A Brew in Time Read online

  “I’d like you to drive me, if you don’t mind. Dad doesn’t mind watching a little television with Sere.”

  I’m sure I confused the two of them, but Dad didn’t question it. Mom gave me a questioning look, but I treated it as I might normally. We were in her car when she asked me, “What’s going on?”

  “I want to talk to both of you about something,” I said. “That’s all.” I thought she might fret, so I added, “It’s nothing bad.

  Mom nodded and dropped it.

  Our drive wasn’t long, and Aunt Jackie was expecting me. If she was surprised to see Mom, she didn’t show it, giving us both hugs.

  “Is Phoebe here?”

  Aunt Jackie shook her head. “Some school thing.”

  “Okay, good.” I stepped past her for the living room and plopped down in a chair. Mom and Aunt Jackie sat down on the sofa, facing me. Before they could say anything, I asked, “Aunt Jackie, does Phoebe know?”

  She didn’t ask what I was talking about. “Yes.”

  “She’s never here when I come for one of my lessons.”

  “She understands this time is for us,” Aunt Jackie replied.

  “How did she take it?”

  “Quite calmly.”

  I thought there was something she wasn’t saying, but I didn’t worry about it. I simply nodded then shifted my gaze. “Mom, you’ve never told Dad.”

  “As you’ll recall, I lost my magic before he and I met,” Mom explained. “And so it readily falls into the category of things he doesn’t need to know.”

  “Would you have told him?”

  “Probably not. Honey, you can’t tell Janie.”

  “That’s not what this is about. Well, it is, but not yet. Aunt Jackie told Phoebe.”

  “Her situation is entirely different from yours.”

  “It’s not that different, Mom,” I said. “But I’m not asking about now. I’m asking about ever.”

  Aunt Jackie put her hand on Mom’s arm. Mom, surprisingly, closed her mouth and then nodded to her sister. “Before you may tell someone,” Jackie said, “You must ask permission from the family matriarch.”

  “That’s Great-Aunt Mabel.”

  “That is correct,” Aunt Jackie confirmed. “If you are in a committed relationship with someone, and it appears permanent, and she feels she can trust your wife, then she may grant permission, or she may not.”

  “I don’t want to tell anyone anything, not yet,” I said. “I only wanted to know if there was a rule. You’re telling me I need permission.”

  “Correct.”

  “Given that I’m not married and don’t intend to marry any time soon, what happens if Great-Aunt Mabel dies?”

  “Then you need permission from the next matriarch,” Aunt Jackie said.

  “Who is that?”

  She paused. “Me.”

  “Not Mom?” Between the two of them, Mom always seemed more dominant.

  “Jackie,” Mom confirmed. “At least when it comes to anything having to do with magic.”

  “I, of course, would talk to your mother before coming to a decision,” Jackie added.

  “All right. I just wanted to understand. I wanted to know if I had to keep secrets in my own house.”

  “We’ll see,” Jackie said. “I like Janie, but it would be a careful decision and a careful conversation.”

  “Thank you for explaining. Next. I want to make a good luck bracelet for her. I don’t know what to tell her to get her to wear it.”

  “Call it a love bracelet,” Jackie said. “You know it only works if you use hair from someone who loves her.”

  “You’ll let me make one for her?” I asked.

  “What good is having these abilities if we can’t use them to protect the people we love?” she asked.

  At that, I felt an amazing amount of relief. I thought she’d tell me ‘no’. Well, I’d been afraid she might say ‘no’, I guess. I hadn’t realized I was holding tension in about it, but it all let out, and I smiled.

  “Speaking of luck bracelets,” Aunt Jackie said, turning her attention to Mom. “How are things for your family?”

  “We’re good,” Mom replied. “Serephine is sleeping better.” Aunt Jackie and I had made a fresh dream catcher for her, merging in a few lines of spells to help with better sleep.

  “Good.” Aunt Jackie shifted her gaze back to me. “Did you have more for the two of us?”

  “No. Will you drive me home later, or should I drive Mom home and come back?’

