“Not so fast,” Grammy said, entering the clearing. She turned on her flashlight. Paul blinked from the brightness. “I have to talk to you, Henry.”
“You told,” Henry said to Paul, accusingly. “This was supposed to be just between us. I trusted you.”
Paul was insulted. “I didn’t tell. I wouldn’t do that. She just showed up.”
“Paul didn’t tell me,” Grammy said, moving closer to the boys. She put her hand on Henry’s shoulder, ready to grab him in the event he ran off. “I just got one of my feelings. You remember how I used to get those feelings, Henry?”
Henry looked puzzled. “Who are you?’
Grammy sighed. “I forgot that I must look completely different to you after all these years. I’m Celia. Remember me—Celia? We were once friends.”
“Celia?” His eyes got wide. “But you look so old.”
She laughed. “I am old, Henry. But I’m still the same person, and I think I can help you. I came up with a solution to your problem. Remember how ideas used to pop into my head like magic?”
“Messages from the fairies, you said. I made fun of you at the time.”
“I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone,” she said. “I never should have said anything to you about it.”
Paul looked at them in amazement. Fairies? What was all this?
“I didn’t believe you,” Henry said. “But now I know there are a lot of things out there that people never see. I’m sorry I laughed at you.”
“And I’m sorry you never got a chance to grow up,” she said sadly. “I’ve thought about you often over the years.”
“It’s not your fault,” Henry said. “You tried to warn me. I just didn’t listen.”
“I don’t understand,” Paul said. “What’s this about fairies?’
Grammy said, “That part isn’t important. The main thing is fixing what the ring has done.” She aimed her light on Paul’s hand, illuminating the ring.
“I have it all worked out,” Henry said. “Paul has agreed to hand over the ring. Once I have it in my possession, I’m going to wish that I can go back in time. Then I’ll go back to before I made the wish and warn myself not to make the wish. It’s a brilliant plan, if I do say so myself.” He grinned. “I’ll make sure to say hello to your younger self. Any words of advice you want me to give young Celia?”
Grammy shook her head sadly. “It is a brilliant plan. The only problem is that it won’t work.”
“Of course it will work,” Henry said, indignant. “I’ve thought it through, and it’ll work out perfectly. Why would you say such a thing?”
“It won’t work,” she said kindly, “because the ring only allows one wish per person. And you’ve already used up your wish.”
Henry kicked at a pebble. “I never heard anything about only one wish.”
“It’s in the directions. Don’t you remember?”
Paul thought back to the rolled-up piece of paper that came with the ring. Now that she mentioned it, he did remember a line that said something about “one use.”
“She’s right,” Paul said. “Each person only gets one wish.”
“I don’t believe it,” Henry said. “Both of you just want to keep me trapped here forever.”
“Now why would we want to do that?” Grammy asked.
He pointed at Paul. “He just wants to keep the ring, and you’re still upset with me from before when we argued.”
“That was a long time ago,” she said. “I’m not angry with you anymore. Believe me, I’d love to help fix your problem.”
“I don’t believe you.” Henry spat out the words.
Grammy sighed. “There’s only one way to convince him, Paul. Give him the ring and let him try.”
Paul reluctantly pulled the ring off his finger and held it out. Henry eagerly took it.
“Yes,” he said. “Oh, finally this will all be over and I can have a normal life again.” Henry put the ring on his finger, closed his eyes, and said, “I wish I would go back in time to my house exactly four hours before I made the wish to never get older.” He stood there with his eyes closed, and the three of them waited. Henry clicked his heels together and opened his eyes. “Why am I still here?” he asked, his voice anguished.
“I told you,” Grammy said gently, “that it won’t work. You already used up your turn.”
“Then you do it,” he said. “You wish it for me.”
“I used up my wish too, remember?”
Paul listened to them talk and felt like an outsider. Hearing that Celia’s grandmother made a wish on the ring a long time ago was definitely news. “What did you wish for?” he asked.
Grammy was silent for a minute, and then she said, slowly enunciating each word, “It was a long time ago. I’d rather not talk about it.”
