By Portia Bennett
Introduction: For this little bit of fluff we go back only a couple of months before Cynthia and the Queen of the Knight. Over the years that these tales about Cynthia Brewer (nee Lewis) have appeared there have been a number of loose ends. We have met people, many the victims of The Wizard’s magic, and then we hear nothing more about them. A prime example is Charli and the Girl Cave. Charlie Donizetti’s parents as well as his aunt and uncle were brutally murdered during a robbery, leaving Charlie an orphan. Also orphaned were his two cousins. Other than a brief mention that the cousins had been sent to an orphanage in western Connecticut, we know nothing about their fate. Now is the time to find out what their fate was. The Wizard is up to his usual tricks.
This story is another addition to The Cynthia Chronicles. Cynthia (Cindy) Brewer has graduated from medical school, and is well into her residency. The Wizard has difficulty remembering exactly where she is in her studies. Randi Lewis at age 18 is starting work on her Master of Science in Chemistry, and Charli Brewer will soon be a freshman in pre-med at UConn. Bobbie Anderson is setting the golf world on fire having now won tournaments on the PGA in addition to her many victories on the LPGA. This story takes place about two months before Cynthia and the Queen of the Knight and a year before Bobbie and the Glass Ceiling. If you are not familiar with the stories that make up the Cynthia Chronicles, you might want to go back to the beginning with An Incremental Journey. There are references to Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend and Charli and the Girl Cave. If you don’t remember what happened in those stories, you might want to go back and read them again.
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.
Chapter 1
Dr. Cynthia Brewer smiled at the little girl who smiled back at her as she turned into a room off the long, sterile appearing corridor. They had done a little dance typical of when two people aren’t sure where the other one was going.
What a pretty young girl Cindy thought as she watched her enter a room off the hall. She has to be related to whomever is in there. She wouldn’t be walking around like that especially at this time of day if she didn’t have an official reason to be there. Cindy sent out a shallow probe to just verify her assumptions. She was right. The little girl’s aunt had brought her to visit her mother and father who were recovering from a rather horrendous automobile accident. Their injuries were severe, and her mother might never walk again. That was horrible. It had been a hit and run. The driver of the semi had never slowed down. Well, she’d have to ask His Wisdom to look in on that. He might determine if some ‘corrective actions’ were appropriate.
Cindy gave herself a figurative kick in the butt. She’d been so impressed with the femininity of the young girl that she’d completely overlooked some things. At least one of which was that the little girl was actually a little boy. She’d never make a mistake like that. It must be the long hours, she thought. She’d been working all night in the trauma unit at the largest hospital in Boston. She might have attributed it to the full moon; however, she knew that was just an old wives’ tale. Saturday nights were bad enough, but Halloween and New Year’s Eve were the worse. She’d seen the second thing, too. But it just hadn’t sunk in.
“Ma’am, er Doctor, you are a doctor aren’t you?”
Cindy turned to see the little girl, er boy looking up at her. She, no he was eleven years old. His name was Tommaso, but he preferred Tommy. That was actually ‘Tommie’, but few other than his parents knew that.
“Yes, Tommie, I’m a doctor. Do you need something?”
“Yes, my mother has been pressing the call button, but no one is coming. She’s in pain, but the morphine machine isn’t working.”
“Let me check. I’m not her doctor, but I can at least make sure the protocols are being followed.”
That was when Cindy realized what she’d completely overlooked a few seconds before. A third of the child’s face was covered with a ‘port wine’ birthmark. If it had been white it would looked a bit like a Phantom of the Opera mask. The thing was there was nothing ‘there’ to call her attention to it. The child was perfectly at ease.
She’d learned over the years, especially in medical school, that in spite of her mind reading abilities, a person’s private thoughts were just that – private. She seldom intruded unless it was an absolute necessity. There were times, especially in hostile and dangerous situations when it was a must. That had been the case when they had rescued Charli years before. Charli could take care of herself now, as she had done several times. The point being though, she had no business probing other person’s minds unless they requested it or the situation required it.
Cindy checked Mrs. DiMaggio’s chart while doing a superficial scan of her pain center. Yes she was in pain, but that was sort of bad news, good news. The doctors had to fuse the T-12, L-1 and L-2 vertebrae. Her femur had also been fractured, and that had also been surgically repaired.
