Magic on Changeling Mountain

“So will you go out with me again?” Colin said as he turned off the truck and sat back, resting his arm along the back of the seat.

“Are you asking me to go out with you again?” Carolyn teased.

“Yes. I will be working the day shift for another two weeks so you pick a night and I’ll take you wherever you want to go.” Colin said.

Carolyn was tempted to say “Tonight and to bed.” But instead she said “How about we go bowling tomorrow night?”

“Bowling? Wow, now there’s something I haven’t done in years. Sure, we can do that.” Colin replied.

“I haven’t either but we used to be pretty good, from what I remember.” Carolyn said. She hated the awkward saying goodnight part of a date, especially since she didn’t want this one to end. She slowly slid over on the seat and reached up to touch Colin’s face.

“I’ll look forward to it.” Carolyn said as she lifted her face for his goodnight kiss. Colin wrapped his arms around her and held her gently as they kissed. It lasted longer than either of them had planned and it soon turned more passionate, which both of them wanted but the front seat of his pick-up was the wrong place and it was way too early in this new relationship for them to take it to that level so Colin finally lifted his head to look down in to her face.

Her eyes were still closed and he marveled at how long her lashes were on her cheeks and of how tempting her mouth looked slightly open, with her lips slightly swollen from his kisses. She felt so right in his arms and he truly wished that Tammy was not home and peeking out the window.

“We have an audience, I think. Tammy is wondering what is taking us so long to get out of the car.”

“If I know Tammy, she’s probably trying to think up a spell that will make us cast our inhibitions to the wind and take this to the next level.”

“Go, Tammy, go!” Colin teased with a big smile.

“Well, that’s something I want to talk about with you but not tonight. Would you like a cup of coffee or maybe some cocoa?” Carolyn asked.

“Why not tonight?” Colin asked.

“Because this has been the perfect first date and I want it to stand alone in my memories. But we will talk soon, I promise.” Carolyn said and Colin accepted her reasoning. He would never forget this day for as long as he lived.

“Come on. Let’s go inside. It’s getting cold out here.” Carolyn said, as she made to slip back across the seat.

Colin got out and walked around to her side of the truck. He opened her door and helped her down and then grabbed her garment bag off the hook. He handed her the shoes she had worn earlier and her purse and then they hurried into the cottage. Tammy had started a fire in the fireplace but otherwise was nowhere to be seen.

“Tammy? It’s OK. You can come join us. I’m going to make some cocoa to warm us up.” Carolyn called out.

“Are you sure? I don’t want to intrude.” Tammy said as she stuck her head out of the doorway to her bedroom.

“No, it’s fine, Tammy. Come on and join us.” Colin called out as he draped Carolyn’s garment bag over the back of one of the stools at the counter. He sat down on another of the stools to watch Carolyn move around the small kitchen as she made their cocoa.

The three friends sat around the counter, talking, telling Tammy about the day they had spent in Asheville. “Sounds like you had a great day!”

“Yes, it was. One I hate to see end but I’ve got to work tomorrow so I’d better get going. Thanks for the cocoa and a great day! Tammy, why don’t you join us tomorrow night? We’re going bowling!”

“Bowling? Now, that’s something I haven’t done in a zillion years.” Tammy said surprised at the invitation.

“Yeah, I’ll ask one of the guys from the station to join us and we can play teams.” Colin said “If you don’t mind a blind date?”

“No, not at all.” Tammy said, with a smile.

Carolyn was as surprised as Tammy was but also knew Colin well enough to know what a big heart he had. Carolyn had told him about how upset Tammy had been when she found out about her boyfriend cheating on her.

Carolyn walked Colin to the door while Tammy excused herself to go to the bathroom, even though she didn’t really need to go, she wanted to give them some privacy to say goodnight.

“That was very nice of you to offer to find Tammy a date for tomorrow night.” Carolyn whispered as Colin pulled her into his arms.

“Well, I happen to know that Stuart has been wanting to ask her out for a while but hasn’t been able to work up the courage. Apparently they met at the laundromat one night and he said he liked what he saw but he said he hasn’t seen her there since and felt funny about just going by her office or her apartment.”

“No, I don’t think that would have gone very well, especially at her apartment. Does he know she’s a witch?” Carolyn asked. “He’s a stag, right?”

“I don’t know if he knows or not and yes, he’s a stag. He’s also in line for a promotion. He’s become one of my most reliable deputies as well as a good friend.” Colin said.