“She made a selfless wish,” Henry said. “So it all turned out fine. It’s just when you wish something for yourself that the whole thing goes bad.”
“Maybe Paul can try making the wish for you,” she suggested.
“He’s used up his wish.” Henry rolled his eyes. “He can fly.”
“Oh my,” Grammy said in a voice that suggested this was not a good thing.
“And not only that, but his dog can talk now,” Henry said.
“Really,” she said, turning to Paul. “It must be very interesting at your house nowadays.”
Paul nodded. “So far there haven’t been any real problems, though.”
Henry cleared his throat. “And his aunt Vicky now swims.”
“I knew about that,” Grammy said. “I was there at the pool party that day.” The three of them stood quietly for a minute. Off in the distance, an owl hooted.
“What am I going to do now?” Henry asked, collapsing to the ground in a heap. He buried his face in his hands. “I don’t know what to do.”
Grammy said, “This is hardly the end of it, Henry. It’s more of a bump in the road.” She reached down and patted his shoulder. “I have an idea, but I’ll need some help.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Grammy’s plan wasn’t the best one Paul had ever heard, but it was better than either one of them could come up with. Henry seemed relieved to let Grammy take charge, and Paul agreed to help.
Paul’s part of the plan was simple: he went home and packed a small bag with some shorts and T-shirts and a pair of pajamas. He found an extra pair of shoes that he’d inherited from his cousin. They were still too big for him, but they would fit Henry, he thought. Paul filled a duffel bag with the clothes and threw in a spare toothbrush from the extras his mother kept in the medicine cabinet. His activity aroused Clem’s curiosity. “Whatcha doing, Paul? Are you goin’ somewhere?”
“It’s not for me,” Paul said. “Don’t worry about it.”
But Clem had already forgotten about it and was on to the next subject. “When I walk kinda fast my dog tags make a big noise, but when I go slow, not so much,” Clem said and shook his head to illustrate.
“Okay,” Paul said. Clem was getting on his nerves, but if he didn’t answer, the dog just kept talking. Paul zipped the bag and left his room, walking quietly through the house so as not to attract attention. When he was sure no one was looking, he opened the back door and set the duffle bag on the porch.
He flicked the outside light on and off, a signal to Henry that he could now sneak up to the house to retrieve the bag. When Paul checked the porch fifteen minutes later, it was gone. Step one of Grammy’s plan was complete.
When the phone rang an hour later, Paul’s mother said, “I wonder who’d be calling us now?” It wasn’t really that late, but it was unusual because they seldom got calls in the evening.
“Hello?” she said, getting up and walking out of the room so she wouldn’t disturb Dad’s television viewing. As she left the room Paul heard her say, “Mrs. Lovejoy, how nice to hear from you.” Paul was tempted to follow her and listen in, but he didn’t want to arouse any suspicion, so he stayed in the living room with his father.
A commercial came on, and Dad had just muted the TV when Mom returned to the room. “I just had the oddest call,” she said. “Celia’s grandmother asked for a favor, and of course I said yes, but I have to say that it took me by surprise.”
“What is it?” Dad said.
“Apparently they have relatives visiting from out of town, and the relatives have a boy about Paul’s age. They’re a little short of space, so she wondered if the boy, his name is Henry, could stay here for a night or two. She said he’d bring over a sleeping bag and that he’s a very nice boy. You don’t mind, do you, Paul?”
“No,” Paul said. “I don’t mind.”
Paul’s father looked puzzled. “If he’s going to be in a sleeping bag, why doesn’t he just stay at their house? How much space does a sleeping bag require?”
“Ken, I don’t know what to tell you,” she said, sighing. “Mrs. Lovejoy said they were in a bind. She was so kind to me when I was a child, I could hardly say no.”
“I’m not saying you made the wrong decision,” Dad said. “It’s a nice thing to do. I just wondered at the necessity of it all. Why don’t they want him there? Maybe the kid starts fires or something.”
