“Do you think we had an escort?” Christina stood, watching the dragon.
“I don’t think Buddy’s going to be far from us until Trent gets released from almost solitary confinement.” Mia walked over and rubbed Buddy’s snout. “Make sure you check in on Trent and Cerby too. We’re probably in for the night.”
With those words, Buddy purred and rose back into the air. She disappeared seconds later, going into stealth mode.
“She listens to you.” Christina joined Mia as they walked to the door. “I couldn’t even get my dog to chase a ball when I was a kid. You have a dragon delivering messages and protection duties.”
“I’m not sure it’s my skills. I think Buddy is a lot smarter than we assume. I’m going to have to learn a lot more about dragons. I doubt there’s a training camp for them nearby.” Mia was met at the door by Muffy,who used the impromptu meeting to wander outside for a few minutes.
The academy smelled amazing, like Sunday dinner. Roasted chicken had to be in the oven, and it appeared that Abigail was cooking in the downstairs kitchen. Christina went looking for Levi for a little talk, and after Muffy came back in, Mia went to the kitchen with her on her heels.
“Welcome back. I thought I’d cook here so you didn’t have to deal with the crowd when you returned. Finn left for work at the Lodge and Levi and his dad are out back, making plans to expand that garden of yours. Just don’t let them know I told you. It’s a surprise. Oh, and your grandmother and Damien are working on a potion in your lab.” She looked up from the pie dough she was rolling out. “Where’s Christina?”
“She went to find Levi. They need to talk.” Mia went over to check the stove. Corn was in a pan, waiting to be cooked, and potatoes bubbled in another pan to make mashed potatoes. “Anything I can help with?”
“Get a bag of blueberry pie filling from the freezer, and check to see if we have vanilla ice cream while you’re there. I thought I saw some, but now I’m questioning myself.” She looked up after carefully setting the first shell in the pie pan. “Wait, Christina knows? Did she figure it out or did you tell her?”
“I told her. Marsha Fieldstone almost did earlier. I figured it would freak her out less hearing it from me. Besides, the twins are freaking out Finn. Now that Christina knows, maybe they’ll quiet down.”
“Maybe. Not all witch babies talk so early. Trent chatted the whole time I was carrying him. He wanted to know everything I was doing and seeing. He’s always been my curious one. Levi’s going to freak out a little. I can already see that.”
“Babies. I knew they were coming, but it’s a little sooner than I’d expected for those two.” Mia came out of the walk-in freezer with the pie filling. “I put the vanilla ice cream on the shelf closest to the door.”
“I love the idea of grandchildren, but this feels early to me as well.” Abigail poured the fruit into the shell, then put the top shell on, cutting a leaf motif in the middle and sprinkling sugar on top. “Grab that bottle of chardonnay from the fridge and two glasses. We’ve got a little time before the pie and chicken are ready. Let’s have a glass to celebrate the new arrivals. I always knew exactly when I conceived. My body told me the story. I even knew the day they would arrive, but Thomas never believed me.”
As they sat at the little table in the kitchen, Mia poured wine and listened to Abigail’s pregnancy stories. She wondered how many women had done this same thing. Sat in their kitchens, waiting for food they’d prepared for the family to be ready as they talked about babies and the magical process that brought them into the world.
“I thought Trent would be the first of my three to become a dad,” Abigail said after a couple of sips. “He’s levelheaded and ready for the challenge. Levi was always the baby. I just hope he’s grown up enough for this.”
“He has no choice. Christina won’t let him slack off. The girl’s a tyrant.” Mia smiled as she thought of her friend as a mother. “As far as Trent is concerned, he’s not even married.”
“He might not be formally married to you, but you’re as much a Majors as Christina is. The two of you just need to do the ceremony to finalize it.” Abigail took another sip of wine. “But maybe right now is not the best time for more babies.”
“Don’t worry about it until we have something to worry about. All we can do right now is prepare as much as possible so we’re ready. Getting Cerby and Tempest trained is the first step. I have a feeling that we’re going to need Mark and Sarah in this fight. And Em will have babies to play with soon.” Mia held up her glass. “To the future, whatever it might bring.”
“You are definitely a kitchen witch. You have a positivity streak a mile long.” Abigail smiled and clinked Mia’s glass. “To our expanding family. May we welcome them with open hearts.”
Mia wondered if Abigail was talking about someone besides the babies, but she let it go. The society was more than just a group of witches trying to survive in this world. They were a family.
The timer went off, and Abigail finished the last dregs in her glass. “Set the table out in the dining area and let’s get this party started.”
As they all gathered around the table, they made gratitude statements to the Goddess. It hadn’t been Mia’s family’s tradition, but Abigail and Thomas did it everymealtime. Mia liked the ritual. It reminded her that no matter what was going on in her life, she had reasons to be thankful. They might be small in the scheme of things, but they were there. When it was Levi’s turn, he looked at Christina first before speaking. When she reached for his hand, he started talking.
“I’m thankful for this woman who has chosen to bond with me and the new lives we’re bringing into our world.” Levi leaned over and kissed Christina.
“If you didn’t get it from that convoluted announcement, let me be clearer. I’m thankful that Levi and I have been blessed with a pregnancy. Twins, I’m told.” Christina grinned. “I get to tell my mother tonight over the phone. She can’t kill me if she can’t touch me.”
No one at the table seemed to be surprised at the announcement, but everyone said the right things. As they transitioned into dinner, the group seemed just a little more upbeat than they had when the afternoon meeting had ended.
Saturday morning, Mia finished her reports, including the customer service surveys sent to the attendees of last night’s catered event. Another one of Blake’s new processes. She didn’t mind evaluations, but the problem was that the complaints they received weren’t about the food or the service, but about the topic of the event. Something she wasn’t in charge of and couldn’t fix for them. Mia had proposed that they only send evaluation forms to the people who had planned the event to survey how the night turned out in their eyes, but Blake didn’t agree. At least Mia was learning what not to do without experimenting on her own catering company.
She needed to go into the office, but Christina was still in bed. Levi had left around midnight to return to the Adams’s condo. If she waited a couple of hours, Mia and Christina could give Finn a ride to work as well. Everybody was a winner. Except Mia had done everything she could from the house.
She refilled her coffee and opened a new notebook to write down everything she knew about Suzanne Parker’s death. Mia had some solid information and a lot of questions. She also made a list of interviews she wanted to do. Mark didn’t mind her getting involved in a case if her involvement kept him from acknowledging the fact that witches lived in Magic Springs. Even though his wife and daughter fell into that genome, he thought if he didn’t say it, it wasn’t true. Of course the fact that the baby’s new puppy was really a hellhound kind of ruined that mindset.
As she made a list of people to chat with, including Cleo from the testing facility and Marsha Fieldstone, she realized she hadn’t looked at the report from Matt at the front desk. She opened her email and scanned the invoice.
Suzanne Parker had checked in Sunday night on the National Office’s credit card. She ate in the dining room Sunday evening, Monday morning, noon, and dinner, and Tuesday breakfast and dinner. No lunch because she’d been busy tormenting Mia at the time. Cleo had probably provided her food, although Mia barely remembered eating that day.