Chapter 2
New Orleans Blue
Dairine flung herself out onto the far-too-understuffed couch, nearly bashing the back of her head on the wooden frame below the cushion remains and causing the couch to complain loudly. Staring up at the ceiling and listening to Ethan making tea in the other room, she reflected on her material possesions.
Her only working vehicle, the Tacoma, was, in all fact, Nita's, on temporary loan until Dairine could save enough to buy a new car or to get the Suburban running once more. Much to Dairine's frustration, the Suburban stubbornly refused to start one day, though the tank was nearly overflowing with diesel. In desperation, she had dismantled the V8 engine and, thoroughly cleaning each and every part, painstakingly pieced it back together once more, in hopes that it just might cause the Suburban to start. After nearly a month, she was done, and the Suburban still didn't start, as demonstrated that morning.
Meanwhile, Nita was carpooling to and from work in Kit's ancient Hyundai Accent. Dairine was nearly positive Kit was extremely happy with the new developments.
Dairine sighed and moved on.
The three-room flat she'd managed to acquire with nine month's wage from her job as an assistant at the Exploratorium in San Francisco, was nearing the thoroughly unenjoyable status of 'landfill', and Dairine desperately needed to fix the place up. Oh, Powers…
The microwave was an ancient Sharp Carousel, and looked as though it had not only been run over by a mad rhinoceros, but a whole herd of them. The door was currently hanging by one hinge from the body, and, most of the time, it was her sole source of hot food, as her stove would only reach 140 degrees if Dairine lit a bonfire inside the stove. She was sure this wasn't a good idea, given the gas lines. She didn't dare using wizardry to heat her food in fear that something just might decide to combust.
Ah, the garden. Or what was formerly a garden. Dairine briefly entertained the notion of bringing her father out here and looking at the forbidding forest of weeds, discover what was living in there, then mow it all down, but the thought was quickly wiped out of her mind as the sounds of tea-making in the other room suddenly halted.
Ethan walked into the room, his precious tea clutched in one hand, trailing a strong scent of honey and lemon behind him. He sat down beside Dairine and stared interestedly at the aquarium in one corner of the house, where a stalk of kelp floated and waved in the salt water, but little other lived.
Dairine followed his gaze, then said sadly, "I was going to buy a few fish… kelp bass, mackerel… but I didn't have too much spare time."
Ethan nodded understandingly and sipped at his tea, glancing around the living room. Dairine sighed unhappily. "I really need to fix this old dump up…"
Her boyfriend's pair of amazingly clear azure eyes fixated upon her, and she gulped. Ethan smiled and said softly, "I like it just the way it is."
Dairine melted. Leaning over, she kissed him gently on the cheek, her gray eyes sparkling with adoration.
"Aww… that's so sweet of you…"
Ethan gave her a small smile and took another sip of tea.
He and Dairine were nearly exact opposites in terms of personality. Dairine was vivacious, and possessed a very quick temper. She wasn't afraid to tell anyone what she thought of them… unless, of course, you were the boy she adored at the moment, and she became all quiet and bashful around you.
He, on the other hand, was also rather outgoing, but, exactly unlike Dairine, was legendary for his seemingly endless patience. He was very involved with sports, and Dairine was delighted to find out he wasn't afraid to tackle her roughly in football. Due to her delicate build, most coaches would insist she not be tackled too hard, and the players willingly obliged.
But Ethan was different.
That was part of why Dairine loved him.
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"D'you think I should paint these walls?"
"Maybe… maybe…"
Dairine sighed contentedly as Ethan toyed with her silky, sandy hair, running it through his fingers affectionately. "I love you, Dari."
Dairine rolled her eyes, though she looked rather flattered all the same. She snuggled up against him, causing him to blush, and smiled happily as he leaned down to kiss her.
As he pulled back, Dairine realized something.
"Ethan? What time does your job start?" she asked in a small voice.
Ethan checked his watch, swore, and kissed her quickly on the forehead.
