Chapter 37

Charlie and Jordan watched as Joanna's reserve team beat the snot out of the Chesapeake Bay reserves in a little over forty-five minutes. This was Joanna's first win as coach and she was on cloud nine. Her players performed as they had never done before. She wanted to celebrate and suggested that Charlie take her and Jordan to the blues club he'd told them about.

"Uh, we don't have to go there," Charlie said quickly.

Joanna gave him a look. "Why? You thought it was the greatest place in the universe."

Charlie shrugged. "I just not interested in going there tonight," he said.

"What did you do?" Joanna wouldn't let it alone.

"You remember that singer I told you about from England?"

"Yes," she drew out the word into two syllables, raising her eyebrow.

"She invited me over to her flat for a traditional British dinner. She had three British friends there and their dates…"

"What did you have?" Joanna asked, pinching his arm.

"Ow! Roast beef and Yorkshire puds with Bovril gravy and spotted dick with Bird's custard and treacle sponge pudding," he said.

"You Prick! How could you eat that without me?"She punched him hard in chest.

"Sorry," Charlie said, rubbing his chest. "You said you go to bed by eight-thirty."

Joanna stopped her barrage. "What a minute. I thought the singer was a man," she said.

"No, I never said it was a bloke. Her name is Helena Corner, he said.

"What did you do?" she repeated, crossing her arms over her chest and resting them on her belly.

He shrugged. "I didn't do anything. I was a good boy. You would have been proud of me."

Joanna raised another eyebrow.

"Well, she was interested in something other than food." Charlie rubbed the back of his neck self consciously. "We were both pretty drunk."

"Did you fuck her?" Joanna asked aghast.

"Christ, Joanna. First Linda and now Helena? I'm not some kind of satyr," he snorted. "A little trust would be nice."

Joanna didn't argue with him but she did smile smugly and roll her eyes.

Just to get her off his back, Charlie took Joanna and Jordan to a sea food restaurant for a crab dinner, and then they went to Blues Water. Joanna wanted to see Helena. When they walked inside, Helena was on stage and she smiled wanly at Charlie. She missed a beat, though when she saw a very pregnant Joanna on his arm. Jordan was on Joanna's other side and it would have been hard to tell just who was with whom. Both of the men were attentive and Charlie did the ordering; tequila for himself and Jordan and a cherry tonic fizzy for Joanna.

Helena made the rounds after her set. Joanna gave her a big smile when she stopped by the table. She stuck out her hand and Helena looked at it blankly before taking it.

"Charlie told us you were great," Joanna said enthusiastically. "And he was right."

Helena looked at Charlie and smiled. "Thank you," she said turning back to Joanna.

"I'm Joanna Kingsley," she said. "And this is my husband Jordan. I went to Hogwarts, too."

Her eyes lit up. "Oh really? Let me guess, Gryffindor?"

"Yes! Where dwell the brave at heart!" She made room for her to sit down.

"And did you go to Hogwarts, too?" she asked Jordan as she sat down next to Joanna.

"No, I'm Canadian," Jordan said.

"Joanna is mad at me for not bringing her along last night," Charlie said.

"Oh, yes," Helena said. "You should have come. Next time you're in town I'll cook you a traditional meal."

"Wonderful!" Joanna clapped her hands together excitedly. "We're leaving on Sunday, but we'll be back next year."

"Oh," Helena looked disappointed. "So soon?"

Helena directed all her conversation to Joanna and avoided Charlie altogether. It wasn't obvious to anyone but Charlie. She laughed and talked and drank, commented on Joanna's girth, asking question after question about her family and when the baby was due. Jordan and Charlie got drunker while Joanna and Helena became best friends. Before too long, Joanna had invited her to visit her in Austin. When they finally left, Joanna talked about her all the way back to the dorms.

Charlie fell across his bed when he got back and went right to sleep still dressed. He woke up around three Saturday morning, forgetting where he was. He took a potion for a headache, and then stripped off his clothes and got back into bed. He dreamed about Hogwarts that night. In his dream he was in the Forbidden Forest following the trail of a unicorn when he turns toward a noise to the left of him. He sees a woman in a flowing gown motion for him to come to her. As he gets closer, he recognizes Helena. Her hair is blowing around her and her gown is flowing. The gown becomes see-through and she is smiling at him. She is asking him to stay with her as she walks closer to him. He could reach out and touch her but as soon as he reaches out, he hears the mournful cry of a unicorn that has been hurt.

"I have to save it," he says, looking toward the noise.

"You can't have us both," she tells him. "Stay with me."

Charlie turns toward the sound.

"You can't choose a unicorn over me," she says.

"But it needs me, I can save it," he turns again.

"It doesn't need your pity."

Charlie woke up to the sound of beating on his door. He pulled on a pair of pants and opened the door. It was Jordan.

"Going to the pitch?" he asked handing him a cup of coffee.

Charlie yawned. "Thanks. What time is it?"

"Five thirty. I didn't know you were going sleep late."

He scratched his head sleepily. "Drank too much, and I took a potion on top of that. Weird dreams. Man, I can't wait to get back to Texas. I think I'll fly back right after the game."

"Missing someone?"

Charlie laughed. "Yeah."

"Joanna sure did latch on to Helena, didn't she?"

Charlie nodded. "I noticed that. I thought it was kind of weird. But Helena's a nice woman and I'm sure Joanna needs a girlfriend to talk to."

Jordan shrugged and nodded. They hit the pitch and flew silently for an hour and a half. Coach was already there and Charlie saw him check his watch when they hit the pitch. Coach was grumbling to himself. The early morning flying was not mandatory, nor was it something any of the other players did, but Popov looked like he expected them to be there and that they were both late.

The game was later that day; it was scheduled for two in the afternoon. The weather was clear and the stands filled early. When the team hit the field, Charlie flew up to see how many Reds' fans there were. One of the team's owners, Guy Bingly was sitting in the stands with a group of fans. Charlie waved to the fans. He thought he was dreaming again because he thought he saw her in the stands. He flew in closer and hopped off his broom and landed, rushed toward her. Gretchen threw her arms around him and he picked her up and kissed her.

"Surprise!" she said, kissing him back.

"I'm so glad you're here," he said. "I was going to go back after the game today, I've missed you." He was kissing her again.

"We're drawing a crowd," she giggled. People were standing around craning their necks to get a look at Charlie and his new girlfriend.

He kissed her temple and whispered. "Thanks for reminding me we aren't alone; I'd hate for your parents watch me make love to you on the WNN."

Gretchen turned very red, but she laughed.

"Hey, Weasley! Get a room!" he turned and saw Joanna waving to him. He held on to Gretchen and waved back. He saw that Helena was standing next to her and he smiled at her. Helena looked away.

"I got to go, Baby," he said, kissing her again. "I'll try to make it short. We've got some major make up sex to do."

She reddened again. "Good luck, sweetheart. I'll be waiting for you right here."