Everyday Witches

Marge, James, and Maria sat at the kitchen table in the farm house, talking restlessly. There was still no sign of Jude, and something had to be done. Without any clues to go on though, the situation looked bleak. James had called Maria as soon as he had gotten off the phone with Marge and the two had made it to the house soon afterwards.

“Kojack hasn’t come home yet either,” Marge asked worriedly, resting her arm on the table, her chin on her hand.

“He hasn’t,” James said, his head dipping in frustration and worry. “It’s not like him at all. Whatever happened to Jude, Kojack must be with him.” He looked over at Maria, who seemed to be on the verge of tears and placed a hand gently atop hers, rubbing it softly with his thumb.

“It’ll be alright, love. We’ll find him and get him home.”

Maria sniffled and nodded faintly. She used her other hand to fan at her face and blinked several times. Jude was her only son and although she knew that he could take care of himself, she couldn’t stop imagining all the terrible things that could be happening to him. Sniffling again, she reached across the table and grabbed the box of tissues, pulling it across the table and plucking one from the box. She dabbed gently at her eyes and nose.

“Okay, mira” she said with determination, her Spanish accent heavier with the added emotion. “What we need is a game plan. We can’t just sit around and hope that he eventually comes home. Something obviously happened to prevent him, and we need to figure out what we can do about it.”

James cleared his throat and volunteered an idea. “A locator charm?” He looked back and forth between Maria and Marge, an eyebrow raised in question.

Marge nodded in excitement, her blond curls bouncing with the movement; Maria looked thoughtful. “We could try it,” Maria said slowly, her expression uncertain. “I just don’t know about the range of those things. If he’s close by, it would go off, but if not we could spend forever driving around and never make any progress. He could be miles away by now, or even hundreds of miles.” She stared up at the ceiling, a little frown on her face.

“What about a compass,” James asked. Traditionally witches used dowsing rods to locate things, but tuning them for complex operations such as finding a person could be difficult. For short range searches in a specified area, low-tech mechanical devices could be used that would trigger when close to the target. James had once seen a witch who had made a locator charm from a little garden weather vane, to search for his lost lucky rune stone. When it neared the object, the Gaia caused the vane to spin. This particular spell would have to be more complex though, since it would need to point the compass needle in the right direction over who knew how long a distance; rather than just causing it to move at random.

Maria slapped a hand onto the table top, excited. “Yes! I think that’d be perfect. Do you think you could get it to work though?”

“Probably,” James replied. It’ll be a bit tricky, but I think I can do it.”

Maria’s cell phone went off with a loud trill and all three of them jumped in their seats. Maria let out a nervous giggle and went over to the counter to retrieve her phone. Then she drifted into the other room to answer it.

“I think the locator charm is a great idea,” Marge said to James. She chewed on her lower lip, thinking intently. “What all will you need for it?”

“Well, definitely some fairy dust, and something of Jude’s that will tune the spell. And then also something that will change and enhance the natural function of the compass so that it no longer points at the Earth’s magnetic poles, but at Jude’s position.” He paused, brows furrowed in concentration. “I should know this,” he said in frustration.

Marge was no expert at locator charms, but she was a whiz at potion making and knew a thing or two about ingredients. “Let’s make a trip to Gage’s in a little bit and see what we can come up with; I’m sure we’ll find something that’ll work.

James nodded. He looked up as Maria came back into the room and set her phone back in its spot on the counter. “What’s up,” he asked as she glided across the kitchen towards the table.

“That was Cammie,” Maria said, looking surprised. “She said that she talked to Callie a little while ago and she was worried about Jude. Cammie wanted to see if everything was okay.”

“Did you call Callie,” James asked, looking perplexed. He thought that they had agreed to keep this to themselves for now.

Maria shook her head. “No, I haven’t. It’s strange, isn’t it?” The doorbell rang, sending a musical peal throughout the house and the three exchanged a worried glance. “Are you expecting someone,” Maria asked James.

