CHAPTER 10 – Getting Close to Graduation at the CIA

 
Introduction: This story is the third, the penultimate, in a series within a series. The overall series is the “Cynthia Chronicles”. This story is directly connected to “Simoné and the Second Time Around” and “Marti and the Doppelganger”. The latter left many unanswered questions. Some of those will be answered, some probably not. There are many references to previous stories in the series. If you are confused by some of them, just put it off to my senility. The Cynthia Chronicles takes place in a universe very similar to ours. Unfortunately, it might be too similar.

For any who read “Myrna and the Genetic Disaster”, this is the same story, only with the political rantings and scientific explanations removed. There may also have been a few edits and additions.

This is the tenth part of ten. I had considered reorganizing the last few chapters of the story as there is quite a bit of skipping around and going back and forth in time. I decided the heck with it and left them as they were.

We will see how things go with Tammie and Wanda. Their relationship is one made in heaven. At least some would find that metaphor appropriate. Sydney and Marshall Hendricks find love rather quickly. We will learn a lot more about them in the next story.

 

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This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.

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“So how’d it go?”

“Piece of cake, pun intended. I aced it. How’d it go for you?”

“No problems at all. The gazpacho came out perfectly. Shall we celebrate?”

“As long as I don’t have to eat your gazpacho,” Sydney laughed. “Hey waiter, this gazpacho’s cold.”

“That doesn’t have anything to do with your current situation, does it?” Marshall Hendricks said as he placed his loving hand on Sydney’s slightly distended abdomen.

“None whatsoever, I just never liked the stuff.”

“Are you sorry you changed your major to the culinary arts?”

“Not one bit. The more I got to know you, the more I knew I wanted to be with you as much as possible. This isn’t much different than being a doctor. It will probably be harder work, though.

“I haven’t talked to Wanda and Tammie since yesterday. Do you know how the practicals went for them?”

“I saw them briefly, and they were all smiles. Of course, they usually are. Tammie’s really showing.”

“That’s a silly thing to say. She has less than two months to go. The baby’s due two weeks after graduation.

“It’s so nice of The Wizard to help everyone out who wants a child. He finds an embryo no one wants and finds a mother for the child. I am amazed that Lisa and Rosemary have saved so many. They are truly wonderful people.

“By the way, Rosemary called. She said there’s a restaurant on the north side of Boston that’s looking for at least two sous-chefs. She said their cuisine is a perfect fit for us. They should know, we’ve worked with them over the last three summers.”

“That sounds very interesting,” Marshall Hendricks said as he hugged his wife of two years. They hadn’t wanted to start a family as soon as they did; however, when they verified she was expecting, they were ecstatic. Their parents were equally overjoyed. Marshall’s parents weren’t aware of what had happened years before. There really wasn’t any reason for them to know. However, Sydney’s parents and Sydney knew it was the final confirmation of Sydney’s transformation. As far as they were concerned, The Wizard could do no wrong.

Marshall and Sydney had met when she was a senior in high school. She was still testing the waters, so to speak; however, the fact she was quite athletic and a starter for the women’s basketball team, and he was the starting running back on the on the football team meant they were more or less ‘thrown together’ as members of the school’s more important athletic teams. Their last period of the day was gym. Marshall noticed the rather tall basketball player early on. Maybe physical stature was important, maybe it wasn’t. He was at least two inches shorter than she; however, he was looking at her as they left the gym area at the end of the day, and she smiled at him. That was all he needed.

He was waiting for her the next day as she left the gym. He introduced himself and they walked together to the student parking lot. By the time they got to the lot, they had a date for the next Friday. They had dinner at a local chain restaurant, then took in a movie. They mostly just cuddled. A hand did find its way to her breast. She thought about removing it, but instead held him to her. She enjoyed the warmth. It was two dates later when her hand wandered down to find his erection. She freed it from its confines and just explored. He came rather quickly. She kissed him passionately while she helped clean things up.

“Marti, you know those instructions that Charli and Randi put together for me?”

“Yes, are you having any problems?” Marti asked.

“Yes and no. It seems I have a boyfriend. It may be more than that. I really like him. He’s not overly aggressive. If anyone’s aggressive, I’m probably the one. I think I want to take our relationship to the next level. I know there is a spell that will stop my ovulation. Could you or one of your friends initiate it for me?”

