A Stroke Of Magic Part 5

I clicked the b.u.t.ton. "This was not a pregnant hallucination dream thing! How can you believe in ghosts and not a time warp?"

Nothing but silence met my ears, followed by a long, slow intake of breath. That's when I realized I might have made a mistake. "Elizabeth?" Please, please be Elizabeth, I prayed.

"Nope. Still Ethan."

I waited for him to say something else, anything else, but he didn't. He was probably trying to decide how crazy I actually was. "I'm really sorry. You shouldn't have heard that. Can we just forget all about it? Would that be possible in any way whatsoever?"

He cleared his throat. "Let's agree to set it aside for now, but we'll come back to it at a later date. Will that work well enough?"

No. "Um. Sure. I guess."

"Good. We're in agreement. About tomorrow?"

I still hadn't checked with Elizabeth, but no way, no how, was I chancing mis-clicking a second time. "I think after dinner will be fine. Around six or seven?"

"Let's say seven. And Alice?"

"Yes, Ethan?" I braced myself, waiting for the pregnancy question. Because it was bound to come. And now, because of my big mouth, it was going to happen sooner than I'd planned. Chicken? You bet.

"Do you want to ride with me or do you want to meet me there?"

"Meet you." Then, worried that I might have sounded rude, I said, "I'll be out around then anyway. Easier on me."

He hung up and I swallowed in relief. I knew it wouldn't last long, but I was happy for the delay while I had it. I clicked back to my sister. "I'm sorry it took me so long. No, it wasn't a dream. Yes, it really happened. I'd prefer to talk about it with you and Grandma at once, though."

"Oh, come on. You can't do that to me! I want to hear everything. Just tell me!"

I was tempted. Really, really tempted. But I was also exhausted. As much as I wanted answers-all of them-my body wanted to sleep. And I didn't think my brain would process much of anything until I did. "How about tomorrow morning? Instead of going out for brunch, come here for breakfast. And bring Grandma Verda with you."

Another wounded sigh floated through the phone line. "Fine. We'll be there at nine. You better have coffee made when we get there! And not that instant c.r.a.p, either."

I promised I would and then disconnected the call. With a sigh reminiscent of my sister's, I curled up on the couch again. I thought about what Miranda had shown me, and I was pretty sure I understood her message. The magic-the wishes-were a gift she'd created for her daughters, and it seemed now I had it. I didn't get how it worked, but at least part of the picture was clear. The rest would come into focus soon enough.

Weirdly, though, I wasn't nearly as surprised about the entire revelation as you'd expect. Rather, it was as if a cloud I'd always known existed had finally been lifted. The magic itself didn't scare me as much as it had before, either. But even so, I wasn't so sure I wanted it. What I did want, though, was to know everything about it. Every last detail.

On the top of my need-to-know list was finding out who else in my family had experience with it, and why I hadn't been told about it before. I mean, really, shouldn't I have known my entire life? Yes. If for no other reason than to be prepared when it arrived.

Maybe my family hadn't learned that lesson, but I certainly had. And that was one thing that was going to change here and now. No more secrets.

Beginning with my daughter.

"So that's the story." I sipped my tea, now lukewarm. I'd decided to tell my grandmother and sister about everything that had occurred, so they could fill in the blanks.

"Wow," Elizabeth said. "Something similar happened to me, but instead of seeing Miranda's past, I saw my own. With Marc."

"Ew. Let's not bring him up." My sister had made her peace with her ex-husband, but I never would. He'd broken her heart, walked out on her, and then had the gall to hire her bakery to make his wedding cake-for his wedding to the woman with whom he'd cheated on her.

"Water under the bridge. Besides, my magic started with Marc."

Now I was interested. "That's when you got your witch powers?"

"Not witchcraft. Gypsy magic." Grandma Verda's eyes shone. "Miranda was a gypsy, and the gift she pa.s.sed on to us has nothing to do with witchcraft."

"Oh. Wow." The cloud lifted a bit more. "But why was she trying to curse the father of her baby? I didn't understand that part of it, other than he'd hurt her."

"When she told him she was pregnant, he revealed that he was married, and wanted to take the baby from her to be raised in his home," said Grandma.

Pain sliced through me fast and hard. While different in some ways from my experience with Troy, it was also eerily similar. The lies. The betrayal. An invisible thread of unity existed between me and my great-great-greatgrandmother, tying us together in a way I'd never known with anyone else. "That sucks. But how does it work?"