“No, I’m not,” James replied, climbing out of his seat and pushing the chair back under the table with a bit too much force. He gave Maria one last worried glance and then hurried to the front door. Putting a hand on the knob, he peered through the peek hole warily. He breathed a sigh of relief and turned towards the kitchen.

“It’s Callie,” he said, pulling the door open and stepping back to let her in. “Hi sweetie, what can we do for you,” he asked as she stepped into the entryway.

She looked frazzled, her usually perfect hair unstyled and her cheeks pale. She wore a short summer dress and had a large bag slung over one shoulder.

“Hi James,” she said breathlessly, as if she’d run all the way down the driveway. “Is Jude here?”

James frowned, reaching a hand up to scratch at his beard. He turned to look at his wife before answering. “No,” he said, finally. “No, he’s not. Actually…”

Callie lurched forward and grabbed James’ arms by the shirtsleeves. “Is something wrong? Did something happen to him?” She looked embarrassed and stepped back, smoothing her skirt down nervously. “I’m sorry, it’s just that I had a sort of premonition.”

James’ eyebrows shot up and he turned back to look at Maria again, in surprise. Then he turned back to Callie. “A premonition? What happened?” Callie blushed and then quickly explained what had happened with the dowsing pendant earlier.

A wry grin spread across James’ face, in spite of his worry. “So, you were inquiring after our boy, huh?” He gave Callie a wink and turned to face Maria, nudging Callie with an elbow. Maria grinned in response.

“Yes, I was,” Callie responded, indignantly. Her nostrils flared a little and her eyes narrowed. This was embarrassing. Working things out with Jude was one thing, but checking up on him with the divination board was something else.

“No worries,” James said with a chuckle, patting her shoulder gently. “We’ve been encouraging it anyway, I just had to give you a hard time.” He put an arm around her shoulder and steered her towards the kitchen where Marge and Maria were.

“Callie, Marge, can I offer you guys anything to eat? We’ve got all sorts of snacks, or I could whip up sandwiches for everyone.” Maria drifted across the kitchen to the fridge and began rummaging through it, setting a few options out on the counter. Callie came up beside her and set a hand on her arm. She gently took the package of lunch meat out of Maria’s hand and set it on the counter.

“Don’t worry about any of that right now,” Callie said. “Please, just tell me what’s going on with Jude.”

Maria closed the fridge with a soft click and turned to face the younger woman. Her eyes were haunted and her mouth was set in a thin line. Maria’s own smile faded and she whispered “pobrecita,” reaching for Callie’s hand and ushering her over to the kitchen table where the rest of the group was seated. She pulled out the chair beside James for Callie and then walked around the table to sit beside Marge. Marge reached for her friend’s hand and Maria smiled faintly, giving her a quick, reassuring hug. No one spoke until finally, Marge cleared her throat and looked at James. He shook his head and gestured for her to go ahead. Then he bowed his head and stretched a hand across his eyes and forehead, massaging his temples with one hand as if his head ached.

Marge looked over at Callie, who was staring idly at the table top. “Jude is missing. We don’t know what happened to him though. Earlier this morning James experienced a sort of premonition just like you did and when he searched the farm, Jude was gone. Also Kojack. We were discussing what we ought to do about it when you showed up.”

Callie put her head in her hands and let a few tears fall before wiping angrily at them and looking back up at Marge. “I knew it,” she said in a fierce whisper. She sniffled and Maria handed her a tissue. She dabbed gently at her face and then said, “So what’s the plan?”

“James,” Marge said questioningly, waiting to see if he wanted to explain, or if she should continue.

James sighed and said, “I’m planning on coming up with a locator charm that we can use to search for him. I have a basic idea of how it’ll work, but I still need to figure out a few of the ingredients.”

Callie nodded slowly. “That sounds like a good idea.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought too,” James replied. “I’m also going to summon the Gaia again and see if there’s any more to the disturbance we experienced last night. Maybe we can find something useful.”

