Free Time of the Witch by Mary Downing Hahn Page B

earthenware jar and took it upstairs. I shoved it into the drawer with the photograph and the Matchbox car, then went back downstairs.
    I ran all the way to the grove of trees where I'd seen Maude last night. Then I stopped, almost afraid to go on. Suppose she was hiding there in the shade, waiting for me? Squinting ahead, I saw no one on the road. A mourning dove called sadly from the green shade, a gentle breeze ruffled the leaves, and sunlight instead of moonlight dappled the road. Of course, she could be on the path or behind a tree and Soot could be anywhere, his yellow eyes watching me. But there was no sound, no sign of either one of them, just the trees and the mourning dove and the sun.
    Telling myself I had nothing to fear from Maude, that she wanted to help me out of kindness, that she wasn't about to ask me for my soul or anything like that, I ran through the grove without looking to the right or the
left. Out again in the sunlight, I slowed to a walk, trying to get my breath back before I got to Wanda's.
    As soon as I was in sight of the house, the dogs set up their usual chorus of barks and growls. I figured it was safe, though, because I could see Wanda sitting on the front porch, bouncing Tanya Marie on her lap. When she saw me, she shouted at the dogs and, with the baby on her hip, staggered down the hill to meet me. Even at a distance I could tell she was excited about something.
    "Guess who's here?" She pointed at a small blue pickup truck parked in front of the house.
    "How should I know?" If Wanda couldn't even apologize for not walking me home last night, why should I care who was visiting her?
    "Eddie's here. That's his brand-new truck."
    "Car go! Car go!" Tanya Marie cried, bouncing harder on Wanda's hip.
    "He drove up to the Dairy Queen this morning and he and Charlene had a long talk," Wanda said. "Then Charlene's boss started yelling at her for talking to the customers, and Eddie told him to shut up. Then her boss fired her and right now she's inside packing her stuff. They're going off together, all three of them." Wanda hugged Tanya Marie. "Oh, I'm going to miss you!" She gave the baby a big slobbery kiss and Tanya Marie laughed and made a face.
    "Miss you! Miss you!" Tanya Marie crowed.
    "He came back just like that?" I stared at Wanda, forgetting to be mad.
    Wanda nodded. "Charlene said she like to have fainted when she looked up and saw him standing there, all squinty-eyed in the sun."
    "Do you think Maude's spell worked after all?" I felt kind of watery-kneed just thinking about it.
    Wanda shrugged. "Don't know," she said. "Might have though."
    "I saw her in the grove last night, Wanda," I said. "After you ran off and left me there all by myself."
    Wanda's eyes widened and she gripped Tanya Marie tighter. "What did she do?"
    "She could've killed me for all you knew." I stared coldly at Wanda. "But she didn't. She said she could stop my parents from getting a divorce. She also said that Eddie would come back to Charlene. She said all things come in time."
    Wanda shook her head and looked around uneasily. Shifting Tanya Marie to her other hip, she said, "Just look at my arms. All the hairs are sticking straight up. I got goose bumps all over."
    "She wants me to come to her house tonight, Wanda. Will you come with me? She said you could."
    "Me? I wouldn't go near that old woman's house for nothing! Are you crazy?"
    "Please, Wanda. Just think what she's done for Charlene. If she were really horrible, she wouldn't have helped her. If you help people with love, you must be a good witch, don't you think?"
    Wanda jiggled Tanya Marie. "I don't know." She shook her head. "I just don't know, Laura. I always been scared of her, all my life." She thrust Tanya Marie at me. "Here. You hold this ton of bricks for a while. She's wearing me out."
    "Ton of bricks, ton of bricks," Tanya Marie said and grabbed a handful of my hair.
    "Wanda?" Charlene called from the front porch.
"Bring Tanya Marie up here. I got