Witch Is When Life Got Complicated (12 page)

“Three, two, one, stop!” Grandma snatched the parchment from my hand.

I still had no idea what the spell was meant to do, and before I could ask, Grandma waved to one of the uniformed staff. The young man hurried over, listened to Grandma’s request, and then walked to the large building behind us. Moments later, he reappeared, leading a donkey. After handing the reins to Grandma, he backed away.

“Are you ready?” Grandma asked.

“What am I supposed to do?”

“The spell is called ‘transform’. It allows you to turn one animal into a different animal.”

She was joking. She had to be joking. This had to be her revenge for my making fun of her hangover.

“What are you waiting for?” she said. She wasn’t joking.

“What do you want me to turn it into?” Like it mattered. My chances of changing the donkey into anything other than a donkey were zero.

“How about a frog?”

“A frog?”

“You know. Green, slimy and jumps around a lot.”

“You want me to turn the donkey into a—?”

“Frog, yes. Is there a problem?”

“The spell is more complicated than I’m used to.”

“Poor little you. Now are you ready?”

“I guess so.”

“When you cast the spell, make sure you focus your mind on the target animal or there’s no saying what might happen.”

No pressure then.

“Which one is the target?”

“The frog is the target of course; the donkey is the object.”

“Got it.” This could go horribly wrong. I had little confidence that I could even remember the spell—let alone focus on a frog while I did it. I took a deep breath.

“Go on!” she shouted. “We don’t have all day.”

In the distance, I could see that Amber and Pearl were no longer practising. Instead, they were watching me. I began to cast the spell—all of the time trying to focus on a frog.

Moments later, and thoroughly exhausted, I opened my eyes to find a cloud of smoke obscuring the area where the donkey had been standing. As it slowly cleared, I could see a frog, jumping around on the grass.

All around me I could hear people clapping, and a few of them were even cheering. Grandma looked on impassively.

“I did it,” I said, feeling quite pleased with myself.

“That’s a toad,” Grandma said.

Chapter 19

“What’s the difference between a toad and a frog?” I whispered to the twins on the walk back to Aunt Lucy’s.

They shrugged.

“How did it feel?” Pearl could hardly contain her excitement. “The ‘transform’ spell?”

“Okay, I guess. It was really complicated though.”

“No kidding.” Amber jumped in. “Do you know what level that is?”

I didn’t. I had no idea how the system of levels even operated—I just assumed everything I did was on the bottom rung.

“Level two?”

“Level five!” the twins yelled in unison, drawing a disapproving look from Grandma.

“That’s like the second from top level,” Amber said in a whisper.

I was stunned. Not so much that I’d almost pulled off the spell, but that Grandma had given me the opportunity to try.

“Most witches never progress beyond level three,” Pearl said. “We’re stuck on two.”

“And probably will be forever,” Grandma said. “Unless you take your studies more seriously.” She turned her attention to me. “And you shouldn’t go getting any grand ideas. A toad isn’t a frog. You’re still on level one and likely to stay there for some time. Understand?”

“Of course, yes.”

“Good. Now let’s find out what culinary disaster Lucy has in store for us.”

We were almost at Aunt Lucy’s when my phone rang. I didn’t recognise the number, but could tell it had originated in Candlefield.

“Is that the private investigator?” It was a man’s voice.

“Err—yes. This is Jill Gooder.”

“I have some information about the Candlefield Cup.”

“What can you tell me about it?”

“I’d prefer not to discuss it on the phone. Could we meet later?”

He refused to give his name, but agreed to meet me in a nearby park that evening.

“All of my favourite girls,” Aunt Lucy greeted us at the door. “And you too, Mother.”

Grandma pushed past us, and made her way towards the living room.

“I’ve marked the whiskey bottle,” Aunt Lucy called after her. She was braver than me.

“Jill performed the ‘transform’ spell,” Amber gushed.

“You should have seen it.” Pearl was equally excited. “She turned a donkey into a frog.”

“Toad,” I corrected her. “It should have been a frog.”

Aunt Lucy looked incredulous. “Level five?”

The twins nodded. “And you should have seen the tree!” Pearl said. “Grandma had us practise the ‘grow’ spell, and Jill’s tree was one of the tallest in the Range.”

I was a little embarrassed by all of the attention, so I tried to change the subject. “What’s for dinner? I’m starving.”

