The Wizard Returns: Book Three of the Wizard Born Series (24 page)

His mother frowned. “That’s not very many, is it?”

“It’s less than a third of a stack, and there are a
lot
of stacks.”

“Well, maybe you’ll get lucky and find it soon, and then you can come home. I miss you already and it’s only been a few hours.” Then her face brightened. “But we’re going to have dinner with you! Me and Carl and Lisa and Larry, right here in front of the computer. We’ll eat when you do. Won’t that be nice?”

“My mom too?” Rollie asked hopefully.

Rachel gave her head a hesitant shake and Rollie’s face fell. “But I’m sure she’ll come over later to talk to you, Rollie.”

Rollie didn’t respond. He only tightened his mouth and turned back to the book in his lap.

“When are you having dinner, Jamie?” Rachel asked.

“Hold on.” He turned his head and yelled over his shoulder. “Gramma? What time are we eating?”

She stepped from the doorway to the kitchen and narrowed her eyes at him. “Please don’t yell at me, Jamie. Come into the kitchen if you want to talk to me.”

“Oh, sorry. Mom wants to know what time we’re eating.”

“In about fifteen minutes. Just enough time for you all to wash your hands.”

“But there’s no bathroom.”

“Use the washstands in the bedrooms. That’s what they’re for.”

“Oh,” he said. “That makes sense.”

Jamie, Fred, and Rollie stood around the table and watched as Evelyn set a glass of water by the last place setting. Five sets of fine silverware, four crystal glasses with one brown ceramic mug, and white, neatly folded linen napkins were arranged with Martha Stewart precision. The light from the polished brass oil lamp overhead cast a warm glow over them, and the delicious smell of stew and freshly baked bread made Jamie’s stomach rumble.

Jamie glanced at the laptop in the corner and saw Rachel, Carl, Lisa and Larry onscreen, setting up a table in front of the computer in the family room while Larry sang a silly song.

Fred looked at it, too, and said, “Our parents can be such dorks sometimes.”

Larry stopped and leaned toward the camera, his frowning face filling the laptop screen. “I heard that.”

“Well it’s true! What are you going to do next, make a tent out of blankets?”

Lisa turned to Rachel and said, “I don’t know, Rachel. What do you think? A tent?”

Rachel set a stack of plates on the table and nodded. “Yes, definitely. Then we can read comic books by flashlight.”

Fred rolled her eyes, nudged Rollie and said out of the side of her mouth, “Be glad your mom’s not eating with them.”

“I am,” he said quietly. “They do look kinda dorky.”

Jamie eyed the expensive tableware and said, “Gramma, why are we eating on such fancy stuff? I’m afraid I might break something.”

“I tried to get Mrs. Tully to use the cheap plastic plates and glasses that we brought, but she insisted on using the fine china.” She glanced over her shoulder toward the kitchen, where Mrs. Tully could be heard rattling about, and lowered her voice to a near-whisper. “Mrs. Tully has her way of doing things, and we need to respect that, even if she does insist that you are the master of the house and all that. But the kitchen, and these,” — she gestured at the tableware — “are her domain, and we need to let her do things her way, as much as we can.”

“But it makes me uncomfortable.”

“If you think
you’re
uncomfortable, you should put yourself in her shoes. We’ve thrown her for a loop, and this is hard for her right now. I’ve only spent a few hours with her, but I can tell from the little things she’s said that this is a big, big adjustment for her. We need to try to —”

“What are ya’ll whispering about?” Larry said from the laptop.

“Hush, Dad,” Fred said, and Mrs. Tully walked in carrying five bowls of stew on a tray.

“I’ll help you with the rest, Mrs. Tully,” Evelyn said.

“No need, Mrs. Wallace. I’m nearly finished. You may take your seats whenever you please.”

Rollie and Evelyn sat on the far side of the table, and Jamie sat beside Fred with his back to the laptop. Mrs. Tully returned carrying a cutting board with the bread and a small bowl of butter. She set them down and regarded the seating arrangements. The only place left was at the head of the table.

She looked about anxiously, one hand clutching her dress, and said, “There must be some mistake.”

“About what?” Jamie said.

She gestured at the empty seat. “The master of the house sits at the head of the table.”

He started to object until he caught the glare from Evelyn. He stood and cleared his throat. “I’m, uh, used to my dad sitting there.”

“What’s that?” he heard from the laptop behind him.

“Never mind, Dad,” Jamie said as he sat down in his new spot.

“Jamie gets to be a big boy today, Mr. Sikes,” Fred said.

