Free A Witch Like No Other by Makala Thomas Page A

the money he made from
Pandora’ s coming to his
clinic. “If what Miriam says is true, then she needs to be alone
with her family. Hopefully she ’ ll want to talk sooner
or later.”
     

 
* * *
     
    “ Kids, go to
your room,” Ted said a few hours later, and Pandora and Marlon got
up obediently. Then they scowled at each other, thinking the same
thing: now that Dreamer was back, they couldn’ t listen on the stairs. Dreamer watched them go
with a smile on her beautiful face.
    “ They’ ve grown so
much.”
    “ I know,” said
Ted. “Dreamer, we need to talk.”
    “ What
about?”
    “ Well… I-
you-”
    “ Ted, if I
could go back in time and stop myself from doing what I did, I
would.” Dreamer sighed longingly. “Mama wont teach me.”
    “ It’ s not that.” Ted
hesitated, then he said “I ’ ve missed
you.”
    “ I’ ve missed you
too.”
    “ Why
didn’ t you come six months
earlier?”
    “ I was afraid
of giving one of you a heart attack,” smiled Dreamer, and Ted
smiled back. “The days turned into weeks, then months.”
    “ And Agnes
didn’ t even call.”
    “ You told her
you don’ t want her near
Pandora or Marlon, Ted.”
    “ It was the
magic phobia all over again,” said Ted, looking away as she frowned
at him. “I’ m sorry I offended
your mother, Dreamer.”
    “ She forgives
you,” Dreamer replied. “Do you forgive me?”
Ted knew the question was much deeper than
it sounded. Dreamer waited patiently as he looked at her, not
breaking the silence. Then-
    “ Yes,” he said
softly. “I forgive you.”
    Dreamer ’ s eyes filled over. “I ’ m sorry, Ted.
I ’ m so
sorry.”
Ted pulled her close to him and held her,
saying “It was partly my fault. Miriam told me everything-”
Dreamer stiffened in his arms at her name.
“Miriam?”
    “ Yes, Dreamer.
Your friend from school and college?”
He waited fearfully, wondering if Miriam was
a fraud.
    “ Pandora’ s godmother,”
Dreamer said, sighing as she let him go. “She told you everything
about Damon?” He said yes. “Everything?”
    “ Yes,” he said
painfully. It still hurt like heck. “Everything.”
Dreamer decided not to take the conversation
further, turning to look around the living room self
consciously.
    “ You have a
nice house.”
    “ We
couldn’ t stay in Westport,”
Ted replied, a little colder than he meant.
    “ Yes, I know,”
said Dreamer. “A lot happened to the family in that
town.”
    “ To Pandora
especially. Too much things happened to her there.”
Ted stopped as Dreamer looked at him, pain
in her expression.
    “ I had dreams
about it- what Damon was doing to her. I tried to tell myself they
were just horrid nightmares, Ted- I tried.”
Angry tears coursed down her face, Ted
listening silently.
    “ The dreams
were getting worse, and then- then-”
Ted knew Dreamer had suffered as much as
their daughter did.
    “ You
don’ t have to go on, Dreamer.
But… I really want to know.”
    “ Mama called
me. She had the dreams too.”
    “ Dreamer,
I’ m your husband. Why
didn ’ t
you tell me about them?”
Dreamer gave him a look so cold Ted
shivered.
    “ Tell you, Ted?
You, when you hate anything like that?”
    Ted immediately felt a twinge of regret. Glaring at him,
Dreamer continued “It all came to me the minute Mama called. Why he
was always asking for Pandora. Why he always wanted us over- just
us two, never Marlon or you after a while. I came just in time:
Pandora was against his wall. I was so angry, Ted- I
shouldn ’ t have done it.”
    “ Done
what?”
    “ What Papa did
that night when we had dinner with your parents.”
    “ Good,” said
Ted fiercely, making her start in surprise. “What else?”
    “ I was in such
a rage I told him I never cared for him, a fling is a fling and
nothing more.” Dreamer smiled, an evil smile. Ted swallowed as she
said “I knew I was going to die that night- I even conjured the
machete for him. I gave him a sporting chance, wanting to