“No,” I said emphatically. “Since my last spell to make Jonathan fall in love with the new hotel site I have not done any spells. Or maybe, I haven’t done any big spells, just a couple of teeny, tiny ones.”
“What does that mean?” asked Constance.
“Well, I did cast a spell last week to organize all of my various types of ribbon in the shop to help with the inventorying process and one other one to iron my apron magically when I found it crumpled on the floor and I was already really late for work. I mean I really needed to cast a spell this morning to get into the command center or I would have frozen on that hillside. So, as you can see, I haven’t been running around like a crazy witch casting spells here and there; none that were serious or really big anyway.”
“Let’s keep it that way for awhile, okay?” Constance said before jumping on to her next questions. “Do you feel any different when you wake up in your bed vs. waking up somewhere else?”
“Besides feeling wet or sandy, I am dog tired and a little scared. It’s starting to freak me out since I’m never sure when I’m going to take off or where I will end up. What makes me land and stay somewhere instead of flying back to my bed? I don’t even know if people can see me when I’m flying or if I’m invisible.”
That last comment made Constance’s eyebrows shoot up as she considered the implications of me being seen on one of my journeys; especially if I traveled without any pajamas on.
Seeing her apprehension I said, “I can tell you one thing for sure. I’ve started to take greater care in what I wear to bed. I mean, for one thing pajamas instead of no pajamas. I guess I better start adding underwear and putting my cell phone in my pajama pocket from now on. After this incident, I may just start wearing my work clothes to bed. Oh, by the way. I really do appreciate you getting up so early to rescue me.”
Nodding her head Constance continued, “Can you think back on anything that’s the same each time you’ve night flown? Did you eat something in particular? Were you with anyone? Was something or someone bothering you?” Constance pried hoping to find some similarities in my pre-flight events.
“I’ve been racking my brain, but I can’t come up with anything. I think I’ll spend the rest of the day chilling out at home. Maybe something will come to me there.”
“Maybe you should consider tying yourself to your bed at night,” Constance suggested laughing slightly.
“With my luck, I’ll end up on the beach with my bed and no way to get the bed and me home. It’s not like I can say, ‘Beam me home Scotty,” I said being silly.
“I’d love to see that one,” she said, laughing until she caught the displeased look on my face.
“Settle down, Olivia. Maybe it’s time we talked with dad,” offered Constance as she pushed her remaining pancakes aimlessly around her plate. She must have thought this was pretty important since she rarely sought our dad’s help. Constance and my dad have yet to really solidify their relationship. You see, my dad sort of checked out of most of our lives after mom was gone.
“Do you think that this might have been something that mom did?” I asked Constance. “I mean there’s so much about her that we don’t know.”
“I was wondering that too. I just don’t know.”
After reflecting on my situation a moment, Constance said, “We have three options as I see it. One - go talk to Harmony on the chance that she knows something. Two - go see what we can get out of dad.”
When her third suggestion seemed to hang in the air and just out of my reach I said, “and three….?”
“I think I’ll keep three to myself for just now. I need to make a couple phone calls and maybe a visit or two with a few long lost relatives.”
“Who would that be?” I asked, feeling terribly vulnerable. I didn’t want too many people learning about my new travel agenda.
“I’ll let you know. Thanks for breakfast. Let’s keep this between us for right now. And for Pete’s sake, keep your underwear on!” she said, laughing as she offered a goodbye wave to Ante.
I didn’t think it was so funny. I didn’t even know that we had any long lost relatives.
“Hey, wait!” I called out as Constance headed for her car. “I need a ride home.”
Chapter Three
“Hey Dr. Barleycorn,” yelled Jonathan as a passenger exited the airport terminal carrying a duffle bag, a backpack and wearing a rather beat up brown leather bomber jacket. The tall, broad shouldered young man turned and sent a wicked smile back at Jonathan. “Will you ever stop calling me that?” he asked.
