Introduction: This story is the third, the penultimate, in a series within a series. The overall series is the “Cynthia Chronicles”. This story is directly connected to “Simoné and the Second Time Around” and “Marti and the Doppelganger”. The latter left many unanswered questions. Some of those will be answered, some probably not. There are many references to previous stories in the series. If you are confused by some of them, just put it off to my senility. The Cynthia Chronicles takes place in a universe very similar to ours. Unfortunately, it might be too similar.

For any who read “Myrna and the Genetic Disaster”, this is the same story, only with the political rantings and scientific explanations removed. There may also have been a few edits and additions.

This is the eighth part of ten or maybe eleven. I had considered reorganizing the last few chapters of the story as there is quite a bit of skipping around and going back and forth in time. I decided the heck with it and left them as they were.

The girls take a short road trip to Chico, California to visit Rhonda and her family. There is a lot of bonding.

Tamesha, Tanya, and Lily arrived right on schedule. Penny and Wanda had their roller bags on the curb as Tamesha drove up. Tamesha and Wanda shared a not too chaste kiss before they went inside to say hello to Ginny. Richard was at work at the winery as the early harvest grapes were starting to come in. It was a very busy time of year in the wine industry.

“It’s very nice of Rhonda’s mother to put you up. I know she’s very busy with that big conference coming up. I think Wanda and Tamesha volunteering to do the cooking was the right thing to do. I know you are very capable.

“There is something you might consider. It is a very nice gesture for the guests to give the host a gift. You might want to stop at the mall before you leave town, and find an appropriate gift. I understand there is a very nice gift shop down by the GNC store. Get something nice. Something that would be useful, but a bit out of the ordinary.”

Penny picked up on it immediately. “We will Mom. It’s less than three hours to Chico. That won’t delay us at all.”

The mall was right off ‘99’ just east of Stockton. Tamesha found an available spot as close as possible to the side entrance without using the Handicap Parking spots. Penny was checking out the parking lot and noted it was filled to the gunnels. “I wonder,” she said mostly to herself.

“Wonder what?” Tamesha asked.

“Why was that parking spot available? The parking lot is nearly full and two drivers, obviously looking for a parking spot, drove right by it.”

“I guess we were just lucky,” Wanda said.

“Perhaps there’s more to it than that,” Penny said, thinking about all the research she had done before her transformation. That was when she thought there was no hope. That was when she decided to kill herself. “Let’s see if we can find that gift shop Mom told us about.”

Checking the directory, Wanda pointed down the rather lengthy corridor to their right. “It should be down there.”

The GNC store was right where the directory said it was. Next to it was the strangest looking place. A large plate glass window had an old style gold leaf sign. “SPELLS R US” it read in rather ornate Gothic lettering. Under that was “Spells, Potions, Talismans, and Other Items of Interest.”

“I thought so,” Penny said. “This should be a lot of fun. He’s obviously expecting us. A bit of warning, do not touch or sample anything until we get to the back room.”

“What is this place?” Tamesha asked as the tinkle of the doorbell quieted.

“I know,” Lily said. “I’ve talked to him on my computer. It looks exactly like what I saw in the background. This is The Wizard’s shop, and here come Wolf, Padrona, and the pups.” Needless to say, there were some very affectionate greetings before Wolf and Padrona introduced their children. The girls had seen their pictures that day when Penny made her appearance the previous summer.

“Refreshments are on the table.”

They looked up to see Marti, Lanu, The Wizard (He was not wearing his alpine clothing.), and a rather tall girl who had to be about their age.

After a rather large group hug, Marti announced, “Guys, this is Sydney Morrison. She has a rather strong connection with all of us. If you remember, Sydney is Edna Millet’s friend whom we managed to connect with The Wizard. Her ‘birthday’ was just a few days before Penny’s. Sydney and her family moved to Bridgeport a while ago, and they now live just down the street from me. We have some classes together. Lanu and I can’t stay, but I thought it would be nice if Sydney got to meet all of you this weekend. We’ve already cleared it with Ronnie’s mom. The Wizard will meet you here when you come back, and you can just leave her off.”

That camp the year before had been a tremendous learning experience for all. There was self-discovery, a huge amount of education, and a tremendous expansion of all their horizons. Sydney had been so fortunate that she had the support of her family. Penny suddenly had her supportive friends and a wonderful family provided by the Chronisters. Penny and Sydney had known each other for about fifteen seconds. They would be very close friends for life.

“Ladies, I think I have refreshments for everyone. Let’s step to the back room where we won’t be bothered. Don’t worry about the time. You won’t lose any while you’re here.

“Anybody for coffee?”

“I would like some,” Tamesha said. “I’m driving, and I need to be alert. I’d like half and half, no sugar.

“May I have some?” Wanda asked. “Sugar, no cream.”

“Coming right up,” The Wizard said. He proceeded to get two cups of coffee from a coffee brewer that looked very much like one of those very popular brewing machines that nearly everyone seemed to have. He processed a cup for Tamesha, then a cup for Wanda. Other than putting a cup under the spout, and pushing the brew button. The Wizard did nothing out of the ordinary. He handed the first cup to Tamesha, then brewed a second cup for Wanda. He didn’t seem to do anything unusual; however, the two cups of coffee were perfect, made to order.

“How did you do that?” Wanda asked.

“I didn’t do anything. This is the newest model. It will brew a perfect cup every time. You just tell it what you want, and it will brew it for you. It will never need any maintenance.”

“Where do you put the coffee in? You know, those little cups,” Wanda asked.