Callie leaned over and reached for the large bag she’d brought, hauling it up onto the table and setting it down with a little thump. “Good idea,” she said to James. And then, “I brought my divination board with me too, I thought it might be helpful.” She began yanking on the zipper, but the teeth were caught on a little piece of fabric. “Open. Open. Open,” she repeated in frustration as she tugged on the zipper. Finally the zipper gave way and the bag popped open; the contents spilling out onto the table. The divination board had been rolled up into a cylinder but as it landed it slowly unfurled, and the pendant necklace dribbled out beside it. Callie darted a hand out and quickly caught the pendant before it rolled off onto the floor.

“That’s a really good idea,” Marge said, approvingly. “Maybe we can nip this in the bud right now.”

Callie nodded and pushed her chair back from the table, standing up and fussing with the divination mat. She looked at Maria and asked, “Do you have any sage?”

“Of course,” Maria said, nodding and getting up from the table. She went into the kitchen and rummaged around in one of the drawers, producing a bundle of sage and a lighter. She lit the end of the bundle and then walked around the room with it, letting the fragrant smoke billow forth before blowing out the flame and setting it in a dish on the counter top. Then she returned to her seat, looking expectantly at Callie.

Callie took a deep breath and closed her eyes, holding the pendant by the chain, at arm’s length. It hovered over the board, tracing lazy circles in the air in response to her movements. She exhaled and opened her eyes, focusing her attention on the divination board. She tried to clear her mind of all thoughts but Jude.

“Is Jude in trouble,” she asked the divination board, her voice quavering slightly. Everyone at the table held their breath as they watched the pendant with rapt concentration. It hung, suspended in the air above the board, motionless. Finally, it began to trace a small circle around the center of the board. Callie exhaled in frustration. Why wasn’t it working?

“Can you tell me where Jude is,” she asked, trying a different tactic. This time the pendant moved rapidly, but it didn’t settle on an answer. Instead, it spun wildly in circles around the board. A cold tingle began to creep up her neck and Callie instantly dropped the pendant to the mat. It bounced gently a few times and then rolled slowly across the table.

“By the green Earth,” she exclaimed in frustration, throwing up her hands and looking up at the ceiling. Then, lowering her arms, she rested her hands on the table top in front of her and leaned over the table, her head down. “It worked earlier, I don’t know why it isn’t working now.” She glanced up at Marge, who was seated across from her, looking lost and frightened.

“Don’t worry sweetie,” Marge said with concern. “We’ll figure this thing out. And I’m sure he’ll be fine.” She got up and walked around the table to give Callie a hug. Callie laid her head on Marge’s shoulder and her frame shook as she fought back tears. Marge gently ran a hand across the back of her head, whispering soothingly to her.

“I’m sure the Gaia will do all it can to protect him,” Marge continued, in a louder voice. “It warned us with the disturbance at the ceremony, so obviously there’s a chance here.” She paused and then, patting Callie’s arm gently, turned around to face James, who was leaning against the wall in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room. “Why don’t you go ahead and light the fire? Maybe we’ll find something useful there. Or at least see if the disturbance is still active.”

“Sure, no problem,” James replied. He stepped forward and gave Callie a quick hug. “The Gaia works in mysterious ways, darling,” he said softly to Callie. “There’s no telling what will happen now, but it did warn us and now it’s up to us. We’ll figure something out.” He turned and made his way across the kitchen to the door that led to the back porch, where his fire pit was kept.

**

Fin made his way across the forest, zipping over and under branches and around the trunks of trees until he found his way back to the nest. It was hidden among the foliage of a large cedar elm, in the hollow between one of the branches and the trunk. He was a young buck and hadn’t left the family nest yet and was currently sharing it with his parents and several siblings. Right now, two of his sisters were flitting around the outer wall of the nest, adding a new layer of compressed bark and twigs to a thinning area of wall.