“Well, I guess he’s in for a surprise if he ever finds out. She keeps that knowledge pretty close to the vest, if you know what I mean?”

“Don’t worry. I won’t say a word. That’s for the two of them to work out.” Colin said with a smile. “Now, I’m going to say good night and get on the road before I have to camp out on your sofa because I can’t see the road. It’s already getting pretty thick out there.”

He lowered his head and gave her a kiss that had her wishing that Tammy wasn’t staying here and that she could throw her morals right out into the fog and just go to bed with him but all too soon for her, he was lifting his head. Thankfully, he didn’t let go of her right away because Carolyn was sure she would have toppled over, her knees felt so weak.

“Well, I’ll pick you up after work tomorrow night, say around 5ish? That will give me time to get home and get a shower before I come over.

“Great! We’ll be ready. Thank you for a wonderful day, Colin.”

“Thank you! See you tomorrow.” Colin said, as he finally let her go and reached for the door knob.

As soon as he was gone, Tammy emerged from the bathroom and said “So? How was it really? Like I need to ask! Hahahaha!” She laughed as Carolyn seemed to be floating on a cloud.

“Oh, Tammy! It was wonderful. We had a great time! I’ll remember this day forever!” Carolyn said, as she almost danced around the living room. “I never wanted it to end.”

“I know and I’m sorry my being here puts a damper on the end of it.” Tammy apologized.

“Oh, I’m not. If you hadn’t been here, I’m almost positive we would have taken it all the way and I’m not ready for that yet. I don’t want to rush into something I might regret later.”

“Oh, come on now. You know you love him and the two of you are meant to be together. What is holding you back?” Tammy pushed.

“Well, we purposely didn’t talk about the future today. We mostly talked about old times and how much fun we had together growing up. The Biltmore is very impressive and we had a great time, just walking around and being together.”

“So who is it that Colin is setting me up with tomorrow night?” Tammy said, asking what she really wanted to know.

“Well, his name is Stuart and you’ve actually met him before, from what Colin told me.”

“I have? Where? When?” Tammy asked, racking her brain trying to remember meeting anyone called Stuart recently.

“Well, I don’t know exactly when it was but it was at the laundromat. Colin said he’s been doing his laundry regularly, hoping to meet you again so that he could ask you out.”

“Tall, broad shoulders, warm brown eyes?” Tammy asked.

“Yeah, that sounds like him. I haven’t seen Stuart in a long time but from what I remember, he’s a good guy. And I asked Colin if he knows you are a witch and Colin said he doesn’t know because he’s never told anyone.”

“Is Stuart a changeling?” Tammy asked tentatively.

“Yes, he’s a stag! Nice guy from what I remember of him.” Carolyn said. “Well, are you off to bed? I think I’m going to do my patrol.”

“No, I’ve got too much energy to go to sleep now. I only took my shower and put on my PJ’s early because I had planned on sitting up and reading until you got home but I just couldn’t keep still.”

“Well, I can wait to go on my patrol for a while. So how’s things at the apartment shaping up? Did the landlord agree to let you do some different carpeting?”

“Yes! And they almost finished the drywall today too. They don’t work on Sunday’s but my landlord said they would be back first thing Monday morning to finish up. He gave me a max price I could spend, told me to go pick out the carpet I wanted and he’d see it got installed as soon as possible. I think he’s afraid I will move out and he’ll have a hard time finding another tenant. He was hinting at me signing a 5 year lease.”

“Wow, that’s a long time to commit to staying in a rental.”

“Yeah, that’s why I just told him I would think about it but if I do decide to sign it, I want a clause in it that says if I do decide to move, he’ll let me out of the lease with a minimal fee so long as I give him plenty of notice.”

“Sounds like you’ve foreseen something in your future?” Carolyn asked.

“Well, nothing definite about my future, anyway. More just wishful thinking. I’m with you, I don’t want a whole brood of kids right off the bat but I do want one or two before I’m too old to enjoy them. But first I have to find a man and my future in that direction is not as clear as yours.”

“Is it really clear to you? I wish I felt as positive. I mean, I care for Colin, a lot! But enough to last a whole lifetime?”

“Answer me this. How would you feel if something really bad were to happen to Colin?”

That stopped Carolyn cold. That last question made Carolyn feel like someone had just punched her in the chest and ripped out her heart and her lungs.

“Oh, Tammy, I don’t even want to think of anything bad happening to him!” Carolyn exclaimed.