“Don’t need it. It gets whatever you want: water, coffee, whatever. You just order it. It’s the latest model. Actually, we’re just giving it a trial run. Ronnie’s mother loves coffee, and loves to provide it for her guests. I asked Ginny Chronister what would be a good gift for Sara, and she suggested a coffee maker. Consider it a gift from me for all of you. I think it would go over very well.”

“May I get one?” Tamesha asked.

“They’re $39.95. I’ll put one on hold for you until you and Wanda get to college. I’ve sent one to Ginny. I’ll tell you what, here’s a little ‘demo’ cup. It’s not fully tested, but you should be able to get the coffee you want. Just hold it under the spout of any coffee maker. At this point it will just give you the one type of coffee, plus any additives. We hope it will eventually be able to make coffee or tea to order. We will probably ask you to complete a survey after six months of testing.”

“I thought you liked Starbucks,” Marti said, trying to suppress a giggle.

“I do. However, I have agreed to pay them five cents a cup commission. I would never cheat anyone out of what was rightfully theirs. I like their blend. I don’t have time to try to copy it. Tamesha and Wanda like McCafe. Ronnie’s mother likes Gevalia. It doesn’t matter, it will brew what you want. The manufacturer is taking care of any compensation as a recognition of your testing the product. They just ask that you complete the survey after six months.”

“Sydney, from Edna’s description of you,” Lily said, “I would have thought you were quite a bit shorter. I remember her saying you were ‘as cute as a bug’. I don’t mean you are not cute, but you are as tall as Tamesha. You have to be close to six feet.”

“Yeah, real close. I’ve grown six inches over the last year; some growth spurt, huh. Clothes have been a bit of a problem, but the doctor says I should be slowing down soon. Dad is six-five, and Mom is tall, but a lot shorter than I am. I am probably a bit underweight right now, but that should be taken care of over the next few years. I hope there is going to be plenty of food, because I eat like a horse. My basketball coach wants me to put on some weight so I don’t get pushed around so much. My boobs are too small right now. I hope my proportions get a bit better as I mature.”

“You won’t have to worry about a thing,” The Wizard said.

They spent a very enjoyable hour with The Wizard and the pups. There was a special type of bonding going on. The Wizard wasn’t causing it to happen. It was due to some very compatible minds joining forces.

When the girls from the south and east arrived at the McKenzie’s home. Everything was ready for them. Wanda and Tamesha were very appreciative of the deference shown them. They had learned quite a bit about the group they were now associated with. One thing was that they were not all hung up on older teenagers having sexual relations as long as it was consensual and the proper precautions were taken. If they wanted to do adult things, they were expected to act like responsible adults.

Meeting the raccoon family was a very special surprise. The girls were surprised at how easily they had integrated with the McKenzie family. An even bigger surprise was that they understood everything they said, although they could not understand the raccoons. For some strange reason, after about an hour, they were communicating very clearly telepathically. Penny and Tammie were the first to understand them.

Only minutes after moving in, Tamesha and Wanda were familiarizing themselves with the kitchen. They had brought two large refrigerated chests that seemed to maintain their chilled interiors without any assistance from any powered source. The McKenzies had a rather nice kitchen, and the two wanted for very little.

“May I help?” Sydney asked. “My boyfriend is a very good cook. He’s also captain of the boys’ football team. Like you, he wants to operate a fine restaurant. I need to learn a few things so I can join him at the Culinary Institute of America. They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, or in this case through the presentation. I have a lot to learn.”

“Alright, we are going to prepare a Caesar Salad. There’re several heads of Romaine lettuce in the blue chest. You can start on that.

“Do you like Caesar Salad?”

“Yes”

“Anchovies?”

“Certainly.”

“Tammie, I think we have a winner here.

“Cut up the Romaine in the size no larger than you would want to eat. I am going to make the dressing. Tammie is going to prepare the salmon and pasta.

“Tammie, did you bring the capers?”

“I have them.”

The dinner was fabulous. They topped it off with Crème Brulée. Wanda had prepared it the day before. It just needed the caramelized sugar. Wanda fired up the torch and had the dessert ready at the right time. They made many points that night.

After cleaning up the dishes, the girls retreated to the upstairs game room. They had a bit of catching up to do before they headed for the showers and bed.

“I missed you, Tammie,” Wanda said as she started to make love to her partner for life. Tammie was very willing. There was not any dominant-submissiveness in their relationship; just love. They had made love the first time three weeks after Wanda had moved in with Penny and the Chronisters. It was a very special time for both of them. It was also the first time for each. There had been many more times since then.

Tamesha worshipped Wanda. Her skin was like silk. It hadn’t always been that way, not that it would have mattered that much. Lanu had cured her cystic acne, and made a few glandular adjustments so it wouldn’t return. She also removed all the scars left by the affliction. Being badly scarred had affected Wanda’s self-esteem considerably. There was no reason for that any longer.

Wanda and Tamesha had made some other cosmetic adjustments. Each had wanted their partner to have the best access. It hadn’t taken them long to learn how to please each other. Being able to do it in bed was only a part of their relationship. The bed part was good, but so was the rest of it. They fit so well in so many ways.

The weekend was so nice, and they would meet many, many times over the years. All eleven from the cabin would get together quite frequently. The group grew quite large as their spouses and children joined them.

On the return to Modesto, they met The Wizard in the mall outside Stockton. After some very pleasant farewells, The Wizard returned Sydney to Bridgeport.

Next: Rhonda and her mother have a post weekend discussion. The McKenzies’ neighbor is upset about the raccoons dumping his trash. It wasn’t Arnold and his family.