As he approached, Fin called out to them but flew quickly past them into the nest. Inside a traditional pixie home it was roomy enough for the family to sleep comfortably but not much else. Consequently, the pixies spent most of the day roaming the surrounding forest. Luckily, his mother had just returned from a foraging expedition with his brother, and the two of them were currently tucking away their haul in a large storage bin near the far wall. His mother looked up in surprise as he exploded into the room, knocking a flurry of bark and dust from the door frame as he brushed past it.

“What’s got your wings in a snare.” she asked imperiously, standing quickly and wiping her hands on her apron. She walked over and began brushing the dust from the door frame off of his hair and wings.

“The very bad place,” Fin replied gravely, stepping back and pushing her hands away. “I’ve got it mom,” he said, sounding grumpy now. She held her hands out in front of herself defensively and backed up a few steps. Fin ran a hand through his auburn hair and vibrated his wings briefly, knocking out the bits of debris that had landed on him.

“Do you remember the man and the dog who rescued the captured pixies?” His mother nodded solemnly in response, her light green skin taking on a more ashen tone at the memory. “Well, I saw the same dog at the house just now,” Fin continued. “He’s injured and he’s been tied up outside the house. It looked like he was trying to escape but he couldn’t.” He wrung his hands worriedly.

“This is terrible,” his mother responded, moving towards a little table near the doorway. “He came to our aid once and we will return the favor.” She riffled through the items on the table top until she found the reed flute that was used to communicate between nests. Holding it up for inspection, she used her apron to polish a few spots of dirt from its surface. Then she glided over to the open doorway, lifting off and moving to hover just outside the nest. She brought the flute to her mouth and blew through it, issuing a piercing series of notes. Then, tucking the flute into a pocket, she ducked back into the nest to wait for the others to arrive. A few minutes later her husband came barreling through the doorway, followed by the remainder of her children. They all gathered around, chattering amongst themselves and looking at her expectantly. The smallest one, who was little more than a toddler came up to her, tugging on the hem of her dress. She picked her up and saddled her on her hip. Then she carried her across the room and turned to address her family.

Clearing her throat pointedly, she waited for the commotion to die down before speaking. She gestured at Fin with her free hand as she spoke. “Fin has brought it to my attention that the dog-rescuer has now been captured himself.”

“Capshured hisself,” the tot said, questioningly, reaching a pudgy hand up to pat her cheek. She nudged it aside and continued.

“He is being held captive outside of the very bad place.”

“Berry bad pwace,” the tiny tike said, clapping her hands together and grinning toothlessly.

Fin’s mother blew out a breath of frustration and patted her daughter’s head. “He has been injured and held captive, and I think we owe it to him to come to his aid.” She set her daughter back on the floor and the munchkin promptly grabbed a foot with both hands and hauled it close to her face, playing with her toes wonderingly. Fin’s mother moved across the room to a large piece of razor sharp shell that was mounted for display on the wall. Although it was actually a ceremonial relic used during rituals of the sun and moon, it would work well in this case too. She gently nudged her husband aside and untied the binding that held the shell to the wall. It was heavier than she expected and as it settled into her hands she grunted, red faced at her husband.

“Here, you’re going to have to carry it,” she said, straining under the weight. He nodded and grasped the shell in both hands, lowering it gently so that it rested on the floor.

“Okay,” she continued. “Dandelion, I need you to stay here and watch the baby, and the rest of us will go free the dog-rescuer. Her eldest daughter nodded and went to pick up the child, holding her tightly as the rest flew out the door towards the very bad place.

**

Jude groaned as the door opened again and Chad’s head poked through. “Good morning sunshine,” Chad said cheerily as he waltzed into the room, carrying a crinkled paper bag. “I brought you something.” He shuffled across the room to where Jude sat shackled and dropped the paper bag onto the floor beside him. He grabbed at Jude’s arm, stretching it out as far as the cuffs would allow. Then he flipped the arm over, exposing the inner part of the elbow. There was a little pink band-aid over the needle mark from earlier.