"Thanks, Dari… I gotta run, see you later…!"
Grabbing his tea, he poured it into one of Dairine's Thermoses and dashed out the door.
Moments later, Dairine heard his VW Jetta burn rubber down Twin Oaks as Ethan made a mad dash for the freeway.
Dairine sighed disconsolately and went out to go look at her dead Suburban, wondering if, possibly, the day could get any better.
It did.
She was just lifting the hood of her truck when there was the customary bang of displaced air behind her, and a shower of needles fell off of the huge pine trees separating her neighbors' houses from hers. Not bothering to turn around, she inquired, "Hey, Nita? Do me a favor, check if there are any spark plugs in the garage, yeah?"
When she received no response, she sighed irritably, leaning even further into the depths of the hood, saying in a comforting tone, "Look, I know you and Kit might be mad at each other right now, but that doesn't give you the right to completely ignore me."
"Nita's currently in New York with Kit," an all-too-familiar voice declared.
Dairine spun around so fast she cricked her neck.
Tom Swale, New York's Area Senior, was leaning up against the wall in a casual manner, smiling genially at Dairine as she peered suspiciously at him.
"Whatcha need, Tom?"
With another pop, and another shower of pine needles, another man stood beside Tom. This one was smartly clad in a black suit, complete with tie, and Dairine immediately recognized him.
The governor of the state of New York stood regally in front of her, smiling broadly down at her. Dairine backed up again, trying to keep both men in perspective.
Tom stood up straight and asked, "Hey, Dairine? Remember that service you did to the state of New York a few years ago?"
Yes, Dairine remembered it all too well. Who in their right mind would toss a burning cigarette into Central Park? That was the question that had kept nagging at the back of her brain as she extinguished the flames, aided by the NYFD. The scorched and blackened trees had grown back within the week, so fast that people began to wonder exactly what was in the water they were given.
She nodded mutely.
Tom nodded his approval. "Okay, then, remember how a deed between wizards must always be repaid?"
Dairine nodded, getting a feeling she was going to like what was coming.
The governor stepped forward and handed Dairine a small white envelope.
"I hereby declare that this be paid in full to the order of Miss Dairine Callahan. Twenty five thousand dollars."
Dairine stared as the governor and Tom winked, then simultaneously Transited from the spot, sending another shower of pine needles down onto the just-swept driveway, but Dairine could have cared less.
With the check in her hand, she now had a total of thirty-two thousand, seven hundred and fifty-nine dollars and eighty-two cents.
A list began forming in Dairine's mind.
Get rid of Tacoma. Go buy that new car. A stove might be nice, too... And a microwave.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Huntington Beach, California
Callahan Residence
Kit's front-lawn reading was rudely interrupted as a two-ton Tacoma pickup crashed down inches from where his foot was. Lowering the O.C. Register carefully, he dimly realized that his big toe had very nearly been crushed into the ground by Nita's red pickup. Unfazed, he picked up the Local section and resumed reading.
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San Francisco, California
Local Honda Dealer
Dairine pranced giddily around a brand new, salsa red pearl Honda Accord V6 EX coupe. She had paid for it a few hours ago, and it now sat in her driveway. She loved the car more than her old 4Runner, and that was saying a lot. That 4Runner had been the best car she'd ever owned, up until it had been run over by a Peterbilt.
The microwave, a brand new, black GE model, had been installed, and the old one now lay in a heap in the driveway, waiting for Dairine to mold it into something else. Wonderfully, she now had a new couch, as well as a few fish that were now swimming lazily around in the veritable kelp forest. And, miracle of all miracles, the fridge and freezer were filled to overflowing.
Dairine had gone on a shopping spree.
And, with six thousand dollars to spare, she had finally halted her spree and fallen asleep on the new couch, a smile on her face as she dreamed of open fields, waving in the sun, under a New Orleans blue sky.
So what they said was true. Wizardry did have its ups, after all.