“I take it you want to take Marshall to bed.”

“That would be the general idea.”

“You should probably discuss it with your mother before you do anything. I can do the spell quite easily, but I don’t want you to run off into a territory you haven’t adequately been prepared for.”

“That certainly sounds adult.”

“It should, that’s what Mom said to me and my brothers and sisters over the years. Whether we heeded her advice or not was our business. There haven’t been any problems so far.”

“I didn’t know you had a boyfriend.”

“Who said anything about a boyfriend, or girlfriend, for that matter?” Marti responded. “I haven’t found the right guy. He’ll show up one of these days, and I’m in no rush.

“That being said, I could run into him tomorrow. It took Randi about 30 seconds to know she found the right guy. She says it took longer, but The Wizard said it happened very quickly for both of them. I’ll do it for you, but only if you tell your mother what you have in mind. Marshall has to tell his folks, too. You’re both close to 18. Neither of my sisters were 18 either, but my folks knew what was going on. It’s not a good idea to hide those things from your parents.”

Sydney told her mother that night what she wanted to do. Her mother cried a little, knowing it was a very big step for her ‘little girl’ who towered over her. Marshall had a similar reaction from his mother. His father gave him a friendly slap on the back and a wink after they talked. What was interesting was that a few days after their discussions with their parent Marshall received a registered letter from an advertising agency. It seemed he’d won a contest he couldn’t remember entering. It was for three days and four nights for two at a very nice lodge in the mountains north of them. Surprisingly, a period between Christmas and New Year’s was available. It wasn’t an accident.

Although technically a virgin, her hymen had been partially torn during a basketball game when struggling for a loose ball. Just to be on the safe side, her mother took her to their gynecologist just to make sure there weren’t any problems. There weren’t, and there wouldn’t be the first time she had intercourse, at least as far as discomfort was concerned. With Sydney’s permission, the doctor made sure there would be nothing in the way.

When Marshall told her about winning the contest and having three days and four nights at a very nice resort, Sydney was very suspicious. These sorts of things didn’t just happen. Of course Sydney was correct as she would find out.

Perhaps it was nervousness. Maybe they were tired from the rather difficult drive in the snow. Maybe they just didn’t really know exactly what to do; however, after a very nice dinner and a couple of glasses of complimentary wine, they returned to their room. Sydney showered first, and returned to the bed wearing a very revealing night gown. Marshall took his shower and returned to the bed finding the love of his life sound asleep. She murmured something as he got under the covers and snuggled up to him. He gave her a quick kiss and quickly fell asleep. Neither moved during the night.

Things were a bit different the next morning. Marshall awoke realizing Sydney was exploring him rather closely. She was no longer wearing her nightgown. “I was wondering when you would wake up,” Sydney said as she lowered her beautiful breast and nipple to his waiting lips. As The Wizard had promised, her body had matured considerably over the last two years. She had stopped growing at 6’ 1”, and she was very proud of her C cup breasts that Marshall had adored since they were two cups smaller. She had gained 30 pounds over those years. She was no longer a string bean as some had called her. Marshall had gained another inch in height; so at least he stayed up with her. Short or tall, he didn’t care. He was sure he loved her.

“If you don’t mind, I got really, really horny waiting for you to wake up; so,” she said as she straddled him, “I’ll just take this and put it right here, if you don’t mind.” Suddenly he was in a place he’d never been before, and it was so right and so good. Sydney’s head was thrown back and her eyes were tightly closed. She was starting to grind against him before she started moving up and down. Her swollen nipples were waiting for him, and he obliged her. She moaned and picked up her pace. He knew it was going to happen for her. He could read all the signs. In the past, their making out had gotten pretty intense, and he learned how to sense she was ready to come as his fingers caressed her vagina and clitoris. When she did come, it was usually quite physical with her abdominal muscles contracting quite strongly several times. She was not loudly vocal, but never the less, she didn’t hide her pleasure. This time was no exception, and he came right with her. The fact there was no fear of pregnancy made it just that much easier.

She kissed him a dozen times as she released his shrinking penis. They held each other closely for a while, and he realized she was quietly crying. “Are you okay?” he asked.

“Even better than okay. It wasn’t too many years ago that I thought this would never happen. You and my friends have given me a life that I’d only dreamed about. I am so damn lucky to have found you.”

