§ § § - September 7, 1981

"So, anything?" Greg inquired about mid-afternoon on Sunday. He and Delphine were packing; they had originally planned to leave Monday morning, but Greg's office in California had called him back. Julie had been lounging on their bed while they packed, poking through the "Fantasy Island Chronicle".

"No, not on Fantasy Island," Julie said with a sigh. "All the jobs I'd be interested in are on other islands. I wish uncle did have something available...I'd settle for fifth-class go-fer if I could just get some kind of income."

"And waste that college education I helped you pay for?" scolded Delphine. "Not on your life, little sister. Although for the life of me, I can't understand why you actually want to stay on the island, since there aren't any jobs here and Greg and I aren't going to be here. You're going to be rattling around this huge house all by yourself, you know. What on earth are you going to do all day when you're not running around begging people to give you work?"

Julie, irked by Delphine's words, mutinously compressed her lips together. Greg grinned. "Del," he said cheerfully, "you're teeing Jules off again. You better finish packing, hon. We've got to make the next flight if we're going to be home at any kind of reasonable hour."

"Well, then, let me go check the bathrooms," Delphine said with a put-upon sigh. "Every time we travel, it never fails...you always manage to forget something." She exited the room.

Julie curled her lip after her sister's retreating back. "Why that bothers her is a mystery to me," she said, "since she could just conjure up a new one of whatever you forget."

Greg let out a bark of laughter before shooting a guilty glance out the door and cutting his mirth short. "Good point, but don't let Delphine know I thought so. Look, I know she bosses you around a lot, but that's just her way of showing her concern. She's worried about you, you know. Okay, okay, we both realize you're 21 now, but let's face it, Jules...you only just got out of college. Want to know something? Personally I think your decision to come to Fantasy Island was about the best one you could have made. From your standpoint, you'll be out from under Del's thumb and she won't have the opportunity to play big bad older sister. From her side—and I'll make sure to point this out to her, by the way—you're in a place where people know you and you can go to someone you trust in case you ever need help. Here, you're out on your own, but you're not in some strange place where you know nobody."

Julie stared at him. "How did my nutcase of a sister ever snag a great guy like you? If I ever get married, I hope he's as cool as you are."

Greg grinned. "Thanks, Jules. And hey, we both have faith in you, even if Delphine carries on like she thinks otherwise. Got it?"

Julie nodded, and at that moment Delphine returned. "There. Toothbrushes, shaving cream and comb. Are you finished yet?"

"Yes, boss," Greg replied and saluted, and Julie giggled.

Less than an hour later Julie, Delphine and Greg met Roarke, Tattoo and Leslie at the plane dock. Everyone said their goodbyes and Delphine gave Roarke a last hug. "Watch out for my kid sister," she said softly.

"That we shall," Roarke replied for her ears only. "Have a safe and pleasant trip home."

Once the plane had disappeared into the sky, Julie glanced around. "Hey, uncle, where's that girl Tattoo and Leslie found hiding at our house? Did you toss her in the slammer?"

Roarke studied her in mild disapproval. "No, my dear Julie, we did not, uh, 'toss her in the slammer', as you so eloquently put it." Leslie giggled and Julie smiled sheepishly. "As a matter of fact," Roarke continued, "she is sharing Leslie's room until such time as more permanent living quarters can be found for her."

Out of nowhere, Julie remembered her sister's words from earlier. "Uncle, I have an idea! Just a little while ago Delphine was nagging me about being all by myself in that big house. I've got plenty of extra bedrooms. Why don't you ask her if she'd like to live with me?"

"What a great idea!" Leslie exclaimed.

Roarke and Tattoo glanced at each other. "Sounds good to me, boss," Tattoo said.

"Yes, it's an excellent suggestion," Roarke concurred. "In that case, suppose we put the idea to Frida now and see what she thinks of it."

"Is that her name? Frida?" Julie asked.

The foursome settled into the station wagon that sat nearby and Roarke started the car. "Yes," Leslie said, "her name's Frida Olsson and she came here all the way from Sweden. Wait till you hear how she did it." With that, she proceeded to tell Julie the entire story that she and her guardian and Tattoo had heard Frida tell while Roarke took them back to the main house.

"What a story," Julie said, awed, when Leslie finally finished. "No wonder she was so afraid she was going to be punished. Well, until and unless she changes her mind about finding her real parents, or till she comes of age, she's welcome to live at my house. I won't even charge her rent as long as she keeps up her grades in school and helps me around the house. Let's see what she says."

They found Frida sitting quietly in a chair, looking at a history book from Roarke's collection. "Frida, guess what...we've found a place you can stay for good!" Leslie burst out as soon as they came in.

"Is it true? Where?" Then Frida saw Julie and sat up straight, her eyes wide with fear.

Julie saw her reaction and smiled ruefully. "My house, Frida. Leslie told me your story, and it sounds like you've been through more than you can handle."

"But...the other lady...I know she would not want me there," Frida protested.

"That was my sister, Delphine, and she doesn't even live here," Julie said firmly. "Delphine's married and lives in California now—in fact, she and her husband just left for home. So what I do with the house is up to me." She turned to Roarke. "If I remember Mom and Dad's will correctly, the house goes to whichever one of us girls decides to live permanently on Fantasy Island. Am I right?"

"You have a good memory after eight years, Julie," Roarke said, nodding. "Yes, you're correct in that the house is solely yours to do with as you wish." He smiled at Frida. "It appears you have a home now."

Frida stared at them all and finally smiled. "I heard stories that this island is magic. I think they must be true stories, because my bad luck is now good luck. Jag tackar dig ifrån hjärtet, Julie."

