The Magic Touch Read Online Free PDF Page B

the pleasure of a hot bath seemed somehow magnified for
it, so maybe it was an even trade.
    “I thought I was rid of you. I don’t
understand…”
    He sounded so confused that she took pity on
him and peeped one eye open. “Of course you don’t, Danny. But tell
me what, specifically, confuses you and I’ll try to shed some light
on it.”
    He shook his head. “I locked you out. I
distinctly remember turning the bolt. Then I walked in here, I ran
the water…”
    “And that was nice of you. You must have
realized how I needed a soak.”
    He just stared blankly through her. “I went
to my room, dug around in that hippy den you’ve made of it, looking
for my clothes—”
    “Don’t strain your brain trying to make sense
of it. Magical transportation isn’t something you could
understand.”
    He was starting to look angry. “You can’t
keep coming back into people’s houses after they’ve thrown you
out.”
    “Hmm, the evidence would suggest the
contrary. I just did it, so obviously I can .”
    “This is breaking and entering.”
    “Since nothing was broken, technically it’s
only entering.”
    “I could call the cops and have you
removed.”
    “By telling them what? Your fairy godmother
won’t stay out of your bathtub?”
    “That’s enough. I’m finished with you, fairy,
do you hear? I want you to take all your little fairy clothes and
your wings and your wands and whatever else you’ve got stowed
around here and be gone.”
    “Or what?” She scooped up a handful of
bubbles and blew them toward the ceiling. What made him so
irritable all of a sudden? Then she remembered he had always been
an anxious child so maybe that explained how he’d grown into such
an impatient man. Sometimes people couldn’t help these
things—really they couldn’t.
    She said, “What exactly is it that you want
from me, Danny? How can I improve your bad day?”
    He eyed her suspiciously, as if uncertain
what to make of such an offer. “Like I said, you can start by
getting out.”
    She shrugged. “If that’s what you want. But
I’m not going anywhere on an empty stomach. I’ve got dinner in the
oven.”
    He seemed to consider it. “If one last dinner
is what it will take to get you out of here, dinner it is. But
let’s not drag it out.”
    “As you wish. I’ll be right out.” She gripped
the sides of the tub.
    “Whoa, hey, not until I’m gone.” He backed
hastily out the door. “I’ve got enough twisted godmother memories
from the shower this morning, thank you.”
    Well, that was one way of getting rid of him.
Ambrielle whispered a spell and a set of clothing magically
appeared, folded and waiting for her atop the counter. As she
dressed, she applied her thoughts to how she was going to finish
her work with Danny.
    A sharp tap at the door betrayed his
impatience to send her on her way. “Are you coming or not?” he
called through the door. “Let’s get on with this.”
    She shook her hair out and forced a carefree
smile to her lips, calling back, “Not so fast, I need time to
prepare everything. You get out of here and come back in an
hour.”
    And that was what he did.
     
    * * *
     
    When he returned to the apartment, he was
greeted by a scene from a romantic chick-flick. Out on the fire
escape a candlelit dinner waited for him, complete with a tiny
table for two that the fairy had somehow managed to cram into the
small space. There was the usual white tablecloth, champagne
glasses, and a vase of roses. Even the long nose of a sleeping
dachshund protruding from beneath the edge of the tablecloth didn’t
seem terribly out of place.
    “What’s all this?”
    He had no sooner taken a seat than she thrust
a scrap of paper beneath his nose.
    She said, “It’s an ad for a small business
prospect. A local landscaper is closing up shop and selling off his
supplies and storage building lease. It’s not much, but he’s
already got a solid customer base, so a new owner might be able to
make something of