  “I’ll drive you,” she said.

  “School night,” Mom reminded us as we stood.

  We didn’t see her out. Instead, Aunt Jackie gestured in the other direction, and we headed upstairs to her craft room. I pulled my first grimoire down from the bookshelf; my second was beside it, but I wasn’t ready for it. I set the book on the stand and opened it before looking at Jackie. “What are we working on?”

  * * * *

  It was later, in the car, that she said, “So, your date went well.”

  “Yeah,” I said.

  “You’ve known each other for years.”

  “Yeah,” I said again.

  “I’m going to warn you about something, Lydia,” Aunt Jackie said. “You’re young. While high school sweethearts sometimes marry, love is uncertain.”

  “I know,” I said, my voice a whisper. I didn’t say more until we pulled into the driveway. Then I rotated to her. “We’ve had one date.”

  “I know.”

  “We might not even pick the same college.” I paused. “I don’t think I want to go away, or at least not very far, but I think she wants to go further.”

  Aunt Jackie nodded. “That’s going to be hard. You know that.”

  “I know,” I said, my voice a whisper again. “That’s months and months away.”

  “But not so many months before you begin applying to colleges.”

  “Not so many,” I agreed. “Aunt Jackie, we’ve had one date, and I’m already thinking about things like this.”

  “This is the exciting part of a new relationship,” she replied. “Lydia, enjoy it. And don’t worry too much about the future.”

  Enjoying

  “Okay, so,” Janie said at lunch the next day. We were holding hands. She smiled at me. “Would you like to go out with me on Friday?”

  “I’d love to. What are we doing?”

  “Dinner and the arcade?”

  “Sure,” I said.

  “I’ll pick you up at 5:30.”

  “Okay. I’ll be ready.”

  Then we stared at each other for a while. Jenny finally said, “They’re just so cute.”

  “I know,” Rose replied. “I think it’s sweet.”

  * * * *

  Friday arrived. The wait would have been terrible if we didn’t see each other every day at school. I dressed for her, then I went and found Mom.

  “You look lovely, Lydia,” she said.

  “Thank you. Mom, do I need more date clothes?”

  She laughed. “How do you intend to pay for them?”

  “With your credit card.”

  “Cute, but you can ask for more for Christmas.”

  I frowned. I received an allowance, but it only went so far. “Maybe I should get a job.”

  “Maybe your plate is full,” Mom replied. “But you’ll be working for Jay-jay next summer.”

  “But I’m dating now, and I remember what you said last week.” I looked down. I was wearing the only dress I owned that I was willing to be caught dead in. Then I smiled. “Maybe I should just start dressing goth.”

  “Funny,” Mom replied.

  That was when the bell rang. Smiling, I spun then ran to get it. Janie was waiting for me, and she stepped in. We shared a simple kiss, and then Mom was standing there. “Hello, Janie. You look nice tonight.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Davis.”

  “You know, Janie, you’re an adult now. I think you can start calling me Meredith.”

  “Okay.
Meredith. Are you going to be upset if I forget?”

  “No, of course not. Where are you girls going?”

  “Dinner then the arcade,” Janie explained.

  “Do you have money and your phone, Lydia?”

  I did, and then Janie and I stepped outside, pulling the door closed behind me. She took my hand for the ten-step walk to her car.

  Dinner was nice. We split the check and then drove to the mall. Standing outside the arcade, holding hands, Janie leaned to whisper into my ear, “I bet I can kick your ass in air hockey.”

  “You’re on!” I said.

  Yes, she kicked my ass at air hockey. But we took turns at Beat Saber. “You first,” I told her. She wasn’t bad. But when I turned to her at the end of my turn, her mouth hung open as she stared at me.

  “Are you even human?”

  I laughed. “I bet there are people in here way better than I am,” I replied. “But you’ve got that old school air hockey thing going on.”

  “Yeah, my elite air hockey skills,” she replied. But then she hugged me, and we went to find another game to play.

  Eventually, laughing and holding hands, we made our way back to her car. “That was a blast.”