“And I am so happy to have found you, my beautiful giantess. Will you marry me?”

“Well, I didn’t expect that; at least, not yet.

“Let me think about it for a while. Okay, that’s long enough. The answer is yes.

“Oh dear, you seem to have recovered already.”

After some extensive foreplay, they switched positions and did what came naturally. Sydney’s long legs held Marshall close to her. They then took a shower in the ‘honeymoon’ shower. They had never been totally unclothed together before, and it was quite a pleasant experience. It also gave them the experience of being able to explore each other’s body in total.

“You really want to get married?” Sydney asked as she adjusted her bra. Her breasts might have swollen a bit due to Marshall’s rather loving attention he’d been giving them. Her nipples were really out there.

“Of course I do, I wanted to corral you as soon as I could. Besides, I’m buying a ring. It’s almost paid for.”

Sydney planted a kiss on him that forecast an interesting evening. There had been considerable snow the night before, and there was still light snow in the air, but there were breaks in the clouds to the northwest. They made their way to the dining room which would still be serving breakfast. It was pretty crowded as it was pretty obvious that no one would be going anywhere until the roads were cleared. There had to be close to 30” of snow on the flat ground, and the only vehicles that could be seen were some snowmobiles. There were also the sounds of several snow blowers laboring through some drifts.

The greeter led them to a table near one of the bowed out window. A family was having a rather large breakfast they had obviously obtained from the sumptuous buffet. The woman waved at Sydney as they approached their table.

“Marshall, I want you to meet some very special people.

“Let’s see if I can get this right. Marshall, I would like you to meet Drs. Brewer and their family. Dr. Cynthia Brewer is a psychiatrist, and her husband, Dr. Donald Brewer, is a lawyer. If you haven’t figured it out already, Dr. Cindy, she told me that was okay, is Marti’s sister. Dr. Don holds the NCAA record for the longest field goal.

“This is my boyfriend, well I guess fiancé as of a couple of hours ago, Marshall Hendricks.”

“So nice to meet you,” Donald the elder stood and shook Marshall’s hand, “and congratulations.”

“I don’t imagine you’ve set a date yet,” Cindy asked.

“I think that will be three or four years down the line, since we will be going to different schools,” Marshall said.

Sydney looked a bit uncomfortable, but Marshall didn’t catch it; however, Cindy did.

“I think I remember their children’s name. That’s Don, but not junior. The twins are Martin and Joann, and the little one in the high chair is Sydney. I don’t think there is any connection.”

“Why don’t you two get some breakfast,” Cindy said pointing to the sumptuous buffet. “They’ll start cleaning up for lunch in a little while. By the way, it’s safe to talk here. No one will understand anything coming from these two tables.”

“What did she mean by that last comment?” Marshall asked as he filled his plate.

“I’ll tell you when we get back to the table.” Sydney’s plate was as full as Marshall’s.

As they got to their table, the Brewers were getting ready to return to their suite. “Sydney’s ready for her morning nap, and Don’s going to take the others down to the park for a while. We brought a toboggan,” Cindy said as she cleaned the food particles and clumps off her youngest daughter. “I think it’s a bout 40-60 as far as how much food she got in her mouth.

“By the way, we have a baby sitter for tonight. Would you like to have dinner with us?” Cindy asked.

“I would love to, and I think Marshall would, too. We have a lot to talk about.

“What time?”

“How about 8:00?”

“That would be great. Is the table still safe?”

“Yes.”

“What was all that about?” Marshall said again, as he passed the genuine maple syrup to Sydney.

“What that’s about is that we can talk about anything here, and no one will hear us. You go to school with Marti, and you know she’s a witch. You just can’t talk about it unless no one is within ear shot. Of course Cindy’s a witch, but her daughters are not. Their son, Don, is a wizard, all be it, a young one. The only other known wizard is His Wisdom whom you met at the mall. We can’t talk about that unless we’re with them or like right now when Cindy put up the ‘wall of silence’. As you are well aware, we can only talk about what I went through under the same conditions.

“You realize, of course, that you didn’t win any contest for our stay here. This is a gift from the Brewers. This is a special place for Cindy and some of her friends. Let’s just say we are carrying on a tradition; a rather nice one, I might add. This is where Cindy and Don first made love many years ago, as did her best friend and partner Bobbie Anderson.”

