine. More wine. Oh, yeah.

  “Oh for goodness sake! Wake up, girl!” Grandmam bellowed. Annie started beside me, grabbing my arm.

  “Whassat? Whus going on?” she asked sleepily, sitting up. “Who’s there?”

  “It’s just a bad dream,” I said, patting her hand without opening my eyes. I think I mumbled for her to go back to sleep. Apparently, she didn’t take my advice.

  “Uh, Roxie. There’s a whole bunch of people in your room. Like, glowing people,” Annie whispered, sounding more awake, and more than a little scared. She gave me a little shake. “I don’t think this is a dream.”

  What was she talking about? I dragged my eyes open again, to see Grandmam’s face about a foot from mine. She looked angry. As she straightened up, I could see someone else–several someone elses–beside her. Squinting, I tried harder to focus as I pushed myself up on my elbow. Annie had a death grip on my other arm, so it took me a couple of attempts.

  “Roxanne, you did it! You brought me and Birdie both back. Birdie, look how happy Jake is to see you!” That was Elmer’s voice. Just hearing it, made me tear up.

  I sat up, shedding the little sleep I’d gotten, as I looked around the room. Grandmam, Rosemary, Elmer, and a petite woman who could only be his wife, Birdie, were all standing there. Elmer looked years younger than he had the last time I had seen him and he was smiling. Jake was sitting between Elmer and Birdie, bouncing his weight back and forth on his front paws, panting excitedly. I looked around for Toby. He was still in his dog bed, but he was awake, calmly watching everyone, his tail thumping.

  “Roxie. What’s going on?” Annie whispered, giving me another shake. I looked back at her. Her eyes were glued to the small group. She could see them?

  Grandmam noticed this, too, her brow dropping down so low her eyelids nearly disappeared. That wasn’t good.

  “Annie, what exactly do you see?”

  “I see a bunch of old people in your bedroom in the middle of the night,” she replied, her voice quivering a bit. “And, is that a—” She screamed and scrambled off the other side of the bed, trying to drag me with her. How the heck was she so strong when she was so tiny? “Roxie, that’s a bear!”

  Her hand slid away from my arm and she scrambled to get a hold of it again. She stopped suddenly, standing and looking all around the room. “W-where did they go?”

  Toby was up and out of his bed the second she’d screamed, barking and looking around for a threat. Elmer called him over and calmed him down, petting his head while he reassured him. Jake just flopped down on the floor, panting happily and ignoring the chaos.

  Grandmam and Rosemary looked at each other and then back at me. That was not a good look, either. I’m not sure how, but I was in some sort of trouble, I was positive.

  Sam and Tess burst into the room. Tess had a baseball bat in her hand. Where had she gotten that? Sam flipped the lightswitch, blinding Annie and I both. Annie reached out and grabbed my arm again, stiffening a second later.

  “What’s going on? Who screamed? Do I need to call 9-1-1?” Sam demanded, looking both Annie and I over, then around the room again.

  I glanced back at Annie. Her eyes were huge as she looked over at the small group now huddled together on the other side of my room. She raised an arm, pointing.

  “Please tell me you see them, too,” she pleaded, looking up at me and then over to Sam and Tess, who both looked confused.

  “Did you have a nightmare or something, Annie?” Tess asked, still looking around the room. I noted she had lowered the bat and was rubbing her arms like she was chilled. “That’s why I stay away from spicy foods. You shouldn’t have had that last piece of Mexican pizza,” she said, making a shaky attempt at teasing Annie.

  Sam’s sharp eyes zoned right in on my hands. She looked over at where Annie’s eyes were focused and then she met my eyes. I gave her a tiny nod when she raised her brow in question. She steeled herself and then calmly walked over to where we stood. She placed her hand on my arm next to Annie’s and looked over at Grandmam and company.

  “Hi, I’m Samantha Stone. Roxie told me a little bit about her . . . situation. I’m pleased to meet all of you.” She turned her head slightly toward Elmer. “You must be Mr. Jenkins and this must be Jake. I’m so glad I can finally thank you for everything you’ve done for Roxie. According to her, if you hadn’t sent Jake to help her that day, the outcome might have been very different.”

  Trust Sam to take charge of a situation like this without batting an eye. It was a good thing she had already met Rand or this might have gone down quite differently. Annie looked away from the group, over to Sam, then up at me, her eyes a little glazed. I think shock might be setting in. Tess looked perplexed standing alone over by the door, still rubbing her arms like she was cold. She kept looking over at the area where Toby sat, Elmer still rubbing behind the dog’s ears, though she couldn’t see that. But could she sense something? I motioned her over, so she wouldn’t be the odd woman out. She walked over slowly, and barely hesitating, put her hand on my shoulder. I heard her gasp and knew that all three of my friends could now see what I did.

