by Paula Lester
Steve stood talking to the djinni, who didn’t look the least bit upset about anything. In fact, he appeared to be having the time of his life.
“Go ahead,” Zoey said, gesturing to the slip of paper in Hope’s hand. “Do the spell.”
The shop owner pushed her hair behind her shoulder and stood tall. Holding the paper up so she could read it, she said an intricate rhyme and then jerked a hand toward the giant blue man. The change in his features was almost instant. A look came over his face that clearly told Zoey he remembered everything. After a moment, he crossed his arms and seemed to settle back into his own skin.
Steve peered up at him. “Hey, nice to meet you,” he said, sticking his hand out. “What’s your name?”
The djinni returned the shake, and Steve winced. He must be pretty strong. “Howard,” he said simply.
Howard? Huh. That wasn’t a name Zoey would have chosen for him either. She shrugged and crossed the floor to stand in front of him. “You’ve been creating a lot of havoc here, Howard. It’s time to get back into your bottle.”
The giant blue man shook his head, dark hair cascading back and forth. “I don’t want to go back in there. Being here has been more fun than . . . well, than anything I’ve ever done. And now that I have my memories back, I know more than ever that’s true.” His molten amber eyes met Zoey’s and they held a pleading look. “I’ve lived a long time and been a lot of places. I’m ready to settle down but I don’t want to stay in that cursed gin bottle. Could I stay here?”
“Stay? Here? No. I’m sorry, but this is a retirement home. There’s a very nice place for djinnis now. You can go there and live without being bothered by humans and their pesky wishes.”
Howard’s shoulders slumped and his face fell. “I don’t want to go there where I don’t know anyone. It sounds boring and horrible,” he said softly. “I want to stay here.” He glanced around the room. Everyone had quieted to watch the scene unfold. “With my friends.”
Zoey almost said no again automatically, but Hope touched her arm. The shop owner had a soft look on her face. “Seems like you might know what it’s like to not fit in with the people others think you’re supposed to belong to.”
Thinking about her family, Zoey knew Hope was right. She had never felt like she belonged there. But she did feel like she belonged at the retirement home helping her charges stay happy and healthy. She’d built a new family for herself. One that might have just expanded to include even her old frenemy, Hope.
She looked back at Howard and drew in a breath. “This is a retirement home.”
The man’s amber eyes snapped up to meet hers.
“And it sounds like you’re ready to retire from granting wishes.”
“I am.” His voice held an appealing eagerness.
Zoey nodded. “Then you can stay here.”
A happy murmur went up behind her, and Howard clapped his hands together once.
Zoey lifted a finger. “But,” she said sharply. “You have to fix Maria and Howie. And promise not to make anyone disappear ever again. And no zoo animals in the building. Or circus animals. Just . . . no animals, okay? In fact, no granting wishes at all.”
Howard nodded furiously. “No mischief,” he said. “I got it.” He waved a hand, and Zoey turned to see that Maria and Howie were back to their normal forms.
“You can stay in the room we put you in already. I assume you have some way to pay for your stay?”
“That won’t be a problem,” he said.
“Do you have a vault?” Travis spoke up. “I have a vault filled with treasure, but I can’t remember where it is. Bummer you just promised not to grant wishes.”
Zoey rolled her eyes as Howard wandered away. Toward his friends. Toward his retirement.
Hope patted Zoey on the back. “Good job,” she said. “It’s over.”
“Couldn’t have done it without you,” Zoey said. And she meant it.
“Yeah, yeah.” Hope headed toward the door. “I hope you can handle things by yourself for a while. I’m behind with stuff at my shop.”
Zoey stuck her tongue out at the door as it closed behind the other woman.
Things had settled down in the common room. Kelli had disappeared, probably up to her suite to shower and change. Ashley was gone too, and Zoey headed toward the kitchen.
When she got there, she found Shawna’s granddaughter pulling things out of the refrigerator. She stopped when she saw Zoey. “I thought I’d just make one last meal for the residents before I go.”
“You’re leaving?” Zoey stepped out of the young woman’s way so she could open a cupboard and pull out a cutting board.
Ashley looked surprised. She stammered, “I . . . I thought you would fire me.”
“Do you want to go?”
Ashley kept her eyes on what she was doing, cutting up vegetables and putting them in a salad bowl. She didn’t answer right away. Finally, she set the knife down and turned toward Zoey. “No. I like it here. It’s fun, and I want to get to know my grandmother.” She hesitated. “And maybe my mother. I want to learn more about magic and how to handle mine. Plus, I really like cooking for all of you.”