Grandma Verda gave a small smile. "The magic is different for each of us, and each of us can manifest it in different ways, but it's about wishes."

"Wishes? Like three wishes from a genie, only there's no limit?" I asked.

"Well, close. While there isn't a limit, not all wishes come true." Grandma's forehead wrinkled in thought. "Miranda had far more power than any of us, so maybe she had more luck with that than we have. Her magic also extended beyond wishes. But for us, for everyone that's followed...our magic has been solely about wishes. Mine was in my writing. Elizabeth's was in her baking. I'm a.s.suming yours will be through your artwork, like my grandmother's was."

I thought about it, then shook my head. "I don't think so. The wishes that have worked? All I did was think them. No art involved. And they were completely accidental." I filled them in on my wish experience thus far.

Elizabeth frowned. "That's strange. It's never worked like that before."

"It worked that way for Miranda," I pointed out.

"Well, yeah, but she's the source. The beginning. My magic is only there if I put it into something I bake and then someone eats it. That's how I gave you the magic, Alice. I wished to pa.s.s it on to you when I baked that lemon meringue pie for you last month."

"Wait. You're telling me you gave me magic via a pie?"

"And like any gift you give someone else, ownership changes hands, so to speak, and it becomes uniquely connected to the receiver," Grandma Verda interjected. "So neither I nor Elizabeth has it any longer. Only you."

Elizabeth cleared her throat. "Er. Well. That's changing."

Grandma's razor-sharp gaze turned to her. "What do you mean? You still have it?"

"I do. I was going to tell you, but I didn't want to hurt your feelings. Miranda said I was the first in the family who was strong enough to keep it and pa.s.s it on, and that it would continue that way from now on."

"Well, I think that's delightful news. How wonderful, the magic is growing and changing!" Excitement tinged Grandma's cheeks pink.

"I'm more confused now than I was before. What the heck is happening with the gift now that I have it? Can you answer that?" I said.

Grandma gripped my hand. "I don't know, sweetie. I wouldn't worry about that just yet, as time will tell. But there is something you should be aware of with wishes."

I braced myself. "What now?"

"Just that magic is unpredictable. Crazy things can happen, so use caution."

"Trust her on this. I almost ended a few friendships and ruined a life or two because I screwed up some of my wishes," Elizabeth said.

"Trust me. I plan on striking the word 'wish' from my vocabulary. At least until I understand this more."

Elizabeth chuckled. "Well, I made a wish before I even knew about the magic-and it came true. In fact, you were the one who told me it came true, Alice."

"Really? What was it?"

She blushed. I rarely see my sister change colors, so it amused me immensely, and that amus.e.m.e.nt helped ease my tension. "Remember the day you overheard that girl in the gym talking about Marc's honeymoon?"

"Oh." It took a second, but when it hit, I laughed. I couldn't help it. "When Marc couldn't get it up?" I loved that my practical-to-the-core sister had wished that for her ex on his wedding night. Priceless. "That's awesome. I didn't know you had it in you."

"But that's why you need to be careful. The thing with Marc worked out okay, but really, I was lucky. Magic can be fun and empowering, but dangerous too."

Something else came to mind. "Did you cast a spell on Troy, like he thought? When he got so ill?"

Her lips twitched. "That was me. He'd hurt you. It made me mad, so I tried to fix it."

"G.o.d, Elizabeth. He was in a lot of pain. I mean, thank you for wanting to protect me, but that's a little scary."

"Not as scary as he is. He came to the bakery one day, trying to get back the money he paid you. I scared him off." She twisted her fingers together. "Don't be angry with me. I did what I felt was necessary."

I shouldn't have been surprised that Troy would stoop to such a level, but I was. Even after everything that had happened, I had a difficult time reconciling the man he actually was with the man I'd thought him to be. Though I knew one thing for certain: I hadn't loved him. Not really.

"I'm not angry." I pushed Troy out of my head. "Let's get back on track. My wishes don't seem to be connected to anything in particular, and certainly not to my artwork." I gasped when another thought hit. "Maybe something did happen, but not like you've explained."

"But something has? What?" That came from my sister.

"I was working on a sketch for an ad campaign, and I drew me and my boss sitting at a table as a couple at Frosty's Ice Cream Shoppe. Later, over lunch, he asked me to go there with him. But that's not the same."

"Did you wish you'd go there with him when you were drawing it?" asked my sister.

"Not exactly. I was lonely and wishing someone would ask me to lunch or something, but I'm not sure. I was in the zone." But then I realized. Ethan had asked me to lunch that day. Did that mean it was only a wish-induced invitation? Ick. I hated that thought.