“Mrs. DiMaggio, I’ll have the nurse fix your morphine pump in a minute. Would you mind if checked something?”
“I guess not.”
“Where are you feeling pain at the moment?”
“In my back and leg.”
Cindy donned a pair of rubber gloves before drawing her finger up the arch of Mrs. DiMaggio’s right foot. Mrs. DiMaggio’s toes curled slightly.
“You felt that, didn’t you?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Can you wiggle your toes on your own? Give it a try.”
Cindy could tell it was difficult for the woman, but after a period of a few seconds her toes flexed slightly. Maybe there was hope, maybe the nerve damage wasn’t too severe.
“That’s very promising.
“I see your husband is asleep. How’s he been doing?”
“I’m not sure. Along with the broken arm, he had a ruptured spleen and a severe concussion. He doesn’t remember what happened.”
Cindy did a quick check of his charts. The doctors hadn’t discovered the clot and the small bit of arterial damage. The family didn’t need any more trauma than they already had.
“Your Wisdom, Would you have Dr. Bettencourt make a quick visit. I’m at the hospital. I just did an all-nighter at the ER, and I thought I would check on some things. There are some problems down here that you need to look into.”
“Give me a couple of minutes. A young woman and her twin sister are visiting. You might remember that incident when you were about ten when that pedophile tried to contact you in the mall. It was in the candy shop apparition.”
“Yes, I remember it very well. That was the first transformation I’d seen you perform. That was before you ‘fixed’ Bobbie.”
“Actually, that was the second one. The first one was with Tammy in Fargo the day before. If I remember correctly, you talked to her several years ago.
“Well, I had the candy shop operating; taking care of a couple of shop lifters, you know how it is. Can you imagine high school seniors trying to steal candy? Fortunately, they only got into the gum drops.”
“The pink ones, I imagine.”
“Of course. I don’t run a slipshod operation. Anyway, they are with their mothers at the beauty salon. Terri is giving them the works. I think they’re trying to decide whether they want to become blondes or not.”
“You didn’t turn them into bimbos, did you?”
“Certainly not, they will both be getting advanced degrees now that their attention is in other directions rather than causing mischief.
“Anyway, they’d just left the shop when Jean and Jane Williams walked in. Jean knew where she was immediately. She looked at me and gave me the biggest smile. They bought a lot of candy for a party, and I’m wrapping it up for them. They are going to be, correction, are a couple of heartbreakers.”
“Not magic, I hope.”
“Not this time. Okay, everything is ready. I’ll see you in a couple of minutes.”
The conversation had probably taken a couple of seconds.
“Excuse me Doctor, these are my patients. May I ask what you’re doing here?”
Cindy turned to see a doctor wearing a lab coat. Behind him was a woman holding two cups of coffee. She was Tommie’s aunt, and had obviously been to the snack bar. “Certainly, Dr. Adams, this young man stopped me a few minutes ago because he thought I might do something for his mother who is in considerable pain. It seems that her morphine pump isn’t working properly. The nurses’ station hasn’t responded to her calls.
“Doctor Adams, I just stopped at the nurses’ station on my way back. One of the nurses said they would get down here after they finished some paperwork. The head nurse said that my sister is always calling for them, but each time they check on her she’s asleep. I know that’s not true.”
“I’ll check on them in a minute. That’s not the right answer. Let’s see what’s wrong with that morphine pump.” Dr. Adams took the control from Mrs. DiMaggio. “Obviously it’s an internal malfunction,” he said after working with the controls and checking all the wires and tubes. “I’ll have it replaced immediately.
“How’s Mr. “D” doing? Has he been resting comfortably?”
“My Daddy’s been asleep since last night,” Tommie responded.
“That’s not good. We’d better have the neurologists take a look at him.”
“Here I am,” Dr. Bettencourt said as he entered the room. He was dressed in his usual green scrubs. His long grey hair was in a neat ponytail, and his trimmed beard resembled a Vandyke.
“And who are you?” Dr. Adams asked.
“Al Bettencourt, you know that. I’m the Chief Neurologist. I’m sure you remember that, now.”
“Yes, certainly,” Dr. Adams responded with a bit of a monotone.
“Great work with Mrs. DiMaggio, by the way. I know you were worried about the possibility of permanent sciatic nerve damage, but things are really looking up, there.
