Magic on Changeling Mountain

The next morning Carolyn woke up when she heard Tammy coming out of the bathroom. She pushed her legs over the side of the bed and sat up and Tammy said cheerfully “Good morning. Thanks for last night. I’m going to pop home and get a change of clothes. We can go get him as soon as I get back. Ok?”

“Good lord, woman. Give me a chance to wake up! Is there any coffee left?” She asked. Her stomach was kind of sore and when she went to the bathroom she found out why. It was her time of the month. She had forgotten about this when she had been planning everything but luckily it would all work out. It was now the end of February and since her cycle rarely ever lasted more than 3 or 4 days, she should be over it next month in plenty of time for her wedding.

Tammy was back and sitting at the dining room table when she came down the hall dressed in her loosest sweatpants and the biggest sweatshirt she owned. They were her comfort clothes and Tammy gave her a knowing look of sympathy. Tammy rarely ever had cramps during her cycle and even when she did, they were never as severe as what Carolyn always seemed to suffer with during hers.

“Oh you poor thing. No wonder you were so grouchy this morning. Coffee is fresh.” Tammy said.

“Thanks. Let me have a pot and then I’ll get ready.” Carolyn said.

“Ready? Oh no. You are not going with me today. I can’t take someone who is injured and bleeding.” Tammy said.

“I’m not injured, just bleeding.” Carolyn said.

“Doesn’t matter. I’m not going to chance it. I can go up and get him on my own. It will mean one less trip for me anyway.” Tammy said.

“Ok. I’m sorry to dump it all on you.” Carolyn said as she poured herself a cup of coffee and made her way over to the table.

“Dump nothing. I’m sorry I haven’t been around to help with the wedding stuff more but I’ve been so busy at work. It is coming into tax season and between work and my parents, I’ve dropped the ball with your wedding. I’ve barely even seen Stuart either. I hope he doesn’t think I’ve forgotten about him and finds someone else.”

“Now, Tammy Mason! You stop that right now. Stuart loves you. He’s not even looking. From what Colin told me, he’s been super busy too. He’s been covering for Colin while he’s been dealing with his parents and their land.

She went on to tell Tammy about Colin redoing the road up to their house. “It’s a really nice place. We discussed living up there or adding on to this place once we start having kids. I think that once I’m pregnant, I’ll probably give up being so active at the clinic and it will be by appointment only.”

“What a great opportunity for Cindy. She could take over running the clinic from you and still be on the mountain near her family.” Tammy put the idea out there for Carolyn. She had already had a vision about them working together again, this time on more equal footing as Cindy would then be a licensed vet.

Carolyn would still be the doctor on the mountain but she could keep her part of the practice down to treating just the changelings for their human conditions and ailments and let Cindy take over as the vet, which was the majority of her practice.

There were other regular doctors in town that most of the towners went to. She had never really wanted to treat the towners because if there was an emergency with a changeling, she couldn’t have a waiting room full of towners that might possibly see what was going on.

Having Cindy working with her like that had never occurred to Carolyn but she liked the idea. She liked Randy well enough but he would never be able to take Cindy’s place. She would have to talk to Cindy about it. It would be a few years down the road since Cindy still had to finish school and get her license. Right now, they just had to get through the wedding.

Tammy finished getting dressed and came back into the living room. “Should I bring him here or take him straight up there?”

“Take him straight home, I guess. I was hoping to be there but I guess I’ll have to miss out on the surprise.” Carolyn said as she pulled a throw pillow on to her lap to clinch as another cramp took hold of her stomach. “Would you mind bringing me the Midol out of the medicine cabinet before you go?”

“Sure.” Tammy said and turned to go down the hall again. She retrieved the Midol and got Carolyn a glass of water. “Anything else I can help with before I go?”

“Nope. Thanks! Be safe and hurry back. Make sure you check in with me once everyone is in place?”

“Sure. I’ll even come back and keep you company if you want? I don’t have to go into the office today. My next appointment is not until tomorrow. You can bring me up to date on wedding stuff. OK?”

“That would be great. We also need to decide on bridesmaids dresses! Maybe we can find some online? Or at least get an idea of what you would like to wear.” Carolyn said.

