Julie stayed seated in her chair at the kitchen table after having read the letter. It was a good thing Maria was at school or else she would have asked a ton of questions as she was always curious about everything. Julie and James had hoped that she would grow out of it, but unfortunately for them at almost seven she was more curious than ever.
Julie came out of her reverie and re-read the letter. As she read between the lines of what Maria's father was telling her, she was getting angrier. Julie reached inside the envelope and pulled out another sheet of parchment, but this one had a feminine touch to it and it had been sealed with wax and a family stamp as well as a royal one.
Julie examining the parchment, could feel the strong magic emanating from the seal. The magic felt like Maria's, but was weaker and almost just as pure.
"James!" yelled Julie to get her husband's attention since he was at the other end of their house.
While Julie waited, she looked to the mirror that they had hung beside the stove so that they could watch Maria even when they had their backs turned. Julie looked carefully. She could see herself, with her beautiful blond hair that reached the middle of her back, her blue-grey eyes and her tanned complexion. She could also see the anger flames in her eyes turning her eyes grey, she could also see the fatigue that was reflected by the bags under her eyes.
As Julie was watching herself in the mirror her husband, James Crowe, walked in. He stopped and leaned in the doorway watching his wife, watching herself in the mirror. He looked up to the mirror after a few seconds of watching his wife.
He saw himself with his wife. His blue eyes were full of concern for his wife as she hasn't yelled for him ever since Maria started school, his slightly dark complexion and his black hair made his eyes pop out of his face. He could see the fatigue and anger in his wife's face, but he could also see determination and protectiveness.
"You called honey?" said James as their eyes met in the mirror.
The only answer James got was the letter being lifted into the air by Julie. James approached and took the letter from his wife. He read the letter, then swore. He got hit with a plastic jar for swearing, so he sighed and put a quarter into the jar through the slit on the cover. He re-read the letter a second time hoping he had read wrong.
"So what are we going to do?" asked James. "We can't separate them and the Gardners have gone to all of the great wizards and Shamans in the Salem district and even contacted some of the most famous tutors in South America."
"I was thinking of inviting the Gardners for lunch and discussing it with them," replied Julie. "I have half a mind of sending Maria to Salem just to spite Albus, but also so she can start her magical schooling early."
"Yeah, asking for the Gardners' opinion would be best as they have the best contacts," agreed James.
"Then I shall give them a call and see if they're free," stated Julie slowly getting up from her chair.
James smiled softly and hugged his wife around the waist. Julie relaxed into the hug and closed her eyes for a few seconds to regain some of her countenance. When she straightened, James pecked her cheek and let go of her waist.
"I'll go give them a call and invite them over for supper and we'll talk about it then," said James with a smile and turning to head back into the garage where he had been working before being called into the house by Julie.