“There, there, child. Eat up.” Granny Franny slipped a small glass vile full of dust from her pocket and sprinkled it on the top of the chocolate chocolate chip muffin she handed to Birdie. “Just some extra goodness to help make you all better.”
“Thank you so much,” Birdie took a big bite of the muffin.
“Delicious, ain’t they?”
The small witch sat up and smiled. “Yep.”
“They’ll erase all the darkness you sucked up from that wacko warlock.” Granny Franny pointed to Job with her thumb. “And that nasty curse on Ginger you took in, too.”
“Yeah. That nasty curse on me was awful! I sure do like to sing, though. I think I’m still gonna sing all the time.” Ginger professed.
“Great.” Birdie rolled her eyes. “Can we at least discuss your song selection?”
“I’ve got my favorites, and I’m sticking to them.” Ginger pranced around and plopped down next to Birdie and Gnomelder.
“Molder velos Irdie.” Gnomelder hopped up and down. “Molder velos Ingerg nd re lalaing, oo.”
“I love you, too, Gnomelder. And you Ginger.” Birdie pulled Ginger and Gnomelder into a hug and they were all surrounded by butterflies.
“Birdie, honey. You scared me so much. I thought…” Betty choked up.
“Mom, I’m okay. This is me. Who I’m supposed to be and what I’m supposed to do? Right, Mr. Thatcher?” Birdie looked at the angel, his wings outstretched around the group of Shifters.
“Exactly. I’m sorry I had to restrain you, Betty. But Birdie, our Empath, was the only one who could have stopped Job and cured Ginger. One miraculous, selfless act transformed her completely. She has her full powers.” Gates explained.
“And knows how to use them.” Guy added. “You’re definitely on the boss’s good list forever.”
“That’s weird. You always say that? Who is your boss anyway?” Millie asked.
“That’s a whole different story, Millie.” Guy wrapped his arm around her and tugged her closer.
“Honey, I love you so much. It’s hard to think about you growing up and not being my little Birdie.” Betty admitted.
“Mom.” Birdie took Betty’s hand. “I’ll always be your little Birdie, just like you’ll always be Grandma’s little Betty. It’s no different. We just adjust. Now, we grow and change together, but as grownups.”
“You had to throw that grownup thing in there, didn’t you?” Betty kissed her cheek. “Alright, I’ll let you grow up, but I won’t like it.”
“Neither will I,” Birdie whispered. “Can I go get all the tooth fairies ready?”
“If you’re up to it?” Betty questioned.
“I feel fine. Much better after eating those muffins. Thank you, Granny Franny.” Birdie patted her belly.
“Tee hee. Those muffins are nothing but goodness.” Granny Franny gathered up her basket and covered the remaining treats with the embroidered linen tea towel lining the basket.
“I want a muffin.” Ginger confessed. Granny Franny dug a blueberry streusel muffin out and tossed it up in the air for Ginger to catch.
“I’m still avoiding eating those things,” Millie boasted. “I’m keeping the figure in check.”
“No wonder you’re such a hothead. If you’d shove a few of these down your wing hole, you might lose some of that sass of yours.” Granny Franny scolded.
“I’m not a hothead.” Millie grimaced, and everyone else moaned. “What the heck is so special about these muffins, anyway.”
“You mean besides the way they taste?” Vera chimed in.
“Yeah. They are amazing.” Guy agreed.
“Well, Miss Millie, you don’t know your Rabbit Hash history. Granny Franny here is known for cooking up some mighty fine things. She once put a spell on the whole town with a few pies and some ice cream.” Porter raised his eyebrows. “It was some good eatin’.”
“What kind of spell? Why the hell would you do that?” Millie stared down at the old witch.
“It didn’t hurt nobody. Matter of fact. It made people better, seeing as they were sick before they ate the pie, and not sick after they ate my pie.” Proud of her work as a kitchen witch, Granny Franny puffed out her chin and folded her arms.
Vera slid over to her oldest friend and laced their arms together. “That’s the truth. Granny Franny is single-handedly responsible for pumping as much kindness into the world as possible.”
“Huh. How the heck do you do that?” Millie pointed toward the muffins. “By baking a spell into your treats?”
“That’s not as outlandish as the story you had concocted about Granny Franny.” Betty elbowed Millie.
“Shut up. Mine was better.” Millie elbowed her back.
“I don’t always need a spell. But they do have somethin’ very special in each and every bite. Somethin’ nobody else has or will ever have.” Granny Franny squished up her shoulders and pinched the features of her face, appearing smaller and cuter than ever.
“Ancisgra es Molder arth. Ee ake neoney yapyap.” Gnomelder jumped to the old witch’s side and hugged her leg. “Molder velos Ancrisgra.”
“You darn tooting little buddy.” She winked at her gnome accomplice and patted the glass vial hidden in her pocket. “I love you, too.”
“Hey there everybody. What happened? What’s wrong with Birdie? I’m not even sure I remember what I was doing.” Job rubbed his hand, then his head. “I’m so confused. I think I have a big knot on my head.”
“Well, what else is new?” Millie pushed her palm at Job to stop where he was writhing around among the redwood roots, trying to find his footing. “There was a lot going on here. I’m sure it was hard for you to keep up.”
“It was all my fault, huh?” Job asked with a timid smile. “I can explain, really.”
