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I was very pleased with myself when I got home yesterday evening. I'd been to the cinema, done some shopping, and bought myself a new shirt and a flashlight. I was learning to control my flame-ring better, even though the Pixie had disappeared again. I waved to a young fox-woman I saw dancing through the trees, who stared at my flames for a moment. Then she waved her hand, and a tiny dragon shot up into the air, a rainbow following. I grinned, somewhat pleased to know others in this wood held magic.
I switched off my flames as I turned the corner and got in view of the house. For a moment the tip of the rainbow touched the top of the lightning rod on the roof. Then it disapeared, leaving a glow inside me.
When I stepped into the kitchen, I had to laugh. The window was wide open, music was playing on the radio, and Cindy, jacketless, tieless, and barefoot, was extracting a pie from the oven. It smelled delicous, but everything in the kitchen, including her, was covered in flour.
"I thought I might try making my favorite dessert," she said rather sheepishly. "I made it without lard, so don't worry..."
"Lard?!?" I asked in disgust.
"It was in the recipe," she said, "but I used margerine instead. I'm afraid the dough was a bit more powdery then it should have been, but I'll do better next time. Now, let's clean up and get some kind of dinner together."
We ended up scrapping dinner, and dug into the pink peppermint pie instead. It was really very good with tea and talk. Cindy had gone on a doing-things spree as soon as she got home from work, washing clothes and making pie. "I'm afraid the seat tore out of your pajamas in the wash," she said. "I don't really think they can be fixed, the cloth's falling to pieces."
"It dosn't matter, I've got another pair," I said. She looked sad anyway, and I impulsivly said, "In a way, you are like my mother. You've been so good to me..."
"None of that!" she said, standing up. "You're the only family I have. Now...just go upstairs for a bit, will you? Mike called, he's coming out here tonight. He wants to talk to me, and I think it'll be better if you're not here."
I looked out the window and saw a pair of headlights in the darkness outside. "I can explain..." I said, but was cun off by Cindy's, "I'll do better. Upstairs, now!" I rolled my eyes and complied. However, I left the kitchen door open a crack and sat at the top of the stairs to listen.
At first I heard nothing. Lady Luck wandered upstairs and sat down next to me to wash her face. Slowly murmers drifted upstairs, voices, Mike's argumentetive, Cindy's apeasing. They raised untill I could almost hear what they were saying, then lowered again. Just as I was about to give up and go read a book in my room, there was a loud bang. Mike's voice shouted "I'VE HAD ENOUGH!!!", Cindy's yelled "IT'S NOT MY FAULT!!!", and then there was a loud smash. I was on my feet in an instant, almost falling over Lady Luck, who was also running down the stairs.
We burst into the kitchen to a scene of chaos. Mike was standing in the middle of the room, tears streaming down his face. Cindy was standing in a corner, one hand clutching her cheek, looking angry and miserable. The pie plate was on the floor, and the remains of the pie were in the sink.
"That was a family treasure!" Cindy practicly screamed, seeming not to notice me. "You should have been flattered to drink tea from that pot...and you...you threw it out the window!"
"He threw my teapot out the window?" I shouted, although I didn't mean to say "my". Mike looked like he wished he could disappear. Cindy started to cry.
"It wasn't even mine," she choked. "It was Dawna's. You were so angry...at yourself for being tricked...you smashed Dawna's teapot."
"It was only a teapot," Mike said, staring at the floor. "I'll get you a new one."
"That teapot," Cindy said, looking straight at Mike, "belonged to Dawna's grandmother and mother. Her real mother."
Mike looked up for a moment. Then he ran out the door. A moment later I heard the engine of his car start.
I made Cindy more tea, then went ouside with my new flashlight to see what was left of the teapot. It was remarkably intact, with only a chip off the edge of the lid and the spout broken off from where it had hit a rock. I took the pieces back inside.
"It's no big deal," I said. 'There's people in Durem that fix these for a living. They do a very good job too... Cindy, he slapped you!" A hand-shaped red mark covered most of Cindy's right cheek. It was already turning purple around the edges.
"It's ok," she said, touching her cheek gingerly. "I know it looks awful, but I bruise easily. I'll just wear more makeup tomorrow." Seeing my disaproval, she said, "I've covered up worse, and got worse for less good. The mark will go away, and if your teapot can be fixed, we've made him understand and a bargin-basment price." She took the peices of the teapot from me. "It could have been worse. It could have been much worse." As if in agreement, Lady Luck leaped onto her lap and lay there purring, staring up at Cindy with her golden eyes.
The blue pajamas were too small, but what does that matter? I'll sleep in a shirt for a few nights, and get some more in Durem when I get the teapot fixed.