“See? You love him!” Tammy said with certainty.

“You’re right. I do. But I want to enjoy the dating process too. Today was great and we made a special memory. I just want us to have more than just one.”

“Hey, there’s nothing wrong with that!” Tammy said. “Hey, I almost forgot. Cindy called. She left a number for you to call her back. It’s over there on the pad by the phone.”

“Oh, really? I wonder if everything is OK?” Carolyn asked herself as she crossed to the house phone. She dialed the number and waited for someone to answer. It took several rings but finally a young girl’s voice answered. “Hello, Dryer Hall. This is Emily.”

“Hi. I’m looking for Cindy Pence?” Carolyn said.

“Hang on a minute. I’ll go see if she’s here.” Emily said and let the phone dangle by the cord. Carolyn could hear her walking down the hall and then a slight knocking noise. A minute later, Cindy picked up the phone. “Hello, this is Cindy.”

“Hi Cindy, it’s Carolyn Masters. How are you?”

“I’m fine. How are you? Tammy told me you were out on your date with Sheriff Noble! How did it go? When is the wedding?”

“Well, he hasn’t proposed yet. It was just our first date after all.”

“Well, here’s hoping for lots more to come. You two will be perfect together.”

“Thanks but that couldn’t have been the reason for your call. What’s up?”

“I guess I’m just a little homesick but I didn’t want to call home and make them worry about me. How are things going at the clinic? Have you found someone to replace me yet?”

“No but my mom has asked me to interview Sybil and Marcus Hastings oldest boy. He just graduated from high school, which would mean he’s in your class. Do you know him?”

“Randy Hastings? Yeah, I know him. He’s a nice enough guy, I guess. He played on the football team and from what I remember of him, he was a fairly good student. I just never thought of him as the nurse type.” Cindy said.

“Well, no one will ever be able to take your place but I also know I need help at the clinic. I’ve only had one kitten to neuter, so far, but when I get a big dog or a changeling, I’ll need help. How are your classes going?”

“I’m so glad for the time I spent helping you at the clinic. It’s made my classes so much easier. Some of the other kids are really struggling with some of it but because I’ve had some on the job training, so far, it’s been a breeze.”

“Do you have Dr. Carter as one of your instructors?”

“Yes! I have his class tomorrow in fact. Why?”

“Well, he was always one of my favorites. Tell him I said hello!” Carolyn had not told Cindy about writing to him. She didn’t want to get her hopes up and then Dr. Carter did not ask her to be his assistant the way he had Carolyn. For all she knew, he already had an assistant. It had been years since she had seen him.

They chatted about happenings on the mountain and Carolyn brought her up to date on what had been going on since Cindy had left. Cindy listened attentively and Carolyn couldn’t be sure but she sounded like she was ready to cry when she made the excuse that someone else needed the phone and hung up rather quickly.

“Oh, poor kid! She sounds so homesick. This is her first time away from her family and she sounds lonely.”

“Oh, poor thing! Can you imagine what college would have been like for us if we had not met?”

“Oh, I don’t even want to try to imagine that! Well, I’m going to get my patrol done before it gets any later. I think I’m going to go up and see my mom too! Don’t think I’ll be gone long but don’t wait up. This fog is getting pretty thick again.”

“Ok. Well, I’m going to find something to watch on TV for a while.”

Carolyn went and changed out of her dress and into some sweats before going on her patrol. She jumped down off the back porch and with her senses on full alert, she headed into the fog. She kept her nose close to the ground where the fog was thick and took her time as she walked through the woods. She knew this trail by heart and could maneuver it in her sleep.

The fog barely slowed her down except it made it harder for her to breathe. As she climbed the mountain, she thought about the day and Colin and of everyone thinking they were the perfect match. “Do I really love him or is it just because everyone else is telling me how, in their opinion, they think we would be the perfect match?

Then she remembered how she had felt when Tammy had asked her how she would feel if something bad were to happen to him and she knew her answer. Yes, she loved Colin. And she hoped he had been telling the truth when he had said he felt the same about her! She had never known Colin to lie and knew that if he asked her to marry him, she would say yes. She practically danced the rest of the way to her parents’ house. She met her father, in his bear form, just before she entered their yard.

“Carolyn! You startled me. I thought you were out on a date with Colin. Didn’t stand you up, did he?”

“No, daddy. We went for our date during the day. We just got back an hour or so ago. We had to cut it a bit short because of the fog. Too dangerous to be driving in this.” Carolyn thought to him.