Julie and Tattoo eyed her in puzzlement. Leslie ventured, "I think she's giving you a heartfelt thanks, Julie. Some of my grandmother's phrases have been coming back to me since Frida came here. If you're here long enough, Frida, you could teach me some Swedish. You make me feel closer to my grandmother."

"Well," Julie said brightly, "then why don't we move you in right now? Of course, you're going to have to dust and vacuum and help clean up whatever room you pick, but as soon as you're done you can settle right in. The whole house needs to be aired out."

"I'm not doing anything," Leslie said. "Could I come and help?"

"Sure you can," Julie agreed. "I can use all the help I can get. I'll send out for Chinese food for us all. My treat for your help."

Within the hour Julie and the two girls were hard at work cleaning the room Frida had chosen—the same room where she had hidden when she first arrived. They chatted as they worked, at first just getting to know one another and trading vital statistics. They talked a little about where they had grown up, but it wasn't long before Julie's story took center stage. "So have you always lived here?" Leslie asked curiously.

Julie sighed deeply. "No, this is the first time I've been back in years, actually. Delphine and I were both born here, but our parents died when I was 13 and Delphine was 25. Since she was of age, she took over my guardianship. I kind of grew up on the road. Delphine worked for years with a traveling magician, making him look legit with her own real magic. She quit when she got married a few months back, and by then I was almost done with college. Delphine didn't have any interest in living here permanently, though. Greg has a lucrative job in California, and she was more than willing to be with him there. So this house is legally mine, just like my parents' will stated."

"Lucky you," said Leslie, a little envious.

"Yeah, maybe I look lucky to you, but how am I going to keep up the property taxes on it, plus keep myself fed and clothed and the house in decent repair? Not only that, but I'm supporting Frida too. I've really got to find a job of some kind. I majored in accounting, which sounds impressive enough, but it's turning out to be impossible to find a job on Fantasy Island. Uncle does his own accounting, so that's out."

"Mr. Roarke is your uncle?" Frida asked.

"No, he's actually my godfather, and Delphine's too. We just always called him uncle since he and our mom and dad were such close friends, on account of how he helped them by granting them citizenship here."

"So your parents came here, then," Frida murmured, smoothing out the spread on the bed.

"How?" asked Leslie.

Julie was silent for a moment, as if unsure what to say. Finally she studied the two girls, who now were both focusing their full attention on her. "Can you two keep a secret?"

Leslie and Frida nodded eagerly. "Sure," Leslie said.

Julie cleared her throat. "Well, my family has magic powers. The story goes that a couple and a half centuries ago, this ancestor of mine, one Farley MacNabb, stumbled over not one, but a dozen leprechauns making off with a pot of gold. He actually caught the whole bunch of them somehow, and naturally got himself the gold too. So as a reward for something so unprecedented, he was granted not only lifelong good luck, but also a wish."

"Boy, he really hit the jackpot," Leslie commented. "What'd he wish for?"

Julie grinned. "Farley MacNabb was no fool. He was thinking of that old fairy tale where this couple gets three wishes and wastes them on really stupid things, and he had no intention of blowing this opportunity. So he requested that he and all his descendants from then on be blessed with special magical powers like the leprechauns had. Of course they balked at that idea, and there was an awful row going on. And then, who should appear on the scene but Mr. Roarke."

"You're putting me on," Leslie said skeptically.

"Well, that's what family lore says...we never had the guts to come right out and ask him if it was true. I guess that would have been in the days before he acquired Fantasy Island. Anyway, he came upon Farley MacNabb and those fickle little leprechauns in the middle of their argument; and when he heard both sides of the story, he told them that old Farley had legitimately caught them and they'd made the offer, after all. So they had to give him what he asked for. They didn't like it, but they granted his request.

"Looking back on it, I think those little rats were pretty clever. They might've had to give Farley his wish, but in a way they still got the better of him. See, what happened is that the magic was programmed into a gene that could be passed down like any other gene. But those leprechauns added a little mutation that no one in the family ever knew about till I came along, as far as we know. Basically, any MacNabb born after his parents are 40 years old gets a dormant version of the gene - it kind of 'shuts off' and that kid doesn't get the magic powers. His kids will, as long as he has them before his fortieth birthday, but he himself will be just as normal as the two of you."

"So?" prompted Leslie.

"My parents were in their late 20s when Delphine was born, but by the time I was born, they were both past 40. So I got the dormant version of the magic gene. That's why Delphine has the magical powers but I don't. For years I was convinced I was adopted because I was the only one in the family who had no magic. My parents finally got fed up when I was around eight and went to Mr. Roarke to find out what the problem was, and he did some research and figured it out." Julie sighed again. "Delphine moved out when I was ten, and up till then she used her powers to play every trick she could think of on me. She used to drive me crazy. I ought to be permanently scarred from all that." She grinned.

"Does Delphine still use her magic?" Leslie asked.

"Sometimes," Julie said. "When she met Greg, she didn't tell him about her powers. She was afraid he'd drop her flat if he knew. But when she finally told him, he took it really well, and sometimes he even teases her about it. But I bet she hasn't told him that the magic gene is a dominant one, so if she and Greg ever have kids, he's going to have a bunch of little magicians on his hands. That is, unless they wait till after she's 40."

They heard the doorbell downstairs then, and Julie brightened. "There's our Chinese. Why don't we eat, and we can talk about getting you settled in school tomorrow, Frida. And I get to go out job-hunting again." She grimaced, making the girls laugh. Julie had wished for the family magic all her life; now she wished for it again, so she could conjure herself a nice job.