“What? It’s the perfect name for my favorite horticulturist,” Jonathan said, wrapping his arms around and giving a hearty pat to the massive shoulders of his older brother, Matt. “It just fits and even you have to admit that it’s a hell of a lot more exciting sounding than Dr. Maxwell.”
“I don’t know about exciting? You would have to come up with a bizarre nickname for me,” sighed Matt. “But Barleycorn? I’ll never understand how you came up with that wacky name for me?”
“Well, aren’t barley and corn two of our most important crops?” Jonathan asked. “And aren’t you a prominent west coast specialist in the growing of plants, fruits and vegetables, i.e. crops? Hence, calling you Dr. Barleycorn is the perfect name for you as it truly reflects your talents.”
“Oh brother,” sighed Matt. “Just don’t call me that around other people,” he said transferring his worn out duffle bag into Jonathan’s hands. “By the way, before I get dragged too far into your latest scheme, I understand that dad has pulled out of this gig; so who are your other players?” Matt asked with a look of unease on his face.
“It’s such a long story. How about I get you settled in the hotel and then we grab some dinner and talk.”
“That sounds good to me. I need a shower after that tuna can packed flight and I’d like to get a fresh start in the morning surveying the land. So how about an early, fact filled dinner before I crash for the night?” Matt offered. “Oh, and mom sends her love.”
“Really? I figured she’d side with the old man and not want anything to do with me right now,” Jonathan said absently. “I’m actually really glad that he’s out of this. He can be a real pain in the ---.”
Before Jonathan could finish his sentence, Matt belted out a laugh and said, “She knows that too. I think that’s why she wanted me to tell you that she sends her love. I think living with dad can sometimes be pretty tough on her too. Good thing she’s crazy about him.”
“You think?” asked Jonathan.
“I know.”
Jonathan walked towards the airport parking lot and his black Alpha Romeo Coupe and popped the lock as his brother stood and stared.
“Little brother, I don’t know how you think me and my luggage are all going to fit in that car of yours.”
“Oh come on, it’s not that small and you don’t have that much junk. Toss your stuff in the back and climb in. This turbo charged baby is so much fun to drive. If you’re nice, I’ll let you drive it through the hills of Rolling Rock tomorrow. Kind of a sensitive clutch is all,” he said eying his brother. “But I think you can handle it!”
“I’ll take your word for it,” said Matt as he struggled to get his girth tucked safely into his silver buckled seat belt. “So while you’re chauffeuring me around town remind me how you actually got this pretty little number.”
“It’s not that big of a deal. Your little brother is just a master of being at the right place at the right time,” said Jonathan smugly as he tucked a strand of curly black hair behind his right ear.
“Uh huh,” was his brother’s only response.
“So okay I’ll tell you. Me and two of my fraternity brothers competed in a number of Rochambeau Contests across several states during our senior year in college. We placed in the finals in the last seven states before we hit the big time competition in New York City.”
“Rochambeau?” said Matt.
“Yeah, Rochambeau - Rock - Paper -
Scissors. You know the game.”
“I guess,” was all Matt said.
“Well, anyway, we got to the New York competition and one of my buddies got knocked out of the tourney the very first day. There were two of us left when dad got wind of the fact that I had missed so much school to go to these competitions. Since it was my senior year, he thought I should be spending all of my time studying. As if I really needed to! Anyway, dad raised a real stink.”
“So he made you drop out, right?” asked Matt
“Oh yeah, he made me drop out alright. And my buddy ended up going all the way to the end and winning. The Alpha Romeo was the First Place prize; pretty cool, huh?”
“Well, if your friend won the competition how did you end up with the car?”
“My friend had spent all of his tuition money on our trips to compete. He couldn’t graduate until he paid off his tuition and he was out of cash. He also hadn’t told his parents about taking so much time off school and his grades had plummeted so his old man wouldn’t help him out. He was in a bad way.”