  “Yeah,” I agreed.

  Janie drove me home. In the driveway, I said, “Come inside with me.”

  She did. The house was quiet, although it wasn’t all that late. Still, we made it to my room and then turned to each other. I took her hand then tugged her to my bed, pulling her after me. We both plopped down, lying on our sides, facing each other.

  Then we stared for a while until Janie whispered, “I want to touch you.”

  “Then maybe you should.”

  She didn’t wait but shifted a little closer before raising her hand to my cheek. She cupped it, then ran it down and along my arm. It was almost nothing, really quite innocent, but in that moment, it meant everything to me. I couldn’t have told you why. She did it again, and then she moved closer. “I want to kiss you.”

  “Then maybe you should.”

  We didn’t do much, not really. We kissed, more than we had, and we touched, too, more than we had, but it was really quite innocent. At the time, it didn’t feel innocent, but it was.

  “I should go,” she whispered.

  “Janie.” I stared into her eyes. “Did you and that girl at camp…” I didn’t want to actually say it.

  “No. Privacy wasn’t really a thing.”

  I nodded. “Stay just a minute longer.” I took her hand. “You’ve had more experience than I have.”

  “I guess.”

  “Do you mind leading this part?” I asked. “We can do… whatever you want. If you want to touch, then you should touch. Okay?”

  She thought about it then nodded but said, “I’m not…” She trailed off. “Lydia?”

  “We’re girlfriends,” I said. “I don’t want to put a show on for everyone, but if you want to touch or to kiss, you have permission.”

  “You do, too,” she replied. She shifted and lifted her free hand, caressing my cheek. I laid my head sideways into her hand, smiling.

  Without a word, we kissed, just once more, and then she slipped away. “Curfew,” she whispered.

  “I know.”

  And then she slipped from the room.

  * * * *

  I waited only a few minutes. To Janie: I really, really like you.

  It was only a few minutes before the reply came: I really, really like you, too.

  * * * *

  To Janie: Whatcha doing?

  From Janie five minutes later: Just finishing Saturday chores.

  To Janie: Facetime?

  The Facetime invitation arrived almost immediately. “Hey, girlfriend,” Janie said with a huge smile.

  “Hey,” I replied. “Chores, huh?”

  “Yep. Do I look extra sexy?”

  “Totally. I wanted to ask you something. I guess a few somethings.”

  “Sure.” She rolled over so she was lying on her stomach on her bed, her chin propped on her arm. “What’s up?”

  “Does your mom know?”

  Something crossed her face, and the smile faded. “No.”

  “Do you think she’d be trouble?”

  “No,” she said. “I just didn’t want to jinx it.”

  “So you’ve thought about telling her?”

  “Yeah. I suppose I should do it.” She didn’t sound like she wanted to.

  “I wouldn’t pressure you.”

  “I don’t want to sneak around, and it’s going to get to her eventually, if we keep holding hands.”

  “I don’t want to stop holding hands.”

  “Then I better tell her.”

  “Did you want to tell her together?”

  “Yeah.”

  I laughed. “Okay. Next question. Do you like to rollerskate?” I already knew the answer and didn’t wait for a response. “Are there girlfriend rules?”

  “I’m sure there are. What kind of rules?”

  “How often we can go out, and how far ahead I have to ask you.”

  “As often as we want, and at least thirty seconds.”

  I laughed. “Want to go skating tonight? Mom said I can have the car if we’re back by 11. But we can come here, and then I could drive you home.”

  “Indoor?” she prompted.

  “Yeah. We can get burgers or something there.”

  “I’d love to go. What are you going to wear?”

  “Skirt and blouse.”

  “Sure,” she said. “Were you serious about telling Mom together?”

  “If you want.”

  “When you pick me up?”

  “Sure.”

  * * * *

  I took my time dressing, and then Mom helped me a little, too. When we were done, and I was looking at myself in the mirror, she wrapped her arms around me and set her chin on my shoulder, both of us looking into the mirror together. I think she wanted to say something, but she simply hugged me for a minute before releasing me.

