"Genevieve, I could tell you how serious and dangerous it is, being a witch, but you won't listen to me, anyway. So, I'll just tell you this. If you get caught, it'll be your responsibility to get yourself out. Noone is going to come in and save you from the fire. Do you know why? Because it's too dangerous for us."
"Mother, what are you telling her? Jenny, what did your grandmother say?"
"I'm just trying to teach her how to be safe."
"Oh, stop it, mother. This is not the 17th century. Did she tell you about Great-aunt Beth? That story is-"
"What happened to Aunt Beth?"
To the little girl's questions and the old woman's gloating, Margaret Hampton had no better answer than "Go wash your hands and set the table." Jenny Hampton found out later what happened to Annabeth Pinkerson (trapped in her old house when it burned down, though the police refused to investigate any rumors of arson) but she had already learned the lesson for that day - be careful.
"Good work, Gene. You're always so careful."
"That's what you pay me for," she reminded Teresa.
"Okay, can you make twenty copies of this and bring it to the conference room? Pine Grove Pharmacy will be here at three."
That was not what Teresa paid her for, but Gene nodded. "Sure."
"Great." Her boss went off to find some new pawn to squeeze favors from. Not a single "thank you for rushing this editing," or "we're so luck to have you on our team," or even a "Gene, it was so nice of you to put away the dishes that I leave out in the break room every time."
And after the meeting, of course Teresa wouldn't say "Gene, let me help you pick up all this mess instead of seeing the customers out the door and schmoozing as much as I can."
When Gene sat back down at her desk, it was 5:15, and she had three more projects to finish before tomorrow. She pulled her cell phone out of her purse, but the battery was dead. "Good one, careful Jenny," she muttered to herself. It wasn't that unusual for her to pull late hours, so her family wouldn't worry too much, she thought. Besides, how many 31 year old women still called their moms if they weren't home by 6? Only ones whose grandmothers could put a scrying-spell on them if they got suspicious.
She
"Mother, what are you telling her? Jenny, what did your grandmother say?"
"I'm just trying to teach her how to be safe."
"Oh, stop it, mother. This is not the 17th century. Did she tell you about Great-aunt Beth? That story is-"
"What happened to Aunt Beth?"
To the little girl's questions and the old woman's gloating, Margaret Hampton had no better answer than "Go wash your hands and set the table." Jenny Hampton found out later what happened to Annabeth Pinkerson (trapped in her old house when it burned down, though the police refused to investigate any rumors of arson) but she had already learned the lesson for that day - be careful.
"Good work, Gene. You're always so careful."
"That's what you pay me for," she reminded Teresa.
"Okay, can you make twenty copies of this and bring it to the conference room? Pine Grove Pharmacy will be here at three."
That was not what Teresa paid her for, but Gene nodded. "Sure."
"Great." Her boss went off to find some new pawn to squeeze favors from. Not a single "thank you for rushing this editing," or "we're so luck to have you on our team," or even a "Gene, it was so nice of you to put away the dishes that I leave out in the break room every time."
And after the meeting, of course Teresa wouldn't say "Gene, let me help you pick up all this mess instead of seeing the customers out the door and schmoozing as much as I can."
When Gene sat back down at her desk, it was 5:15, and she had three more projects to finish before tomorrow. She pulled her cell phone out of her purse, but the battery was dead. "Good one, careful Jenny," she muttered to herself. It wasn't that unusual for her to pull late hours, so her family wouldn't worry too much, she thought. Besides, how many 31 year old women still called their moms if they weren't home by 6? Only ones whose grandmothers could put a scrying-spell on them if they got suspicious.
She
