Free It's a Love Thing by Cindy C Bennett Page A

I'll make a wish and then you
can come back."
    "It doesn’t work that way. Besides,
you'd probably get a different faery anyway." She looped her hand
through mine and brought it to her lips.
    "What if I wish for you, then they'd
have to grant it, right?" She shook her head, drowning my
hope.
    "Tink, I love you. I don't want to
live without you." I wrapped my arms around her and tugged her
close.
    "I feel the same. It's like my heart
is going to burst."
    "I'd give anything to be with you. I'd
give up all my tomorrows for just one more day with you like this."
I kissed her forehead. "Can you take me with you to your
world?"
    "No. Even if I could you'd still be
five-ten and I'd still be five-and-a-half inches."
    "Can you stay here, stay a human?" I
looked at her. Her face went white. "Never mind. How selfish of me
to ask you to give up magic and your world. At least we'll have
these memories, right?" She didn't answer. Then I remembered. "Oh
yeah, you will, I won't."
    Tink slipped her hands into my hair
and pulled me into a kiss. The best one yet. I wrapped my arms
around her waist and tugged her closer.
    Everything went just fine until my
father began clearing his throat. Tink and I stepped
apart.
    Dad smile apologetically. "Sorry. I
have some strawberry short-cake for dessert. Would you two care to
join me?"
    "No, thanks," we both said. He nodded
and went back inside.
    "Did we get everything on your list
done?" I asked, trying to forget we only had an hour
left.
    "Almost."
    "What's still left? We have some time.
If we hurry maybe we can get it done."
    "Not unless you can make it snow in
July," she answered.
    "I'll bet you can't do that even with
your wand." I brushed a stray piece of hair from her
cheek.
    "Nope. I can't."
    "Did you want to build a
snowman?"
    "No. I wanted to go skiing. And I
wanted to make snow angels."
    "Oh, the wings would get in the way,"
I said, as a thought came. "I can’t do anything about the skiing,
but I have an idea I think will work with the snow angel." I took
her hand. We quietly walked over to the next door neighbor's
backyard and went straight to their sandbox in the
corner.
    "I know it's not snow," I
said.
    "It's perfect. I can make angels and
not have to get cold." We both knelt outside the box and smoothed
out the sand. Tink climbed in and lay in the sand, swooshing her
arms and legs. When she finished, I took her by the hands and
pulled her up so it wouldn't mess up the angel. We stood at the
foot of the box and looked down at her creation.
    It looked perfect, just like her. We
kissed a few more times before walking slowly, arm in arm, back to
my house.
    "Twenty minutes." I tried to pull her
closer, but she shook her head.
    "Wait. There is a way," she said
soberly. "I'd have to give up being a faery, but at least I
wouldn't have to give up you, because truthfully, I don't think I
can do that."
    "No. Being a faery is what you are,
Tink. I can't ask that of you."
    "You're not asking. I'm offering."
Excitement filled her voice. "I'd need a place to stay, at least
for a while."
    "My grandma's. She lives around the
corner, and her health has been poor lately. My mother said
yesterday she's going to try and find a live-in aid for her. And my
mom adores you, I'm pretty sure the job is yours if you want
it."
    "That would work. I'd be close to you
and we could spend all our free time together." She smiled broadly.
"Yes. This will work. Then we won't have to be apart, and you could
keep all the memories."
    "Are you sure? Think about it, Tink,
how many times today did you forget you couldn't do magic and tried
to reach for your wand?"
    "I'll get used to it. Pete, I want
nothing, and I mean nothing more than to spend the rest of my days
with you. I love you."
    I scooped her up and we spun in a
circle, both of us laughing.
    "Call Jaxton. Let's get this
started."
    "No. I don't want him to know. I'll go
back as planned tonight and I'll file a petition tomorrow. I should
have the court's okay by five