by Kali Harper
I took him in my arms and followed after Morpheus. Lucy had already opened a portal outside, holding it open for me as I closed the distance between us.
“Have everything you need?” she asked, adjusting the shoulder strap of her purse.
“And more,” I told her, watching Darby and Izzy as they spoke amongst themselves. Seeing them together put a smile on my face, and as they embraced one another, I knew there was a lot more than a budding friendship between them. “I’ll meet you at home. Lance asked me to drop by his office, first.”
“He’s going to ask you out,” Izzy said, giggling when Darby elbowed her in the side. “What?”
“I’m sure it’s nothing,” I told her. “Lance and I are friends.”
“If you say so.” She didn’t sound convinced, and after looking from her to Darby and Lucy, I could see she wasn’t the only one.
“Not another word,” I told them, hugging Sammy close to my chest as I neared the portal. “You either, Sam.”
“I didn’t say anything,” he purred as I crossed over to the other side.
The station was empty by the time I arrived and only the light in Lance’s office was on. Sammy squirmed in my arms, giving me his patented death glare when I finally set him on the ground. His fur was all out of sorts, and as he started to groom whatever I’d put out of place, I entered the station.
Lance’s office was in the back, behind the collection of desks and reams of paper, and like always, his head was down as he scribbled inside a large folder. He smiled when I knocked on his open door, the tiny gesture sending a chill down my spine. He waved me in and adjusted his glasses, closing the file before standing from his chair.
“I’m sorry if I kept you waiting,” I said, taking my place across from him on the other side of his desk. “When Lucy gets on a roll, it’s hard for her to stop.”
“No problem at all. Coffee?” He was already making his way over to a tiny red coffee maker, a new one, I realized, as I’d never seen it before.
Remembering how terrible his coffee was the few times I was here, I politely declined. “I’ll pass, but thank you for the offer. So, you wanted to see me?” Alone with Lance in his office, I was starting to feel as though I’d been sent to the principle’s office. Every breath I took shook with nerves. My hands weren’t any better, and when I thought he might notice, I tucked them under my arms.
“I wanted to give you this,” he said, removing the back of a police sticker that looked a lot like a detective’s badge before placing it on my chest. “Much better. Welcome to the fold, Deputy.”
“Deputy?” I glanced at the sticker meant for kids. It was a silly thing to do, but it made me smile all the same. “What about leaving the detective work to the professionals?”
He shrugged and leaned against his desk. “Seeing as you won’t listen to me anyway, I figured it would be better to have you working the cases without trying to hide everything from me.”
“I didn’t hide much at all from you this time,” I reminded him. “Only the bit about Caleb and Richard, but that’s because everything happened so fast, I hadn’t had a chance. By the way, how did you get to me as quickly as you did?”
“Sammy’s portal.”
Oh. “Well, I should probably get going. Lucy’s throwing this big dinner tonight for the girls and Mark. I think we’ll finally get to meet him.”
“Elusive, isn’t he?” Lance asked with a laugh.
“It doesn’t help that Lucy refuses to share any pictures of him. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her this happy.”
“And what about you? Are you happy?”
“For them?” I shrugged. “I guess. I’m mostly glad this is all over.”
“Now you can get back to that garden of yours,” he teased, pushing off the edge of his desk.
“I think I prefer baking,” I admitted, my face growing hot when he met my gaze. “Was there anything else you needed me for?”
“Actually, yes.” His voice cracked at the end, and did he just blush?
You’re seeing things. Thank goodness my projections were under control.
“I was wondering if you’d like to have coffee sometime,” he said, oblivious to my thoughts or the nerves knotting in my stomach. When I studied his coffee maker, he continued. “Real coffee. A nice place where we can sit down and talk.”
“We are talking,” I pointed out.
“Whenever I see you, it’s always behind a counter, desk, or when you’re chasing down clues. I haven’t had the chance to get to know you, and I’d really like it if I could.”
“Lance Barker, are you asking me out on a date?”
“I suppose I am, unless you refuse,” he said, passing me a coy smile.
Oh my god. Oh. My. God. I knew this was going to happen. I warned Maggie it would, and now look at me. My heart beat so hard, I thought it might burst through my chest. I half-expected to pass out, for this to all be an elaborate dream, or that I hadn’t escaped from the hunter’s grasp after all.
Was I still breathing?
I checked my pulse.
Yup, still breathing.
“Maybe you should sit down,” Lance said when I didn’t answer him.
I waved him away, stepping outside his office to get a cup from the water cooler before downing the entire thing.
“If that’s how you drink water, I’d hate to see what you do in a bar,” he laughed, placing a gentle hand on my shoulder.
“I don’t drink,” I told him between large gulps. “Not much, anyway.”
“Does this mean I can put you down as a yes?” He was teasing me and having way too much fun doing it.
“Coffee,” I managed to say. “Coffee’s good.”
“Then it’s settled.” He removed his coat from the back of his chair and turned off the light to his office, leaving us in a dimly lit station with the soft glow of street lamps to see by. “I’ll pick you up on Friday around seven?”