Tammy smiled and said “Deal. Be right back.” She pulled out her wand, said “Apparate” and then disappeared.

Carolyn downed two of the Midol pills and then went to retrieve her cell phone. She sent Colin a text, telling him that it was her time of the month and as much as she hated it, he would need to keep his distance for the next couple of days. She also asked if he could go and pick up the invitations and explained that she had put down the deposit but there was a balance due on them that he would have to pay before they would release them.

He answered right back that he understood and that he loved her and hoped the cramps weren’t going to be too bad this month.

Forty five minutes later, he called to thank her for having Tammy bring her father back to the mountain. “I nearly fell off the bobcat when I saw him walking down the road. My mom has a huge smile on her face so thank you! Tammy told me it was all your idea.”

“Well, I could tell your mom was feeling down because she was missing him and that you were worried that if she’s been feeling poorly then he might be as well. But I think it would be better for him if you take him to see Charlie instead of bringing him to me. It might have been one thing for me to examine your mother but I think it would be overstepping some boundaries better left in place if I don’t have to tell your father to get naked and then having to tell him to turn his head and cough.”

“Uh, yeah. I hear ya! He’s always kept himself in good condition but I think a full physical wouldn’t be a bad idea. Can you call and ask Charlie when he can see him? I’ll make sure he gets there.”

“Sure, no problem. It will give me something to do.” Carolyn said and then groaned as another cramp took hold of her stomach.

“Oh, honey. I hate that you have to go through this.” Colin said, feeling sorry for her.

“Thankfully it’s only once a month and it only lasts for 3 or 4 days.” Carolyn said.

“Do the cramps last the whole time?” Colin asked.

“No, it’s usually only really bad the first day, although day two is usually not much fun either but then it’s just the occasional twinge.” Carolyn replied.

“Well, do you need anything?” Colin asked, praying she wouldn’t say she was out of tampons or anything like that.

“No, I’m just going to curl up on the sofa with the heating pad. Tammy’s going to come over and we are going to look for bridesmaids dresses online. But thank you for asking. If you can go and get the invitations, we can work on those too but otherwise, you just go and enjoy your folks.” Carolyn said.

“I’ll call you later. Love you!” Colin said before he hung up.

Tammy showed up a few minutes later with her laptop. She had driven up so Carolyn had to let her in when she knocked on the door.

“I decided to stop at home and get my laptop. When are you supposed to pick up the invitations?” Tammy asked as she hurried through the door and closed it behind her.

“Today but since I really don’t feel like getting out, Colin is going to go get them and drop them off later. Man, my stomach is really cramping.” Carolyn said as she bent over when the pain gripped her.

When it was over she motioned to Tammy’s laptop and said, “Well, let’s look at bride’s maid’s dresses. I want you to have something you like. So long as it’s blue.” Carolyn said.

They got online and looked through several sites but couldn’t find anything they both liked for a price they could afford.

“We have to think of Donna and Cindy too. All of you are about the same size but have such different coloring. You are blonde and fair with blue eyes. Donna has dark brown hair and dark eyes. Cindy is halfway between the two of you. She has dirty blonde hair and brown eyes. Oh, I should have started thinking about this long before we decided to move the date up. I don’t think there is enough time left to get them custom made now.” Carolyn said and then looked over at Tammy and started to laugh at her expression. “What?”

“You forget who you are talking to. If Lucinda can zap a gorgeous gown for you out of thin air, then I’m pretty sure I can do it too. I just need a clear idea of what to make.”

“Well, let me ask you this. What do you see your bridesmaids wearing?” Carolyn asked.

Tammy turned and waved her wand and Carolyn almost expected her to say “Bibbity, Bobbity, Boo” and hid her smile behind her hand then gasped when the perfect dress appeared in her living room, except it was in lavender, instead of blue.

It had a V neckline, tulip sleeves and a high waistline that came just below the breast and then fell to the floor in an A line shape. Carolyn pushed herself off of the sofa and walked around the dress that floated just inches from the ground as if an invisible woman was filling it in like it would fit the person who would be wearing it. “Oh, change it to blue so I can see it please?”

“Light or dark? Royal, sky or baby blue?” Tammy asked as she watched Carolyn’s face closely for any sign of displeasure.

