Wart (15 page)

Stewart opened his mouth to say spell. He wanted to say that his father had been under a spell, but he didn't. Things were going his way. His sensible college-professor dad would never believe the witch story, and anyway there was no explanation for why the spell had been suddenly broken. "So you won't be seeing Ms. Gibbs anymore?"

"Not in a romantic way. I suppose I'll see her, you know. She's a good friend of Martha's."

"Yeah, Martha. What about Martha? Are you going to start taking her out again?"

"I hope so. We talked last night. Neither of us wants to rush into anything."

Stewart got up to fill his plate again. "I like Martha a lot, Dad. Thinking you might marry Ms. Gibbs sure made me change my mind about having Martha for a stepmother."

"I know." Dad stood up. "Now, I've got to do something hard. I've got to go over to Wanda's and tell her our relationship won't go any further. Go upstairs and get dressed as soon as you're finished. I'll drop you off on my way to Wanda's."

At school, he went by the art room on his way to check in at the office. Mr. Harrison was in there smiling as he passed out paints. He had a little Christmas decoration in his beard, but for Mr. Harrison that wasn't crazy. Stewart waved when Mr. Harrison looked up.

He told Rachel and Ham his news at lunch. She clapped and Ham made hooting noises until the teacher on cafeteria duty moved in their direction. It was Rachel who brought up Ozgood. "I know we don't want to be around Ms. Gibbs, but what about that little boy? I feel sorry for him."

Stewart shrugged. "Yeah, I was getting attached to Ozgood too. Maybe after some time goes by, it would be safe to ask about spending some time with him. I'll ask Martha."

But there was never a chance for Stewart to spend time with Ozgood. The Gibbs family was gone. His father told him that evening when he first came home. "I was shocked. There was just a note on the door. She said our relationship was a mistake. Ended the message with, 'Ozgood and I will find happiness elsewhere.' The woman is full of surprises."

"Really?" Stewart watched his father take off his coat and hang it in the hall closet. "You aren't sorry, are you?"

Dad let out a long slow breath. "Relieved is more like it." He laughed. "There I was worrying about breaking up with her when she had already dumped me." He closed the closet door. "Come on, let's see what Gran left for dinner."

That evening, Stewart felt more relaxed than he had felt for a very long time. He felt good, in fact, all that week. On Saturday morning, he took Ozgood's rabbit picture to a frame shop and was pleased to learn he could pick it up that afternoon. The frame was expensive, but he had enough savings left for Christmas gifts.

He bought Ham enough candy and junk food to fill a great big box. He got a nice silver frame for Martha and hoped she would be putting a wedding picture in it soon. For his father he picked out a nice pen set and puppy toys for Georgia, who was now the proud owner of the last little Dot. It was Rachel's gift, though, that pleased him most. He saw it in a jewelry store, a necklace with a small sterling silver frog. The man inside attached a small metal plate on the front, and Stewart asked him to engrave the word
thanks
on it.

When, finally, he made his way home with all his purchases, he was surprised and pleased to see Martha's car parked in the driveway.

"Hi, everybody," he called when he came in, but only Martha answered him. She was putting spaghetti in a pot of boiling water.

"Where's Dad?" he asked.

Martha leaned her head toward the backyard. "He and Georgia took the little Dot outside, starting housebreaking, you know."

Stewart set his packages on the table. "I like having you here," he said, and she smiled at him. He pulled Ozgood's picture from a bag. "Doesn't this look great?"

"Oh, it does!" She turned from the stove to touch the frame. "He gave me a rabbit picture too. I think I'll also get mine framed."

A thought flashed through Stewart's mind. "You know, the evening Ozgood drew this he was here, and he told me that he and his mother moved here as a favor to you."

Martha looked at him for a long time. "He told you that?" She turned back to the stove.

Stewart put the picture back into the bag, put the bag on the table, and waited. When it was clear that she intended to say nothing more, he moved over to stand so that he could see her face. "Is that true? Did they come here as a favor to you?"

"Stew," Martha said, and she smiled at him. "I don't expect you to tell me everything. Do you think maybe you could show me the same courtesy?"

Stewart didn't know what to say, but just then his father and Georgia came in the back door with little Dot. "He did it," Georgia sang out. "Little Dot is about to get his potty trained."

"Are you going to give that puppy a name?" asked Martha. "You know you and Stewart wouldn't want to be called just 'little Wrights.'"

Stewart tried hard to get his mind on puppy names. He did not want to think about what Martha had just said. "You could call him Spot," he suggested.

What Happened Last

I
t was a long time, well after Christmas, before Stewart told anyone about that conversation with Martha. He finally told Rachel and Ham in January, but before that happened some other things happened.