Zoey nodded. “I think you should stay.”
Ashley’s mouth opened, but no sound came out. She wiped her hands on an apron tied around her waist and swallowed hard. Zoey thought she might be close to tears.
“I can tell you care about our residents, and that’s actually the top thing I look for in my employees. And I haven’t eaten so well in years.” She chuckled. “You’re the first cook we’ve had since I’ve worked here who actually wanted to be here. I’d like you to stay. You can keep Susan’s old room if you want.”
A wide smile covered Ashley’s face, and Zoey saw Shawna’s features pop out again. “Thank you,” she said quietly. “I swear you won’t regret it.” Removing her apron, she headed toward the door. “I have to go tell Shawna,” she said.
Grinning, Zoey went to her office to get some work done but found herself staring out the window, watching Cyrus work on the landscaping and thinking about everything that had happened. When she tried to drag her attention to the financial spreadsheets on her desk, the numbers just swam around in front of her eyes.
“Hey, boss. What do you say we have a little celebration? I think we deserve it.”
Steve stood in the office doorway holding a bottle of wine and two glasses. He wiggled both the glasses and his eyebrows tantalizingly at her.
Jumping up from her desk, she rushed forward. “Don’t have to ask me twice,” she said.
They went out to the backyard, settling into patio chairs with their glasses of wine. Many of the retirees were out there, sitting alone reading or working on something or talking in small groups.
As Zoey sipped her wine, she watched her residents. On the other side of the lawn, Howie led an exercise group, doing jumping jacks for ten repetitions, running in place ten times, and then dropping to do ten sit-ups. Howard followed along without a problem. They both looked happy. It looked like the two were going to be good friends.
Courtney had somehow managed to get Maria and Ester interested in something she was working on under a big pine tree. Zoey couldn’t tell what it was, but the pure joy evident on the Social Director’s face told her Courtney must have had a breakthrough. She hoped, for the sweet, hard-working young woman’s sake, that she was able to keep it up. If not, Zoey would find something else for her to do—her willingness to pitch in and do whatever was necessary to keep the residents safe and happy, including chasing a kangaroo around the complex, was more than worth keeping her. In whatever capacity she could.
Ashley and Shawna sat at a table across the yard. The elderly woman smiled and waved her hands around as she chatted amiably with her granddaughter. Following her gaze, Steve said, “It looks like those two are enjoying getting to know each other. Maybe Shawna will settle in and be happy here after all.”
“Mm-hmm,” Zoey agreed, taking another sip of wine an
d leaning her head back on the lawn chair. “I sure hope so. She deserves a little peace and fun. She’s had a tough life.”
Steve looked over at her. “You did a good job, you know.” He took a swallow of wine. “I think it’s pretty awesome how you’ll do whatever you need to do to make sure our residents are okay. Including burying the hatchet with Hope Vega.”
Zoey waved a hand. “Ah, it was nothing. That’s just the kind of relationship she and I have. Sometimes, we’re competing and other times, we manage to do pretty good work together.” She paused and then admitted, “But maybe our truce will last this time.
Steve raised his eyebrows and Zoey laughed. “Or maybe not. Either way, I’m hoping we won’t need her help again anytime in the near future.”
The friends lapsed into silence, content to sip their wine, watch their friends, and rest together.
They both knew they needed to take it when they could get it. When you worked at Sunnyside Retired Witches Community, calm could erupt into chaos at any second.
The End
Thank you for reading A Bottle Full of Djinn. If you enjoyed it, I’d appreciate you leaving a review on Amazon. Reviews help authors sell books and they also aid me in my decisions on which series to work on adding books to quicker.
If you want to continue reading about Zoey and her crew, you can order the next book, Loony Town, now! If you haven’t read the short prequel novella, you can get that too: Ghostly Trails.
About Paula Lester
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Works by Paula Lester:
Beachside Books Magical Cozy Mysteries
(Co-Authored with Lisa B. Thomas)
Pasta, Pirates and Poison
Apples, Actors and Axes
Grits, Gamblers and Grudges
Crystal Springs Cozy Witch Mysteries
(Co-Authored with M.E. Harmon)
Dead Witch Talking (prequel novella)
A Witch Too Late
A Witch Too Hot
Sunnyside Retired Witches Community Mysteries
Ghostly Trails (prequel novella)
A Bottle Full of Djinn
Loony Town (Coming in June)
Superior Bay Witch Doctor Mysteries
Witch Doggone Killer? (Coming soon)
The Affairs of Witches (Coming soon)