by Geof Johnson
“Why should I be the one to take the potion?” Mr. Beasley said. “That is not fair.”
“I will be willing to take it, also,” Mrs. Tully said. “If fairness is an issue.”
“Fine,” the judge said, and Mr. and Mrs. Beasley frowned deeply. The judge looked at Fred and narrowed one eye. “How would they take this potion?”
“The easiest way is to put it in some water and drink it.”
The judge turned to the guard behind him. “See if you can fetch us a couple of glasses of water, if you please.”
The guard left, and the Beasleys fumed and muttered to each other. Mrs. Tully whispered to Evelyn, “What if this doesn’t work?”
“It will,” Evelyn said. “I have faith in Fred.” Mrs. Tully took a deep breath and pressed her lips together.
“They sure have different attitudes about witches here,” Nova said in a low voice.
“Witches are well-respected on this world,” Fred said.
“Maybe I should move here.”
“They don’t have indoor plumbing or air conditioning and stuff.”
“Then maybe I’ll just visit once in a while.”
The guard returned with the water and set the two glasses on the judge’s desk. The judge said, “Miss Fred, if you will be so kind as to make the preparations for us.”
Fred pulled a small green bottle from her purse and stepped forward. She took out the cork stopper and carefully poured five drops into the first glass, then repeated the process with the second. “That’s it,” she said. “That’s all there is to it.”
The judge gestured at the potions and said, “Our two claimants will drink this, please.”
“Wait,” Mr. Beasley said. “How do we know which one is stronger? She may not have poured the drops equally.”
“You choose,” Evelyn said with a shrug. “It doesn’t matter, anyway.”
Mr. Beasley picked up a glass, eyed it critically, then set it down and picked up the other. Mrs. Tully took the one he’d left and immediately put it to her lips and drank it all. Mr. Beasley took one sip of his and scowled. “It tastes fowl, Your Honor. I cannot drink this.”
“Mrs. Tully managed to without difficulty.”
“What if I refuse?”
“Then I shall decide in her favor right now.”
Mr. Beasley narrowed his eyes, and then raised his glass and drank. When he finished, he set it back on the desk and patted his mouth with a handkerchief. “There. Are you satisfied?”
“Yes,” the judge said and looked at Fred. “How long before the spell takes effect?”
“Should be immediate. I think you can ask them anything you want to right now.”
The judge sat back in his wooden chair and gripped both armrests. “Mr. Beasley, you claim that the boy Aiven is related to you. Is this true?”
“No.”
“Mrs. Tully, the boy is not related to you, either?”
“No, sir.”
“You are on equal footing, then. Mr. Beasley, why do you want to adopt this boy?”
“So that he can work on my farm.”
“Will he be paid?”
“No. I mean, no sir.”
“I understand that you have adopted at least half a dozen other boys. Your house must be crowded, now. Where will Aiven sleep?”
“In the barn with the others.”
“I see.” He turned to Mrs. Tully. “And you? Why do you want to adopt this boy?”
“Because I love him.” She said it directly and without hesitation. It sounded surprising, coming from the usually stern and reserved woman, but Evelyn knew it was true. She knew it before Mrs. Tully even said it.
The judge smiled and nodded. “And you have a place for him, Mrs. Tully?”
“He has his own room in my home, with clean sheets for his bed very week, and three meals a day, which I prepare myself.”
“She’s a great cook, your honor,” Fred said.
“Yes, I have heard that. Mrs. Tully, do you plan to put Aiven to work, also?”
“He shall do his household chores, the same as any other boy, but no more than that. He must go to school.”
“Excellent.” The judge looked at Mrs. Tully for a long moment and seemed to study her carefully, and then nodded again. “I decide in your favor, Mrs. Tully.”
The Beasleys groaned and turned away with angry looks on their faces, and then stormed from the room.
The judge laid another piece of paper on the desk. “Now, Mrs. Tully, if you’ll sign this document, the boy shall be yours.” He smiled warmly at her and she stepped to the desk, her hand trembling as she took the pen he offered to her.
Evelyn felt tears stinging her eyes and heard Fred and Nova sniff. Nova said, “I don’t even know this boy and I’m all choked up.”
“Well, I know him,” Fred said, “and I’m definitely choked up.”