“Good. So did you have a good time?” He asked as they walked towards the house.

“Yes. It was very nice. We are going bowling tomorrow night. Colin is going to set Tammy up on a blind date with Stuart, so it will be the four of us.”

“That’s good. Stuart is a nice guy. Does he know about Tammy?”

“I don’t know and Colin said he doesn’t think so but it would surprise me for him not to know, if he knows about what has been going on here on the mountain the past few months.”

“Very true. We might all be very private when it comes to the rest of the world but it’s nearly impossible to keep a secret among the general population of the changeling community, especially when it affects everyone in one way or another.”

“Uh-oh. What’s happening now?” Carolyn knew something had happened while she had been gone.

“Garth came to see me today. Damien is upset because the rest of the centaurs agreed with Garth that they were going to need help getting through this first winter. He said Damien would rather die than ask for more help. But Garth is a new father and has a new foul to consider. He wanted to know if they could trade work for some food and blankets.”

“Wow. That is amazing but understandable. Do you have anything for them to do?”

“Well, since even Garth is too proud to take anything without doing something for it in exchange, I’m going to have to find things for them to do. It’s not like I can refer them to anyone in town.”

“Daddy, thank you so much for all of your help with this.”

“Hey, we’ve all known this could happen. If we hadn’t properly paid for and registered this land, we could be in their position. That’s why I’ve tried to keep an open mind about this. Thankfully, we ended up with creatures who are going to be helpful and not a menace.

We changelings often forget that we are the fortunate ones because we can pass in either world, animal and human but for those that are trapped in being in neither world, well, can you imagine what that must be like?”

They had reached the Masters front porch and they transformed together before entering the house. Carolyn stayed and visited with her parents for about half an hour. She promised her mom to bring any spare blankets she had at home with her tomorrow when she came for lunch. Her mom asked her how her date went and Carolyn told her it was a day she would always remember. Angela smiled and she and Daniel looked at each other knowingly.

Before they could start to hint about making wedding plans, Carolyn said she would see them tomorrow, that she had left Tammy alone and needed to get back. She ran quickly back to the cottage and Tammy was still sitting up watching TV as she jumped on to the back porch.

“Colin said he made it home safely.” Tammy said, as she came in the back door.

“Oh, when did he call?” Carolyn asked.

“About 10 minutes after you left. He said he had stopped off to find out about Stuart and going bowling and he said that Stuart was looking forward to it.” Tammy had a smile on her face so big that made her whole face glow.

“Oh that’s great! My folks said to tell you hello!” Carolyn said.

“Uh-oh. What’s wrong?” Tammy said, her smile fading.

“Oh, I’m just being silly. It’s just that everyone is so sure that Colin and I will get married, it’s like we are already engaged. It’s kind of taking all the fun out of the courtship. I just want a regular relationship, where we date for a while and then he takes me somewhere nice and gets down on one knee and proposes, like that couple in the restaurant but not such a public place, and ring in hand, asks me to be his wife. All this assuming it’s going to happen is driving me crazy.”

“Sorry but it’s been so obvious to everyone for so long that it’s going to be hard for everyone to pretend otherwise. So surprise them and let whatever happens happen at a pace that’s right for you two. Don’t worry about what anyone else says or thinks. It’s your life!”

Carolyn realized she was right. Everyone else might be so sure they were perfect together but it was ultimately their decision. They might just be perfect friends who admitted that they love each other.

Oh who was she kidding? She knew how she felt about Colin and he had said he felt the same about her. Why were they delaying the inevitable? Well for one thing, Colin hadn’t proposed yet. At least that was one thing that she could just let happen. She didn’t need to push it or even hint at it. Just enjoy the process, which is what she really wanted.

The next day being Sunday meant they had the day to do pretty much what they wanted. For Carolyn, it meant church with the family and that she needed to do laundry and take care of some household chores. With Tammy’s help, they finished in half the time.

Carolyn found some extra blankets and some old sweatshirts that the centaurs could use to stay warm. They took them when they went up to the Master’s house for lunch, which was excellent as always. They helped Angela clean up after lunch and just before they were about to leave, Angela told Carolyn “Oh, I got in touch with Sybil. She said she would have Randy come down and see you tomorrow at about 11. He’s going to take her to get her hair done and while he’s waiting, he’ll come see you.”

