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Chapter Three: Part 2

            “Wow, did Aunt Ruby play the piano?”

            “Certainly not. She just saw that thing at a yard sale in Bristol one year and insisted on buying it. Impossible thing wouldn’t even fit through the door.”

            “How did it get in here then?” Alice asked eyes wide.

            “You don’t want to know.”

Apparently Ruby had collected strange things everywhere she went, because there were a great deal of odd things, including a cookie jar shaped like Elvis, a huge box of fortune cookies, a golden spittoon, a number of large, serious looking books written in Japanese, and a telephone shaped like a duck.  Several stray threads of magic floated above their heads, but not nearly as many as the shop had. Azura showed her the bedroom, which housed a comfortable looking double bed with a bright patchwork quilt.

            “Did Aunt Ruby make this?” Alice ran one fingertip over the soft surface. Azura smiled fondly and her eyes misted over. Alice wondered in horror if she were about to cry.

“She did. She spent so much time on this quilt. She loved it, said it was the most relaxing thing in the world. She made me one too.” She rubbed a corner of the quilt between her fingers and sighed, then straightened her shoulders. “I’m sorry, dear. Here I’m getting all sentimental on you. You relax and enjoy yourself. Unpack. There’s a shelf full of books in the spare room, and the TV gets a few channels.”  

Azura checked her left wrist, which didn’t seem to have a watch on it. “It’s only four, but if you get hungry there is plenty of food in the cupboards and fridge. Ruby didn’t leave much in there, but I anticipated you would be much too busy the first couple days to shop, so I’ve stocked it up well.”

            Alice was grateful at the gesture. “Thank you, that’s very kind.”

            Azura nodded. “Of course.  Now, just make yourself at home. Try to relax and get a good sleep, we have a busy day tomorrow.”

            “What will we do?” Alice wanted to know.

            “I’ll be teaching you the basics. Where we get our product from, how to order, what we usually sell and things we do for special orders., I’ll open the store for a few hours and you can watch me deal with some customers. Do you know how to work a till?”

            “Yes,” Alice said. “I worked as a grocery store cashier for a couple weekends as job experience in grade twelve.” She didn’t add that it had been mind-numbingly dull.

            “Shouldn’t be a problem for you then. There’s nothing magic about the till. I’ll teach you some basic magic tomorrow though. I was going to hold off and start really slow, but you seem to have a remarkable knack for it.”

            Alice felt a burst of excitement and pride. “Really?”

            “You really do. I think we’ll start with showing you how to enchant most of what we have in the store, then you can learn to manipulate the patterns….” Azura mused, hand on her chin. “Hm…I’ll stop rambling on and let you settle in. I’m just beside you through that door there.  If you need me, don’t hesitate to knock.”

            “Are you…” Alice hesitated. “Is there another suite there, or just a room?”

            “Your Aunt built me a lovely little suite since I always traveled with her. It’s small, but decorated very nicely.”

            “It has a kitchen?”

            “Oh yes,” Azura said.

            Alice paused. “Well…did you ever, maybe…have breakfast with Aunt Ruby in the mornings sometimes?”

            Azura smiled. “I did actually, quite often.”

            “Would you want to do the same thing? I mean…I’ve never lived on my own before.  It seems like it might be kind of lonely.” She felt silly until a smile lit the other woman’s face.

            “Alice, I would love that. I’m glad you asked.” She surprised Alice by suddenly clasping one of her hands in both her own. “To be honest with you. I’m glad you’re….the way you are. When I heard it would be a young woman inheriting the shop, a teenager in fact, I was scared you would be a stuck up, spoiled little thing like most of them are these days.”

            “And I’m not?” Alice asked nervously.

            When Azura laughed this time she threw back her head and the merry sound filled the bedroom. She clasped Alice’s hand a little firmer. “You have positively been a delight. I look forward to breakfast with you tomorrow. Goodnight dear.”

            “Goodnight,” Alice murmured shyly, and the other woman exited her bedroom with a wave of one long-fingered hand. She felt exhausted the moment Azura closed the door behind her, and sat down on the bed to take her socks and shoes off. The throw rug felt very nice on her bare feet.

“Oh, this is comfortable.” She flopped onto her back and stretched her hands to the corners of the bed, feeling the slight bumps in the material as her arms ran over the squares of fabric.

After a few minutes Alice got up and wandered back out into the apartment. The bathroom was very old looking, with patterned tile and an old fashioned claw foot tub, and when Alice tried to wash her hands in the sink the hot water tap came off in her hand. “Oops.” She looked around nervously, as if the ghost of her Aunt Ruby might be looking on disapprovingly. Hastily she shoved the tap back on and went down the hall to the living room.

            Two dark blue sofas sat side by side, having reached the level of comfortable squishiness that only the very oldest couches could achieve. Alice plunked down on one and flipped through the seven channels on the TV, her feet nicely warmed by the magic socks that Azura had given her.   Magic socks - that was something else. Even better, she was magic. And Azura had said she had a knack for it! When had anyone ever said that about her? She had been an average student, but nobody bragged about straight B’s. She was no beauty queen either. She had always been “okay” at sports; people were friendly to her, but she wasn’t hugely popular. She had pretty much always cruised along in the average lane. But here was something she had a knack for.

            “This,” Alice said to no one in particular, “Is heaven. If this entire day has been a dream, then I don’t want to wake up at all.”