The Enchantress Returns (4 page)
Alex had expected to live a dual-worldly life after discovering the fairy-tale world. She imagined spending summers and holidays with her brother in the Fairy Kingdom or Cinderella’s Palace with their grandmother. She imagined a brand-new life of magic and adventure would begin immediately. Sadly, Alex’s expectations weren’t met.
More than a year had gone by since the night their grandmother disappeared. They hadn’t received a single letter or phone call explaining why she had been gone. She missed every holiday and their birthday—days she
never
missed. And to make matters worse, the twins hadn’t been back to the Land of Stories, either.
The twins couldn’t help but be angry with their grandmother. How could she just disappear and never make contact again? How could she take them to a place they had been dreaming about since they were kids and then never let them return?
Their grandmother herself had even said it; a part of the Land of Stories lived inside them—so who was she to keep it from them?
“Your grandmother is a very busy woman,” Charlotte would tell Alex whenever the subject came up. “She loves you very much. She probably just has her hands full at the moment. We’ll hear from her soon enough.”
This wasn’t enough to put Alex at ease. As more time went by, she began worrying whether her grandmother was all right—sometimes wondering if she was even
alive
. Alex hoped nothing had happened to her and that she was okay. She missed her hugs more than anything.
Life without their dad had been the most difficult thing the twins had ever experienced. But life without their dad
and
grandmother was nearly impossible.
“What do you think is going on?” Alex asked Conner on one occasion.
“I don’t know,” Conner said with a heavy sigh. “The last thing she said to us was that she and the other fairies were working something out. Maybe it’s just taking longer than they expected?”
“Maybe,” Alex said. “But I have a feeling that whatever it was, it’s much worse than she was letting on. What else would be keeping her away from us for so long?”
Conner just shrugged. “I don’t think Grandma would ever intentionally avoid us or exclude us from anything,” he said.
“I’m just worried about her,” Alex said.
“Alex,” Conner said with a raised eyebrow, “the woman is magic and has lived for hundreds of years. What is there to worry about?”
Alex sighed. “I suppose you’re right. She better have a great excuse next time we see her.”
Unfortunately, “next time” didn’t seem like it was happening anytime soon.
It was unsurprising that the situation had started affecting her dreams, but more than that, Alex was
depressed
. Ever since she had returned from the Land of Stories, she’d felt like a part of her was missing. The magical dimension had filled the emptiness she’d felt after losing her dad, and the emptiness grew every day she couldn’t go back.
The weekly trips to the college were always a major trigger for feeling this way. College was a place that represented the future, and even though Alex was years away from actually going to college, she didn’t like planning any future that didn’t involve the Land of Stories. How could she live a normal life when she had proof that she was not normal?
Alex fantasized about moving to the Land of Stories one day. Could her grandmother teach her enough magic for Alex to become an official fairy? Could Alex become a member of the Fairy Council or, better yet, the Happily Ever After Assembly?
Alex tried doing magic on her own, but it never worked. The only time she had done something magical was when she accidentally set off her grandmother’s storybook that transported her and Conner into the Land of Stories. But since it was her
grandmother’s book
, she wondered if she was capable of doing anything alone.
Sometimes, when Alex was feeling particularly desperate, she would go into the school library and find a random fairy-tale treasury. She would hold it against her chest and think of how much she wanted to see the fairy-tale world, just like she did the night of her twelfth birthday. But it never did anything but attract unwanted attention from other students.
“Why is she hugging a book?” a popular girl said to her snooty pack on one occasion.
“Maybe she’s taking it to homecoming!” another girl said, and they all laughed at Alex’s expense.
Alex was tempted to yell, “Hey! My grandmother is Cinderella’s fairy godmother, and as soon as she teaches me magic I’m gonna turn you into the lip gloss you wear too much of!” But she kept these thoughts to herself.
As Alex rode her bike the rest of the way home from the train station, she closed her eyes for a minute and pretended she was riding along Thumbelina Stream in the Fairy Kingdom—a
herd of unicorns was to her left and a hovering flock of fairies was to her right—and she was meeting her grandmother for a magic lesson on how to transform rags into a beautiful ball gown.
Paradise,
she thought to herself.
Alex opened her eyes a second before crashing hard into a set of trash cans. Thankfully, the only witness was a garden gnome across the street, but even it seemed to judge her.
She got up and brushed herself off, deciding to walk her bike the rest of the way home. It had been a brutal reality check.
The Baileys still lived in the same rental house with a flat roof and few windows, but things were looking up for them. Their mother had finally caught up on a lot of their financial troubles and wasn’t working nearly as much as she used to. However, something else had been occupying Charlotte Bailey’s time recently, and it wasn’t nursing.