“No. Unnecessary. You caused a pretty big commotion, and you’re goin’ away for a long while.” Porter stood over him. “You’ve abused your magic by cursing Ginger, stealing from Betty, and trying to damn near kill Gnomelder.”
“That ‘bout sums it up, darlin’.” Vera smiled.
“So, unfortunately, Job, it looks like I’ll be sending you on up to the Salem pokey.” Gates stated.
“We could take care of that right now. If you’d like?” Vera and Porter stood together and clasped hands.
“It’d be nice to get out of town for a few hours.” Porter agreed.
“Absolutely, and I haven’t been to Salem in ages.” Vera giggled. “Of course, I ain’t going to stay at the pokey neither. But I’ll enjoy looking around town.”
“Be my guests. I have no affection for transporting.” Gates snapped his fingers and a set of gold cuffs appeared around Job’s wrist. “Those should hold him for eternity.”
“Oooo. Traveling in style with the fancy hardware,” Granny Franny teased.
“We best be on our way. Don’t let us hold up the festivities. We’ll catch the next tooth fairy release, Betty.” Porter tipped his hat in her direction.
“For sure, this has been a trip. We wouldn’t miss another one.” Vera widened her eyes as the couple chanted an ancient spell, waved their hands and they disappeared with Job in a dark grey cloud.
“Whew. I’m glad that old stinky warlock is gone.” Granny Franny professed. “Hey Millie, move your butt and let’s get all this shit picked up outta Betty’s yard. Those darn teeth fairies have scattered. We might as well pack it in.”
“Fine, you old witch,” Millie strolled over and threw her arm around Granny Franny’s shoulder. “I’ll tell you one thing. I’m gonna eat those treats, and one day you’re gonna tell me exactly what you do to them to make them so damn healing—and yummy.”
“Nah. It’ll never happen. But it sure will be fun watching you try to figure it out.” Granny Franny snickered.
“We’ll see about that.” Millie squeezed her newfound friend.
“Come on Guy,” Granny yelled over her shoulder. “Are you dating that artic reindeer Shifter Millie? Give ole Granny the skinny.”
“Maybe?” Millie shrugged.
“That’ll be entertainin’” Granny Franny patted Millie’s arm.
“I kinda feel sorry for Job, really.” Betty revealed as she watched Millie, Guy, and Granny Franny walk away.
“Me too, Mom.” Birdie wrapped her arms around her mother’s neck and squeezed her tight.
“Makes sense for both of you to feel that way.” Gates moved to the pair. “You, Birdie, absorb others’ emotional pain. That’s a very powerful gift, but can also be very dangerous. Take care of yourself and you’ll never have to worry about other people’s pain controlling or overpowering you.”
“Thank you, Mr. Thatcher, I will.” Birdie nodded.
“You can call me Gates.” He hugged her.
“Okay,” Birdie returned the gesture.
“On the other side, we have our Betty. Whose sole purpose in life has been to avoid her own. She holds intimate details about the lives and life span of every creature who comes to her for help. You, my beautiful Betty, live through others. You help them, of course, like no one else could. But you’ve also been hiding behind them. It’s time for you to focus on you.”
“Gates,” Betty paused. “You’re right. I’m ready to do that.” She turned to face him.
“Good decision.” Gates took a few steps closer.
Wrapping her arms under his, she pulled him close and kissed him.
A loud ‘ugh’ rang from the wolf Shifters and Birdie.
“Come on Thatchers. Let’s go wrangle those teeth fairies,” Birdie shouted to the wolves. The group of kids took off running toward the woods behind the cottage where the new tooth fairies were playing a game of hide and seek with Molar, Cuspid, and Innie.
“I wasn’t sure how this would work exactly.” Betty hugged Gates tight all the way to the ground.
“How what would work? Flying? Or getting the kids to spend the night with Granny Franny and Millie?” Gates chuckled.
“No. Even just the thought of a night full of adventure with those two crazy witches thrilled the kids. And, yes, I am curious about your wings. I mean, I can transport and fly on a broom and stuff. But that’s far different from wings.” Betty giggled. “Where do you put those things when you’re not using them, anyway?”
“Here it comes. The onslaught of questions about mystic angel stuff.” Gates took her chin between his thumb and finger. “Why don’t we focus on you for a moment? You’ll have plenty of time to learn about me.”
“Well, seems to me you already know everything about me.” She wiggled from his grasp.
“No. Not everything. That’s exactly what I’m going to find out—everything about you, Betty Babington. I want to know every inch of you.” Catching her hand, he drew her back to him and squeezed her tight against his chest. With one hitch of his shoulders, the dark brown wings smoothly folded up, disappearing into his body.
“What happened to them?” Betty felt along his back for any trace of the miracles.
“Sorry darling, once they are gone, there’s no evidence.”
“I’ll have to inspect for myself.” Betty unbuttoned his shirt and ran her hands over his chest and back.
“I’ll show you mine if you show me yours,” he said with a sly grin and enveloped her in a kiss. They moved as one into the cabin, where a fire was already roaring in the gigantic stone fireplace.
“So, before I give you my heart, along with all my witchy goodness, what’s the possibility of a witch and a mystic angel making it all work out?” Betty peered into his deep blue eyes.
“Honestly, Betty, I don’t know. We’ll spend the rest of our time together finding out.” Like Betty knew about others when she absorbed their thoughts, Gates knew about her. One day, she’d leave the witch world, and he’d still be around. But for now, they were together. That’s all that mattered.
THE END