Tim wasn’t able to stay long after Grandma gave him a metal bracelet, in an acceptably masculine style. It looked like the metal had been powder coated a bright red that matched his Trans Am. She added the “Pontiac T/A”, and it looked very sharp on Tim’s wrist. She spent a lot of time learning about his parents, the kinds of things they enjoyed, a favorite color, what they drove, etc.

He asked her how he could convince his parents to each wear their talisman, but she told him to leave it with her. I followed him outside and we kissed for a while before he left. I almost had a problem, because certain parts of my body were anxious to try something that my mind just wasn‘t ready for yet.

I went in to find Grandma working at the kitchen table. She had some supplies scattered across the table, and was rummaging through them. There were two small piles of things directly in front of her.

“What are you doing?” I asked her, thinking maybe I could help. “I’m making a couple of very special bracelets for your future in-laws, hon.”

That sent a chill down my spine, and with the look Grandma gave me, it was exactly what she had wanted to do.

“Are you sure you’re not a wicked witch?” I asked, and we both laughed. “You meany.”

“I have to stay in practice,” she said. “Your mother already knows all my tricks.”

“All your tricks, Mom?” My mother said. “I’m sure you must have a few you haven’t used yet.”

Grandma just looked away, humming innocently.

Mom and I looked at each other and smiled, then we both kissed Grandma and went to sit with Dad, who was watching a new DVD in the living room.

I woke in the morning to the smell of breakfast. There is nothing like the blessed smell of bacon and eggs to get you out of bed on a Sunday morning. I made a serious attempt at resisting, but my nose sent a telegram to my tummy, which began growling noisily. Really, what could I do?

“There are biscuits in the oven, and would you please get the pitcher of Orange Juice out of the refrigerator?” Mom asked as I came into the kitchen.

“Sure, Mom.’ I put the biscuits on a trivet to cool and got the juice out, then set to work preparing a honeydew melon. I wasn’t really a big fan of it, but everyone else loved it, and it was a nice way to show how much I loved them.
Grandma came in, smiling, but Dad stumbled in, grumbling,

“You’re inhuman, all of you. And you,” he said, pointing at Mom, who was doing her best to look innocent. “You’re just Evil. 6:30 on a Sunday morning, and you stoop to making a wonderful, irresistible breakfast.” He kissed her on the cheek, and then sat down at the table with Grandma, while Mom finished frying the eggs and I took a spatula to put the biscuits in a basket and served them at the table.

Breakfast was very pleasant, and I helped to put things away and clean up, and then went to get dressed for church. I had decided to wear my yellow sundress and my white, low heeled sandals. This way I didn’t need to change to go with Tim. I had decided to look nice but not fancy meeting his parents.

Yes, I was still very anxious about it, but at the same time I realized that this was normal. We’ve all seen this scene on the TV. “But what if they don’t like me? What if they don’t think I’m good enough?” I decided that this was all silly. Surely Tim knows how his parents are, and most importantly, he loves me, so it will be all right. You hear me butterflies? Settle down, it’ll be all right.

I’ve noticed lately that butterflies are extremely difficult to talk to.

The sermon was great, the pastor’s energy was very contagious and I had a good time. I shook hands with several of the older women, many of whom were members of our coven. Witches in church, I hear many of you ask? We attend a non-denominational church, and true witches (not Wicca, although I know of at least two witches who are Wiccans) are not as the books depict us.

Our coven is just a group of related families; all descended from some ancient woman who learned that she had abilities, and passed them down to us. Do you have any idea how interconnected a family can get through hundreds of generations? There are a lot of us, although not as many as there were before World War 2. The European parts of our families were decimated in the war. We’re witches-not invulnerable.

And no, Salem had nothing to do with us. That was just idiotic.

I had a light lunch with my family, and a little after 1:00, Tim came by to pick me up.
Grandma handed me a couple of packages and told me which was for whom. She said they would love them, and she winked.

This witch was not going to need a broom if these butterflies didn’t calm down.

“Relax, Emily, they don’t bite. At least, not hard.”

“Oh you’re hilarious, Mr, Davies. Remember me? Witch? How’dja like to spend the afternoon on a lily pad, buster?”

He laughed, and then kissed me.

“All right, no lily pads. But you may notice a small craving for flies.”

He laughed and kissed me even better.

“Well, okay. Webbed toes?”

We left and headed for his house, and my date with destiny.

Wow, just rereading that. Dramatic, much?

