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Every morning, Bitty had to walk by Parson’s Premier Sports. He didn’t have anything against sports. He did have a monetary investment in his secondary business, which just so happened that his biggest competitor operated Right. Next. Door.
Bitty specialized in mental and emotional magical supplements. Nothing helped cure a bout of homesickness better than his enhanced apple pie. His bakery was the storefront for the mortal customers. A little pick me up that wasn’t anything outside of the realm of normal possibility of the joy food could bring. But, in the back, it was a different story.
The back was where he sold candles, herbs, enchantments, and some minor spell work. Kent Parson also sold magical supplies tucked away behind a wall lined with hockey sticks. Granted, his focus was more on the physical. Magical solutions for shin splints, tendinitis, pulled muscles.
Bitty didn’t begrudge him selling those things. But, the ingredients for most potions and spells overlapped.
And, okay, Bitty might be just a tiny bit jealous. Parson was able to keep his familiar in the storefront with him. Kit received a lot of attention from his customers. And the kids loved watching Kit chase after street hockey balls. Senor Bun couldn’t be around the food prep and he had to be contained in a pen if he was up front. And Bun just wasn’t a fan of the play pen. It was safer for all involved that he stayed in the back.
While they were in direct competition with each other for the same, small population of witches in Providence, Bitty also had to admit that it was nice to have someone of his same community right next door. Not that he would tell Parson that.
After he got his morning coffee and flipped the Closed sign to Open, he was feeling a bit more charitable. Yes, Kent Parson ran a competing business. And yes, he was a bit of a disaster of a person. But, he was company. And security. Really, Bitty did kind of like him when he wasn’t causing him trouble. It was nice not to have to hide around everyone.
The morning shift was his regular crowd. Business people off to work seemed to really enjoy his “Gumption Coffee” blend. He had a couple of truck drivers that would stop in when they were ready to take their morning rest. They always seemed to gravitate to his “Sweet Dreams” Tea. They were cute when they would nearly whisper what they were ordering, as if truckers couldn’t enjoy the softer things in life, too. There was also an aspiring author that liked to take up residence in the far corner near the outlet that would alternate their drinking and eating habits. Sometimes they would have one of his pies, other times his cookies, and would alternate between tea and coffee. Bitty could never quite figure out the pattern, but he hoped that whatever they ordered helped in some small way.
At noon, he turned the lunch shift completely over to his staff and went to the back store to make sure that he didn’t have any orders waiting. There were a couple of pieces of parchment waiting for him on his desk. A raven was perched on the roost. Mr. Eidelweiss’s owl was outside, stubbornly refusing to share the roost with the raven. Bitty had no idea what Mx. Bartholemeau’s raven did to offend the owl so much, but it must have been something for the owl to never want to breathe the same air as it.
Bitty situated the orders and sent invoices back with the birds. He made sure to give them fortifying crackers before they left.
Kent burst through the back door right in the middle of Bitty’s lunch break. “Help! There’s an emergency!”
Bitty wanted to be surprised, he did. He even wanted to be alarmed. But, Kent Parson’s emergencies tended to be things like: he had a zit and the potion he used wasn’t exactly right and gave him a case of eczema. Bitty remember one particular incident where Parson came bursting in claiming that there was an emergency and that someone had stolen Kit. Bitty had rushed over to the shop, only to discover that Kit had merely stored herself away in a bag and had refused to come when called. Like a cat was wont to do.
“Kenny, you had better have a real emergency this time. I am not putting down my ham and cheese croissant because you used the wrong hair dye.”
“My ex just wandered into the shop!”
Bitty looked up from his plate and raised an eyebrow.
“My ex that is mortal and that I told about witchcraft and that I memory wiped when I was 17 and not great with that spell.”
Bitty put down his croissant.
“You what ?”
“I memory wiped him at his request when we broke up. He was really nice about the whole thing. Very Canadian. Wanted to make sure that he wouldn’t spill the beans in a fit of anger.”
“You tried to do a very advanced piece of magic on a mortal. When you were 17. In a field of magic that you aren’t very good at? ”
“Yes.”
Bitty looked around until he spotted Senor Bun on a pile of books. “Mind the store, Bun. We’ll be right back.” Bitty grabbed Kent by the arm and frog-marched him to the back door of his shop.
“On the bright side, I’m confident that he’s your type?”
“Do not even go there, right now.”
The moment they walked into the sporting goods store front, Bitty wanted to curse Kent for being right. The man in front of him was definitely his type. Tall, dark hair, bright blue eyes, and dear heavens that physique.
“Hello. Are you the help that Mr. Parson went to get?”
Bitty tried to clear his throat and sound like a responsible adult, rather than a lust-filled fool. “He came and got me for help, but I wasn’t told what kind?”