“Can I see it in each, except for royal blue, maybe Navy instead?” Carolyn replied.

Tammy waved her wand and as Carolyn stepped back to look at the gown, Tammy changed it from one color to the other. “Which color would you like to wear?” Carolyn asked Tammy. She was hoping Tammy would say the sky blue. It would go the best with her coloring and eyes.

“I like the sky blue and if you say yes, I want you to seriously consider royal blue for Donna and Cindy.” Tammy said as she created the same dress but this time it was in royal blue.

“Oh yes, I do like that. You are right. Both of them will look great in that color. Oh try it on for me? In the color you choose.” Carolyn said.

Tammy stood up from the sofa. With a wave of her wand, suddenly she was dressed in the gown she had created. “Oh Tammy! You are beautiful. How are you going to wear your hair?”

“Hmmm. How about this?” Tammy said and waved her wand over her head and face. Suddenly her hair was done so that it puffed out around her head but was pulled up with tiny baby white roses and tiny blue orchids and baby’s breath wreathed around her head with flowers that rested around the crown of her head and curls ran down her back.

“Oh, that’s perfect! You are going to be lovely. Oh, now I’m getting so excited! I can’t wait for April!” Carolyn said as she clapped her hands under her chin and looked her up and down.

“Let me see!” Tammy said and took off for Carolyn’s bedroom to look in the full length mirror in the corner of her room.

“Oh Carolyn. You are so right! This does look good, doesn’t it?” Tammy said as she twirled around in front of the mirror.

“It’s perfect. Oh, thank you, thank you! I was so worried about how I was going to pay for the bridesmaids dresses.” Carolyn said as she watched her friend.

“Well, stop worrying. I’ll take care of this as well as the flowers for all of the decorations. What else do you need?”

“Besides transportation on our honeymoon, that will be more than enough.”

Tammy waved her wand again and the dress disappeared and she was back in her jeans and t-shirt and her hair was back to its normal style.

“So have you guys decided on a date yet?” Carolyn asked.

“No, nothing definite yet. Mother’s Day is in May and Father’s Day is in June and July just seems too far away.” Tammy said, feeling depressed and it showed in the sound of her voice.

“So what’s the matter with the end of April? I may be selfish enough to not want to share my wedding day but there’s nothing to say that you can’t get married in the same month as us.” Carolyn said and watched her face as the light bulb went on.

“First of all, I don’t think it’s selfish to not want to have a double wedding. I wouldn’t want that either, but are you sure you wouldn’t be upset if we got married closer to the end of the month?” Tammy asked.

“No, not at all. Why should I be upset?” Carolyn smiled at her. Tammy jumped up and hugged her. “Oh boy! Stuart is going to be so happy. We had talked about April and then when you and Colin moved up yours, we decided to do it after yours but the more we tried to find dates that would work, the farther and farther into the year it was getting. I was beginning to think we were going to have to wait until next Christmas.”

“Oh, goodness, if I had known that, I wouldn’t have moved my date up. I’m sorry, Tammy.” Carolyn felt so bad that she was spoiling their plans.

“But since we had originally thought about later in the month, this will work out perfectly. We won’t have nearly as many people as you but I do want to do it in the church and then have the gathering in the hall afterwards. Do you think Pastor Robins still has room on his calendar for us?”

“Why don’t you call Stuart and ask him if April is still OK and if he says yes, then we’ll call Pastor Robins and get the ball rolling. You do realize that trying to plan two weddings to happen back to back is going to be a nightmare, especially for you, since isn’t April your busiest season?”

“OMG, what am I thinking? You are so right. I’ve got 2 dozen regular clients to do taxes for and was hoping to offer tax preparation services for others in town that either have a hard time doing them or just can’t figure them out. Tax regulations do change from time to time, like every year!”

“Have you thought about maybe hiring some help? Someone to answer the phone, to schedule appointments for you, things like that?”

“Yeah but in order to pay them, it means I would have to raise my rates or everything I make would be going to pay for them to work there, not to mention the employers side of the taxes. Oh by the way, I have your taxes for this month all done. I’ve got to stop down at the clinic and load it onto your computer one day soon or we are going to get out of sync.”

“Thank you for doing that for me. I hate doing taxes! Heck, I hate paperwork all together.”