“I think it’s been long enough that we can take this off,” Chad said, pinching one end of the band-aid and ripping it off. He nudged the bag closer to Jude with the toe of his sneaker. “Here, eat something. You’ll need the iron to replace what you’ve lost from the blood.”

Jude nodded and reached for the bag. He had to move both hands simultaneously since they were bound together but he managed to pick up the bag and pull it onto his lap. He pulled it open and peered inside. Then he pulled out one of the foil wrapped hamburgers. Setting the bag back on the floor, he wrestled with the wrapper until he was able to get to the hamburger.

“Um, thanks,” Jude said, guardedly. He glanced up at Chad as he towered over him. He took a bite of the burger and then, looking around the room, said, “Hey, where’s Kojack? He was with me at the farm, but I thought I heard a bark a little while ago…”

Chad shook his head dismissively. “Don’t worry about him. He’s fine. But he’s not coming in here with you. I know better than that.”

Jude grimaced, not happy that Kojack was being held by Chad too. He only hoped that his familiar had fared better in the capture than he had. He dabbed a hand at the aching spot on his head and saw that the blood was beginning to dry.

“Well, don’t hurt him, okay.”

“I’m not planning on hurting him. Like I said, he’ll be fine.” Chad turned to look as Daniella appeared at the open doorway.

“Um, Chad, can you come here for a minute?” Daniella looked worried and her shoulders were hunched as if she might fold in upon herself any minute.

“Sure babe, just a minute,” Chad replied. He turned back to Jude, pointing a finger at the discarded wrapper and the bag of food. “When you finish with that just leave it here and I’ll pick it up later, okay?” Jude nodded, his mouth full of burger. Chad retreated to the door and, flipping the light switch to on so that Jude could see while he was eating, he disappeared through the door and closed it behind him.

Out in the hall Daniella was leaning against the wall, fidgeting idly with a lock of hair. She looked up when Chad appeared, a guilty expression on her face. “Hey babe, she said flatly. Um… I hate to have to tell you this, but I spilled the blood. I’m really sorry. We’re going to have to either get more, or…”

Chad’s eyes narrowed and he cursed under his breath. “Okay, it’s okay. We’ll just get more. But, damn!” He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair, looking up at the ceiling.

“What are we going to do with Jude anyway,” Daniella asked, her voice lilting at the end with uncertainty. “We can’t keep him here forever, and we can’t just send him home like this.”

Chad looked over at her, his expression softening. “Hey, don’t worry about it okay. I’ve got a plan. I’ll make a forgetting charm and give it to him and then send him on his way. It’s dark magic but it should work just fine. He’ll have no idea what happened, and we’ll be on our merry way.” He reached a hand up, running it tenderly along her cheek.

“But we’ll have to keep him here longer than we intended to. What if something happens between then and now? I’m sorry, I tried to hold on to it but it just slipped right out of my hand.” Daniella looked at him, her eyes shimmering. She wiped them briskly but the glimmer remained.

Chad wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly, breathing in the flowery scent of her shampoo. Then he gently kissed her hair. “It’ll be alright, I can’t promise how things will turn out, but it just has to work. I’m sure of it. We’ll try again tomorrow and see what happens, okay.”

**

The pixies arrived outside the very bad place with the sun bearing down heavily in the summer sky. The air above the grass shimmered with wavering heat signatures. Kojack, unable to climb the porch with his short tether had found shelter in a nook beneath the stairs that led up to the porch. Having gone ahead as scout, Bishop, Fin’s father reached the dog first. When he arrived he issued a whistle in an octave too high for the witch occupants to hear. The other pixies abandoned their hiding place and came streaming across the lawn towards the house. When they reached the porch they crowded around the German shepherd, stopping to hover a little above where he lay.

