Chapter 20
Lauren wished she’d finished her breakfast before Jamie had announced he was coming to Chicago. Her appetite had completely disappeared in the aftermath.
Ginia, cheeks still streaked with hot tears, clung to Nat’s arm. “I don’t want you to go! You and Uncle Jamie should both stay here.”
Nat somehow made room on her lap for three eight-year-old girls. “I’m so sorry. This is really hard for me, and awfully sad. Chicago is my home. My yoga studio is there, and I’ve already been away a really long time. But I will miss you terribly.”
“There’s yoga here,” Ginia sobbed.
Nat gave up talking and just hugged. Lauren thought it was very telling that, upset as they all were, no one had suggested that Nat and Jamie should be in separate places. And no one seemed to buy Jamie’s assertion that it was just for a few weeks.
Jamie had a lapful of unhappy child too, although just one, in his case. Aervyn’s head was buried in Jamie’s chest.
Nell rubbed Ginia’s back. “They’ll come back to see us, sweetie.”
Jamie latched onto that like a life raft. “We will. Lauren needs to train with Aunt Jennie, and to work with Aervyn. We’ll all come together.”
Ginia looked up, eyes fierce. “When? When will you come?”
Jamie looked at Lauren. Oh sure, she thought, get the innocent bystander in trouble. Thanks a lot. Holding back tears was making her really cranky.
Nell spoke again. “The girls’ birthday is March nineteenth. That’s in four weeks.”
“Four weeks?” Ginia sniffled. “Mama, that’s so far away.”
Nell sighed. “I know, girl of mine. But wouldn’t Uncle Jamie and Nat and Lauren make an awesome birthday present?”
Ginia shrugged and cuddled back into Nat. Lauren had no idea how they were going to fit a Nat-plus-three-girls-shaped clump into the van to get to the airport. Cripes, this sucked.
…
Moira: Good afternoon, Nell. I saw the little light that said you were in chat.
Nell: You’re getting pretty good at this, Moira. I was going to tweak the video chat code a little. Ginia said it might have been a bit slow.
Moira: I don’t want to get in the way of your work, dear, but I think the video chatting worked just perfectly the other day.
Nell: Honestly, I was just looking for a distraction, and you’re a better one. I have a houseful of sad kids. I just sat them down to watch a movie.
Moira: Sad? After yesterday? I watched in my scrying bowl. That was incredible magic. And Ginia a witchling, too.
Nell: I knew you’d be watching. It’s not yesterday that has them sad, it’s today. Nat and Lauren just left to go back to Chicago, and Jamie went with them.
Moira: Ah, I see.
Nell: I wish I didn’t. I could want no better than Nat for Jamie, but I can’t stand knowing he’ll be living thousands of miles away.
Moira: That serious, is it then?
Nell: Seems so. Nat’s work is in Chicago, and Jamie’s is portable, so it only makes sense, I guess.
Moira: What of his training work? He’s been Aervyn’s primary trainer.
Nell: His shoes can be filled, I hope. We have plenty of talented witches here, but…
Moira: It’s the bond between them that can’t be replaced, I’m thinking.
Nell: Exactly right. Aervyn’s still so little. This will be really hard on both of them.
Moira: There’s no chance Nat would leave Chicago?
Nell: You know, if it were just her yoga studio, I think she might. But she and Lauren are family, and Lauren’s life is in Chicago, too.
Moira: Torn loyalties can be pure misery for everyone involved. Give it time, Nell. Let the journey unfold as it needs to.
Nell: I’m trying. They’ll be back in a month for the triplets’ birthday.
Moira: Ah, and spring equinox. That’s a powerful time for new magic.
Nell: I hadn’t even thought of that. After yesterday, it’s probably hard to imagine, but magic took a backseat at this house today.
Moira: As it should when love is involved. Better still when love and magic work together. I’ll send my love to all of you. Perhaps in a few days, the girls would come talk to me on the computer again.
Nell: They will, and that’s a good idea, Moira. We’ll try video chats with Chicago. Maybe that will perk up my rug rats a little. In the meantime, I’ll try ice cream.
…
Lauren crawled in her door. Was it a basic rule of physics that all planes flying to O’Hare must experience flight delays?
Add four hours of runway sitting in Las Vegas to breakfast drama and fixing earthquake fault lines, and you had the straw that busted the camel. She’d never been so tired. Making sure her suitcase wouldn’t trip her on the pathway to coffee in the morning, Lauren peeled off her jeans and collapsed onto her couch.
She was home.
A Modern Witch
Debora Geary's books
- A Betrayal in Winter
- A Bloody London Sunset
- A Clash of Honor
- A Dance of Blades
- A Dance of Cloaks
- A Dawn of Dragonfire
- A Day of Dragon Blood
- A Feast of Dragons
- A Hidden Witch
- A Highland Werewolf Wedding
- A March of Kings
- A Mischief in the Woodwork
- A Modern Witch
- A Night of Dragon Wings
- A Princess of Landover
- A Quest of Heroes
- A Reckless Witch
- A Shore Too Far
- A Soul for Vengeance
- A Symphony of Cicadas
- A Tale of Two Goblins
- A Thief in the Night
- A World Apart The Jake Thomas Trilogy
- Accidentally_.Evil
- Adept (The Essence Gate War, Book 1)
- Alanna The First Adventure
- Alex Van Helsing The Triumph of Death
- Alex Van Helsing Voice of the Undead
- Alone The Girl in the Box
- Amaranth
- Angel Falling Softly
- Angelopolis A Novel
- Apollyon The Fourth Covenant Novel
- Arcadia Burns
- Armored Hearts
- As Twilight Falls
- Ascendancy of the Last
- Asgoleth the Warrior
- Attica
- Avenger (A Halflings Novel)
- Awakened (Vampire Awakenings)
- Awakening the Fire
- Balance (The Divine Book One)
- Becoming Sarah
- Belka, Why Don't You Bark
- Betrayal
- Better off Dead A Lucy Hart, Deathdealer
- Black Feathers
- Black Halo
- Black Moon Beginnings
- Blade Song
- Blood Past
- Bound by Prophecy (Descendants Series)
- Break Out
- Brilliant Devices
- Broken Wings (An Angel Eyes Novel)
- Cannot Unite (Vampire Assassin League)
- Caradoc of the North Wind
- Cast into Doubt
- Cause of Death: Unnatural
- Celestial Beginnings (Nephilim Series)
- Club Dead
- Conspiracies (Mercedes Lackey)
- That Which Bites
- Damned
- Damon
- Dark Magic (The Chronicles of Arandal)
- Dark of the Moon
- Dark_Serpent
- Dark Wolf (Spirit Wild)
- Darker (Alexa O'Brien Huntress Book 6)
- Darkness Haunts
- Dead Ever After
- Dead Man's Deal The Asylum Tales
- Dead on the Delta
- Death Magic
- Deep Betrayal
- Defying Mars (The Saving Mars Series)
- Demon's Dream
- Destiny Gift (The Everlast Trilogy)
- Dissever (Unbinding Fate Book One)
- Dominion (Guardian Angels)
- Doppelganger
- Down a Lost Road
- Dragon Aster Trilogy
- Dread Nemesis of Mine
- Dreams and Shadows
- Dreamside
- Dust Of Dust and Darkness (Volume 1)
- Earth Thirst (The Arcadian Conflict)
- Ella Enchanted
- Eternal Beauty Mark of the Vampire
- Evanescent
- Faery Kissed
- Fairy Bad Day
- Fall of Night The Morganville Vampires
- Fearless (Mirrorworld)
- Firedrake
- First And Last
- Forever After