“I know. A lot of people feel like that. That’s how I manage to stay in business!”

Tammy called Stuart and told him that Carolyn was fine with them getting married at the end of April and had to hold the phone away from her ear as he gave an ear splitting “YAHOO!” His reaction caused a big smile on her face. When he settled down, she asked “Do you still want to do it on the 25th?” She listened for a moment and then “OK. We are going to get the planning started. When can you come over?” She listened again and then said “OK. I’ll see you then. Love you! Be safe and don’t work too hard.” She said and then hung up.

“So I take it he was OK with the 25th of April? Wait a minute. That’s your birthday! Are you sure you want to do it on your birthday?” Carolyn asked. She had not even considered birthdays when she and Colin had set their date.

“It used to be my birthday but my parents told me that the doctor who guessed my age was off by 3 whole months! My real birthday is actually February 16th! Unfortunately, I didn’t find out about it in time to celebrate with anyone but them this year. My mom surprised me with a birthday cake when I came home from work that day. Sorry I didn’t call and include you but they said that since this was my first birthday with them, she wanted it to be just the three of us.” Tammy said.

“Well, I guess you can’t really blame them for wanting it that way since they’ve missed out on the last 28 birthdays.” Carolyn said.

“Yeah well, I was kind of put out about it then because I wanted you and Stuart to be there but I let it pass just to keep the peace with them. I’ll get to celebrate it with all of you guys next year.”

“Well, I’ve got something for you anyway. I bought it when Colin and I went on our first date in Asheville.” Carolyn told her as she dug in her closet for the gift bag with the scarf she had bought that day and handed it to Tammy.

“It reminded me of that day you went on your dream quest with Harvey Two Moons.” Carolyn told her as Tammy pulled it out and unfolded it.

“Oh, Carolyn! It’s beautiful!” Tammy said as she put it around her neck and stood to go look in the mirror. “Oh, thank you. I will treasure this always.”

“I’m glad you like it. So now, we have our dates. Colin should be dropping off the invitations today. He’s almost done with the road and said he’s going to return the bobcat this afternoon and then he will swing by the printers and pick them up.

He’s also going to pay the balance due. I’ve been putting down the deposits and paying for all the other decorations and stuff so he’s going to pay the balances’ due. Wait till he finds out what we owe on the cake!

You know what’s funny is that he and I went together to pick all of this out but I think his mind must have wandered off somewhere when it came time to talk prices cause he was shocked when I showed him my list with all the amounts on the side of it. He looked at it the other night and seemed surprised when he added it all up.”

“A lot of people are like that. If they don’t write it down or it’s not their pocket it’s coming out of, then they don’t realize how much it all totals up to. One of my clients said his brother pays everything in cash and says it happens to him all of the time.

He’ll start out with a fist full of cash and is always surprised when he comes up short for the one thing he really wanted because he spent a few dollars in each place he went up until the last stop to buy it and then he realized he didn’t have enough left to pay for it.

Being a bookkeeper, I see it more often with men than with women. I think we are just better at keeping to a budget. Although women can be just as guilty, especially if they are not the ones making the money.”

“I know what you mean. I haven’t been around as much for the clinic the last few months so I’ve been kind of slow on people making appointments. I’m always slower during the winter but it’s never been this slow and I’ll admit I’m a little worried about paying for everything. I haven’t touched my savings yet but I may have to in order to pay everything I owe right now.”

“Well, once you and Colin move in together, he’ll be able to help you pay on basic stuff and that will cut your part of the expenses in half and then you can make bigger credit card payments. For now, just pay what you can and worry about the rest later. You are a very frugal person so you’ll make it up.”

“Are you trying to politely tell me I’m a cheapskate?” Carolyn grinned at her.

“No! Not in the least. You just don’t waste money on stuff you don’t need. Your furnishings are minimal without being Spartan. Easy to keep clean and organized. I wish I was more like that. I seem to have collected a lot of junk over the years I’ve lived in my apartment.”

“Have you and Stuart discussed where you are going to live when you get married?”

“Yes and I think we are going to move into his apartment for a while at least. His parents’ house is very much like your parents’ house. Their land is not as big as yours but it’s big enough. We might eventually move up there but for now, it will be easier on us to get to and from work if we live in town.”