“I was told that this area had several items that would help me. But, I’m not really sure why? I get all of my gear special ordered from the manufacturers.”
Bitty glanced over at Kent before addressing the man in front of him, “Did this person who gave you the suggestion happen to give you a list?”
Tall, dark, and handsome scratched his head. “Yes. But, it didn’t make much sense to me.”
“May we see it?”
Bitty took the carefully folded paper from him and opened it so that Kent could read it as well. “I see. I suppose this is rather confusing. But, I’m sure between the two of us, we can help.” The list would be mind-boggling to a regular mortal, but not to a witch. Whoever had sent the man, was at least magic aware and knew that Kent was a witch. Bitty looked back up, “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”
Kent squeaked, as if the statement had personally affronted him.
“Oh, euh, Jack Zimmermann.” He held out his hand to shake.
Bitty took it and gave it a quick and business-like pump. “Nice to meet you. This isn’t exactly an ordinary list. Who gave it to you?”
“A friend of mine from college. He said something weird about it, but gave it to me saying it might help. And, well, I trust him with my life.”
Bitty hummed to himself. “Kent, why don’t you take care of a couple of the items on this list. I’m going to take Mr. Zimmermann here next door for a cup of my tea. Do you like apple pie, Mr. Zimmermann? I happen to have one that will make you feel like you are back home wrapped in a warm blanket.”
“I don’t really eat things with a lot of sugar during the season.” His brow furrowed and he looked around the store. “Where do you keep pie in a sporting goods store?”
Bitty smiled and looped his arm around one of Jack’s. “Oh no. This is Kent’s place. I run the bakery next door. Quite the unusual list your friend gave you. Do they have a name?”
“Shitty.” Jack laughed when Bitty startled. “Shitty Knight. We played hockey together at Samwell.”
“Ah. Well, he must be a very good friend.” Bitty knew that last name. They were a particularly wealthy and powerful magical family. Snobs, too. They looked down on Bitty’s specialty and liked to disdainfully call the Bittles kitchen witches. He swore he even heard them sneer the term hedgewitch. As if they were any less powerful just because they didn’t perform flashy, ostentatious magic. There had been a rumor that one of their sons had decided to go to a mortal school instead of studying where their family had gone for generations. Maybe this was that son.
“The best.”
Bitty sat Jack down on one of the leather chairs by the bookshelf and came back moments later with a cup of hot water and a tea bag filled with his “Comfortability” Tea. Bitty placed it on a coaster with a privacy rune inscribed on it and sat down across from Jack.
“Now, please tell me what your friend Shitty sent you here for. That’s no ordinary list Mr. Zimmermann. And I can’t imagine that you didn’t get some variety of explanation before your were sent this direction.”
“He said that Kent would be able to help me with taking the edge off of some of my bigger problems, enough to help my medication along and reduce my bad days.”
“I see. And did he say anything about me? Or about how exactly Kent would be able to help?”
“No. And no. I - I never really forgot.” Jack stared down at the tea he had been drinking. “Did you spell me?”
Bitty waved his hand dismissively. “Nothing too extravagant. It’s just a mild additive to help you feel more comfortable in your surroundings and not feel like you are being attacked. Which you aren’t, Mr. Zimmermann. But, Kent came into my store very panicked and concerned when you turned up on his doorstep. I need to make sure that nothing untoward is going on here.”
Jack gave a small smile. “He’s your friend?”
Bitty groaned and rolled his eyes. “Yes. Unfortunately. He’s like a barnacle, too much trouble to get rid of and I’ve become attached.”
“He must trust you if he dragged you into his life.”
Bitty laughed. “Oh my goodness. That’s such a good word for it. I thought I was just getting a new neighbor, I didn’t realize I was getting a limpet that’s too cute for his own good. And he knows it .”
Jack chuckled. “I used to love when he wouldn’t let me up in the mornings. He’d just latch on and wrap his arms around me and I’d have to carry him to the shower because he refused to let go.” He paused and gave Bitty an appraising look. “Are you two dating?”
“What?” Bitty shook his head, startled. “No? Why on earth would I date that walking disaster? I like him well-enough, but he is way too much drama for me to handle.”
“Just, well, you’re both - you know - and that was the big problem between us. I wanted to keep dating him, but his family was upset that he was dating a mortal. And then we were both going to go to the draft, but he ended up having to drop out for some reason he never fully explained. We decided to split up for everyone’s safety and health. I wanted him to help me forget. The last thing I wanted to be responsible for was accidentally talking about something magical he did and the wrong person overhearing.”