“Three day old rat by the smell of it.” Grandma reappeared, whiskey in hand.

“The girls tell me you let Jill take on a level five spell?” Aunt Lucy said.

Grandma shrugged.

“Was that sensible?”

“Probably more sensible than eating whatever it is you’re cooking. Now, are we going to stand around here all day or are we going to eat?”

“Dinner won’t be ready for another thirty minutes.”

Grandma sighed. “I’ll have died of starvation by then.”

“We can always hope,” Aunt Lucy said, under her breath.

“What?” Grandma glared at Aunt Lucy.

“Nothing, Mother. Why don’t you go and watch some TV. The arts and crafts channel is running a knitting special today. I need a word with Jill.”

I could hear Grandma huffing and puffing, as Aunt Lucy led me into the kitchen where the twins had already taken refuge.

“Girls, I need a few minutes in private with Jill. Go and amuse your grandma.”

“Mum? Can’t we stay in here?”

“Go! Shoo!”

“Is everything okay?” I asked when they’d left.

“I wanted to apologise for my behaviour,” Aunt Lucy said. “The way I acted towards your mother was unacceptable. It was petty and totally unfair.”

“You were upset.”

“That’s no excuse. Alberto was—err.” She hesitated. “Well, that was all a very long time ago—another lifetime. I had no right to be jealous, and I certainly had no right to say the things I did.”

“Maybe you should tell my mother?”

“I already have. We had a long heart to heart. I apologised, and gave her my blessing.”

“So you’ll go to the wedding?”

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Years ago, we promised each other that if either of us married again, the other would give the bride away.”

“And so you should.”

“But your mother has already asked you to do it. She doesn’t want to upset you by changing her mind.”

“I wouldn’t be upset.” I’d be dancing in the street. “You should do it. Please tell her that I want you to.”

“Are you absolutely sure?” My mother had appeared behind me.

“Absolutely. Aunt Lucy should be the one to do it.”

“Thank you, Jill. You are a wonderful daughter. It’s going to be such a special day.”

After my mother had disappeared again, Aunt Lucy said, “Were you okay at the Range? With the ‘transform’ spell?”

“Fine, yeah.”

“No side-effects?”

I shook my head.

“That’s good. Moving up levels too quickly can backfire. I’m surprised Grandma encouraged you to do it. But then, she must have thought you were ready.”

“What level was my mother?”

“Six, of course. I never did make it past five.”

“It was only the one spell, and I messed it up.”

“Are you sure it was a toad?”

“I don’t really know the difference.”

“If I know Grandma, she probably picked a frog deliberately. She could have chosen any animal, but with a frog it was easy for her to claim you’d got it wrong.”

“I was just pleased it had worked at all.”

“You did well but you still have a lot to learn. Now go and join the others. I have three day old rat to prepare.”

Grandma was glued to the TV—watching a knitting show. No wonder she and Mrs V had hit it off so well. The twins were at the table behind her. As soon as I walked in, they put a finger to their lips.

“What’s wrong?” I whispered, as I joined them.

“She gets mad if we talk when she’s watching TV.”

“Who’s she?” Grandma said, without taking her gaze from the screen. “The cat’s mother?”

Pearl gestured to the window. “Let’s go into the garden.”

The three of us made our way outside. The back garden was a sun-trap and awash with colour.

“This is beautiful,” I said. “Is Aunt Lucy a keen gardener?”

They both laughed. “Mum? She couldn’t grow weeds.”

“This is all Jethro’s handiwork,” Amber said.

“Who’s Jethro?”

“The gardener.” Pearl grinned. “He’s a hunk.”

“You’d better not let Alan hear you say that,” Amber said.

“You fancy him too.”

“I don’t.”

“
Would you like lemonade, Jethro?
” Pearl mimicked her sister.

“I thought he might be thirsty.”

“
Would you like a cake, Jethro?
”

“I thought he might be hungry.”

“
Why don’t you take your shirt off if you’re hot, Jethro?
”

“I never said that!”

“You thought it though.”

“I did not!”

“You did so!”

The Amber and Pearl show was in full swing.

“It looks like Aunt Lucy and my mother have made up.” I managed to interject. “Aunt Lucy will be going to the wedding after all.”

“That’s great!” Pearl said.

“Now we can buy our outfits without some massive guilt trip. Did she say why she’d had a change of heart?”

“Not really.”