“Who’s she? The name does sound familiar.”

“Before she received her PhD in Psychology, she used to play a little golf.”

“That Bobbie Anderson?”

“Yes, that Bobbie Anderson.”

“I have another little surprise for you. As you know, I was accepted at UConn for pre-med. I’ve decided not to go. I was accepted at another school I applied to.”

“Where might that be? I don’t want to be any further away from you than we were going to be.”

“Well, it’s a bit closer. It’s in Hyde Park.”

“Syd, I love you so much.”

“I didn’t want to be away from you either. It was an easy decision. My friends from California, Wanda and Tamesha, will be there. They are great.

“Tammie, Sydney called. She wanted to know if we’d like to have dinner at the French Laundry.”

“Who’s paying?”

“She said it was on them. She said they lost the bet.”

“OMG, it’s a girl. I knew it.

“Wanda, I wish you wouldn’t call me Tammie. I told you long ago that that wasn’t the proper nickname for an Afro-American woman.” She was teasing. This was a frequent topic of discussion.

“What would you suggest?”

“I don’t know.”

“That’s what I thought. Look, my beautiful Nubian princess, I don’t care what name you go by. I don’t care if you are black, yellow, or green. I love you with all my heart and soul. That day you kissed me was the greatest day in what had been to that point a miserable life. You set my soul free. There’s not much I can say about my life before that except if it hadn’t been for Lily, I might have killed myself. We are so damn fortunate to have found each other. You saved my life.”

“And you made my life worthwhile. When I knew I had reached you, I had never felt such joy. That first kiss you gave me caught me a bit off guard. It also answered a lot of questions. I knew I wasn’t wrong. I had correctly read all the signals. Tanya is my best friend, but you are my wife and always will be. We have so much to look forward to. Oops!”

“Anything wrong?”

“No, little Rhonda is kicking up a storm, though. Just remember, you’re next.”

“Then you, then me, then you, and so on and so forth.”

“That’s fine with me. The Wizard knows what we desire, and he told us those little ones are just waiting for us to give him the word.

“On a slightly different subject, Lisa called a while ago and said there is a family oriented restaurant looking for two sous-chefs.”

“Where might this restaurant be?”

“East Hartford.”

“This is beginning to sound interesting.”

“Not only that, that little duplex where we stayed down the street from them has been converted to a single house. It’s for sale.”

“How convenient.”

When Tamesha returned home from camp, her mother knew something very important had happened. The fact her daughter was gay had never been an issue. The thing that had worried her the most was that she wanted her daughter to find the right partner. Tanya was her best friend; however, their relationship would never go beyond that. Tamesha had told her mother when she was 12 that she knew she was gay. She had boys who were friends, but things would never go past that point, either.

“What about children?” her mother had asked.

“I want to have a lot of babies. My wife and I will have to work out the details when the time comes.”

Her mother had picked her up at the Merced Airport, but waited until after they let Tanya off at her home before asking Tamesha the obvious question. “You met her, didn’t you? I can see all the signs. Tell me about her.”

“I don’t know how these things happen.”

“Few people do. Go on.”

“She was so abused by her parents. She had built up all these defensive postures, but I saw through them immediately. Tanya saw it, too. She had this horrible acne. I didn’t see it at first. She and her friend Lily were going off on all these racist rants.”

“She’s white?”

“Well yes. It was mostly put on. She and Lily had grown up in a horrible environment. Anyway, Lanu cured Wanda’s acne and Lily’s chlamydia. She’s really good at doing those sorts of things.”

“Just a minute young lady, you are on a first name basis with a doctor?”

“Of course not. Lanu’s a witch. So is her cousin, Marti. They’d never known about each other until they’d met at the camp. It’s really a neat story.

“OMG! I just realized I’m not supposed to be able to talk about these things, but here we are talking about it. I guess it’s okay.

“Lanu’s a healer. Here, let me show you some pictures.” Tamesha brought out her phone. “I think I have about a thousand good pictures on here. Here’s Lanu. She had just arrived and realized Marti was a witch. Lanu’s from Samoa. Marti’s from Connecticut. Their mothers are twins. They don’t know that. Marti and Lanu are working on a big project to get their mothers together. The Wizard’s going to help them.

“You don’t seem to be bothered by all this.”