“Yeah, that’s what Colin and I have decided to do. His parents’ place is nice and all but I don’t want to move away from the clinic just yet. I like your idea about asking Cindy to come run the clinic with me. Maybe by the time she’s out of school, we will be having kids and I’ll need to have her there full time then.

Don’t let me forget to talk to her about it when she comes home. Oh, I had better call her and let her know our wedding date so that she can arrange to come home.” Carolyn told her and pulled out her cell phone, looked up Cindy’s number and hit the call button. A girl named Beth answered and said that Cindy was in class. Carolyn left a message for Cindy to call her back when she got in.

“I wonder when they get out for spring break? When did we?” Carolyn looked at Tammy with a puzzled expression.

“You know what, I don’t really remember when it was but I think the 1st week of April is pretty close. I just remember that our last year at college was when we went to Myrtle Beach and had such a great time. We need to go again one of these days.”

“Yeah, we never did get to have our holiday there last year, did we? Maybe we can all celebrate an anniversary there one year. How long do you and Stuart think you will wait to have a baby?”

“I think we should get through the first two years together before we decide to bring kids into the picture. They say you’ll know if you are going to make it together or not within the first two years. How about you? Are you going to wait or start having kids right off?”

“I’d like to wait too. I guess I’d better go see about getting on the pill or the shot or something. I don’t want to get pregnant before I’m ready. Hopefully it will help me with my period too. These cramps are getting to be intense.” Carolyn said as one took hold of her stomach. “Would you mind making some tea?”

“Coming right up.” Tammy said as she bounced up and went into the kitchen. She filled the tea kettle and set it on the stove and turned it on.

The more she thought about it and figured the dates, Carolyn realized that she needed to get on the pill right away. If she opted for the shot, then she could wait until just before the wedding. She wanted to talk to her gynecologist so she called and made the appointment. Since it was the first day of her period, she had to wait until it was over. She told the girl making appointments that she needed to be there on Tuesday or Wednesday at the very earliest.

“We have a 10am appointment available for next Tuesday.” The girl told her.

“Great. Mark it for me, please.” Carolyn said.

“Please come in at least 15 minutes prior to your appointment. We need to update some paperwork with you. It’s been over a year since the last time you were here.” The girl told her. “Please bring your most current insurance card and picture ID with you.”

“Ok. Will do. See you then.” Carolyn replied and hung up. “Good lord, talk about no personality at all. She almost sounded like a robot.” She thought to herself.

“All set?” Tammy asked, as she carried in a cup of tea to her.

“Yep. OK. So that’s something that I hadn’t even thought of and it makes me wonder if there aren’t other things that I’m missing?” Carolyn said.

“You know there are always things you forget to take on a trip. Remember that time we went overnight to Raleigh and neither one of us remembered to bring a brush or comb?” Tammy said and as the vision of both of them getting up in the morning with their hair sticking up all over the place had them both laughing.

Tammy had finally pulled on a hoodie and went down to the hotel convenience store and came back fuming mad that she had had to pay five dollars for a comb and it was ten for a cheap brush. Since then they had both developed the habit of keeping a “go bag” handy. It held all the basic necessities in travel sizes needed for a surprise trip. Carolyn had taken hers to Canada.

They both took sheets of paper and tried to think of things they had seen at other weddings. They came up with short lists and finally decided to google “wedding checklists” and found some things that they would both like to have included. Now the question was, could they afford to do them and how much work it was going to involve to get them done.

“I like the idea of having a little something to give the guests but with over 200 people coming, that could get expensive quick!” Carolyn said.

“If you get extravagant it could but if we keep it simple, it shouldn’t be too bad. Here, look at this.” Tammy said as she googled “wedding favors” and found several ideas that wouldn’t cost much at all to make. They finally decided to go with candy kisses tied together in little squares of netting in their wedding colors.

“So white netting with blue ribbon?” Tammy asked.

“Yeah and then whatever doesn’t get used, we can just change out the ribbon for your wedding. The candy kisses and ribbon won’t be hard to find but what about the netting? I smell a trip to Asheville is going to be on our lists. We are going to need supplies that I don’t think we are going to be able to get here.” Carolyn said.