“Me, too, Fred,” Evelyn said. “Now let’s take Mrs. Tully back to the school so she can give Aiven the good news.”
* * *
Jamie was sitting on the couch in his family room, watching television, when Fred came in, sat down next to him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Nova just called me,” she said. “She heard from her dad.”
“Cool. It’s about time.”
“They talked for over an hour last night, and get this: apparently he’s been sending her mom money for child support ever since he moved out, but Nova never knew. Now she’s furious with her mother for not telling her.”
“She’s always mad at her mom.”
“Yeah, but now she has a real reason.” She put her arm across his shoulders and said, “He wants to see her. Can you make a doorway for her tomorrow afternoon?”
“Um, that’s Sunday.” He scratched behind his ear and shrugged. “I guess so. I’m supposed to run with Bryce sometime.”
“She wants us to come with her.”
“What do you mean,us?”
“All of us. You, me, Melanie, Bryce, Rollie and Sammi.”
“What for? Won’t that be awkward?”
“She said she wants her friends there for support. Besides, she may want her dad to do the oath so she can explain about our magic, and she needs us for that.”
“But I gotta run.”
“Please? You can do it afterward.” She gave him her best puppy dog face and Jamie knew he didn’t have a choice.
Chapter 30
The world was bright in theafternoon sunlight asRachelsat with Lisa on Lisa’s front steps, drinking coffee and watching Sammi try out her new, sparkly pink bike. She had ridden it up and down the sidewalk a few times, but now she sat astride it with one foot on the ground, talking to a couple of other young girls at the end of the driveway, who stood beside their own glittery two-wheeled rides. Together, the three of them were bikers of a different sort — Heaven’s Angels, not Hell’s.
“Sammi’s been dying to meet those two kids,” Lisa said. “She’s been watching them ride by almost every day when she gets home, but we couldn’t let her out to talk to them because of Mr. Gundy.”
“She looks like she’s making friends at the moment.”
“She needs some in this neighborhood. Right now, the only ones she has are in Rivershire, and they can’t exactly pop over to play whenever they feel like it.”
“I think she should stay in touch with those kids, though. They have a special friendship.”
“Interplanetary. Can’t get more special than that.” Lisa chuckled and picked up her coffee cup from the step beside her. She held it with both hands and took a slow breath before saying, “I think we’re going to adopt her.”
Rachel raised her eyebrows. “Really? You’ve talked to Larry about this?”
“It was his idea. He said he doesn’t want anybody to take her away from us, and when you’re just a foster parent, that’s always a possibility.”
“But it’s so expensive. Carl and I looked into it before Jamie was born, and we couldn’t afford it after we bought the house.”
“That’s because you were trying to do it through a private agency and you wanted a baby. If you do it through the state’s social services, it’s pretty cheap. Just a few hundred dollars for lawyer’s fees, and that’s it.”
“Gosh, I never knew.” Rachel picked up her own cup and took a sip of coffee. “Have you talked to Sammi about it?”
“Not yet, but I’m sure that’s what she wants. She’s dying to call me Mommy, I can tell. She’s almost said it a couple of times already.” Lisa shrugged. “And I want her to say it. When I registered her for school the other day, I had to sign her up as Samantha Price. I hated doing that. It should be Samantha Callahan.”
“It’s fitting, anyway. You already have a daughter named Fred. You might as well have one named Sam.”
Lisa laughed. “True enough.” Then she stood and offered a helping hand to Rachel. “Come on. Let’s go ask those girls if they want to come inside for a snack or something.”
* * *
Jamie stood on a sidewalk in Atlanta, facing a restaurant, Belanger’s, on the corner across the street. With him were Fred, Rollie, Bryce, Melanie, Sammi, and Nova.
“Well, go on, Nova,” Fred said. “What are you waiting for?”
Nova’s eyebrows were drawn low, and she was biting the tip of her tongue. “Just give me another minute to think about it.”
“What’s there to think about?” Rollie said. “Your dad’s expecting you. He’s probably looking out the window at us right now, wondering what we’re doing.”
“Will you wait for me?”
“Why? It’s hot out here.”
“Just...just a couple minutes. Okay?” Nova took a deep breath, and when the traffic light changed, she crossed the street to the restaurant.