Bitty sighed. “And Kent’s specialty does not lie in the mind magics. He’s much more - forceful. Magics like that need delicacy and balance. They are more art than science. Even I just help out with some of the more emotional foundations. I can’t tackle something as significant as an actual disorder. I’m not surprised that you didn’t forget. Kent never really told me much about his past. This is the first I’ve heard of him having dated when he was younger. Never mind a mortal.” Bitty grinned cheekily at Jack. “Although, you are very attractive. I can see why he would make that choice.”
Jack blushed and sipped his tea.
“Okay. So, you have a list of components here. Why didn’t your friend just send his familiar with the list? Both Kent and I take parchment orders.”
“Shitty doesn’t believe in forcing a familiar to perform magic. He refused to bond with one because he felt the practice was cruel.”
Bitty wanted to beat his head on the table. Did this guy just run around and collect all of the irresponsible witches in New England? “First of all, no. Absolutely not. I will not be responsible for something going wrong because someone decided that they were too good to enlist the help of a familiar. I know the Knight family, and I’m sure they have some questionable practices. But bonding to a familiar and working magic with them is very rewarding for both witch and familiar.” Bitty glanced over the components again. “Anxiety? And sports related performance nerves? Between Kent and I, we can get this done in the back. Come with me.”
He stood up from the table and waved for Jack to follow him.
* * *
Magic wasn’t all flashy spells and incantations. But, some of it was. Kent came back with a brown paper bag of several components and Kit draped across his shoulders.
Bun hopped around the corner and stood up on his hind legs and placed his front paws on Jack’s knee. He sniffed a couple of times and accepted Jack’s tentative pets between his floppy ears before laying down on a cushion.
“Well, if Bun likes you, we should be good to begin.”
Jack gave Bitty a bemused smile. “Okay?”
“Bun is my familiar. If he says you are a good person and approves, then we can go ahead with the spell. I don’t ask him to do anything he’s not comfortable with.”
Kent started chuckling. “I remember when I tried to convince Kit to do something when she wasn’t in the mood. That spell practically imploded.”
“It did implode. You came in here screeching and your hair was smoking. Serves you right for waking up your princess when she was napping in a sunbeam.”
Jack outright laughed. “Why would you wake Kit up?”
Kent blushed and refused to answer. “Let’s just get this show on the road.”
The three of them settled on the ground around the circle on Bitty’s floor, with both Bun and Kit in their respective witches’ laps.
Time passed differently when magic was afoot. It stretched and shrank, blended together. The ether came alive and stilled in rhythm. When Kent and Bitty closed out the spell, Kit and Bun rubbed their bodies along Jack’s knees and left their bonded with the clean up.
Bitty smiled and patted Jack’s shoulder. “That should do it. Now, remember, it won’t take the place of your medication. Don’t change that or your dosage. But, it should help out on your worst days. We only work magic, not miracles.”
Jack stood and stretched. “Do I owe you anything?”
Kent laughed. “You sure do. Those components aren’t exactly cheap.”
Jack thanked them both and paid, promising to keep in touch.
* * *
A couple of weeks went by after Kent and Bitty had cast the spell. Kent had eventually sat down and explained that Jack Zimmermann was captain of the Providence Falconers and that they had dated when they played together in Juniors. Kent never seemed to get around to explaining why he dropped out of the draft. Bitty hoped that with time, maybe the story would come out. In the meantime, he just made sure to have Bun deliver a blend of “Welcome” tea to Parson’s back door every morning.
And then his magic shop door crashed open with Kent breathing heavily. Again. “You need to come, right now.”
“Merciful Heavens. I’m going to start barring that door shut if just to save my hinges from all the force you put on them.”
Kent wasn’t taking no for an answer and tugged on Bitty’s elbow until he got up. Audaciously, Kent called back over his shoulder, “Bun, you’ve got this covered, right?”
Predictably, there was no verbal answer, but the lop-eared rabbit poked his head out from behind a stack of books and twitched his nose.
“I swear, if this is -”
“Just, come on. I promise you will enjoy this. Probably. Maybe. Most likely.”
Bitty just shook his head and let himself be dragged along to Parson’s shop, where he found a very bashful looking Jack Zimmermann holding a bouquet of white carnations.
“I didn’t know what you liked. Kenny said carnations?” He held them out at a slightly awkward angle.
Bitty took them gently and couldn’t resist smelling them. “They are lovely. But, why?”
“Kent and I have spent some time working things out and going over our past. And he kind of prodded it out of me that I think you are very handsome and very talented. I was hoping that maybe you’d want to go on a date? With me?”
“And you’re okay with me being a witch?”
Jack grinned. “I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t. I may have grilled both Kent and Shitty about dating you and making sure I would be good with living around magic and your familiar. They said that if we wanted to be serious that I would have to get his permission.”
Bitty smiled back and stepped up to Jack, the bouquet getting slightly squished between them. “I think Bun’ll be okay with that.”