  The small group on that side of the room all looked to Grandmam, except for Elmer, who nodded at Sam and winked, before turning his attention to the other woman in charge. Clearing her throat, she looked straight at me. “To say this is unusual would be a gross understatement. None of these–people–have any business in this room, right now.”

  “Oh, I’m pretty sure I have every business being here. This is my house, after all,” Sam threw back coolly.

  Grandmam looked flustered at that. “What I mean is, there are things that people outside of our world just aren’t meant to know. This isn’t how it’s done.”

  “Well, think of it like this. Your world just got a little bigger and if we can roll with it, so can you.” Sam raised her brow in challenge at the older woman. God, I loved my besties.

  I looked behind me at Tess and Annie to see how they were faring. Annie looked slightly more calm now, at least, though I did see her eye Jake distrustfully a couple of times. Tess was watching Sam and Grandmam banter back and forth like it was a ping pong match.

  Leaning back a little, I whispered to Annie, “You okay? I know this is strange, but they’re all good, um, people.” I still had no clue what to call them. “And the big black dog is Jake. He’s super friendly. He saved my life when Steven attacked me by the pool.”

  The little woman looked skeptical at this. “I have to pee, like, really bad. But I’m afraid to walk back there. What if there are more of them in there and I can’t see them?” She whispered back.

  I tried not to laugh, just barely succeeding. “You can’t hold it? And this is all of them.” Well, except for Rand, but I didn’t want to freak her out any more than she already was.

  “Hey, I’m little and so is my bladder. I drank just as much as you did!”

  At that, my bladder gave me a little nudge. It wasn’t urgent yet but I knew that could head south fast.

  Seeing the uncertainty in her expression, I nudged her. “Just go. I’ll let you know if you miss anything.”

  That was enough encouragement for her, I guess. She spun and dashed for the bathroom, closing the door as quietly as she could. I heard the water in the sink running full blast and rolled my eyes, but had to laugh all the same. I hated the idea of people hearing me pee, too.

  I had barely turned back to the Sam and Grandmam show, when I felt Annie grab my arm again. Holy cow that was quick. “Did you even wash your hands?” I knew she had, but I couldn’t resist. I knew the teasing would get her hackles up, which meant she wouldn’t have room to be scared.

  She shot me a glare and looked back at the other group. Mission accomplished. Go me.

  I’m
not sure what I missed but I realized everyone else had gone silent. I looked up to see everyone’s attention on me. “Sorry. I missed that last bit.” Honesty is the best policy, right?

  Sam’s amusement was plain. That surprised me as the reason for it hit me. She had enjoyed going up against Grandmam. This had been no different than being in the courthouse for her, so she was in her element. Go Sam!

  I looked over at Grandmam who just looked back at me impassively. She side eyed Sam which didn’t even phase my friend. “Take a moment with Elmer and Birdie before you send them back. If the rest of your . . . friends, don’t mind stepping out for a while, I think you, Rosemary, and I need to talk privately.”

  “O-Okay. Um, guys, I have to step away from you, so . . .” They pulled away from me, shaking their heads and scanning the room as Grandmam’s group and Jake disappeared from their sight. Toby trotted over to Sam and nudged her hand. She didn’t even look at him as she automatically started petting his head. This must be blowing their minds, right about now. Sam was handling all of it the best, by far, but, to their credit, Tess and Annie seemed to be dealing with it better than I had in the beginning.

  Trying to ignore what I knew my friends would be seeing—me, talking to myself, basically—I walked over to Elmer and hugged him. “Well, is it everything you thought it would be on the other side?” I asked, as I stepped back.

  His eyes teared up as he looked down adoringly at his wife. “It is all I thought it would be and so much more, Roxanne. Meet my Birdie.” He held his hand out to the petite woman beside him. She smiled shyly as she took it. She was every bit as short as Annie was, with a similar petite figure.

  “Hi, Mrs. Jenkins,” I said, as Elmer scoffed. “Your husband talked non-stop about you and about coming back to you almost every minute that I knew him.”

  The little woman blushed, her cheeks pinking just the faintest amount. Why the heck couldn’t I blush like that? “Please call me Birdie. All of our friends do. Thank you so much for your part in helping to bring him back to me. And thank you for letting us see how well our Jake is doing. He looks so happy.”