  I was nervous. I didn’t know what Ms. Winter would say. She always seemed kind of cool, and I thought she’d probably be cool about this. But what if she wasn’t?

  I pulled into their driveway, stared at the house for a moment, then took a big breath before climbing out of the car. Janie was waiting at the door, and it opened before I could knock. I stepped in, and we smiled at each other. “Mom is in the kitchen,” she said.

  I took her hand and squeezed it, but then I followed her through the house.

  Ms. Winter was puttering with something, but she turned to us when we walked in. “Hi, Lydia,” she said cheerfully. “How was your birthday?”

  “It was great,” I replied. “Bam! I’m an adult.”

  She smiled. “What time will you girls be home?”

  “Mom wants me back in our neighborhood by 11,” I replied. “We’ll probably hang out for a while, then I’ll bring Janie home.”

  She shifted her gaze. “Text when you get to Lydia’s.”

  Janie nodded then looked down. Without looking up, she said, “We want to tell you something.”

  “This sounds serious. The two of you didn’t get an apartment together or something?”

  Janie looked up. “Of course not.” She paused then reached over and took my hand. Ms. Winter watched but didn’t say anything. But then Janie looked at me. I returned her gaze.

  “Are you sure?” She nodded, so I turned back to Ms. Winter. “Janie and I are girlfriends,” I announced for us.

  “Girlfriends,” Ms. Winter echoed.

  “Girlfriends,” Janie confirmed.

  “Well, it’s about time.”

  “What?” Janie blurted.

  “Your mother isn’t a complete idiot, Janie,” Ms. Winter said. “Lydia, you may call me ‘Summer’ if you want.” She folded her arms. Janie gaped a few times, then closed her mouth. “I’m trying to decide how much of what my mother told me the first time I announced I had a boyfriend I should tell you.”


  “What did Grandma tell you?” Janie asked.

  “She asked if we were using protection.”

  “Mom!”

  “Well, she did,” Summer asserted. “And a bunch of other hogwash.” Then she waved her finger back and forth between the two of us. “You might be adults, but you’re still young. However, you’re both smart.” She stepped forward and bonked the tops of each of our heads.

  “Ouch!” Janie complained.

  “Make sure you use your brains. There. That should handle that.”

  I rubbed my head. Summer turned her gaze full on to me. “Did you hear me?”

  “Yes, Ms. Winter. Summer.”

  She nodded and then waved her finger at us again. “No drinking and driving. Promise me. Both of you.”

  “No drinking and driving,” I said. “I promised my mom no underage drinking at all.”

  “That’s a horrible promise for someone thinking about college to make.”

  “Mom!” Janie complained.

  “Oh, please,” Summer said. “Everyone drinks at college. But you’re both going to be smart about being stupid.”

  “No drinking and driving,” Janie said. “Got it.”

  “No drugs,” Summer added. “While there may not be a thing wrong with a little pot now and then, it’s not yet legal in this state.”

  “You were a pothead,” Janie declared.

  “I was no such thing!” Summer replied. “And watch it! I can stop being cool about this.”

  “I’ve seen the photos,” Janie said.

  “There are no photos in existence of me smoking pot or doing any other illegal drugs.”

  “Maybe not, but I recognize the burnout crowd when I see it.”

  “I was not a burnout!”

  “Your friends were.”

  Summer paused, then sighed. “Yeah. My best friend since forever had some shit happen, and she took a bad path.” She looked away, not saying anything for a minute, then her features tightened. “Promise me.”

  “We already did. No drinking and driving.”

  “And no drugs.”

  “God, Mom! Yes, and no drugs. Does aspirin count.”

  “Don’t be a smart ass. Hug your mother.”

  “Mom!”

  “Yes, this is blackmail. You are going to hug your mother in front of your girlfriend. Or else.”

  Janie looked like she wanted to rebel, but she dropped my hand and stepped forward. Summer hugged her daughter tightly then released. “I’m happy for both of you. Go have a nice time.”