“I’ll tell you in a minute. Go on.”

“Here’s Wanda when she arrived, and that’s Lily.”

“Her hair’s awful.”

“I know. She kinda went Goth to piss off her parents, but she doesn’t have to worry about them, anymore. The Wizard fixed that. Wanda’s a natural redhead. I convinced her to go natural. You can see the scars in this picture.”

“Oh, the poor dear.”

“It’s not a problem, anymore. Here’s a picture taken the next day.”

“That is amazing. That witch from Samoa did that?”

“Yes, and she cured Lily’s chlamydia.”

“What do you mean she doesn’t have to worry about her parents anymore?”

“The Wizard fixed it so Wanda and Penny can move in with a really nice family in Modesto. Their parents are so bad that it was easier to have Penny and Wanda fostered by the Chronisters.”

“This is getting more interesting by the minute. So, who’s this Penny? You haven’t mentioned her before.”

“Well Penny used to be Peter, but he tried to kill himself because his parents didn’t believe he was a girl inside. They were going to send him off to one of those aversion therapists to have him brainwashed. They also wanted him to be one of those televangelists. We stopped him from jumping off a cliff, and The Wizard turned him into the girl she knew she was. It was really nice, and we all cried.”

“Anyway, when Wanda’s settled in her new home, I want to visit her. You will love her. She’s a bit rough around the edges, but she’s going to be fine. She can finally be who she really is.”

“So, have you two, ah, gotten together?”

“No, that’s why I want to visit her. Marti told me there wouldn’t be any problem.

“Mom, I just told you a bunch of real weird shit, and you didn’t bat an eye. What’s going on?

“If you remember, your great grandmother was from Haiti. Supposedly, she was a witch. I suspect you and I may have inherited something from her.

“Well, I want to meet this future wife of yours as soon as possible. By the way, how do you know she’s a redhead? Never mind.”

“Mrs. Chronister, this is Anita Jackson, Tamesha’s mother,” she said over the phone. “I know Wanda said it was okay to have Tamesha spend the weekend, but I wanted to double check with you just to make sure you were fully aware of the situation.”

“Anita, please call me Ginny. As far as the situation as you call it, I’ve known since before we took them under our wing. The Wizard gave me all the details very early on. He’s very proud of Tamesha and Tanya for their tolerance and acceptance.

“Wanda was badly damaged as was Penny. They grew up in a terrible environment, but managed to hold things together. They have a great support group, and the fact that Tamesha saw through the façade Wanda was putting up made a huge impact on her. She could no longer hide her feelings. I’m sure Tamesha told you how it happened.”

“She did.”

“She said she took a huge chance when she kissed Tamesha. After all, she had made some horrible racist comments. But when Tamesha kissed her back, she knew she hadn’t made a mistake. She cried then and she cried when she told me the story. Your daughter is a very special person, and I’m sure you are aware of that. I have absolutely no problem with them getting together and having some private time. Wanda needs a rock, a foundation she can build on. She is a changed young woman. She helps me prepare meals, she baby sits, and she is looking forward to going to school with Penny. They’ve known each other for a little over a month, but it’s like they’ve been sisters forever.”

“How’s Penny doing?”

“Fine. She had her first experience with womanhood, and didn’t have a problem. She was very calm and just wanted my assurances. She really did quite well. I think it was an item on her ‘bucket list’. Hopefully, pregnancy is not something she wants in the near future. She really is a very attractive young woman. I wouldn’t put her in the model category. She’s tall at five-nine, but there is nothing frail about her. You’ll see her when you bring Tamesha up here.”

Wanda was waiting in the front yard when Tamesha arrived with her mother. They hugged before Tamesha kissed her. The next thing they knew, Wanda was in tears. “God, I missed you,” Wanda said as she blew her nose into a rather soggy tissue. “I was so worried you would change your mind.”

“What would possibly make you think that? We have talked every day since we got home. I’m not going to leave you, and you’re not going to leave me – ever.

“Now, let’s get my luggage inside. I want to see that wonderful bedroom you’ve showed me, and I want to see that kitchen.

“There’s one other thing.

“Mrs. Chronister, would you take us to the mall tomorrow?”

“Certainly, any particular reason?”

“I want to give Wanda a makeover. I don’t ever want her to be anyone but her real self.”

“What do you mean?” Wanda asked.