Bishop, wielding the large ceremonial shell like a broadsword approached the large dog warily. Pixies rarely crossed paths with creatures such as these and the dog was many times his size. He decided to fly in slowly until he came very close to where Kojack lay, holding the shell up in front of him to examine. The large dog sniffed lazily at the shell and then yawned before settling back onto his haunches. Taking the reaction as a sign of approval Bishop moved in beside the tether and then gestured for the others to follow. He waited as the other pixies gathered along the length of the leash, working together to pull and hold it taut.

Holding the cutting implement in both hands, Bishop sawed back and forth several times, severing the tether easily with the sharp blade. Then as one the pixies lifted off into the air, hovering a few feet above what would be head height for Kojack when he stood. The large dog rose slowly, his injured paw tucked in tightly to his chest. He chuffed softly at the Pixies in thanks, giving a solemn glance before trotting off around the side of the house. The pixies stood sentinel until he disappeared around the corner and then disappeared back into the woods.

When he reached the road Kojack stopped and sat back on his haunches, scenting the air. This area was unfamiliar, but he was certain that he could make it back home given enough time. To one end of the road the air smelled clean and fresh; the captivating scent of wildflowers and tall grass. Although he longed to go in that direction, right now he had to find the farm house. The other direction smelled of oil and exhaust, a road heavily traveled by the many vehicles that traversed the city daily. He turned that way and, keeping to the grassy expanse beside the road, started off in search of home.

**

Marge had stayed with James and the others as long as she could, but had returned home in time for the family dinner. Since she’d been out all afternoon, she had stopped and picked up fried chicken on the way home. Julia would probably complain about the last minute meal, but Marge figured that she would just have to get over it. Pulling up into the driveway, she pressed the little button on the garage door opener and waited for the door to lift open.

Drumming her fingers on the steering wheel, she waited impatiently. Since they’d already taken up most of the afternoon James had volunteered to go over to Gage’s to find the final ingredient they’d need for the locator potion. Then, as long as all went well they were planning on going out to search tonight. The angst over not being able to fix the situation right away had her wound tighter than an overtuned guitar. But her parents were already here for dinner and she didn’t want to disappoint them by canceling right now.

The garage door reached the top of its track, tucking itself neatly into the ceiling reservoir and Marge nudged the car along into the garage. She turned off the engine and gathered her purse and the bags of food, balancing the bucket of chicken on top of one laden arm and holding it tightly in place with her chin. Then she sidled along between the car and the workbench along the wall that held all of Jeff’s tools. When she reached the door that led into the house she tapped a foot against it, hoping someone would be inside to open the door for her.

A minute later Ricky pulled the door open and reached a hand out. “Hey mom!” He grabbed the bucket of chicken and one of the bags and hurried off into the dining room. Marge set the other bag on the counter and disappeared down the hallway with her purse, returning a few minutes later after depositing the purse and the fairies in her room. By the time she reached the dining room, the rest of the family was already seated and the food laid out on the table.

Taking a seat beside Jeff she gave him a peck on the cheek and then greeted the rest of the family. Winston and Julia, looking a little worn from their hiking expedition sat across from her and Jeff. The boys were at the other end of the table.

“So, how was your day?” Marge looked around the table at her family, reaching for the mashed potatoes and piling a generous dollop onto her plate. She passed the serving dish along to Jeff and reached for the green beans.

Marge had yet to tell the rest of the family about what had happened with Jude, but she could tell that Ricky was upset about being kept in the dark about it. She couldn’t mention it in front of Cade though, so she tried to relax and enjoy herself while the others chatted happily. Brandon enthused about the upcoming football season and Winston spent a good part of the meal informing them about all the flora and fauna they’d seen on their nature walk this afternoon. By the time the conversation dwindled, the family had mostly finished eating.

“And really, I think that tufted titmouse was the most adorable bird we saw on the…” he spluttered and began coughing loudly, pounding one hand on his chest and holding a napkin to his mouth with the other.