“Ok. I’ll still be at the clinic then. I’ve got a couple of appointments scheduled for tomorrow so I’ll be there most of the day. I sure do hope he turns out to be someone I can at least consider. I could actually really use some help tomorrow. One of my appointments is a large St. Bernard that needs his shots.”

“I can come help you for a little while. What time is the dog scheduled to be there?” Daniel Masters asked.

“One o’clock and that would be great! I’ve never treated this dog before so I don’t know how he’s going to react. I don’t know what it is about coming to the clinic but most dogs can sense that it’s a vet’s office and they seem to know they are going to get shots or fixed and their reactions are usually not friendly.”

“Well, I’ll come down and help you after I deliver the blankets and food to the centaurs. Eric and Garth are going to meet me “between sunrise and the sun’s highest point” to quote Garth. I guess that means sometime around 9 in the morning.” Daniel grinned at them.

“Oh, can you give this to the fairies?” Tammy said, holding out a bag of dryer lint and a small zip lock baggie of loose buttons, an empty thread spool and bits of thread and string.

“Oh, I never thought about stuff like that. I have a bunch of thread spools that they can have!” Angela said, as she left them to go to the room she used to sew the family’s clothes. She mostly made just their shirts and skirts for Donna to wear to school but she also turned out some beautiful patchwork quilts. Everyone in the family had at least one on their beds, made to match their rooms and in their favorite colors.

“Well, we’d better get going. Colin is supposed to call to tell us what time they want to meet at the bowling alley.” Tammy said.

They said goodbye to Daniel and called down the hall to Angela. “Bye, mom!” “Bye, Angela.” A muffled “Bye!” came back down the hall as they went out the front door.

They drove back down to the cottage and started getting ready for their dates that night. As Tammy let Carolyn curl her hair with the curling iron while she told her about what she had been up to yesterday while they had been on their date.

“I went to see Randolph yesterday. It took some talking but he finally admitted that he thinks he knows who my parents were. He said that there was a young couple that used to live a few blocks from his shop. He said that they had been expecting a baby when they had suddenly disappeared. He said that she was a white witch and he was a wizard.

He’s not 100% sure but he thinks that the dark witch that was in the shop that day we were there had something to do with their leaving. He said several young couples disappeared around that time. He said, since then, there were fewer and fewer magical couples living there than ever before. I couldn’t believe it when Randolph said he’s been running that shop for over 100 years!”

“Wow, he sure doesn’t look it does he? But what are you doing, going back there alone? Why didn’t you tell me you were going?” Carolyn said with concern.

“Hey, I’m a big girl. I’m kind of used to doing things on my own.”

“I’m worried about you going to strange places by yourself. The world can be a dangerous place, especially the human world.”

“I know, Carolyn. It’s not exactly a new place to me, ya know. I have to find out what happened to them. I have to know why they gave me up, Carolyn. It’s getting to the point that I’m not sleeping well and can’t think of anything but finding them.”

“I guess I can understand that. If I didn’t know who my parents were, I’d want to know too and I know I would leave no stone unturned if there was even the slightest chance I could find out. But promise me you will say something before just taking off. At least if you go missing, I’ll know where to tell Lucinda and Amelia to take me to look for you.” Carolyn said.

“Ok, Ok. No more taking off on adventures by myself anymore!” Tammy said, slightly put out that Carolyn of all people was treating her like a child.

“I like adventures too, ya know and I’d like to help you find them but we need to schedule it around our regular lives. OK?”

“Ok. So tell me about Stuart. What’s he like? I think I remember him from the laundromat but I’m not sure. You would be surprised, but it can be a great place to meet guys!” Tammy admitted.

“Really? Well, I guess the fact that he does his own laundry can be a big plus in the man hunting game.” Carolyn laughed. “Well, Stuart is a nice guy. He’s the same age as us. He’s tall, has dark brown hair and a nice smile, from what I remember of him.

He grew up here on the mountain. His animal is a stag. He played on the soccer team in high school. We only had a couple of classes together so I don’t remember much more about him. Funny, I just realized that I’ve lost touch with most of the kids I grew up with. Most of them are married and are raising their own families now or have moved away from the mountain.”

“You are so lucky to have grown up with friends that you’ve known your whole life. I never attended the same school for more than one year until college. And I never found it really easy to make friends, just acquaintances at best. But even the friends we made at college, we don’t really keep in touch.”

“Oh well, I guess that’s just the way of life. But I do hope that we will always keep in touch with each other.”

“Oh, of course! I can’t imagine not having you in my life.”