Introduction: This is another story that fits into Part 2 of the Cynthia Chronicles. Chronologically, it takes place a little more than a year after the ending of Adam and the Three Wishes. There are some interesting parallels to that story; however, there are significant differences.

If you are not familiar with the series, you should read An Incremental Journey, Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend, Cynthia and the Dumpster Diver, Cynthia and the Moment of Truth, Cynthia and the High School Years, Parts 1 & 2, Charli and the Man Cave and Adam and the Three Wishes. Bobbie and the Glass Ceiling and Randi and the College Professor take place about seven years after this story.

This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.

Part 3

Chapter 5

"Okay, Terri, what's going on? I saw that switch you did with the dinner rolls. You're getting very good at that sort of stuff by the way; at least from my perspective of being the non magic person in this household. Thank the goddess that our daughter hasn't figured out how to do that little trick, or we'll be cleaning up poop from the floor every time she wants to clean out her diaper."

"I don't think we'll have to worry about that. From what everyone has told me, she shouldn't be able to teleport things until she's in her teens.

"Obviously, it's about Barrett and Howard. They're both great guys, and you're lucky to get Barrett. The thing is, they're both like the way I was, but neither knows it. It's pretty deeply seated, but I've been working with Cindy, she's one of the best along with Bobbie in detecting that little problem."

"Why don't you have His Wisdom do his thing, and they'll be happy young women, none the wiser."

"It's not that simple. First of all, he won't do transformations unless there're very good reasons, and he's totally against personality annihilations. He may make people forget for a while, especially if he does a major age regression. You know, like the one he did for Randi and Ginny. I guess the closest he's come to personality annihilations has been when he regressed some criminals back to infancy. He's always let that person's personality develop without the factors that turned it in the wrong direction in the past. That's been mostly successful, by the way. There was one particularly heinous murderer that Cindy told me about. He turned him into a calf and sent him to a stockyard. You can imagine what happened there.

"Then, there's this other thing. They're half magic. I can sense it. The Wizard says there aren't many of us that can. Esmeralda and her sister have that ability, and Esmeralda picked up on it. This doesn't mean that they'd be witches. They duplicated my magic gene, but they've decided that that will be done in only unusual cases from now on. I'm not sure His Wisdom knows about them, but he will soon enough.

"If and when Barrett and Howard discover what we know, they'll have a choice, and that will depend on how strongly they feel. They might want to stay the way they are. Maybe they won't. That will have to be resolved."

"I know you've talked about this before," Jim said, "but why is this so important?"

"The magic trait came close to being wiped out in this universe. The Wizard trait just about was. According to Myrna Mankowitz, inbreeding could become a serious problem. That's why she's doing all of this genetic research. Every time a new line of magic appears, she adds it to her magic data base. We want nature to take its course, but the more we can do to find those who possess the magic trait, the better it will be for us and man in general. The trait makes us stronger and healthier. You've never had a sick day in your life, and you are only half magic. You will live, barring an unforeseen accident, a very long time. You won't live it all as a male, but we're going to be around for a long time.

"Anyway, I think we've found two more previously undiscovered magic lines. Hopefully, they'll cooperate. It's interesting that neither of them has been able to maintain a long term relationship with anyone but themselves. I think there's a lot going on in their subconscious. I'm going to contact His Wisdom tomorrow. This is something that he and his superiors, whoever they are, will have to work out."

Randi and Charli were very happy to see Terri. They had been there to help her after her transformation. And they and Terri's great, great grandmother had brought Terri up to a high level of magic proficiency very quickly. Terri was a natural.

Melanie was just waking up from her nap and needed changing. The group retreated to the back of the shop where Terri changed her daughter's soiled diaper. The Wizard transported it to a nearby dumpster.

"So, tell us about these two new potential transformees."

"You know about them?"

"Well, I'm a Wizard, and I know these things," he said as he shrugged giving an open armed, palms up gesture. They all laughed as that was his standard reply to those that questioned him. "Actually, Ezzie sent me an email saying that you would see me about these discoveries of yours."

Terri looked over to the corner where the cat and four kittens were still sound asleep. "I found them earlier this afternoon," Charli said. "Some dogs had trapped them in a dumpster corral. They need a home." Charli explained what had transpired.

"I think we can take care of them," Terri said. Ask them when they wake up if they're okay with another cat. I know Phantom wouldn't mind.

"Okay, about the discovery," Terri said before leading into the revelations of the previous evening. "I know we need to talk to them; however, we have to explain that any transformations on their part must be strictly voluntary. They wouldn't be witches, but the trait could be saved. There is another problem, and I didn't tell Jim about this one. If they go through with the transformation, they'll be lesbians. Neither of them appears to have any attraction to men. Howard was a star football player before he got hurt. He's definitely attracted to women as is Barrett. There is no sexual attraction between them as men. Howard would love to have children. I'm not that sure about Barrett."

"I'll do a little research on them," The Wizard said, "and see what we can come up with. I guess the big thing will be to convince them to do it. Maybe they won't be as tough as you were."

"I wasn't tough, and you know it. I just wanted to make sure I did it the right way. Once I knew for sure that it could be done, there was no holding me back."