“Uh huh,” said Matt.
“Well, you know that I’ve always been a big saver. I invest wisely and use my profits for future investments or to buy what I want. Needless to say, I had the fifteen grand in the bank that my buddy needed for his tuition and he had the car of my dreams. Presto Keno - the car was mine, tuition was paid and no parents were injured in the process.”
“Are you telling me that the guy just gave you the car?” Matt asked. “Oh, and your grades never suffered from taking so much time off school! Really?”
“The guy didn’t give me anything. I bought it from him fair and square and no, my grades weren’t hurt at all. I graduated in the top 10% of my class, didn’t I?”
“And our father never even asked where you got the Alpha Romeo?” questioned Matt.
“Oh, he asked. I just never have gotten around to answering,” said Jonathan with a smile. “Besides, I told you, I’ve continued to do well with my investing. Why shouldn’t I drive this little baby?”
“I just can’t wait to see what happens the first time you have to haul something stinky or dirty because of this new project of yours. I give you six months max and you’ll be turning this puppy in for a more practical super sized truck,” Matt said laughing.
“Keep laughing,” was all Jonathan had to say in reply.
As Jonathan stopped the car in front of the hotel Matt turned to him with a serious big brother look on his face and said, “Now, tell me about this girl dad says has bewitched you.”
Chapter Four
I spent the entire afternoon wandering around my house trying to remember where I had been, what I had done, who I had spoken to and even what I had eaten on the nights when I flew. It was so frustrating. And the more time I spent, the more hopeless I felt. What a crummy way to spend my one day of the week off!
“Are you ever going to fill me in?” Miss Cassandra my cat asked as she sat at my feet. “Perhaps I could actually be of some help if you’d share with me what’s bugging you. Is it that mortal again?” she asked. “By the way, I am really worth far more than you ever give me credit for; so please feel free to ask away.”
Miss Cassandra is my familiar and although she can be rather uppity at times I know that she really does have my best interest at heart. And it dawned on me that she just might have some information that I need. Pulling her up onto my lap I asked, “Okay, I’ll ask. Do you know where I was last night?”
“Last night? Is this a joke?” Miss Cassandra huffed.
When I shook my head and made a demonstrative face answering her with a big, “No,” Miss Cassandra continued.
“Well then, that’s an interesting question. I actually didn’t even realize that you weren’t in your bed until I awoke this morning and found you gone. I must say that I was quite annoyed that you had left without telling me and without leaving me any food,” her copper eyes boring into me before closing down all together. “But I was equally distressed that I had not sensed your absence; it has bothered me all day long. I really thought that we were more in tune with each other than that. Where did you go and how is it that I was not aware of your travels?”
I needed a cup of coffee in order to make any sense of this topic. I dropped Miss Cassandra on the floor and headed off towards my kitchen. Grabbing myself a fresh cup of Hazelnut coffee and filling Miss Cassandra’s bowl with dry food I set about telling her what has been happening to me.
“You mean this has happened more than once?” she asked incredulously, “and I didn’t pick up on this any of those times? Oh my Oh my, I must be slipping. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Well, I’m telling you now. Twice I must have flown and then returned to my bed and three times I flew, but didn’t return home. The concerning thing is that it seems to be happening more and last night was one of the times that I didn’t return home. I went further away this time and Constance actually had to come and get me.”
“Get you? Where were you?” Miss Cassandra asked with interest.
“I was up in the hills of Rolling Rock. And I was wet and cold and if I had not been able to find a phone nearby I would have been in real trouble.”
“I think that you ARE in real trouble; flying around in the middle of the night and not knowing where you are going. Aren’t you afraid someone may have seen you? What if someone from town happens to look up and see you flying around town? OMG, can you imagine the neighbors? Was that Olivia Merriman I saw flying around last night - and in her pajamas?”
