Witches in Flight Read Free

women are allowed to do nice things for
themselves.”   She yawned.   “And Elsie’s great flying adventure
wasn’t that early.”
    Said the woman who got up regularly to teach a 6 a.m. yoga
class.   “Right.”   The yawns were contagious.   “It was pretty spectacular,
though.   I think more than one
person in the crowd was tempted to get up there with her.”   And some, including one four-year-old,
didn’t need a trapeze to do it.   Uncle Jamie had been pretty busy keeping Aervyn’s feet in contact with
the ground.
    “I wonder what she’ll do with it?”   Nat sounded more contemplative now.   “That kind of opening creates space.”
    Lauren’s hips still hurt from the last time Nat had gone about
creating space.   “Maybe she’ll need
a massage too.”
    “Not a bad idea, but I was thinking more about her mental
opening.   She’s spent a lot of time
in the last weeks learning who Elsie Giannotto isn’t .   Now she has
this beautiful piece of who she is ,
or at least who she might be.”
    Now Lauren was the one who was contemplatively curious.   She sighed as Kathy’s hands started
smoothing out the kinks in the back of her neck.   “And what do you think the piece is?   Being brave?   Or vulnerable, maybe?”  
    “Some of all of that.”   Nat was silent a long moment. “But mostly, I think she learned the power
of feeling oriented.   That she is
at her most wonderful when she has a direction.   A compass.”  
    It took Lauren a moment to twig to the wistful note in her best
friend’s voice.   “You want her to
come back.”  
    “Yeah.”   Nat
sighed.   “I miss my intern.”
    “So tell her that.”   As soon as she said it, Lauren knew that was the wrong answer.   “Never mind.   That’s advice for my intern, not yours.”   Lizard needed the possibilities spelled
out to believe them.   For Elsie, it
would just be another kind of pressure—and Nat would only want a choice freely
given.
    Lauren tried not to squirm under Kathy’s relentless
fingers.   Maybe she had a ray of
hope to offer up in the meantime.   “Lizard’s considering coming to a class.   Says it might be good to know more about what you
offer.   Lots of clients are looking
for things like yoga in their neighborhood.”
    Nat laughed, delighted.   “At the risk of repeating myself, tell her that grown women are allowed
to do nice things for themselves.   We don’t need an excuse.”
    Ha.   Given how
cranky her intern had been since poetry night, Lauren wasn’t looking to be the
deliverer of unwelcome messages.   “Maybe you can smooth out a few of her prickles.”
    “She did that herself,” said Nat quietly.   “That poem was an anthem to setting
your prickles aside.   It’s just
going to take her a little while to feel safe staying in the new world she
drew.”
    The poem had been monumental, and the “new world” idea was an
interesting one.   “I thought the
poem was about telling the world—and herself—that she isn’t
stupid.   She could be smart and still
be plenty prickly.”
    She could feel Nat’s grin.   “If you wanted totally smooth and easy, you picked the wrong intern.”
    Point.   Although she
hadn’t exactly picked Lizard.   “Maybe
I’ll send her for a massage.   Dial
down the office cranky factor.”
    Nat hummed as Boris clearly did something wonderful to her
feet.   “You might want to wait
until after she crosses paths with Josh and finds out that he got to see her
metaphorically naked.”
    Lauren squirmed.   Not Kathy’s fault this time—Nat knew how to head right for the
jugular.   “You think I was wrong to
invite him?”
    “No.”   Nat
chuckled.   “But I’m pretty sure
Lizard isn’t going to share my opinion.”
    That was a pretty safe bet.   Damn.
    ~ ~ ~
    Melvin sat in his comfy chair and waited.   He was pretty sure it was the last time
in the afternoon he’d be doing anything quietly.   Aervyn was a marvelous