“Dad,” Marge said worriedly, getting up and hurrying around the table to his side. “Are you okay, what’s going on? Are you choking?”

Winston swatted her hand away and wiped the crumbs from his mustache. “I’m fine,” he said between coughs, his cheeks reddening.”

Marge eyed him with disbelief but he waved her off. Throwing up her hands and shrugging, she made her way back around the table and sat down. Winston sighed and looked at Julia, who nodded. “Well, there is something I need to tell you. I’m fine, but…”

Suddenly the sound of claws scrabbling across tile filled the air, and Jeff’s familiar, a fat orange tabby named Dom came streaking into the room, hot on the trail of a smaller gray blur. Marge watched, dumbfounded as the little blur leaped up the table cloth and erupted onto the surface of the table. Pandemonium ensued.

“Mom, what is that, a hamster?” Ricky exclaimed as the rodent ran through the bowl that held the remnants of the mashed potatoes, leaving little mashed potato footprints along her best lace tablecloth as it scampered across the surface.

Julia shrieked and climbed up onto her chair, pointing and yelling. “There it is. No, there it is. Marge, where is it?”

“That’s no hamster,” Winston added. “That’s definitely a mouse. Look how long its tail is!”

“It’s tail! Shoot, look how big its…” Marge smacked Brandon on the arm before he could finish his sentence, but her mouth twitched up into a little smile.

“Everybody calm down,” Marge said, holding her hands out in front of her, placatingly. Just then Dom launched himself onto the table, digging his claws into the tablecloth as he raced after the mouse, and knocking the chicken bucket to the floor. Marge watched in awe as it rolled across the tile and settled with a little whump against the wall.

The mouse leaped from the table across to the coffee bar and Marge gasped as one of her favorite mugs teetered and then rolled off the counter top, hitting the floor. She lunged towards the bar amidst a shrill chorus of ‘there it is’ and managed to grab the mouse with both hands. Then, smiling triumphantly she made a beeline towards the back door.

“Jeff,” Marge hollered as she ran.

“Right behind you, honey.” Jeff replied, hot on her heels.

Winston looked around the table at the startled faces and burst out laughing. He laughed so hard that his sides nearly split and then he doubled over as a cough overtook him. Ricky joined in, and then Brandon, and soon they were all laughing so hard that tears streamed down their cheeks.

“Mom, Dad,” Ricky said, as they reappeared in the dining room, looking disheveled but happily victorious. “He was so cute. Can I keep him?”

“By the green Earth! No!” Julia shrilled. “That dirty rodent?” She looked at Marge in disbelief.

Jeff chuckled and shook his head. “I don’t know if that would be such a good idea, Ricky.” He looked at Marge thoughtfully and then leaned down to whisper something to her. She nodded and then took off down the hallway. “Just a minute though,” Jeff continued. There’s something else we’ve been meaning to give you.”

Julia, who was still perched atop her chair looked around warily, a hand held tightly across her chest. Winston chuckled again and offered her an arm and then helped her to climb back down. They looked up as Marge reappeared, carrying a medium sized cage in both arms. She came up beside Ricky and motioned for him to clear a spot on the dinner table. He pushed aside a few plates and forks and Marge set the cage down on the table. Then they both leaned over and peered inside.

“Aw, it’s a frog,” Ricky said, surprised. “He’s kinda cute.”

“His owner had to leave town suddenly and so I volunteered to keep him,” Marge said, surprising herself with how easy she lied. She didn’t plan on telling Ricky who the frog had really belonged to. “I thought you might like him.”

Ricky turned to Marge, grinning widely. “I love him! Thanks! Can I hold him?” Marge nodded and Ricky reached a hand into the cage, pulling the frog out. He held the little amphibian up in front of himself, smiling broadly.

Winston cleared his throat and rapped his cane against the floor, getting everyone’s attention. “Okay, guys. I hate to be the party pooper, but I think we’ve had enough excitement for now and I have something I need to tell you before we head out.”