They watched her open the door and disappear inside. Sammi took Fred’s hand and said, “I wish they had the lights off in there. Then I could probably hear what they’re saying.”
Fred frowned at her. “You’re not supposed to do that.”
“I can’t help it.”
“I’m not buying that excuse anymore.”
“This has to be a really emotional moment for Nova,” Melanie said. “I can understand why she wanted us to come.”
“But we’re not doing anything,” Bryce said. “We’re just standing here, looking like dumb tourists or something.”
Then Nova opened the door and waved them over. “Come on in,” she called.
“Why?” Rollie asked.
“He wants to meet my friends.”
“That’ll be weird. Shouldn’t you see him by yourself?”
“He said he’ll make something for us to eat.”
“I didn’t bring any money.”
“It’s free. Please?”
“Free food?” Rollie grinned and wagged his head. “In that case, maybe we should meet your dad. Come on, let’s go!” He started across the street without looking back, and Jamie and the others followed.
Chapter 31
Rachel waited with Carl in their driveway and watched Jamie load the last of his things into his Chevy. Across the street, similar scenes were playing out — Fred packing her car with Sammi’s help and Rollie packing his, while their parents stood by with long faces.
Jamie closed the trunk lid and wiped his hands. “Well, that’s everything, I think.”
“Do you have your pillow and sheets?” Rachel asked.
“Got ’em.”
“How about all of your bathroom stuff, like shampoo and soap and towels?”
“Got everything, Mom. Besides, if I forget something, I can just make a doorway and come back here and get it.”
“Are you coming for dinner tonight?”
“No, Mom. Bryce and I have to set our dorm rooms up and get organized and everything, and we want to check out the dining hall.”
“How about tomorrow night? It’s Sunday. I’ll make something special.”
“Uh...well, there’s this big outdoor barbecue party for incoming freshmen that I kinda want to go to. We’re all going. Rollie and Fred and Nova and everybody.”
“When do you think you’ll come home?”
“I dunno.” He turned when he heard a car door slam across the street. “It looks like Rollie’s ready to leave, and Fred’s probably anxious to get on the road. I need to go.”
“Oh.” She felt her throat close up and her eyes blurred with tears.
“Jamie,” Carl said, “Do you have a travel plan?”
“Melanie and Bryce are going to meet us with their cars behind Granddaddy’s warehouse, since nobody can see us there. Then I’ll make a big doorway to this dirt road just outside of Cullowhee and we’ll drive the rest of the way to campus. Whole thing shouldn’t take more than twenty minutes.”
“Call us when you get there.”
“Come on, Dad, it’s only twenty minutes.”
“Then send us a text. Just so we know you made it.”
“Sure. Whatever.” Fred honked her car horn and Jamie said, “Look, I really gotta go. Love you Mom...and Dad.” He kissed Rachel on the cheek and gave Carl the briefest of hugs, in the stiff way that only a teenage boy can manage. Jamie got into his Chevy, started the engine and backed out of the driveway while Fred and Rollie pulled their automobiles onto the street and waited for him.
Then they drove off with barely a wave goodbye.
“Oh, Carl,” Rachel sobbed as she watched them disappear down the road. “Our baby bird is flying away.” She sniffed and wiped her eyes with one hand. “Do you think he’ll ever come back?”
“Yeah,” Carl said with a sad smile. “As soon as he runs out of clean underwear.” Rachel laughed in spite of herself and Carl took her hand. “He’ll be back with his laundry basket full of dirty clothes.”
“Good. I’ll be happy to do his laundry for him.”
“Don’t you want him to start doing things for himself? He needs to, you know.”
“Not everything. Not just yet.”
They started to walk back to their front porch but turned when they heard the sound of running footsteps on the driveway. It was Sammi.
“Mr. and Mrs. Sikes? Can I play on your swings? Mommy said it’s all right with her.”
“Of course,” Rachel said. “I think that’s just what we need right now. Don’t you, Carl?”
“Definitely. And if your two new friends ride by on their bikes, we should invite them, too.”
Then they walked together up the steps and into the house.
About the Author
Geof Johnson lives in Atlanta Georgia with his family, a dog and a cat. He enjoys running, water color painting, and playing guitar a little too loud and a little too much.
You can contact him at: [email protected]
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
About the Author
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