Alex parked her bike on the porch. The front door flew open just as Alex was about to walk through it. Conner was standing on the other side. He seemed upset and very concerned about something.
“What’s your problem?” Alex asked.
“Sorry, I thought you were Mom,” Conner said.
“Do you need her for something?” Alex said.
“No,” Conner said. “Mom is just usually home by six o’clock every night.”
“It’s six o’clock right now,” Alex said, looking at him like he was a crazy person.
“It’s six-
fifteen
, Alex,” Conner said, raising his eyebrows.
“So?”
“Well, where is she, then? Do you see her? Is there a car parked in the driveway?” Conner asked.
“Maybe there’s traffic,” Alex said.
“Or something
else
,” he said. “Like something
keeping
her at work.”
“Is there a point to all of this?” Alex asked, becoming annoyed.
“I need to show you something,” Conner finally admitted. “But let me warn you, you aren’t going to like it.”
“Um… okay,” Alex said and followed her brother in.
A series of barks and whimpers came from inside the house as Alex stepped through the front door.
“
Buster!
Down, boy! It’s just Alex!” Conner shouted. “Why does this stupid dog act like everyone who comes inside this house is carrying explosives? We live here, too!”
“Are you going to tell me what’s going on, Conner?” Alex asked, running out of patience.
“I’ll show you. It’s in the kitchen,” he said. “There’s been a
development
.”
Afew months ago, Buster the Border collie was rescued from the local animal shelter and given to the Bailey family. He was a gift from Dr. Robert Gordon, whom Charlotte worked with at the hospital and who had become a close family friend.
“Dr. Bob,” as the twins called him when he occasionally came over for dinner, was a kind man whose face settled into a natural smile. He was balding and not very tall but had big, caring eyes that made him an instant friend to anyone he met.
“Oh, Bob! You shouldn’t have!” Charlotte said as soon as he surprised them with the canine.
“What’s up with the pooch?” Conner said when he came to see what the ruckus was about.
“He’s all yours!” Bob said. “Your mom is always talking about the Border collie she had when she was a little girl and said she’s always secretly wanted another one. I was volunteering at the animal shelter and as soon as I saw him I knew I had to adopt him for you guys.”
“We have a dog?!”
Conner exclaimed. Although the words came out of his mouth, he hadn’t fully grasped the reality of it.
“I suppose we do,” Charlotte said.
Conner immediately fell to the floor and started rolling around with his new pet.
“We have a dog! We have a dog!”
he exclaimed. “Finally, our suburban lives are complete! Thank you, Dr. Bob!”
“You’re very welcome!” Bob said.
“What’s your name, boy?” Conner asked.
“Buster,” Bob told him. “At least, that’s what they called him at the shelter.”
The black-and-white dog was obnoxiously happy and had bright green eyes, one of which was larger than the other. Bob had placed a red bandana around Buster’s collar.
Conner hugged him and almost cried tears of joy. “I know we’ve just met, Buster, but I feel like I’ve loved you my entire life!” he said.
“Who’s this?” Alex asked when she came to see what was causing all the excitement.
“This is my dog, Buster!” Conner said. He took off one of his socks and he and Buster played tug-of-war with it.
“He’s for
all
of you,” Bob corrected him.
“Conner, don’t use good socks!” Charlotte said.
Alex unintentionally let out a high-pitched squeal and her mouth dropped open. “We have a dog?!” she asked and jumped up and down. Something about Buster made the twins act like they were ten again.
“Yes, we have a dog,” Charlotte said, and shared her smile.
“Don’t be disappointed if he likes me more, Alex,” Conner said matter-of-factly. “Dogs tend to bond with boys more. It’s proven science, I think.”
“Buster, come here!” Alex called. Buster ran straight to Alex’s side and happily whimpered up at her.
“Never mind,” Conner said, a little disappointed.
The twins were so excited to get a dog they never questioned the gift for a second. They were so distracted playing with the new addition to their family that they didn’t see Charlotte give Bob a long, thankful hug, an embrace that lasted too long to just be a
friendly
gesture.
But as time went on, and the twins saw more of Bob, they were forced to notice the signs that their mother and the doctor were more than just friends.…
Conner sat Alex down at the kitchen table as soon as she walked through the door. Although he saw them every day, Buster couldn’t contain his excitement for the twins both being home. He jumped up and down and spun in circles around the kitchen.
“Buster, calm down!” Conner ordered. “I swear, that dog needs to be on medication.”
“What’s going on, Conner?” Alex asked. “You love that dog as much as he loves you.”
“That was before I discovered Buster was a
bribe
!” Conner animatedly declared. “Take a look at this!”
Conner retrieved a beautiful bouquet of a dozen long-stemmed red roses from the kitchen counter. He placed them on the table directly in front of Alex.