Jamie shot her an annoyed look, and she smiled impishly back at him.

“The master of the house says grace,” Evelyn said, the corners of her mouth ever-so-slightly turned up.

We’re usually too lazy to say it unless Gramma is around
. Jamie turned to the laptop. “Dad, you do it. I think that’s appropriate.” He glanced at Mrs. Tully, who had a curious expression. They all bowed their heads as Carl mumbled through a short, awkward blessing.

“Amen,” they said in unison, and seeing that his grandmother was satisfied, Jamie asked for the bread. “It smells great, Mrs. Tully.”

Fred dipped her spoon into her bowl. “It really does. How long have you been cooking?”

Mrs. Tully took an anxious breath, her eyes darting from face to face, and said, “Most of my life. My mother died when I was eleven, so I took up the duty.”

“Did you come from a big family?” Rachel said from the laptop.

Mrs. Tully lowered her chin and muttered, “How do I answer? Do I talk to the magic device like it is a person?”

Rollie laughed. “It’s not magic, Mrs. Tully, and just talk like you normally would.”

She nodded and said a little too loudly, “I have three older brothers.”

“Is your father still alive?” Lisa asked.

Mrs. Tully’s face was as taut as a piece of plastic wrap over a bowl of leftovers. “My...both of my parents have passed on.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. Where do your brothers live?”

Fred turned around in her seat and faced the laptop directly. “Listen, I know you guys want to be part of this conversation right now, but this isn’t working very well for us. Maybe when we’re finished eating, Mrs. Tully can answer your questions. You can make a game of it! Twenty questions. You can play that before you make your tent out of blankets.”

“Fred!” Lisa glared into the laptop’s camera. “Don’t be disrespectful.”

“Fred has a good point, Lisa,” Evelyn said quickly, “though she could’ve made it more tactfully. It’s awkward trying to include you right now, so just relax and enjoy your dinner, and we’ll be comforted by the fact that we can see you eating along with us.” She gestured at Mrs. Tully with one hand. “But right now, we’re trying to get to know our friend a little better, so please be patient.” She turned to Mrs. Tully. “By the way, the stew is wonderful. I may have to have some more, if there’s any left.”

Fred’s mother seemed to calm down, and they resumed their meal. Jamie studied his grandmother, sitting across from Mrs. Tully and engaging her in small talk. Mrs. Tully seemed to have relaxed a little. She no longer had the deer-in-the-headlights look in her eyes, and the stern frown lines at the corners of her mouth had softened.

Gramma’s pretty slick sometimes
, Jamie thought. She had changed the whole dynamic of the situation simply by inserting two simple words.
Our friend
.

Chapter 18

They finished dinner, and Mrs. Tully immediately rose from her seat and gathered an armload of dishes. Fred said, “Don’t worry about it, Mrs. Tully. We’ve got this covered.”

The woman stood there, hands full, a perplexed look in her eyes, and Evelyn said, “Just leave those. The kids and I will take care of it.” She took the plates from Mrs. Tully. “By the way, is there a dish drying rack in this house?”

Mrs. Tully blinked a moment before responding, “There’s one under the sink. There’s soap there, too.”

“Thank you. Why don’t you get one of the boys to walk you home?” She turned and said, “Jamie? Rollie?”

“I’ll do it,” Jamie said.

“Unh unh.” Rollie stood quickly. “If something happens to you, we can’t go home.”

“I’ve got enough power to protect myself, I think.”

“Well, I can use Fred’s pendant. That should be plenty good.”

“You could always learn a spell or two.”

“No way.”

Mrs. Tully pulled her cloak from a peg on the wall near the kitchen door and slipped it on. “I can walk by myself. ’Tis no trouble.”

“It’s dark, Mrs. Tully,” Evelyn said. “I want one of the boys to go with you.”

“I’ve done it many times in the dark, and it’s not far.”

“Rollie,” Evelyn said, “Take one of the flashlights with you.”

“If you get lost,” Jamie said, “Wave your flashlight around and I can —”

“He will not get lost,” Mrs. Tully said. “My house is right off of the main road. But I can walk by myself, I can.”

“I’m going anyway, Mrs. Tully,” Rollie said. “I need to stretch my legs. Been sittin’ for hours.”

“You’ll need a jacket,” Evelyn said. “It felt a little chilly when I went out to the well before dinner.”

Mrs. Tully looked back and forth from Rollie to Evelyn, then she turned to Jamie, “I’d best light the fire in the fireplace before I go.”