“Oh, Ken, I’m sure that’s not the case. He’s probably a very nice boy. And he’ll have more fun here than at the Lovejoys’ house, I’m sure. He and Paul can go swimming and play in the woods.”
“You’ve got a good heart, Leah,” Dad said, reaching for the remote. “Between your sister Vicky showing up every day to go swimming and now this, I give you a lot of credit. You’re practically a saint.”
“It’s really not that big of a deal,” she said.
“A strange kid in the house would be a big deal for a lot of people. One more mouth to feed, another kid to keep track of.”
“It’s just one or two nights. We’ll manage.”
A half hour later there was a knock at the door. Paul eagerly answered and was stunned by Henry’s transformation. Since he’d last seen them, Grammy had snuck Henry into the Lovejoy house and let him shower and change into Paul’s clothes. Not only that, but she’d cut his hair short, shorter than Paul’s even. Henry looked like a different person. Younger and unsure of himself. He stood on the welcome mat holding the duffle and a rolled-up sleeping bag, looking shy. Grammy kept a steadying hand on Henry’s shoulder.
Paul stood speechless, until Grammy said, “May we come in, Paul?” Paul stepped aside and let them enter.
Paul’s mother came up behind him. “Welcome, Henry,” she said, almost a little too enthusiastically, Paul thought. “We’re so happy to have you stay with us.”
“Thank you, ma’am. I’m pleased to be invited.”
“Such good manners!” Mom said. She turned to Grammy. “I think this is going to work out just fine, Mrs. Lovejoy.”
“Leah, I can’t tell you how happy I am that you agreed to have Henry here.”
“Our pleasure.” Mom gave Paul a nudge. “Why don’t you boys run along? You can show Henry your room.”
“Okay,” Paul said, and they were off. As they went up the stairs, he heard Celia’s grandmother explain that Henry was afraid of dogs. His mother said it was no problem; they’d keep Clem in the basement during his visit.
Up in Paul’s room, Henry dropped the duffle and the sleeping bag on the floor. “Nice room,” he said.
“Thanks,” Paul said. “You can have the bed tonight, if you want.”
“No thanks,” Henry said. “I’m used to sleeping on the ground. The sleeping bag will be good. I don’t mind.”
“Well, if you don’t mind,” Paul said. “Anyway, by tomorrow you’ll be on your way home and back to your own bed.”
“I hope so.”
Paul sat on the bed. “I was thinking,” he said. “I’m wondering how it’s going to work if you go back in time.”
“What do you mean, how is it going to work?”
“I mean, then there will be two of you. And if you tell your younger self not to wish, there will still be two of you. How is that going to work? Won’t your family be confused? And which one is the real you?”
Henry sat down next to him. “I don’t even want to think about it. At least I won’t be young forever, and I’ll be back in my own world. I’ll think of something when I get there.” He didn’t sound that confident, but Grammy’s plan was all they had.
“I’m sure it will all be fine,” Paul said. “I just wondered. Anyway, tomorrow everything will change for you, and that has to be a good thing no matter what.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
Deep in the woods, Jasmine went in search of Mira. All day she’d kept up with things from a distance, listening in as Grammy met up with Paul and Henry in the woods, and waiting until Henry was safely inside the McClutchy house.
Finally, she decided to give Mira an update. Jasmine flew to the opening of the underground cave which was Mira’s home. She made her way down a staircase made from slabs of stone. “Hello, Mira,” she called out. “It’s me, Jasmine.”
Inside she heard voices and saw a glow of light. Oh good, she thought, Mira was here. Mira’s voice wasn’t happy, though, and whoever she was talking to was a mumbler.
As Jasmine entered the room, another fairy, Boyd, brushed past her as he headed out. “Hey, Boyd,” she said, but he didn’t look like he was in a good mood, and he didn’t answer. “What’s his problem?” Jasmine asked Mira, who sat at a table writing something in her book. The room was illuminated by the warm glow of a bowl of crystals in the center of the table.