“Seven would be great,” I said, coughing to force the air from my lungs as I floated above the ground.
“I could give you a ride if you like.” He locked up the station as he spoke, pocketing his keys once he’d finished.
“That’s okay. I like to walk.” At this point, I needed the fresh air.
“Then I guess this is goodnight.”
“I guess it is.”
Lance waved goodbye, then got in his car and turned on the ignition, but not before sending my blood pressure through the roof with another one of his adorable smiles. Adorable? Bad choice of words, but those dimples!
“What was that all about?” Sammy asked once he’d gone.
“He asked me out.” I still couldn’t believe it, every one of my steps feeling lighter than the one before it.
“On a date?”
“What’s with the tone? I can date, can’t I?” He’d never told me there was a rule against it.
“Sure, but Lance?”
“I’m not going to discuss this with you.”
“And the sticker?” Sammy gave me an incredulous look, but no amount of death glares could wipe the smile off my face.
“I’m his deputy,” I told him.
If cats could roll their eyes, I’m sure Sammy would’ve done just that. “Wait until Maggie gets a load of this.”
“You’re only saying that because you’re jealous.”
“Am not.”
I wasn’t convinced, but decided not to tease him about it. With Sammy by my side, there was only one last thing for me to do. “Let’s go home.”
When Lucy throws a party, she goes all out, from the balloons tied to the mailbox to the banners and streamers taped all along the walls. In the span of a few hours, she and Mark had transformed my living room into a banquet hall, covering the coffee table and others they’d borrowed around town with clean linens. Darby and Izzy had claimed the sofa, a pair of tall plastic glasses in their hands.
“I sure hope that’s soda and not champagne,” I said, looking at Lucy who was in t
he process of making another trip into the kitchen. She must’ve borrowed Ida’s makeup or found one of the old compacts Maggie hid under the sink because she was all gussied up, her cheeks pink with rouge. “What’s the special occasion?” Looking around the room at the odd assortment of things, it was hard to tell. Some balloons had Happy Birthday written on them, whereas the banners looked more like we were about to have a baby shower. “Who’s pregnant?” Oh god, please tell me it isn’t you. Or worse, one of the girls.
Lucy giggled, smiling when the girls joined in. Was I projecting again? I thought for sure Morpheus had it covered.
“It’s all I could find in the time we had,” Lucy admitted, “but you should’ve seen the look on your face. Me, pregnant. Could you imagine?”
She was avoiding my question. “What are we celebrating exactly?”
“Everything,” she said, throwing her arms in the arm before pulling me in for a hug. “I finally have all my loves in one place. I’ve got you, Darby, our new bestie Izzy, and Mark.”
“Speaking of… where is he?” I asked, smiling at the thought of finally getting to meet him. I wondered then if he’d ever had a chance to pop the question, but dismissed the thought completely when Lucy dangled her hand in front of me. “He proposed?” I squealed. I actually squealed.
“After we set everything up.” She beamed. “It’s why he hadn’t joined us at Fairmount Square this morning. He told me it was so he could do all of this, but then he dropped to one knee and… you can see what happened next.”
“That is good news,” Sammy purred, swishing his tail from side to side as he sidled in from outside. “Maybe you and Astrid could double date.”
“Sammy!” I exclaimed.
“What? They’re going to find out eventually,” he said, excusing himself as he made his way into the kitchen. Leave it to Sammy to drop a bomb and get far away before the aftermath could set it.
“It’s just coffee,” I called after him as fire kissed my cheeks.
“Lance asked you out?” Lucy asked, placing her hand on mine.
“I knew it, I knew it!” Izzy chanted behind us as she jumped up from the sofa. “I predicted it, didn’t I? Maybe I have magic after all. I could be the best witch—no, the greatest witch!”
“It wasn’t hard to tell,” Darby insisted.
“Oh, honey, you weren’t the first one to make that prediction,” Lucy cut in, smiling right at me. “The way you spoke about him on the phone, I knew it was only a matter of time.”
“But he’s just a friend,” I told them, now wishing more than ever I’d made a hasty retreat once Sammy entered the room.
“And what’s this?” Lucy poked at the sticker Lance had given me before I left his office.
“He gave me a promotion,” I giggled, still remembering how he looked at me once he’d put it on.
“I think it’s adorable!”
“If you’re five,” Sammy argued, rejoining the group before stepping back outside again.
“I swear he does that on purpose,” I said, watching him go.
“He’s such a tease. So, when is this historic event?” Lucy took my hands in hers and sat me on the love seat, facing me when she did the same.
“Friday.”
“Which gives us a few days to prepare.”
Oh no. “Lucy, it’s just coffee.”
“It’s never just coffee,” she said, repeating something I’d said days ago. “So, what’re you going to wear?”
“I was thinking my nightgown and bunny slippers might be nice. That way we can slip into bed together and—”
“Astrid!”
“What? I’m going to wear the same thing I always do. Can we please not make a big deal out of this?” I asked her, leaning my head back on the sofa. “We should be planning your wedding.”
