Tabitha stepped up to her shoulder, two cups of coffee in her hands. "That was a good day. Come sit and tell me what's got you so distracted."
Lauren followed her over to a squishy couch that did double duty as the pillow fight headquarters. "We have a new witch who's come to Berkeley looking for some training."
"Mmm." Tab raised a curious eyebrow. "Mind witch?"
"No." The couch felt heavenly - it had been a very long day. "Fire witch. With Asperger's."
"Aaahh." They sipped together quietly for a moment.
"We didn't get off to a good start." Lauren watched shadows flirt in her coffee cup and gave Tabitha the short version of Beth's fetching. "She had a rough arrival, and then we managed to compound the mess in her first training session with Nell."
Tab's mind winced.
Lauren stopped, train of thought broken. "You think that was a bad choice? Nell's one of our best fire witches."
"Nell's wonderful. But she's kind of the opposite of autistic."
People with autism were as varied and diverse as people with brown hair, magic, or shiny red shoes. Even very part-time work in the Center had taught her that. Lauren frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Autism is a lot of things. But at its heart, it's a collection of issues that get in the way of being in easy community with others. Think about Jacob."
Lauren nodded slowly. A year and a half ago, their small bright boy had such a need to spin that he couldn't stop long enough for a hug. Now he could - but he still lacked words. And he made strange noises. And he had a very hard time reading the body language and facial expressions and tones of a normal conversation. "He's improving so much."
"He is." Pride shone from Tabitha's mind. "And he will keep improving. But for him, relating to others is hard work."
The dots were lining up. "And Nell is the heart of Witch Central and makes it look effortless." Relating writ large.
"Yup." Tab set down her coffee. "She lives and breathes community - and she offers it to others generously. You would know that."
She did. But for a newbie mind witch from Chicago, used to interacting with a sea of people on a daily basis, it had still been a near-drowning experience. "They have no idea how overwhelming they are."
"The world needs Witch Central to be exactly as it is." Tabitha gave Lauren a searching look. "But it also needs people who remember what it was like to stand in the path of that kind of wave."
A mirror. Tabitha was particularly good with them. Lauren looked into her coffee cup, which was suddenly mysteriously empty. "Funny, I came here to see if you could help us understand Beth and how to help her. You always help me see myself more clearly instead."
"Oh, I can help with Beth too. You already have the perfect person to help you understand her."
Lauren blinked. "Who?"
"Beth," said Tabitha wryly. "Jacob can't speak for himself. She can."
Lauren remembered back to her first whirlwind days in Witch Central. She'd barely been able to figure out what to eat for breakfast. "I wouldn't have known what to say." It had taken her months to process that particular upheaval in her life.
"You aren't autistic, either." Tabitha's eyes were kind - and flagged another lesson coming. "You roll with life with an ease that makes me very jealous. Those of us who are less adaptable need to learn how to cope with the world, and that involves figuring out what we need. Beth sounds like a strong and amazing woman. From what you told me earlier, she owns a business, has friends, is in a long-term relationship. Handles the role of coven leader with quite some skill and grace. No one with Asperger's could do most of those things without learning a whole lot about themselves. I'm quite sure she'll have a very good idea of what she needs."
Phew. "They - Nell, but even Moira - see her as weak."
Tabitha raised an eyebrow. "And you don't."
It wasn't a question, thank goodness. "No, although I don't think I'd