Jamie twirled one finger and a few sparks popped from it, fading before they hit the floor. “I think I can handle it.”

“He likes doing it, Mrs. Tully.” Fred said. “He thinks it’s fun.”

“Oh. Then I’ll be on my way.” She looked around the room one last anxious time. “I’ll come early to light the fires in the bedrooms.”

“That won’t be necessary, Mrs. Tully,” Evelyn said. “We’re from North Carolina. We’re used to chilly mornings.”

Mrs. Tully blinked at Evelyn, then nodded. “Then I will be here in time to cook breakfast.”

“We brought some bagels and things. We’ll be fine. Just come at your regular time.”

“That is my regular time.”

Jamie knew his grandmother well enough to see that she wanted to roll her eyes in exasperation, but instead she maintained a calm face and said, “Fine. Just don’t wake me before dawn, please. I’ll be out here on the day bed.”

“Let me get my hoodie.” Rollie disappeared into the first bedroom and came back a few seconds later, slipping the red fleece jacket on as he walked. “Where’s the flashlight, Mrs. Wallace?”

“It’s in that box over there on the floor.” She pointed toward the other corner near the closet.

Rollie rummaged around in it and pulled out the flashlight, then turned to Mrs. Tully, who stood stiffly nearby. “I’m ready.”

“Don’t forget this.” Jamie pulled the tarnished brass cross from his pocket and handed it to Rollie.

“Counter charm?”

Jamie slipped the woven bracelet from his wrist and gave it to him.

“Mrs. Tully,” Fred said, “you need one too.” Fred pulled hers off and gave it to the apprehensive-looking woman.

“What’s this?” Mrs. Tully eyed the cheap bracelet, made of interlaced strands of red and yellow plastic.

“That’s fine jewelry where we come from,” Fred said with a straight face, then laughed. “No, it’s just a counter charm for the Stupefyin’ Spell.” She pointed at the cross in Rollie’s hand. “If a bad guy shows up, Rollie can twirl that and they’ll become too confused to find their own nose.”

Mrs. Tully regarded the bracelet for a long moment before turning to Jamie with a blank look.

Jamie felt bad for her just then
. Gramma’s right. We are throwing her for a loop
. “It’s witch magic, Mrs. Tully. I don’t understand it either. I just know it works.”

“And you and Rollie will be safe. Now scoot, so we can clean up the dishes.” Evelyn herded Mrs. Tully toward the front door. “We’ll see you in the morning. Thank you for everything you did for us today.”

“Yeah, thanks, Mrs. Tully,” Jamie said as he held the door open for her and Rollie. “You’re a big help. We’d be lost without you.”

Jamie pulled the fireplace screen aside and knelt before the logs, perfectly stacked on the andirons. “Check this out, Fred. I learned a new spell from one of the books today.” He flicked his fingers at the wood, and the dry oak ignited instantly with a
foof
, all of the logs catching fire at once.

“Yeah. Amazing,” Fred said without looking up. She was relaxing with a magic book in the sitting area under the light of the floor lamp, the extension cord stretching across the floor from it to the corner by the laptop. Evelyn was wiping off the table. She didn’t look, either.

Jamie turned when he heard Rollie open the front door. “Boy,” Rollie said as he closed it behind him, a gust of chilly air blowing in with him. “Mrs. Tully and I have a different definition of what
not far
means. She must live two miles from here. Thought we were never gonna get there. If I hadn’t used my magic to shorten the trip home, I’d still be walking.”

“Two miles?” Fred wrinkled her brow. “She walks that far every night after working here all day long?”

“Yep. In the rain, if she has to. She used to have a horse, but she had to sell it.”

“I’m surprised she told you that,” Evelyn said. “She seems like a very guarded person.”

“She is, but she was defenseless against my undeniable charm.” Rollie grinned as he pulled off his hoodie and tossed it on the bench seat. Evelyn gave him a steady look and he picked it up. “Uh, where can I put this?”

“Use one of the pegs where Mrs. Tully hangs her cloak.” She turned to Jamie. “I want you to get up early and make a doorway to her house so she doesn’t have to walk that far.”

“I’ll have to go there first so I know where it is. Can’t make a doorway otherwise. There’s no Google Maps or satellite view here for me to fix it into my magic sense of space. Rollie will have to go with me to show me where she lives.”

Rollie frowned. “Do we have to? We’ll have to get up before dawn, I bet, and she won’t like it if we show up there like a couple of escorts. She’s pretty stubborn. I don’t think she likes it when we try to do things for her.”