We pulled up to a fairly nice yellow house with white trim. Kind of large, but certainly not the mansion I had been expecting. We followed a path from the driveway in front of a detached 2 car garage to a rear entry into an air-conditioned and very comfortable sun-room, where I was introduced to Tim’s parents. Thank you, Grandma, I couldn’t get the line about “future in-laws” off of my mind.

Tim’s Dad was a bit taller and more stocky than Tim, but without any extra fat. He had the same brown hair as Tim, and just like his son, his smile would light up a room. I felt instantly comfortable with him. Then his Mom, a tall slender redhead, stood up and gave me a hug, and I wondered why I had been concerned. I felt as if they had always been my family.

Tim’s Dad introduced himself as Jack, and his wife Tina. They were dressed almost exactly as Tim said they would be (except for his Mom’s straw hat), and they seemed very friendly and relaxed. I gave them the packages Grandma had given me, and they thought both bracelets were beautifully crafted. Jack’s was a twisted yellow and white gold chain, while Tina’s was a simple thin white gold bracelet. Somehow I knew Grandma had done something, and that they wouldn’t take them off in the near future.

Tina took a good look at me.

“Emily, you are very pretty, but I knew you would be. You’ve been a rather constant presence in this house for some time now. Tim speaks of almost nothing else. I don’t know what magic you used, but you’ve certainly enchanted him.”

I almost choked at the mention of magic, but I smoothly said that it was Tim who had cast a spell on me, and that I was very glad he did. Tim was doing his best to hold back a smile, but his eyes spoke volumes.

We had a wonderful afternoon. Tina showed me around their beautiful home, and I noticed that a great deal of attention had gone into its decoration. I’ve seen many houses where there were several antiques but no real organization. I could tell that Tina had been deliberately subtle in her decorating. Everything in the house had a legitimate reason to be there, and fit in beautifully, even though I noticed some very fine antiques around the house. I was very impressed.

After the tour, while Tim and his Dad worked on the grille outside, I told Tina how impressed I had been.

“It’s almost like artwork, the way you’ve placed things around the house. I once worked for an antique dealer, so I recognized the quality of the pieces. Nothing is hidden, but a thief could walk through your house and only pay attention to the TV. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Thank you, Emily; you have a very good eye. Yes, some of the pieces are very valuable, but most of them have been in Jack’s family forever. We didn’t need to go hunting for them, just finding a place for them was all. There are many, many more in storage, because they simply don’t fit.

I see the ring fits you, and I hope you like it. I was very upset at first that Tim hadn’t proposed properly, but he said he’d had no plans to propose that night at all, it just...happened.”

“Yes, my parent’s were stunned as well, but the ones who were most stunned were Tim and I. It was almost like we were guided together, and it simply felt right. I have to confess, I fell in love with Tim almost immediately, but I wasn’t going to say anything, for fear it might have just been a crush.

Even after Tim ‘sort of’ proposed, we both agreed that we needed to be very careful with each other. We don’t plan on actually getting married until after I graduate, and even then things are very fluid. Neither of us is in a hurry, and we both want to be sure it’s right, but I’ve got to say, I have no doubts whatsoever. Tim is the one and only guy for me. He’s so special, but so normal.”

Tina stared at me, and then laughed. “That is almost word for word the way I described Jack to my parents. So special, yet so normal. It confused them terribly, but we’ve had such a wonderful relationship.

To be honest, Emily, Tim’s proposal came as no surprise to me. He’s very much like his father, and Jack proposed to me within 5 minutes of meeting me. He said he just knew, and I felt the same. I had never dated anyone before that night, and since we’ve met it has generally been an easy ride. The only issue we’ve really had was the fact that we couldn’t have more children.”

Dinner was excellent. Even after my change, I’ve remained a steak-and-potatoes kind of person, although I can’t eat as much anymore. We went out to the sunroom to sit and watch the sun set, and even played some cards, Tim’s parents were fun to be around, and I was very glad I had come. Tina brought out a homemade apple pie that was just so delicious with a side of vanilla ice cream.

As Tina and I cleaned up in preparation for him to run me home, Tina absolutely floored me. She gave me a hug and told me how glad she was that Tim had met me. And one other thing.

“Emily, please don’t be afraid, but I know about the magic.” She looked at me and smiled. “I think it’s wonderful.”

I looked at her in surprise and she hugged me, then Tim and I said our goodbyes and he took me home.

I think I was in shock on the way home, but I kissed him and said I would see him in the morning. I walked into the house, said hello to my parents and went to change. It had taken a while, but I think reality finally forced its way into my head.

I’ve gotta talk to Grandma!