For one thing, Stewart and his family didn't go to California during Christmas vacation to see Sammi and her parents. They went instead with Martha to visit her mother and father in Hawaii, where they had retired. Stewart and Georgia had a great time on the beaches, and Martha's parents made them feel like family.

Sammi, though, was disappointed. She sent him an e-mail while he was in Hawaii. "Poor Stewart, dragged off to Hawaii by his wicked stepmother-to-be! Breaks my heart! Wow! Maybe next time your cousin will get invited too. How are Rachel and Ham?"

Stewart had lots to tell Rachel and Ham about the trip. They were sitting in the sunroom watching Georgia and Spot playing in the backyard. After Stewart had talked what for him was a long time, he blurted out the story of his talk with Martha. "I just can't seem to forget that Ms. Gibbs moved here to do Martha a favor." He got up from his place on the wicker chair and began to pace. "I mean the woman might be a real witch. Why would Martha need her to move here?"

"Beats me," said Ham. Rachel didn't say anything, just turned her head away.

"What?" said Stewart. "Come on, Rach. You've got an idea. Don't you?"

"You know, Stew." She turned back to face him. "Or at least you would if you thought about the whole thing logically."

"Tell me," he said.

She sighed. "Martha always wanted to marry your father, but you didn't want a stepmother, right?" Stewart nodded, and she went on. "So Martha calls in her friendly witch friend, who puts big-time moves on your dad. He falls under her spell." She shrugged and held her hands out, palms up. "Compared to Wanda Witch, Martha suddenly seems to you like the best thing that could happen to your dad." She snapped her fingers, "And poof, Wanda disappears just in time for your dad and Martha to get married."

"But they aren't married," Stewart said.

"They will be. We all know that, and we all know your dad would never have married her or anyone else you couldn't accept. I don't think even Ms. Gibbs and her spell could have actually pulled that off."

Stewart slumped back into his chair, dropping his head to rest his face in his hands. Ham reached out to put a hand on his shoulder.

"We don't have to talk about it, Stew," said Rachel. "You don't even have to think about it. Just let the whole thing go."

"Go," said Ham. "That's a great idea! Let's go to the movies. School starts back tomorrow."

At the theater, Rachel and Ham discussed which of the three movies they should see. Stewart stared, unseeing, at the movie poster in front of him. "Doesn't matter to me," he said, and he thought about the seating arrangement. Sometimes lately he had felt something strange, almost uncomfortable, when he was close to Rachel. Ham and Rachel settled on a movie that was supposed to be funny. Stewart hung back silently, behind them. Inside, Rachel chose an empty row of seats and started in. She would go to the center, where she liked to sit. Ham was next in line, but he stepped aside and motioned for Stewart to follow Rachel. Stewart shrugged and went in. Well, the movie was a comedy, so being beside Rachel would be fun. They always laughed at the same things.

Stewart slid down in the seat and held the popcorn so that both Ham and Rachel could reach it. The movie was funny, lots of good lines. During a comic car race, Stewart and Rachel both moved forward as they laughed. Their bodies met at the armrest, and an almost electric sensation shot through Stewart. Suddenly neither of them was laughing. They were looking at each other, and Stewart knew. He knew that Rachel felt the electricity, too, and he knew something he had not known before. Now he knew it was okay. His relationship with Rachel was changing, and that was okay. He felt no pressure, no need to consult Sammi for advice, no need to make any declarations, at least not yet. For right now, just knowing was enough. There was, though, one question he needed to ask.

Ham's sister picked them up after the movie. She stopped the car in front of Rachel's house and Rachel got out, yelling back her good-byes. Stewart put his hand on the door, but he didn't open it immediately. "Hey," he said to Ham, "I got to ask you something. Back there at the movie, why'd you make me sit next to Rachel?"

Ham laughed. "You got to ask? Man, don't you know anything? Rach is crazy about you. It's been that way a long time."

Stewart waved dismissively. "I thought you might have some wild idea like that. You're nuts!" He got out of the car and smiled all the way into the house and up to his room.

Rachel was right about the marriage. It happened in the spring. Stewart's father asked him to be the best man. Georgia was the junior bridesmaid, wearing the pink dress Ms. Gibbs had made for her. Martha had never been married before, and she wanted a formal ceremony with lots of guests.

It was a beautiful wedding, and it would have been perfect if only Stewart had been just slightly less observant. He was standing beside his father watching Martha as she came in to walk down the aisle. It was just an instant that she turned to the right and smiled. Stewart looked to her right too. The only light came from candles that produced shadows. He almost didn't see them standing in the doorway. He almost missed Ozgood and Ms. Gibbs, her fingers forming the victory sign. Steady, he told himself. It would not look good if the best man fainted at the altar.