'Who are you? You're not going to yell at us are you?'

Terri looked down to see a little calico cat with four kittens sitting behind her. 'No, I won't yell at you. Would you like to come home with me? We have a very nice cat. His name is Phantom, and he's just a little older than you are.'

'I think I might like that.'

"So what do we do?" Teri asked The Wizard.

"I think it would be good if we met them. Having them meet Bobbie and Cindy would be an easy way to ease their fears. Of course Don and Andy would have to be there. If Randi and Charli could control themselves, we might allow them to meet them soon."

"Your Wisdom, we're not that bad," Randi said unsuccessfully trying to fake a sulk.

"Well you might just be more than they can handle at first."

"I'd like to meet Howard Hansen," Randi said, "even if he's a woman inside. He is so handsome. Besides, I've been there, too."

"Say, how did you know we were talking about Howard Hansen?" Terri asked. "I don't recall mentioning his last name."

"Well, you said he was a star football player before he got hurt, and I checked all the NFL rosters over the last few years, and he was the only Howard who had a career ending injury."

"When did you do that?" The Wizard asked.

"Just now, I've memorized all the rosters and lifetime statistics. I need to know all that stuff for my fantasy football team. I have to stay on top of things."

The Wizard just shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. He turned back to Terri. "Do you think it's too soon to invite them over for dinner or something similar?"

"It might be, but I think I have a better idea," Terri responded. "They're looking for a house. The duplex three houses down from ours is going on the market. The one side has been vacant for a while because the thoughts were Lewis Properties might convert it to a single family dwelling. I know they are living together right now, but that's only temporary.

"They talked about finding a realtor. Esmeralda has her license. She could call them about the place, and it could be either for rent or for sale, or both for that matter. If they bought it, they could have their individual homes. They might decide to live together. Who knows? If they to decide to convert it to a single family dwelling, that certainly can be done. Of course I'm assuming that they would want to live there; however, they commented on how nice the area is, and I can certainly understand that.

"Maybe Cindy and Bobbie could just happen to come by."

"That won't work," Charli said. "Bobbie's playing out west, and Andy's carrying for her. Cindy and Don were talking about that the other day; however, I'll bet Cindy and Don could be here. I'll bet my parents could come. Cindy's mom and dad could probably come, too.

"I guess that begs the question. When do we let them know about the magic?" Terri asked.

Chapter 6

"Well, how'd your day go? The bastards told me to clean out my desk and never darken their door again. I'd finished that last project and they had no need for me. At least I got two weeks' severance pay." Barrett set his briefcase down against the wall by the front door. "They had the nerve to search my brief case before I left. They probably thought I was going to steal a stapler or a server.

"Let's go out for dinner. I'm going to have to get my own smart phone. Of course they took that, too."

"Done now?"

"I guess so. They just pissed me off. Yeah, I'm over it," Barrett said while getting a Hooker Blonde Ale out of the refrigerator.

"Okay, here's what's happening on my end," Howard said. "I'm going to meet the packer on Wednesday at my apartment. I have a couple months left on the lease. I'll just pay it, or they can let me go and get somebody new in at a higher rate."

"Cool," was Barrett's short reply.

"By the way, Esmeralda Mather called. You remember her; she with the oven rolls? It seems that she's a part time realtor. She used to handle the property management for that little development before it went mostly private. It seems that one of those duplexes we passed the other night is coming on the market. She'd like to show it to us this weekend. Amazing, huh?

"Not only that, that gorgeous blonde, Cindy Brewer, Bobbie Alexander's friend, and her family are coming over from Bridgeport for a barbecue, and we've been invited."

"That's nice," Barrett said, taking a swig from his beer bottle. "I really liked that area. I thought you did, too."

"I do like it, and I like the houses, if the Matthews' is any indication.

"I don't know, but I keep getting the feeling something weird is going on. I don't think it's bad. It's just that everything has been so damned convenient. I get a great job offer. You get a new job with some really nice people from everything I can tell. I need a house, and you need a place to live, too. It's time you got out of this piece of shit apartment by the way."

"It's not that bad."

"You need to get a life. If you ever do find someone, they wouldn't want to live here. Esmeralda gave me a price on that duplex. I certainly won't have any problem handling it, and I don't think you would either. It's a much more attractive neighborhood, and if I ever find the right person, she'd have to like it, or we weren't meant for each other. I've already been going over the interior in my mind based on what I saw at the Matthews' home.

"Okay, I'm out of here in the morning, and I should be back on Thursday. I'll stay in a hotel Wednesday night."

Howard sat in his soon to be ex-apartment and mulled over what had happened over the previous week. It had been a good week; however, questions had risen to the surface that he hadn't he hadn't thought about in years. His and Bear's discussion about their sexuality had bothered him. Maybe bothered was not quite the right word. But it certainly brought up a question that had been in the back of his mind for most of his life. There had been more than once when he'd looked at an attractive young woman and had thought about making love to her. The thing was, he'd often thought about what it must be like to be made love to as a woman; however, that was problematic because all he could visualize as a partner was another woman. Sexually, men left him absolutely cold.

