This chapter is short, but emotionally impactful. Enjoy!
Chapter 11
Harriet Reeds was the mother of Albert Reeds and the grandmother of Rita Loud. She was also a witch. Not a cruel, devil-worshipping witch, mind you, but a kind, gentle witch who used her magic to benefit others. And when she made a prediction about something as serious as death, she was never, ever wrong. Since she was widowed shortly after he was born, Albert (or Pop-Pop, as the Loud children referred to him) had lived with her his whole life, even raising his own daughter under the same roof.
Albert usually did his best not to smoke around his grandchildren, but now he was anxiously puffing away at his hand-carved cherrywood pipe. A gigantic bear of a man, he was still fit as a fiddle in his early sixties, with hair that was white with age, a salt-and-pepper mustache, and weathered skin that still rippled with muscle. He wore a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, dark denim jeans with orange suspenders, and black loafers. Tattooed on each forearm in dark blue ink was the United States Navy insignia. He and his grandson were so alike in personality that he often referred to Lincoln as his "mini-me." Rita placed her hand on her father's shoulder to calm him down.
"Don't worry, Dad. Lori should be here with the rest of the kids any minute." Standing with them in the living room were Lynn Sr., Leni, Luna, Luan, Lynn Jr., and Lily, whom Lori had dropped off before going to pick up Lincoln and the rest of the girls. Speak of the devil, a moment later the squeal of Lori's rushed parking job was heard before Lincoln and Lucy burst through the front door, followed closely by Lori, the twins, and Lisa. The whole group wordlessly followed Albert to the master bedroom, where the frail old woman lay propped up with pillows in a four-post bed with black sheets.
"Okay, Mom, everyone's here," Albert said. Harriet opened her green eyes that were misty with cataracts. A tall, slender woman with salt-and-pepper hair that had once been jet-black, her younger self and Lucy could've passed for identical twins.
"Lincoln..." The voice that came from Harriet's mouth was raspy from a lifetime of breathing incense smoke, and a gnarled, arthritic hand with claw-like nails emerged from the sleeve of her crimson dressing-gown to beckon the boy froward. Lincoln moved until he was close enough to grasp her hand, his eyes brimming with tears; she was one of the first people to accept him for who he was, so she was very dear to him. "Lincoln, while I wished to see all of my wonderful relatives one final time, it is you that I wanted to speak with the most. Even while in your mother's womb, I could see that you would be, and still are, destined for great things. It is why I suggested that you be named after one of our country's greatest presidents. Even when the future looks grim, never fear and never lose hope. You are far stronger than you give yourself credit for, and I see you becoming stronger still. To help you in the danger-filled journey called life that we all must partake in, I will gift you with something I have only given to one other person." Moving her hand to the back of his head, Harriet pulled Lincoln closer and pressed her lips to his forehead. She then turned her attention to Lucy, who stood right next to Lincoln. "Promise me that you'll teach him everything I have taught you," she said to her one and only apprentice.
"I promise," Lucy replied, tears dripping from her chin despite her clear voice.
Harriet brought a hand to her mouth, closed her eyes, and started murmuring in Latin under her breath. A ball of red light, the color of her aura, formed in her palm. Still murmuring, she pressed her palm to the middle of Lincoln's chest and held it for several seconds, allowing the ball of light to seep into the very core of his being. Lincoln suddenly felt an adrenaline rush, like he'd just drank an entire pot of coffee in one sitting. Even stranger was the sensation of a wellspring of raw power, pulsating within his chest like a second heartbeat. With the spell complete, Harriet opened her eyes and cupped Lincoln's face in her hand.
"Remember...I will always be with you, even if...you...can't...see me..." Harriet closed her eyes once more, folded her hands across her stomach, and breathed her last. Lincoln and Lucy hugged each other and cried, Albert stooping down to wrap his arms around both of them. It was the first time any of the Loud kids had ever seen their incredibly stoic grandfather cry.
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