CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Like always, the retro only lasted a second of real time. God, that weirds me out every time. Piper let go of me and held me at arms' length to look me over.

"Exactly like her," she said.

I took a look around to see if anyone else had come into the shop, then said, "You are a witch, right?"

She was a little surprised, but not at all standoffish. I know I would have split fast if somebody said that to me, which might have been why I said it. But all she did was smile again. "How did you know?" she asked, like we were best friends and still with that same bright smile.

I told her that I'm a witch, too.

"No kidding!" She hugged me again. I wish Dad would come in and hug me like that. I mean I know he loves me, but he still has some of that British reserve, even after being in this country for so long. Mom, of course, hugs me a lot, but this just seemed so weird. So much love from a complete, total stranger! Odd!!

"Listen, I have sisters who would love to see you --" She touched my face. I know, kinda weird, but I figure it'is just part of whatever her husband did to her, so I let it slide. "It's unbelievable. Can you come to dinner at my house tonight?" she asked. "My sisters will be there, and Wyatt will be there, and Chris might be there, and it'll be like a party, except without the alcohol, because that would be bad, and they can see you and get to know you and --"

I interrupted her because I figured she had run out of breath. I'll admit it was tough saying I would, because I'd love to be able to see Dad so much, but this will give him and Mom a chance to be alone. Who knows? Maybe some of their old magic will come back. Besides, Mom always taught me that innocents must come first, even before family. So since this is my very first innocent of my very own, I better see what I'm supposed to do to help her. So I smiled back and told her I would be glad to come. She wrote down her name and address and left without buying anything or even asking my name. I do not know exactly what I am supposed to do to help her, but I think if I get a chance to really talk to her at dinner, I can figure it out.

Oh, best part for last. I was right that she was who I thought she was. Check this out. Her name is Piper Halliwell! A Charmed One. My very first innocent is a Charmed One! How freaking cool is that?

Wow, huh, Chris? I never knew a thing about that meeting between your parents Up There until I read it in Rori's diary myself -- neither Piper nor Leo nor Rori herself ever told me, which tells you how good Rori is at keeping secrets and how badly she agrees with me that we should let you know what happened back then.

So of course, Paige and I had no idea what had happened and were surprised when Piper came home, even bubblier and more excited than usual. "You'll never believe who I met!" she cried.

"Who's that?" Paige asked, curious.

"One of our cousins!"

"Cousins?" I asked. "I didn't know we had any cousins. I thought Mom was an only child."

Paige grinned. "Yeah, but Grams had how many marriages? She could be a half-cousin or something."

"No," Piper insisted, "She has to be a direct cousin, because guess what! She looks just like Prue!"

"What!" I cried.

"Yep. She's only a teenager and she looks just like Prue did when she was that age!" Then she laughed. "Minus the metal mouth!" joking about the fact that Prue once had braces.

Paige and I looked at each other skeptically. "That's what caught my attention," Piper continued, completely oblivious to our doubts.

"Where did you meet this cousin?" I asked, suspiciously.