A tiny grin popped up on my grandmother's face. "Do you have a crush on him?"

I ignored the whisper of desire that teased at me. "He's cute. And really nice. I haven't thought about him in that way, if that's what you mean." Just a little lie.

"I think-maybe-there are two different things going on here," Elizabeth mused.

My grandmother lit up even more, if that's possible. "This is so exciting! Aren't you excited, Alice?"

"No! It's scary and strange and if I can't figure it out, then things are going to get even weirder." How many times in a day did I wish something would happen? You know, those random thoughts like I wish it was five so I could go home, or I wish it was Sat.u.r.day, or...or anything, really. "I could screw things up without even meaning to!"

Grandma huffed. "Screw what up? You should be thrilled. This is our legacy; this is who we are. Grab on with both hands, Alice! Your life will never be the same."

But that was the problem. I wanted my old life back. I wanted order to prevail. Change was the polar opposite of what I wanted-what I needed. "Can I give it back? Or pa.s.s it to someone else?"

"I don't know," Elizabeth said. "You can try, but I'm pretty sure you're stuck with it now."

A spasm of fear rolled into me. "That's just terrific. You should have kept this little gift to yourself, Elizabeth."

"Oh honey, I'm sorry. I was trying to help you, not make things worse. We can figure this out, though. Why don't you tell us what Miranda said to you? Maybe that will shed some light on why your magic is so different from anything we've experienced."

"She said my daughter was special-"

"You're having a baby girl! I knew it!" my grandmother exclaimed. "I dreamed about it, you know."

One question answered. "Ah. That's how you figured it out. I was going to ask."

"Go on, Alice," my sister prodded. "What else did Miranda tell you?"

I repeated her words to them, and then I shuddered. "It's crazy. I don't need or want a soul mate. I can raise my child with all the love and guidance she'll ever need. On my own."

Elizabeth tipped her head to the side and appraised me. My sister had that look: the one that told me she wasn't saying something she definitely should say.

"Spit it out."

Her dark brown eyes bored into mine, searching. "Miranda told me you were having a daughter too. But she also said..." She inhaled a deep breath.

"This is about me and my child, so you better tell me, Liz." Still, even as I made my demand, a whoosh of lightheadedness had me gripping the arms of my chair.

"She said your child would be the strongest of us all. Stronger than Miranda, even. And that she'd be around to help. So, maybe you don't want to blow off the soul mate thing. I've found Miranda usually knows what she's talking about."

Energy, similar to what I'd felt the night before, whipped through the air. It almost buzzed in my ears. "So the ghost is sticking around because of me? And my baby?" Connection or no connection, I wasn't sure how I felt about sharing the next many years with a long-dead relative. "My daughter's going to be magical some day, I get that. But unlike me, she'll know about it long before it affects her."

"Actually, I'm thinking it might mean she's magical now. Think about it. Your wishes are different from ours. Maybe it has something to do with how powerful your daughter is..."

Ugh. "Chloe and I had a similar conversation." Still, I'd pushed that away. With the possibility facing me again, I liked it even less than before.

"There's one other thing. I didn't want to mention it...but maybe I should."

"Yes?" I rubbed my stomach, hoping to ease my queasiness.

"Didn't Troy say his mother was a witch?"

Oh, h.e.l.l. Something else I'd already set aside. "Yes...Chloe is looking into it for me."

Grandma Verda leaned over the coffee table. "Goodness. If that's true, it means your child has magic from both sides of her family. Oh my."

"Oh my, indeed. I think that's why she's going to be so powerful, Alice." My sister's voice was calm enough, but worry was evident in the tight way she held herself. "I've thought about it a lot over the last month or so."

"Maybe if you'd talked to me, rather than only thinking about it, we'd have some answers by now." The walls closed in around me. Everything spun in circles. "Dizzy," I whispered, reaching my hand out for support.

My sister's grasp centered me and helped reel in the craziness, but the room still spun.

"Put your head between your knees." My sister's voice sounded far away and foggy, but I did as she asked. Almost at once the spinning slowed.

"Breathe slowly," my sister instructed.

"This isn't going so well," my grandmother said. "Should we call nine-one-one?"

"No! I'll be fine. It's getting better." And yeah, the dizziness was fading-thank goodness! But the rest of it? I had to wonder if anything in my life would ever be fine again.

Magic. Soul mate. Pure love.