Midnight Magic

Chapter 6

  "Oh, I'm so sorry, sweetie. I'm going to call Darryl right now. Leo and Slappy, take Wyatt back to his room," said Paige.

As soon as everybody but herself and Elsie were in the room, Piper went to a plastic bucket filled with Halloween candy and pulled out a bag of lollipops. Then she sat down next to Elsie.

"Did you try to escape before?" she asked.

"No. I didn't want her to punish the other girls if she caught me."

"That was very brave. And smart. Sucker?"

"Thanks. My boyfriend and I love this brand. We'd by a bag, and he'd eat all the cherry ones and I'd eat all the watermelon ones."

Piper noticed a ring with a large diamond on Elsie's wedding finger.

"I hope I'm not prying, but is that an engagement ring?"

"Yes and no. You see, we wanted to get married even before we knew about the baby, but we couldn't afford a wedding. So, he bought a ring, got down on one knee...and asked me to be his wife. That's what he said: "Will you be my wife?" I liked it so much better than "Will you marry me?" I mean, after all, that's what a marriage is; not a wedding, but being husband and wife. Being there for each other through thick and thin. What about your man? Does he treat you right?"

"My man?"

"Yeah. I noticed you and I are in the same boat." She looked at Piper's stomach, then rubbed her own to indicate their shared condition.

"Oh. We just decided that we were better off as friends than as spouses. But I've got him to thank for my two boys."

"He knows he got you pregnant, yet he's out of the picture?"

"He sort of chose his career over us."

"What a deadbeat."

"Actually, he's not entirely to blame. It's a long story."

"I like long stories."

"If I live to tell the tale, you'll hear the whole thing."

"Do you know you're still wearing his ring?"

"Oh, yeah. Well, it's my mother's. She took it off when she and my Dad split up and gave it to my fiancé to give to me when the time came. I love her more than I can say."

"My mom and I have a special bond, too. I always thought she had just enough flaws to be human, not an angel. Moving to Washington for freshman year was hard on the both of us. Does your Mom live in San Francisco?"

"Actually, my mom really isan angel."

"Let me guess: she was a witch who died in the line of duty."

"Yep. A demon took her."

"I'm sorry to hear that. My mom doesn't even know that I'm pregnant. I hope I get the chance to tell her."

"I promise you, she will."

"The ring is actually cubic zirconia, but everyone assumes it's real because I wear it on my wedding finger. Not that I would mind if they knew it was fake. When you're in love—as well as pregnant—material things become, well, immaterial."

"Believe me, I know. Even before I was dating my ex, I was a witch, and almost losing your life or one of your sisters on a regular basis makes you rearrange your priorities. "

"How did you first know it was real? Your relationship with him?"

Piper thought about the question for a moment and settled on a one-word answer. "Books."