Chapter 23
Tess
Aunt Ruby and I put together a quick lunch of cold fried chicken, potato salad, raw veggies, and dill pickles with peanut butter.
Yes, that last was at the express request of the pregnant woman.
While we did that, Uncle Mike went outside to feed the animals and do various farm chores, while Rose and Shelley put their heads together at the table and talked about everything magic.
“The most important thing is control,” Rose said, eating her third pickle.
Aunt Ruby and I exchanged a grin.
“I saw that,” Rose said, pinning us with a severe look. “I know, I know. But when you’re pregnant with twins, you can talk to me.”
Since neither Aunt Ruby nor I had ever been pregnant, we had to concede the point.
“With great power comes great responsibility,” Shelley said, her entire face lit up with excitement. It was the first time she’d been able to talk to another witch about magic since her mom died.
“Yes!” Rose pointed a fourth pickle at Shelley. “Spiderman and witches, too.”
Shelley saw Pickles dancing around by the back door, and she jumped up to take the little dog outside. “I’ll be right back!”
When the door closed behind my sister and her pug puppy, Rose gave us a serious look. “I don’t want to worry you, but that girl’s talent is off the charts. She’s going to be a powerful witch. You’re going to need to find her a mentor.”
“Can’t you be her mentor?” I winced, suddenly feeling pushy. “I’m sorry! Of course, you’ll be too busy with all your children.”
“I’ll be busy, but that’s not it. And I’ve already given Shelley my phone number and my email address. Plus, I’ll have my little sister call her, since she’s much closer in age to Shelley.”
“Thank you so much, Rose. That’s very kind of you,” Aunt Ruby said, discreetly taking the jar of pickles off the table before Rose made herself sick and replacing it with a plate stacked with sliced homemade bread and a small crock of butter.
“She needs somebody closer than Ohio, preferably within easy driving distance. Lessons, talks, and mentoring. All are super important. Puberty is tough enough, but when you’re a witch, it can be excruciating. Anything and everything can go wrong. She’ll need all the love, patience, and understanding you can muster, and then some.”
I sank into the chair next to Rose. “Oh, boy. I know a garden witch named Yasmine who is nice, but she’s an introvert. I’m not sure she’d agree to something so demanding.”
“It will be a big job. I’ll reach out to my network and see if I can find someone. I’ll let you know. If—” She stopped speaking and gasped. “Oh. Wow. That hurt.”
“What is it?”
She winced and rubbed her lower back. “I must have slept funny. My back has been hurting all morning.”
“I’m so sorry about the bed, Rose.” I felt awful. “Can I get you a pain reliever? Can you take pain relievers when you’re pregnant?”
Aunt Ruby put a platter of chicken on the table and then put the back of her hand on Rose’s forehead. “How often has your back been hurting?”
Rose’s forehead furrowed. “How often … about every five minutes now, but … Oh. Oh, no. it’s too early!”
“What’s too early?” Shelley asked, bouncing back in with Pickles.
“We’re going to have babies,” I said, feeling shell-shocked. “Aunt Ruby, what do we do?”
“The only midwife in Dead End is out of town at a convention in Chicago,” Aunt Ruby said calmly. “We need to get Rose to the hospital in Orlando right now. We can’t take any chances with twins.”
“I’m not sure that’s an option,” Rose said, her voice unnaturally steady, considering. “My water just broke.”