Page 23 of With the Key in the Office

We made tea because that’s what we did when the world had given us children to shepherd and adults to trust. Jessie took the chair and kicked off her shoes, Jaylyn curled on the rug with Simon tucked against her knees, and Robbie leaned against the counter, steady and close.

“Those kids will talk about tonight for a year,” Jessie said, not with pride so much as gratitude. “They will say the Godmothers pulled a wand out of thin air and then told them to go to bed.”

“And they will think we are very cool,” Jaylyn said, dead serious, which made all of us laugh.

13

CENDI

By midmorning,a manila envelope appeared on my desk with my name on it. A jolt of excitement washed through me. This was our group’s first godmother assessment. Doing this was the real start to becoming a fairy godmother, and I absolutely couldn’t wait to take this next step. As soon as I pulled out my phone, a knock sounded on the door.

I opened it to Jessie and Jaylyn’s smiling faces. Each held up their own envelopes proudly.

“Our first real shadowing experience,” Jessie said.

“I’m so ready.” I stepped aside so they could enter my dorm.

All of us scooted closer, gathering together around my bed. Jessie opened the flap of her envelope and slid out the contents: case details, one thin support token, and a return sheet with irritatingly vague questions.

Client: Tamsin Reed. Sixteen. Witch.

Location: Franklin Park, a bungalow neighborhood three towns over.

Presenting problem: escalating conflict with stepmother, Victoria Reed. Father traveling for work. Wish stated by the guardian through the request line: restore order. Wish stated by client via anonymous link two hours later: let me go.

“Two wishes,” Jaylyn said, under her breath.

“Mutually exclusive as written,” Jessie answered. “Our job is to find the wish underneath both.” She set a fingertip on the travel charm, a square of paper with a thumbprint pressed into it. “Rules. We ask first. We stop when anyone withdraws consent. We do no harm. We leave the home better than we found it.” Her eyes flicked to me, then Jaylyn. “We go together or not at all.”

“Together,” I said.

“Together,” Jaylyn echoed.

Jaylyn smiled at me. “Are you nervous?”

“No,” I said, then added. “Yes.”

We all laughed.

“You’re going to do a great job. This is what you were being prepared for,” Jessie tells us gently.

I take a deep breath. “But I don’t have any ideas on how to fix things yet.”

“Just wait until we get there. Things will become clearer.” Jessie gives me a comforting smile.

I square my shoulders. “Okay.”

“Ready?” Jaylyn asks.

“Ready,” I say.

We each touched the charm and thought of the lines on the dossier. About where we were going and who we were going to help. Paper softened. Space folded. The room moved, then decided it had always been somewhere else.

A living room took shape around us, small and spotless and trying very hard. Lemon cleaner hovered over the couch. Two framed school photos lined the mantel. A cork board held color-coded lists in a handwriting that admired rulers. A round of basil sprouted in a jar on the sill. Three stick-on wards glowed in the corners, store-bought and sincere.

A girl sat on the rug with her back against the couch, knees up, phone facedown on a textbook as if she had been pretending to study. Black nail polish chipped at the edges. The sharp set of her jaw said she would not give an inch. Magic hummed around her the way static clings to certain shirts right out of the dryer. She didn’t stand.

“Hi,” she said, wary and brave at once. “I didn’t ask for you.”