better place than a garden to soak up sorrows and turn them to good use. These were not entirely unhappy tears. Change was coming in her life, and much of it was very good.
A wonderful man awaited her and the child they had made together. And Aunt Moira was doing amazingly well for someone who had suffered a catastrophic stroke.
But she would need care. Long-term care from a trained healer.
There were others who would serve, others who would help. The witching community always took care of their own, and Aunt Moira was the most beloved of witches. It wasn’t necessary for Sophie to go, to uproot and leave her home.
But it was right.
Even as tears fell and she said her goodbyes, her heart was sure. The next chapter of her life would be written in Fisher’s Cove.
~ ~ ~
“She wants to go home.” Elorie sat on the arm of Aaron’s chair, having done one of her best things and convened a meeting. “Is that possible?”
“I hope so.” Nell grinned. “She’s getting as grumpy as Aervyn when he’s sick.”
Elorie sighed. That was the reason for the meeting. “I know. I keep reminding myself that cranky patients get better more quickly.”
Sophie laughed. “I’m beginning to think she taught us that all those years to make a good excuse for her bad behavior now.” She sobered. “We can definitely get her home—she’s well enough to be transported. But she’s going to need a lot of care once she gets there. Are we ready for that?”
Aaron squeezed Elorie’s waist. “I can make sure she’s got lots of bland, mushy stuff to eat. No broth.”
Elorie giggled. Gran had practically thrown the last cup of soup at the poor witch delegated to get her to drink it. The good news was that she’d thrown it with her right hand. As a result, Sophie had ordered cups of broth sent in every thirty minutes. Throwing things was good physical therapy.
Nell shook her head. “You know you’re truly loved when people are drawing straws for the chance to have you hurl pottery at them. Aervyn won the last draw, and he’s all excited to go visit her.”
Mike rubbed his head. “Tell him to duck faster than I did.”
“Emotional swings will be a part of her recovery process,” Sophie said. “Her brain is in remarkable shape, but it still has some serious recovery to do. Expect her to have a little more of a trigger temper than usual.”
“Now you tell us.” Elorie stood up and stretched, still kind of creaky from napping in odd places. “On that happy note, what else will she need?”
Sophie started to tick off on her fingers. “Someone staying with her round the clock, since she can’t get out of bed yet. Regular healing to help her nerves and tissues recover, so she gains back some of her lost abilities. Soaks in that marvelous pool of hers. A reason to get up in the morning and function.”
Excellent. Lists she could work with. Elorie started running through the possibilities. “A reason is easy. She has a new healer to train. Lizzie’s clearly got at least some talent in that direction.”
Sophie smiled slowly. “A trainee. That’s absolutely perfect.”
“She can have two,” Nell said. “We couldn’t figure it out in time to get healers to Moira without moving her, but Jamie and Aervyn have worked out how to shuttle someone through Realm to a different real-world location than where they started. We can send Ginia to Moira. California’s very short of healers, so getting her some training would be a wonderful thing.”
“That would be helpful,” Mike said. “She’s actually got some good skills already, and perhaps Moira would object less to monitoring from her own students.”
Elorie loved watching a plan come together. “I’ll stay with her for now, and the witchlings can help during the day.”
Marcus shook his head. “No. I’ll stay with her. She’ll need lifting and carrying, and you shouldn’t be doing that in your condition. I’ll move my things to her guest bedroom.”
Dead silence greeted his pronouncement. Uncle Marcus was going to move in with Gran?
He looked around. “What? You think I can’t take care of one cranky old witch?”
Nell snickered. “Well, you’ve had plenty of experience with the cranky part.”
“I know how to throw the cup back at her,” Marcus said dryly.
“I think it’s a good idea,” Sophie said. She winked at Elorie. “It will give Aunt Moira lots of incentive to get better quickly.”
It would surely do that. Uncle Marcus as nurse. Egads.
Elorie