Mira shrugged. “Just the usual Boyd stuff. He’s got the easiest assignment in the neighborhood, and he still can’t keep on top of things. I just don’t know what to do with him anymore.” She pointed. “Sit. I’m eager to hear how you’ve worked things out.”
Jasmine pulled up a chair. “I think you’ll be impressed by how I’m handling the whole ring situation.”
“Hit me with it.”
“It’s a very simple plan, really, but brilliant.”
“Hmmm,” Mira said. “We’ll just see about that. What have you got?”
Jasmine leaned forward, her wings fluttering in excitement. “Henry is staying in Paul’s house as a guest, so he’s now somewhere safe. Henry, Paul, and Grammy have this plan—”
“Grammy?” Mira interrupted. “Oh yes, the original Celia. I keep forgetting that she’s old now. I knew her when she was just a girl, you know.”
“I know,” Jasmine said. “Anyway, they think they have a plan, but what they don’t know is that their plan isn’t really the right plan. I’ve got something better up my sleeve, and if everything goes the way I want, all of this will be fixed.”
“This better be good,” Mira said. “I can’t even imagine what you’ve come up with.”
“Oh it’s good all right. This is how it will work.” She leaned in and told Mira the entire scheme in hushed tones, ending with, “And that’s what I came up with.” She smiled in delight.
Mira sat back approvingly. “Pretty good, but of course, everything has to happen just perfectly or it won’t work. I’ll keep my wings crossed for you.” The crystals in the bowl, feeding off Mira’s good mood, glowed more brightly.
“Thanks, Mira.” Jasmine smiled widely. “I’ll let you know how it goes.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Early the next morning, Paul’s family was pulled out of their sleep by someone pounding on the front door. The whole family and Henry woke up with a start, jumped out of bed, and made their way to the front hall. Paul’s dad opened the door to find Aunt Vicky dressed in her swimsuit, a towel and flotation noodle under her arm.
“Good morning,” Aunt Vicky said brightly, peering through the screen. “I just came for a little morning swim. Don’t worry about offering me anything to eat or drink. Just let me get to the pool. I’ll be out of your way in a jiffy.”
“Vicky,” Paul’s dad said, “do you have any idea what time it is? We were all sleeping.”
“Ooop
s. Sorry about that.” Aunt Vicky put a hand up to her mouth. “Tomorrow I’ll just go around back and not bother you.” She opened the screen door and let herself in. “Hi, Paul. Hi, Paul’s friend.” She extended her hand to Henry, who shook it.
“My name is Henry,” he said.
“Nice to meet you, Henry. If you boys want to swim, I’d love some company.” And then she walked through the house, her flip-flops flapping as she made her way to the back door. “Sorry about waking you up. Just go back to bed. Don’t mind me at all.”
“She’s planning on coming back tomorrow?” Paul’s dad hissed at his mother. “This is getting out of hand.” His face turned the dark shade of red that always worried Paul because it meant his dad was getting angry.
“I know, Ken, I know, but what can I say? She paid for the pool.”
“I don’t care if she paid for the pool.” His voice got louder with each word. “Having her come over every day is absolutely ridiculous.”
“Shhhh.” Paul’s mother put a finger to her lips. “Not in front of our guest.” She looked at Paul and Henry. “Why don’t you two boys go back to sleep, or else get some breakfast? Your father and I need to talk.”
Paul and Henry left the entryway, dressed, and got themselves breakfast. Through it all, Paul’s parents squabbled. “Do they usually go on like this?” Henry asked, taking a bite of jelly toast. The couple had moved their argument to the living room, but their voices carried.
Paul shook his head. “They usually get along okay. And now that my mom doesn’t get her headaches, she’s been in a really good mood.”
“It’s the ring,” Henry said glumly. “It makes everyone miserable.”
“Not me and Clem,” Paul said. “We’re both pretty happy with what we can do.” To illustrate he stood up and levitated a foot above the floor. “Flying is the coolest thing ever. Later today, after you leave, I’m going to go out flying all over the neighborhood. Maybe this time I’ll try going higher.”
Secrets of the Magic Ring Page 8