Free The Summer Solstice ~ Enchanted by K.K. Allen Page B

in the doorway. “Why do people connect the Solstice
to Wicca?”
    Rose doesn’t answer me right away. “Well, dear.
Wiccans have similar beliefs as us. They practice the art of magic and worship
the earth, gods and goddesses. They sacrifice things in order to stay holy to
their gods. Our family – well, we merely come from that magic. We don’t practice any art. We simply are that art.”
    My eyes glare at her, unappreciative of her joke.
“The art of magic?”
    “Have fun exploring, dear. I think I’ll take my nap
now. Let Charlotte know when you’re done and she can take you out if you’d like
to go somewhere.”
    “Wait –.” I call to her now. Perhaps it’s the
desperation in my tone but she stops in her tracks and turns to me.
    “What is it, dear?”
    The conversation at the restaurant has come back to
haunt me in a dream the night before and I know Rose might have answers for me.
I tell her the story of Alec’s conversation with Ava and Iris. Rose doesn’t give
much away as I tell her the story but when I’ve finished she takes a seat
across from me and crosses her ankles.
    I watch as she settles in, eyes – everywhere
but on mine. I wait patiently, wondering what is playing in her mind now.
    Finally, she speaks. “I wouldn’t think too much
about the fact that you were able to hear them. I would just chalk that up to
great genes.” It sounds as if she’s teasing me, but her smile tells me
different. “As for the conversation you overheard,” Rose continues. “I guess I
should tell you. There are – many politics that come with running a town
of this size. We’re not the smallest town, but it’s small enough for certain
folks to feel a sense of privilege if they’ve lived here long enough. Most of
us in the community agree with the laws we’ve set, and they want me as their
leader. But there are some that don’t agree and think that they can run this
place much better than I can.”
    As Rose speaks I can see a sadness in her eyes.
“What rules?”
    Rose sighs. “Business owners around here want to
rip down trees and bulldoze historical landmarks in order to build McDonalds
and Wal-Marts. They want to promote the Community Center as a tourism spot. The
majority of us deny the right to own any business in this town unless it is
locally built and run. It’s just our way of preserving what – to us
– is unique .” Unique plays oddly in her tone, as if she really
meant to say something else.
    “So Iris and Ava’s parents don’t agree with
preserving the community.”
    “To say the least,” Rose says dryly.
    She stands, signaling
that my time is up. She leaves before I can get any more questions out. Why
does she have to be so mysterious? I look around the three-storied room of
wonderment and grin. I have a lot of reading to do.
    Rose and Charlotte are both aware of my new nightly
run schedule – although I may have left out the part about Alec. It’s the
first night of my planned run with Alec and I don’t want to take any chance
that they will say no.
    Rose is just happy that I’m wearing new clothes.
She compliments my black running shorts and hot pink tank top that Charlotte
chose for me then turns in for the night. Charlotte stays up to clean but she
is adamant that I leave her to do it alone.
    Alec and I meet in front of his house. He greets me
with bright and challenging eyes. “Alright, let’s see if you’re as good at
running as you are at pool.”
    I laugh, knowing I can hold my own. We stretch
before taking off into the night. I follow Alec’s pace as we start with a light
jog down along the coast. As our jog speeds into a run, a smile spreads across
my face. There’s something about the night breeze along the coast that
energizes every bone in my body and brings buoyancy to each advance.
    I keep up with Alec as we run side-by-side. He
takes me down past the private beach and out into the community streets. We run
under the buzzing streetlamps along the sidewalks