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Natalie

T he next morning, Natalie stretched and reached for Sven only to find a cold empty space next to her. She sat up and looked for Winnie but found an empty Pack-N-Play. When she reached for her phone, a smile found her face. It was well after nine. Sven had let her sleep.

She got out of bed and pulled on some clothes. She was a little sore from last night, whether it was the punching bag or the fucking. Her body had gotten a workout. She smiled as she remembered it. The day before was awful, but whatever was happening between her and Sven was quite possibly the best thing to ever happen to her.

She knew when she went downstairs there was still all kinds of bullshit to deal with, but with Sven by her side, she thought she could do just about anything.

As she opened the door, the smell of coffee drifted up the stairs, along with multiple voices.

Once she came down the stairs and turned the corner, she saw a sight that warmed her heart. Sven was on the floor with Winnie and Cash, one of the biggest and burliest on the team, held her above his head and blew raspberries on Winnie belly while she squealed in laughter. Sasha was in the kitchen, pulling out some breakfast casseroles and Hillary, Sydney, and Alice were at the kitchen table poring over some papers and ideas.

“What’s going on?” Natalie asked as she came into the room.

“You’re up,” Sven said as he stood and came over to her and wrapped her in his arms. “I thought you could use the extra sleep.”

“What is all this?”

“Well,” said Hillary, looking up from her computer, “we decided to get a jump on the day and deal with things.”

“Nat, I’ve been researching the group that came after you. They suck. Like, they really suck,” Alice said.

“I know they do,” Natalie agreed. “Any ideas?”

“Well, I want to beat their asses,” Sydney said. “But Hillary says that’s not how we handle things.”

“Do you want some coffee?” Sasha called from the kitchen.

“Please.”

“How do you take it?”

“Cream and sugar.”

Natalie sat at the table, looking at some of the papers.

“I’ve sent some of this to the legal team to see if there is anything they can do. I’m wondering if we should reach out to the Roper foundation again, since the cat is out of that bag.”

Natalie blew out a breath. “Can I have some coffee before we talk about going to the foundation again?”

“Of course,” Hillary said, squeezing her hand. “We’ll get this figured out, Natalie.”

Just then, the door opened and Conner and Murphy walked in. “Your car’s here,” Conner said, tossing the keys to Sven, who easily snatched them out of air and slid them into his pocket.

“Thanks.”

Sasha came and brought Natalie a cup of coffee and a plate of food. Natalie found herself choking back emotion. “Thank you,” Natalie said, trying to hide some of the feelings she was suddenly overwhelmed with.

Sven heard it and came to her side. He put his hand on her back and searched her face. “Are you okay? Is this too much? We can ask some of these people to piss off.”

“No,” Natalie said, putting her hand over his. “This is good. It’s just more than I was expecting.”

“We’re a family,” said Sasha as Conner slipped in behind her and slid his arms around her waist.

“We got your back,” Conner said.

“You fuck with one of us, you fuck with all of us,” said Cash from the floor, where he was still playing with Winnie.

“You guys will not make me cry before I’ve had my coffee. I forbid it,” said Natalie, reaching for her coffee.

The hubbub continued as she took it all in. The Magic really was a family, and she was so thankful for them.

Sven sat next to her and squeezed her leg. She looked over at him and gave him a smile. I love you , he mouthed to her.

I love you too , she mouthed right back.

She took a moment to drink her coffee and eat before she dove into whatever Hillary was working on.

Before she could do that, her phone buzzed on the table. She picked it up, and her heart flew up to her chest. Sven seemed to pick up on it and looked at her.

“It’s my granddad,” she said softly.

“Are you going to answer it?”

She nodded, and everyone in the room quieted. She got up and walked into the office off the entry way.

“Hello,” she said in a shaky voice.

“Natalie, darlin’, what on earth is going on?”

She blew out a breath.

“It’s not what they say.”

“Of course it’s not. Now, can you tell me what is happening?”

And so, she told him. She told him how she was fired for reading a book about different families. When she told her granddad the words they had used to fire her because the words “sexually explicit” were not words she ever wished to say to her granddad, she blushed. She told him about how all of that has been used against her and Sven.

“Natalie, why didn’t you come to me?” he asked, his voice filled with the kindness and patience his voice always held.

“I went to the organization. They said there was nothing you could do.”

“Darlin’, you don’t need to go to the organization. You come to me. You’re my family, and this is the most important thing.”

“Yes, Granddad.”

“Now, we’re going to fix this. I mean, the narrative writes itself.”

“What do you mean?”

“The granddaughter of Mr. Roper, who read books to the kids and taught them about feelings, was fired for reading a book about families to children.”

Natalie gave a rough chuckle. “I mean, the irony is there for sure.”

“Now, I’ve been wanting to go after those book-banning biddies for a long time now, but I stayed quiet at the urging of the foundation—but not anymore. It is time the Roper organization made a stand.”

“I didn’t want this to be your problem.”

“Did you even tell your parents?”

“No . . .” she said quietly. “They’re in Costa Rica, and I didn’t want to bother them.”

“Natalie Grace,” he said firmly. “Are you telling me these hateful people came after you, and you didn’t go to anyone in your family for help?”

“I didn’t want to be a burden,” she said softly.

He sighed over the phone, and she was just about to cry again. “Darlin’, you are never a burden to me. I love you.”

“I love you too, Granddad.”

“Now, let’s stick it to those hateful Mothers Fighting For Freedom and show them that hatred will never win. Are you with me?”

“Yeah, I’m with you.”

She let out a breath and with that breath she blew away the past six months and everything that had gone to shit in them.

“Is there someone I can talk to in PR or legal? I have an idea if you’re open to it.”

“Umm yeah... they are actually here right now,” she said as she headed back into the great room with everyone. “I’m going to give you to Hillary. She’s the head of Magic PR.”

“Okay, I love you, darlin’. I’m going to talk to you real soon.”

“Hillary, my granddad wants to talk to you.”

“Holy shit. Is that Mr. Roper?” Alice asked with wide eyes.

Natalie gave a small chuckle and nodded.

“He wants to talk to me?” Hillary asked. She’d never seen her starstruck, but she’d learned her granddad had that effect on people.

Natalie nodded and handed Hillary the phone. Before taking it, Hillary wiped her hands on her pants and smoothed her hair, even though this was not a video call.

“This is Hillary,” she said, trying to sound as professional as possible.

And as Natalie watched this group of people something about them clicked inside of her. When Sven came and slipped his arms around her waist, she sank into him. It was going to be okay; she wasn’t sure how, but with these people and her grandfather involved, she knew it was all going to be okay.