Before I got a chance to answer Miss Cassandra, Marv and Meghan piped up. Marv and Meghan are two spirits who live in my home. Well, actually it used to be their home when they were alive and they have only recently returned to ‘haunt’ my house. Although my dad and Constance can see and hear them, I can only hear them.
“Meghan saw you leave last night,” said Marv, “scared the devil out of her.”
“Oh Marv, you get so dramatic,” said Meghan.
“I get dramatic? You were the one who got all freaked out thinking someone was abducting Olivia!”
“Well, you have to admit that it’s kind of unnerving to see your young friend suddenly disappear from their bed,” said Meghan.
“And don’t you forget Meghan, that you were the one crying and begging me to follow her,” Marv said.
“Follow me? Can you do that Marv?” I asked.
“I’m not really sure; sort of, maybe. I just know that it’s easier for me to travel between your shop and the house than it is for Meghan. And I’ve also been able to go around the corner to the movie theater recently. I wanted to see the latest Star Wars movie, so I tried and I succeeded.
“The only problem is that I can’t seem to remain that far from the shop or home for too long. I had to go back to the theater at four different times of the day, in order to stay long enough to see the entire movie,” he said. “But it was worth it. What a great movie and all for free!”
“So glad you’re enjoying your jaunts to the cinema, Marv. Now do you think that you could settle your spirit down long enough to help Olivia?” Miss Cassandra asked sarcastically.
“I wish I could. I just don’t know what to do. She was here and then she wasn’t and she didn’t leave any sort of a trail for me to follow,” he said with regret in his voice. “And even if she had left a trail, I’m not sure just how far I could have followed.”
“But it was kind of weird before you actually disappeared Olivia,” added Meghan.
“Weird. How?” I asked.
“You started to glow. And then there was this big flash and you just disappeared.”
“I wonder why the flash didn’t wake me up.”
“That was the other thing that was odd,” Meghan said. “It was like you were in a trance, not asleep, but in a real deep trance and someone else was in control.”
I started to tremble wondering who or what was taking control over my life and how was I going to get that control back?
>
Chapter Five
“Can you believe how beautiful it is up here?” Larry asked as Jonathan and Matt walked around the abandoned orchards. “I have a million ideas racing through my head about how we could develop this land. And I’m so glad that you’re here Matt to give us some sound advice about the land itself and what we could actually do with it.”
“Uh huh,” was all Matt said as he walked the site. Reaching up, he grabbed an apple off an old gnarly tree and immediately took a bite.
“Brave man,” said Jonathan. “My experience tells me that’s one tart apple he’s biting into.”
“Granny Smith, if I’m not mistaken. Do fairly well in California, but not always so well along the coastline. Interesting; you know that the salt air can be hard on their development, sometimes makes their skin a little tough. Require a lot of water. Did you know that the average cost to produce an acre of apples in California is about $4,500.00 per acre? Not cheap. It’s the cost of the water you know.”
“Don’t mind him, this is just his passion,” said Jonathan to Larry. “He’ll go on like that for hours, whether we respond or not.”
“Hey, Dr. Barleycorn, I’m not sure that we want to actually raise acres and acres of apples and oranges. Maybe we just want to create the feeling of an orchard surrounding our cottages.”
“Too bad if that’s all you do with this land. It’s rich; should be farmed. I wouldn’t be surprised if Fuji and Gala apples would do well here too.”
Walking towards one of the few orange trees that still bore fruit, Matt continued. “These trees used to grow some mighty big Navel oranges I bet. Did you know that they’re called Navel oranges because the end of the orange resembles a human navel?” Matt asked without waiting for an answer.
“With proper care these groves could be brought back to life. I’d imagine that lemon trees would also do well here. Meyer lemons, I presume. I could look into that,” he said making a notation in a small notepad he’d pulled from his breast pocket. “And to think that all of this started way back in 1769 when Father Juniper Serra planted the very first citrus seeds in California,” said Matt as he continued to wander around the property.
Night Flight Page 2