Aunt Lucy called us back inside. Grandma had wanted her dinner on a tray, so she could continue watching the TV, but Aunt Lucy had insisted she eat at the table with the rest of us.

“Before I serve dinner,” Aunt Lucy began.

“What now, woman?” Grandma tapped the table with her fork impatiently. “A person could starve.”

“I’m surprised you’re so eager for three day old rat, Mother.” Aunt Lucy took a deep breath. “As I was saying before I was interrupted, I have an announcement to make.”

It felt as though there should be a drum roll.

“I’ll be right back,” Aunt Lucy said, as she walked out of the living room.

“What now?” Grandma threw her fork down. “I’m missing my TV programme!”

I heard the front door open, and then another set of footsteps.

“This is Lester.” Aunt Lucy had her arm around the waist of a man.

You could have cut the atmosphere with a knife. The twins’ eyes were wide, but that was nothing compared to the expression on Grandma’s face.

“Hello, everyone,” Lester said. He looked nervous, and I didn’t blame him. “I’m pleased to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you all.”

“Well, that’s more than I can say about you!” Grandma fixed his gaze. “Where did you spring from?”

Lester was a wizard, and very tall. His moustache was the strangest I’d ever seen. It curled up on one side, and down on the other.

“I live on the west side of town.”

“Do you now?” Grandma hadn’t finished with him yet. “And how long have you and Lucy been an item?”

“Mother!” Aunt Lucy intervened. “This is not an inquisition. If you must know, Lester and I met quite some time ago.”

“Three days actually,” Lester added. Aunt Lucy cringed.

“As long as that, eh?” Grandma said. “And you thought you’d just pop in to say ‘hello’. That’s nice. Well, hello and goodbye.”

“Mother!” Aunt Lucy gave Grandma such a look. “Lester is joining us for dinner.” She pulled out a chair for him.

“I hope he likes three day old rat.” Grandma began to tap the table with her fork again.

“This is delicious,” I said. And it was. Everyone was tucking in—including Grandma—although she still made the odd ‘rat’ comment in between mouthfuls.

“Thank you, Jill. It’s nice to be appreciated,” Aunt Lucy said.

“What do you do, Lester?” Pearl asked.

“I’m a designer.”

“Really?” Amber helped herself to more potatoes. “What kind of designer?”

“Not clothes, apparently,” Grandma said, staring at Lester’s blue and green checked shirt.

“Mother!” Aunt Lucy looked as though she wanted to hurl her fork at Grandma.

“I design furniture,” Lester said. “Chairs, sofas, wall units, that kind of thing.”

“How interesting,” Pearl said.

Grandma yawned.

It was apple crumble and custard for dessert. On a scale of nought to delicious, it was an eleven. Even Grandma couldn’t find anything bad to say about it.

Afterwards, Grandma excused herself and went home. Lester looked relieved to have survived the baptism of fire. He and Aunt Lucy relaxed in the living room while the twins and I did the washing up.

“Did you know about Lester?” I said.

The twins both shook their heads.

“She never said a thing to us,” Amber said. “I think that’s terrible.”

“Because you’d never keep a secret from her, would you?” I grinned.

At least Amber had the good grace to look embarrassed.

“I think Grandma likes Lester,” Pearl said.

I laughed.

“She’s not joking.” Amber began to run the water.

“Are you both crazy? Didn’t you see the way she tore him apart in there? The jibe about his clothes was bad enough, but there really wasn’t any need to insult his moustache. Even though it did look a bit weird.”

“That’s just it,” Amber said. “If Grandma hadn’t liked him, she’d have totally blanked him. The fact that she spoke to him at all is a good sign.”

Obviously I still had a lot to learn about my new family.

I’d chosen the park because I didn’t want to meet an anonymous caller in a secluded location. It was still light, and the park was busy. The bench was on the brow of the hill overlooking the lake.

“Pssst!” The bush said. “Pssst!”

“Hello?” I walked over to the bush.

“I’m in here.” The voice came from inside the bush.

I peered through the leaves to find a short, funny looking man, looking up at me.

“Did anyone follow you?” he asked.

I glanced around. “I don’t think so.”

“Sorry for the subterfuge,” he said. “I’m Gordy. I didn’t want to talk on the phone.”

“I understand.” I was trying to figure out what kind of sup Gordy was. He wasn’t a wizard, werewolf or vampire. “You said you have information about the Candlefield Cup?”