20. ~ Estelle ~
CHAPTER 20
~ Estelle ~
I smiled to myself as I stood in front of Gram-Gram in her flowing pink dress. She was a pretty fairy and had a kind face. She was ageing gracefully, and I hoped that when I was in my hundreds, I looked as good as she did.
But even if I didn’t age gracefully, I was still going to look really great sitting in this office when she retired. Yes, I was going to beat out Trish and her family line. I was going to be the family member who held this coveted seat, because I was rocking being a trainee fairy godmother.
“Your report?” the head fairy asked.
“Yes,” I said with confidence. “I had the gnomes recalibrate their equipment. I also requested an adjustment in regards to Char’s most recent charges.”
“I heard.”
I opened my mouth to explain, but she waved a hand. “Undecided.”
“She’s trying, ma’am,” I argued. “I should have had the equipment recalibrated as soon as I?—”
“I’m not blaming you for not thinking of that. Her increased debt for the broken window could have been much worse if the sundial had been properly calibrated.” She held up a hand. “And the good deeds would have been worth more, too, I know. I think in the end, she got off easy. Let’s leave things as they are with her account for the time being. I see you’ve been granting her small wishes?”
I crossed my fingers and nodded. The wish I’d granted so Char could get the grant hadn’t been a tiny one, due to the tight time constraints she’d put on it. I’d given Agnes at the grant agency the intuitive hit to open her email and check new applications during a retirement party. Then I’d influenced her to push her colleagues to hold an impromptu emergency board meeting, interrupting their party. “Yes, small ones.”
“And is she closer to believing?”
I opened my mouth, realizing that I was breaking our earlier deal, and that somewhere along the line, my confidence had overshot me. Gram-Gram had allowed me to grant Char small wishes that would help her believe in us, instead of cutting her off completely. Char now believed, and was actively working to reduce her debt. But I’d kept granting her more wishes. The question was a trap.
“She believes,” I admitted.
“Estelle.” The way the head fairy said my name held more disappointment than any words she could have used.
I lowered my head. “I’m sorry. I got caught up.”
“You have a good heart. But until she’s under the amount-owing threshold, you need to stop granting her wishes.” She lifted a hand before I could speak. Cutting Char off was unfair. “And Estelle? Quit meddling in Char’s love life.”
My jaw dropped. How did she know what I’d been doing behind her back?
Did she also know that I’d been influencing things by sending positive energy Char’s way? Just a bit here and there, nudging her life along.
“But they both want to leave the friend zone,” I protested.
“She didn’t wish for it, did she?”
I sighed, shaking my head. Technically, Gram-Gram was correct. There hadn’t even been a wish followed by a clawback, giving me no wiggle room. For a woman who wished so much, Char really should be more strategic.
“But if men had fairy godmothers, I’m sure James would be wishing for her to kiss him.”
The head fairy leaned forward, clasping her hands on top of her rosewood desk. I lowered my gaze to follow the pattern of flowers carved into the richly hued wood.
“So then, do you plan to continue to meddle throughout their lives to ensure their relationship stays on track?” she asked.
“They just needed a push.”
“They need to do things in their own time.”
I held in a dejected sigh. “Understood.”
“Also, a reminder?”
“Yes, ma’am?”
“Stop influencing fate.”
“Ma’am?”
“Your positive energy ‘gifts,’ shall we call them?”
No wonder she was the head of our region, and had been for centuries. I couldn’t slip a thing past her.
“I appreciate your creativity in finding a workaround, seeing as wishes surrounding her debt repayment can’t be granted. And, yes, I retracted the one you made in regards to the grant agency. It was flagged by the ethics committee shortly after you granted it due to a conflict of interest.”
I swore the sparkle in Gram-Gram’s lavender eyes suggested that a teensy bit of that wish had been granted before it had been shut down. Did she approve? She must, because, according to Big Bertha’s list of rules and regulations, I should be getting a strike right now. A red mark across my forehead for all the other trainees to see and for Trish to gloat over.
“The ethics committee will be watching you very closely from here on out.”
I nodded, reminding myself to act sombre. Having the ethic committee watching me was not a joke.
“Also, quit nudging all of those poor humans to help her.”
“But the book said that sending positive energy?—”
“I said stop. Before you leave tonight, read section 5.a. under Conflicts of Interest and be sure you understand. Then write a letter of apology to the committee.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I sighed, frustrated at being caught as well as always feeling one step behind my trainee counterparts. “Ma’am?”
“Yes?”
“Why didn’t I get sent to fairy school like the others? I’d have thirteen years of knowledge under my belt, and wouldn’t be embarrassing myself or our family by messing up all the time.”
“You’d also be thinking like them,” Gram-Gram retorted immediately, waving a hand dismissively toward the bullpen filled with pink clones.
“But isn’t that the point?”
“No. Recall that I appreciate your creativity.” One eyebrow rose in my direction in silent question.
I nodded, summoning her earlier, almost-compliment to mind. She might appreciate my creativity, but it had gotten me into trouble, hadn’t it?
“Creative thinking is what differentiates a good fairy godmother from an exceptional one. Also, please remember that from here on out, until she is below the threshold, Char is on her own. No more wishes.”