“If you don’t mind too much, I’d like the rest of your hair to match those roots that are showing up rather prominently.”

“For you, I’ll do it.”

No one said anything the next morning when the two showed up for breakfast a few minutes later than the rest. There were a lot of not so subtle glances and giggles.

Wanda really did look better as a redhead.

“Penny is lining up the put. If it goes in, the tournament is over. What a finishing round.

“Lance, what’s she dealing with.”

“This is one nasty putt. It’s a double breaker that should break sharply to the left as it nears the hole. No one has been close from that area today.

“Okay, she’s ready. Here it comes. Look at how that breaks to the right as it comes over that rise. No one has had enough speed to get it to the hole.

“Oh, this looks good. It’s better than good. It’s in the heart! Penny Garrett has won the LPGA Championship for the second time! As she said in the earlier interview, she had been a bit too tentative during the first two rounds when she was eight strokes behind the leaders. She didn’t say it, but coming back two months after giving birth to her second child, might have been too soon. Well obviously, it wasn’t.”

“Ed, there hasn’t been a golfer on this tour since Bobbie Anderson who can play golf like she can. They are very good friends, by the way. There is one difference, though. Penny says she has no desire to play on the men’s tour.

“Ah, there’s her husband giving her a congratulatory kiss. Her son, Al seems to be pretty excited, too. It’s a bit strange. His name is not Allen, like many have guessed. It’s Aloysius.

“Penny, Fred, George and I are going to play golf. I’ll see you tonight,” Keith Garrett said.

“Just a moment, what am I supposed to do while you’re out there playing golf?”

“I thought you and your friends were going to the mall.”

“There’s a heck of a lot more to life than going to the mall. Besides, I don’t need to go there to check out the boys. I’ve already made my choice, and I might want to learn how to play golf.”

“Penny, golf is not easy, it takes a lot of time to learn how to play it. I can take you to the driving range next week and try to show you how to hit the ball.”

“I’ll meet you out there.”

When Keith arrived at the golf course he noticed that the Chronister’s second car was already parked there. He couldn’t see Penny anywhere. He went to the pro shop to pay his greens fees and looked out to the driving range. Ken Lindsay, the assistant club pro, was giving some pointers to some woman. Keith realized it was Penny.

“How’d the lesson go, Ken?”

“Not bad, not bad at all. That young lady is a natural. I worked on her grip a bit, and she was hitting it as straight as an arrow. Not only that, she is long, scary long. If she wants to learn this game, she could be very, very good.”

Keith smiled to himself. This might be an interesting day.

“Guys, Penny talked me into letting her play with us. She’s never played before, so I’ll tell you what. We’ll play against you two.”

“Yeah, but she gets to hit off the ladies’ tees.”

“What’s that?” Penny asked.

“Guys, forgive Penny. She’s never played before, as I said.

“Penny, because ladies can’t hit the ball as far as the men do, they move their tees up a bit. That helps speed up the game.”

“That seems a bit chauvinistic,” Penny came back. “I’ll play from here, just like you guys do. If I slow you up too much, then I’ll play from the women’s tees. Where are they, by the way?”

“They’re down there,” Keith said pointing to the red markers about 75 yards down the fairway,

“That doesn’t seem fair,” Penny said with a smirk.

“Do you have any idea what this game is about?” Fred Frazier asked in a rather condescending tone.

“Sure, you hit the ball down there, then try to hit close to that little flag, and roll it into that little hole. Seems pretty simple to me. Why?”

Four and a half hours later, the four trudged into the pro shop. Penny turned in the rented set of clubs she’d been using.

“How’d it go, Penny, for your first time?” Ken Lindsay asked.

Fred and George wrote their scores in the handicap book, and left; never saying a word.

“I kinda liked it. I didn’t putt very well. Keith beat me by two strokes, but I beat Fred and George. They didn’t seem very happy about it. I don’t understand why.”

“Ken, she shot an 85. She could have been in the 70s if she’d putted better. As you said, she’s a fucking natural, excuse my French. We played from the members tees. She outdrove Fred and George on almost every hole. She even outdrove me on a couple.”

“Ken, I can’t help her. Would you take her under your wing?”

Penny joined the high school golf team as the second seed. She absolutely loved the game. That was the thing that drove her opponents crazy. She never looked at the score board; something she was criticized for. Each hole was a separate challenge. She just played them to the best of her ability.

