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 ninth 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.

Ronnie and her mother discuss the past weekend, especially, how good it was for everyone. The raccoon family continues to learn about their new environment. Their neighbor is a bit upset with them. They’re innocent..

“Mom, thank you for allowing us to get together. It was a great weekend for everyone. They have grown up so much over the last fifteen months. I sent a note to Edna a while ago to tell her how impressed I was with Sydney. Sydney had already talked to her about what a fantastic time she’d had. Edna Millet said she may have found a prospective ‘customer’ for The Wizard. She’s not certain right now. She’ll let The Wizard know when she’s more certain.

“Now, other than my school work, I need to be helping you get everything ready for the meeting.”

“All of your friends were a great help. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more compatible group.”

“I haven’t either. Of all the groups I spent summer with, they are the only one that has stayed in contact. They really are quite special for more reasons than just one.

“I was surprised at Marti’s maturity. Maybe, I shouldn’t have been. Marissa Lewis is amazing for someone who has known for less than 20 years that she was a witch, and Bobbie’s mother is the same. They are now the President and Vice President of the New England Conference. It’s just amazing what they have done. They have done more than any other group to include the non-magic in what’s going on.”

“They have been very fortunate, Ronnie, to have had as few conflicts as they have. I think Avery and Myrna are very special people. They understand what’s going on and how the magic relate to all people. Not all out there will be that understanding. I think that is going to be a major discussion during the meeting.

“Daddy, why are we here. I mean, I like these people. Ronnie treats me like a friend, not a pet. Everyone is so nice to us. Ms. Sara told the neighbors not to bother us, and they have been very nice. The neighbors with the Border collie have even let me in for a snack. Reggie is real nice. Sometimes I wish he was a raccoon. We do play a lot, but he can’t climb trees real well. He is a good swimmer, though.”

Misty and the rest of her family were exploring Chico Creek. Her father was showing the children how to catch crayfish without getting badly pinched. It took a couple of pretty severe nips before they got the technique right. The fat crayfish were quite the delicacy.

“We’re here because it’s safer for us here. His Wisdom told me we are special raccoons. There are more like us out there, and we will meet them one of these days.

“Everyone, remember when we ate the leftover trout from that camp, and then we caught that one in the Santa Ana River? That was the name of that stream we crossed to get to the church camp.”

“How did you know that, Father?” Danny asked.

“The Wizard told me that was the name of that water. Ronnie told me the name of this water. She told me that there is a larger fish that comes up here in the late fall and winter. They lay their eggs up there,” he said pointing to the east towards the Sierra foothills. He didn’t know yet what they were. “They die after they do that, but some might be a very good treat. There’s a path we can follow to go further up there without having to worry about the traffic. We’ll just see how it goes. Your baby sister will be arriving about then. I might be very busy helping out.”

“Arnold, what do you think about the fruit from this tree? It tastes pretty good,” Harriet asked.

“Yes, Rhonda told me about them. She said they grew in several areas in the park. They are called persimmons. They are not good unless they are very ripe. She said if they are green they make your mouth pucker up and do bad things to your digestion. If they taste good, they should be ripe.

“Children, remember we are not to get into anyone’s trash, no matter how tempting it is. If we need to supplement our diet, Rhonda’s family will provide it. They promised their neighbors we wouldn’t mess things up. I know how tempting it can be. Just remember, we’re guests here. We have a very comfortable situation, and we don’t need to mess it up.”

Two nights later Arnold’s family’s relations with the neighbors was put to a test. Rhonda was with Mike, and probably wouldn’t be home until mid-morning. Steve and Sara were listening to Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 in D Minor, when someone rang the doorbell and pounded on the door. The raccoons started for a moment at the noise before they went back to sleep in front of the fire. Steve set his glass of port on the table next to Volume 4 of “A California Saga”. Sara had passed it on to him after finishing it. They were both hooked on the series.

Steve looked through the port to see his neighbor, Fred Poe, standing there. He was obviously upset.

“Fred, is something wrong? You seem upset.”

“You’re damn right I’m upset. I just chased those damn raccoons of yours out of my carport. They’ve scattered trash all over the place. I’m pretty tolerant, but you promised they wouldn’t do anything like that. Now I’ve got to clean all that crap up. I could use some help.”

“Come on in Fred. We can take care of the mess in a few minutes. I’d like you to meet some friends of ours.”

Steve led Fred into the family room where the raccoons were still sleeping. They were going out later in the evening to explore a local vineyard that had just been picked. There always were some grapes left over. They were usually very sweet.

“When did this happen?”

“Just now. I chased them out just minutes ago.”

“Well, Arnold and his family have been sleeping here for the last two hours.”

By this time Arnold and Harriet were awake, wondering what the fuss was about.

“Fred, this is Arnold Procyon, his wife Harriet. Their children are Arnold Junior, Danny, and Misty. I was going to take them over to one of the local vineyards later this evening so they could eat the grapes the pickers missed.

“Arnold, some of your relatives dumped Mr. Poe’s trash. Let’s you, Arnold, Junior and I go over there and help pick things up.”

The Poes frequently invited Arnold and his family over for treats after that.

Time to put this series of adventures to rest, at least for now. Our friends are sailing off to young adulthood. Many wonderful things are going to happen.