When I looked at her then, she stood and turned away from me. “There isn’t going to be a wedding.”
“Wait, how come? You have to have a wedding.”
“Could you imagine me walking down the aisle?” she asked. “White isn’t my color.”
“Why not wear red? What? If you ask me, wedding dresses are overrated.” I stood and joined her, holding her hands between us. “I, for one, think you’d make a lovely bride.”
“I agree,” a man said, walking in from the kitchen. He was tall and leggy, but I knew without a doubt the man I saw in my living room was the elusive Mark. He was a few years younger than Lucy, his hair salt and peppered with curls that framed his face perfectly. He had a clean shave and stormy gray eyes, made even better by the dashing suit he wore. “You must be Astrid. I’m so sorry it’s taken us this long to meet.”
I accepted his hand when he offered it to me. “I was starting to think you were imaginary after how Lucy went on about you but refused to share a picture.”
“Oh, I don’t take photos,” Mark said, running a hand through his hair. “They’re always so forced. I’ve never cared for them, not even as a child.”
“I have a photo of him in an old wrestling outfit,” Lucy interrupted us, her sheepish grin melting under Mark’s glare. “Come now, I think you look cute.”
“Not another word.” To me, he said, “Thank you for looking after Darby. I’m not sure what I would’ve done if anything ever happened—”
“It’s okay. I actually should be thanking her. Without her help, we never would’ve escaped the hunters. She has a gift and will make a fine witch someday, if she wants.” I offered her a smile I hoped didn’t look as fake as it felt. “I’d love for her to visit us again, but I also hear she loves to work with hair.”
“Yes, well, hair isn’t really a specialty we need.”
“I think it’s up to her to decide. Making her choose magic over what she loves—and who she loves—will only chase her away. Trust me, I know from experience. I was a teenager once, and whatever my mother was against, I ran toward it. Don’t force her into making bad decisions, even if you don’t agree with those she’d make on her own.”
“I’m not going to. I realize now I can only help her when she asks. I was a teenager too, you know? My mother was the same way.”
“Speaking of parents, how are we going to explain this to Izzy’s folks?” Not to mention Darby’s.
“An innocent spell,” Mark said. “It’s harmless, I promise. It will only erase their memory of the girls missing the last handful of days. I, uh, actually did it before when I bought Darby up here for her first trial. It makes it easier on everyone. The parents don’t worry, Darby gets to advance her skills, and there’s no love lost between us.”
“Well, so long as it won’t hurt them.”
“Never.”
Glancing around the room, I couldn’t help noticing there was someone missing from our group. “Where’s Maggie?”
Lucy shook her head. “She ran off when I told her about Mark’s proposal. I was going to ask her to be one of my Maids of Honor, but I didn’t get the chance.”
“I’ll find her.”
Excusing myself from the room, I stepped outside to find Sammy rolling around on the lawn. It was times like these, when everything seemed so normal, I almost forgot I was a witch. I had normal anxieties to consider now. My home was full of love and laughter, my cat was laying out on the front lawn, and I had my first date in who-knows-how-long. There was no magic, no curses to break, or charms to unlock. Normal, everyday things, and while many of these things made me sick to the stomach, I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
Crossing the lawn, I was about to open the front door to Maggie’s house when I spotted her hovering over the garden. From where I stood, I could see she’d been crying, tear streaks marking her face.
“I thought I’d find you here,” I told her, sitting in front of the small garden that didn’t need much done at all thanks to Lucy’s visit. “So, Lucy’s getting married, huh?”
Maggie nodded, choking back a sob as another tear rolled down her cheek.
“It’s a happy event, right?” Whe
n she nodded again, I continued. “Then why are you so upset?”
Maggie settled beside me, folding her hands in her lap. “She’s going to ask me to be a Maid of Honor.”
“She is.”
“But I can’t be a Maid of Honor,” Maggie argued.
“Why not?”
“Because… look at me!” She gestured to the nightclothes she was stuck in much of the time unless I conjured her a new look, one only I could see. “How am I supposed to join her on her special day if I’m a ghost?”
“You could possess Ginger,” I offered, hoping it would make her feel a little better. It didn’t.
Her face fell. “But that isn’t me. I want to be present for these things, Astrid. If not her wedding, yours.”
“I think it’s too early to worry about that,” I said, staring at my lap. “Lance asked me out for coffee. Did Sammy tell you that?”
“He did,” she said, glancing at the familiar from across the lawn. “He’s having a field day with it, let me tell you.”
“And what do you think?” I swallowed around the lump in my throat. “It’s just coffee, right?”
“Oh, Astrid, it’s never just coffee.”
“I figured as much.”
She smiled then and nearly touched my hand with hers, stopping short of doing so. “Everything will be fine, you’ll see.”
“Yes, yes it will. And don’t worry. Once I meet with Morpheus and get a few more trials under my belt, I’ll conjure something for you to have all to yourself.”
“Before Lucy’s wedding?” Maggie asked hopefully.
“I promise to do my very best.”
Thank you so much for reading.
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