He remembered back to his middle school days when the girls around him were starting to change. There were times when he wanted to know what it felt like to have breasts developing, to have your uterus start to expand and give you a tummy, and have your hips start to spread to child bearing size. What would it be like to have period and know that you were capable of bearing a child?

He hadn't been exactly truthful with Bear about his cross dressing. It had been an obsession for as long as he could get into his mother's clothing. But then he had that growth spurt that most boys had, and his source of clothing was no longer usable. It was then that his natural athletic abilities came to the attention of his coaches, and fortunately he loved athletics, in particular football. Baseball and basketball weren't far behind. The scholarship offers had come in from everywhere.

He was eighteen when his parents died, and their insurance had paid off the mortgage on the house, and left him comfortably well off at least for a few years. He was on his own. He was able to afford a housekeeper during the summer when he returned from college, and he and Bear had lost their virginity when Bear had visited during the beginning of the summer break to a couple of local girls that he'd known from high school. It hadn't been a bad experience at all, and the closeness to the female body did nothing to quiet the feeling he was missing something.

That had been interesting now that he thought about it. They'd coupled with the girls several times over a week and a half, and he was pretty certain that they had been well satisfied; however, they just went away. After Bear had returned to his home, he tried to date each of them, and they always had something else to do. He never saw either one of them again.

After his senior year and being drafted by the Patriots, he sold the house, never to return to his home town again. He kept and stored much of the furniture and household goods. It was good furniture, and his parents had good taste. It wasn't the type of furniture one saw advertized on television by those discount furniture warehouses. Much of the valuable dinnerware and glassware was already in storage. When he found the right house, he'd arrange to have it shipped along with the stored furniture to his new home. He'd kept most of his parents' sterling. Things like that had a habit of disappearing from storage facilities. He didn't use it that often. It was in a four drawer standing silver chest. He'd take the legs off that and take the chest with silver in his Yukon Denali when he returned to Hartford. The movers could ship most of his clothing, especially the finer dress suits. He didn't think he'd need those any time soon.

The movers were very efficient, and four hours after their arrival, everything, with the exception of what Howard was taking, was in the truck and ready to go to storage in Hartford. Maybe it wouldn't be there for long.

Well, off to the Plaza to treat himself on his last night in New York.

"Hey, Bear, I'm out of my place, and the manager and I came to an agreement about the rent without any problem. I should be up there around noon. Anything going on?"

"Not much, I had a nice orientation with the folks at my new job. They'd like me to start next week. I have a nice cubicle with a window. They gave me a new smart phone, and I managed to keep my old number. I'm not sure how that was worked out, but it was.

"Esmeralda gave me a tour of the duplex. It's really nice. It might need some updates, but you can do my side when you do yours."

"You seem awful sure that I'm going to like it."

"I think you will.

"Jim and Terri invited us over for a barbecue this Saturday. Some of their friends from Bridgeport are coming over. They're the owners of that construction company that used to own all of the property out there. We can look at the house before the barbecue.

"Oh, Terri found a stray cat with four kittens. She wanted to know if we'd want one of them. I wouldn't mind having a cat, so I'll probably take one no matter where I lived."

"You know, I don't think I would mind having a pet," Howard replied. "It wasn't really possible when I played football and when I was going to school, but now that I'm going to settle down a bit, having a furry companion might be nice.

"Look, I'll see you tomorrow. Take care."

"See yah."

"When can I close?" Howard asked as Esmeralda brought them back to the kitchen area.

"We need to sign a contract and submit it to the owners. They'll want to counter your offer. Once the offer is accepted, you'll have to apply for a loan. These things can't be done over night."

"I understand all of that. I am making a full price cash offer. This is exactly what I wanted."

"That is a bit unusual, but it shouldn't be any problem."

"Mr. Hamilton, what are you thinking about the other unit?"

"I guess I'll have to go through all that application process that you were talking about. I definitely want the place. This is really working out well. I think I'll qualify, but of course we'll have to go through all that rigmarole."

"I don't think you understand," Howard said. "I am making a cash offer for both units. Bear can pay rent for his side. That will just keep things very uncomplicated.

"I would like to move in next week. The place is move-in ready. I'll just pay rent until we close. I don't see that as being any problem. As a representative of the seller, what do you say?"

"Of course I'll have to run it by the owners which shouldn't be too difficult since they will be at Terri and Jim's place when we get there. I think I can say that there won't be any problems. I'll get the paper work ready for you in just a little while.

"Do you have any questions?"

"Not at this time," Howard answered. "Bear, what do you think?"

"I think you caught me a bit off guard. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Absolutely, it's going to be tight for you, if you are approved for a loan. This way, your rent will be a lot less because I won't be paying any interest."

"Yeah, but you're putting out a hell of a lot of cash."

"It's not that much. I'm not even touching my investments. This is money left over from the settlement of my parents' estate. I think this is what they would want me to do.

"Now, let's go down and see that cat and kittens that Terri brought home."

Well, it looks like they've found a home for each of them. They have jobs that they're going to like. Can anything go wrong? Things are going to come to a head, and the one thing we have to remember is The Wizard is out there. Can we trust him?