Frankie washed his hands at the sink and watched out the back window as Anna pointed out different plants for Levi to pull from her garden. She stood with one hand on her back to offset her large belly. Occasionally, she would swat at Levi if he was plucking an herb in a way that wasn’t to her liking.
From the little gardening Frankie had done in his life, he knew that certain plants were very delicate, and how you handled them determined their success into the future.
With the start of the potion roiling to a boil on the stove, Frankie not needed to worry about occasionally stirring the pot so it didn’t burn. He had some time to kill in their absence.
He went to The Art of Magic, which lay open on the kitchen table—the same table that served as the kitchen island in his house in 1984. Turning so he could see Anna and Levi out the back window, he flipped through the magic book quickly in search of a spell or a ritual or something that could help transport him back home.
The trouble was, he didn’t even know if such a spell existed. It wasn’t something he had ever looked for before in the magic book. Even if he had, there was no guarantee that it would be available in the 1924 edition of the book.
The back door swung open suddenly and Anna stepped back into the kitchen. Frankie’s eyes snapped up at her, his hands frozen while the page was mid-turn.
“I need to get that boy some sheers—what are you doing?”
Frankie finished turning the page and shook his head slightly. “Uh—just looking for a way to stop Lady Luck altogether. Since the potion is so limiting.”
Anna hooked an eyebrow and stepped to a drawer in the kitchen. “Mm-hmm.” She retrieved a pair of sheers and then leaned back against the counter. “Since you’re technically family, I won’t tell you not to look at the book, but just know that it makes me uncomfortable.”
Frankie took a small step back, carefully removing his hands from the pages of the old tome. “I was just looking. I have the same book at home.”
“What were you even looking for? You’re older than I am and you’re from the future. You probably have the contents of this book memorized.”
“Not quite.” Frankie glanced back at the book, avoiding her scrutiny.
“You’re stuck in this time, aren’t you?” Anna asked plainly.
He sighed. She was a good witch and someone who clearly didn’t let anything get by her. “Yeah.”
“Care to elaborate on that tale?”
“Um…well, I mistakenly trusted a sorcerer named Zanabar, who is the one who sent me back here,” he started. “I’ve been stuck in this time for a couple weeks. Unsurprisingly, he double-crossed me. Granted, I didn’t necessarily follow through with my end of the bargain, either, but it was for the good of the world.”
“Sacrificed yourself to maintain world order?” Anna asked.
He nodded.
“So that’s what you were looking for just now?” She tilted her head to the book. “A way to get home?”
Again, he nodded. “Do you know of any way to send me back to my time?”
Anna took a deep breath and readjusted her feet. “Time travel takes immense power. Personally, I have not known anyone who could do it. Not well, anyway.”
“But it’s possibly.”
She gave him a sad smile. “Sixty years is a long time. And I hope I don’t need to tell you that each generation of magic gets stronger than the one before. Magically speaking, you have more power than I do. And if you haven’t found a way, I certainly wouldn’t be able to pull it off, either.”
Frankie frowned. “That’s what I figured.”
Anna studied him for a minute. “What I do know is that the more witches behind a spell, the stronger the spell becomes. I’d be willing to try to help you get back home. Seems like you have someone special to return to.”
“Two special people,” he said. “My daughters.”
Anna’s eyes welled up. “Yes, well, then it’s important that we get you back to them. How about we take care of Lady Luck and then we can look into your options for returning home? Sound good?”
Frankie smiled. “Sounds perfect. Thank you.”
“This is no guarantee,” she warned. “I said I’d try. But if it’s my great-granddaughters you’re trying to get back to, then I can’t let them down.” She turned and looked to the ceiling as she shook her head. “Listen to me. I don’t sound like a twenty-year-old woman.”
The two of them looked at each other. Frankie felt the urge to give her a hug, but held back. Even though she was his grandmother, at this present moment, she was actually younger than he was. Actually, she was much closer in age to his daughter Samantha.
The tender moment came to an abrupt halt, however, when the front door burst open. Evelyn limped in, looking exhausted. Her dress was torn in several places, her hair was a mess, and her skin was red and splotchy.
“Evelyn?” Frankie took a step toward her. “What happened to you?”
“Lady Luck.”