Bobbie Anderson had long retired from golf when Penny joined the LPGA tour. They’d met many times, and had become close friends. Bobbie told her to play as long as she found it fun. If it ever became a drudge, or if she regretted being away from her family, it was time to quit. Penny took that advice to heart. She’d won 40 tournaments by the time she retired. She was only 30. She probably could have won 40 more had she wanted to, but her family and children were far more important.

Penny had just won her second LPGA title in Central California fairly early in her career. She was the darling of the professional golf world and she played in a minimum of tournaments each year so she could be with her family. She had completed the interviews after the tournament, and was talking with her friends about where they would meet for dinner. Wanda and Tamesha, and Marshall and Sydney were working on their Masters in Restaurant Management at the CIA West in St. Helena. They had their BS in Culinary Arts from the CIA in Hyde Park in New York. They had driven down to watch the last two days of the tournament. Penny had attained the lead going into the last day before she saw her parents in the gallery. It shook her up, but she held it together for a one stroke victory.

As the group of friends was talking, she again saw her parents as they approached. She hadn’t seen them or communicated with them in ten years.

Her friends backed off a bit as they neared. She had told them she had seen them earlier.

“Hello Penny,” her mother said. “It was nice to see you win. It’s been ten years, and we were hoping that it might be time for forgiveness and a return to God.”

Keith had come up to stand with his wife. She was holding their son Al. Their two month old daughter was with their sitter. Ginny had made the short trip to Petaluma to watch the children.

“If you could take the time, we would love to have you and your husband have dinner with us so we could talk about returning to the fold and doing what God meant for you to do.

For a second or two, Penny was at a loss for words. Then she made up her mind. “I will come to dinner; however, my friends have made a special effort to be here for this tournament. Marshall and Sydney Hendricks have been our friends for a long time. Their two children are very dear to all of us, and shouldn’t be excluded. Tamesha and Wanda will have to come too. They have two girls, and Wanda’s youngest, Lanu, is still nursing. Tamesha is holding their first daughter. She’s named Rhonda after a good friend. I think it would be very nice if we could get together and talk about old times.”

Her parents looked at the lesbian couple and their mixed race children. Her mother spluttered for a moment before grabbing her husband’s arm as they rapidly left. Penny never saw or heard from them again. After 10 years on the tour, Penny retired from the golf world and spent the rest of her life with her family raising almonds, pistachios, and oranges. Both her daughters were witches, which suited everyone just fine.

Wanda and Tamesha ran a very successful restaurant in East Hartford for many years before retiring to their wonderful home down the street from Rosemary and Lisa, and Jim and Terri. Their children and grandchildren seemed to take over the place. No one seemed to care.

Marshall and Sydney were also successful restaurateurs. They were frequent visitors with their friends in Hartford. The entire group from that camp many years before got together almost yearly. It was the only time that Lisa would allow more than 20 people to sit in her restaurant. Randi would come and do her little thing with space, and the entire group could be seated. All the cooks helped. The Wizard helped the long distance travelers. Two of Marshall and Sydney’s children became professional basketball players. Each had won Olympic Gold Medals for basketball.

The Wizard took things pretty easy after a couple of centuries. To his best recollection he was around 1250 years old. Donald Brewer and several nieces and nephews helped him with his wizardly chores. Don was senior to all but The Wizard. Nieces? Wait a minute, what do the nieces have to do with this? Remember, wizards carry the wizard trait on both the X and Y chromosome. They also carry the magic trait on the X chromosome. It was bound to happen; some baby girls showed up with the wizard trait on both X chromosomes. Everyone in the magic community had fully expected it and were well prepared when the first sorceress was born; however, that is a different story.

The last story in the Cynthia Chronicles will bring together several of the past stories that left several things unanswered. In “Bobbie and the Glass Ceiling” we were left with two, a golfer and his caddy, turned into infants. What happened to them and what did Bobbie do after she retired from the world of golf? At the end of “Randi and the College Professor” a misdirected witch (she wasn’t really evil) is turned into a three and one half year old girl with a chance to start over. She retained her magic powers. Then there is the question of death. It has never been fully addressed. Witches, and wizards live far longer than other mortals. I think we know what might happen. Perhaps it will.