“Now let’s see what we can do to help Mr. DiMaggio.” Dr. Bettencourt approached the sleeping figure on the other bed. He stroked his pointed beard briefly before touching the right side of Mr. DiMaggio’s head a bit above his ear.
“Ah, there it is. That was an easy one to miss.”
“What was easy to miss?” Dr. Adams asked.
“When we finish here you might want to look at that MRI again. It would have been very difficult to detect; even by the best. Fortunately, I am the best and I’m here, now. There is a slight tear in the peripheral artery and it has since weakened and there is a blood clot forming right about here,” he said indicating an area about three inches above and behind Mr. DiMaggio’s ear.
“Okay, I’ve fixed the tear. Hold this while I check for anything else that might be wrong,” he said putting a half-dollar sized dark object in the stunned doctor’s gloved hand.
“Everything looks fine now. I imagine he’ll be waking up in a little while. Let me get rid of that blood clot. I just wanted you to see it
“A nurse will be arriving momentarily with a new morphine pump, and I would recommend you have a serious talk with that Director of Nursing about priorities. Anytime a nurse thinks paperwork takes priority over a patient’s comfort you have the beginning of a serious problem.”
“I will Dr. Bettencourt. I will also have the neurologists review the images and see if they can detect that damage.”
“That won’t be necessary since the problem has been fixed. Just study it for reference. Besides, that wasn’t his MRI. He’s fine as you can see. In fact, Mr. DiMaggio’s waking up now. You should check his vitals. In fact, neither Dr. Brewer nor I have been here,” Dr. Bettencourt said looking around the room.
“Dr. Brewer, let’s get a cup of that fine coffee they have down at the canteen. They have my favorite brand.”
Two minutes later The Wizard and Dr. Cynthia Brewer were sitting in a corner of the very nice canteen. Patients, visitors and employees could get a good meal there at a reasonable price. Besides, they had The Wizard’s favorite coffee. Cindy had erected a screen of silence around them.
“Thanks for calling me, Cindy. That could have killed him. That shouldn’t have been that hard to detect. Dr. Adams is not to blame here. The radiologists should have caught it, as should have the neurologists.
“Why were you down there in the first place?”
“I really had a shitty night. Actually, it was a very good night in many way, terrible in others. Thank the Goddess that more people were not killed or wounded by that maniac. There were many traumatized people that were there, plus their families were there. I think I helped a lot of people. I’ll be glad when my residency is over so that I can concentrate on what Bobbie and I want to do; but, I will always be available to help anyone I can.
“Why was I walking down that hall? I guess because it was the shortest route to the parking lot. I’m always ‘listening’ for distress. If there is something I can do to help someone, I want to do it. Then, Tommie smiled up at me before she entered his parents’ room. I hadn’t take two steps before she turned around to ask if I could help her mother. I had obviously noticed the gender problem, but it was like I hadn’t seen it. She was a girl, and I had not seen the wrong sex thing. Then I saw the port wine birthmark. I’d never noticed it earlier.”
“I’d suggest you should follow up on that,” The Wizard said. “Why didn’t you notice it?”
“Excuse me,” a little voice said.
Cindy turned to see Tommy, er Tommie standing next to the table.”
“You’re one of them, aren’t you?”
“Excuse me, one of whom?”
“You’re a witch, and he’s The Wizard.”
“The ball’s in your court,” The Wizard said before he conveniently disappeared.
I just noted something as I reviewed this chapter. I never once mention “Spells–R–Us” or SRU. I guess the question is who is Tommie DiMaggio? It already seems that there is something a bit out of the ordinary about him besides the gender issue. There are not many in that particular universe who would confront The Wizard that boldly. It also appears as if The Wizard has turned this whole thing over to Cindy. This might get interesting, then again, it might not. Chapter 2 coming soon.
By Portia Bennett
Introduction: Tommie tells her sister about meeting a real witch and The Wizard. Elaine’s not too sure what to believe. We also learn one other thing. Tommie can converse with his cat. Does this sound familiar?
This story is another addition to The Cynthia Chronicles. Cynthia (Cindy) Brewer has graduated from medical school, and is well into her residency. The Wizard has difficulty remembering exactly where she is in her studies. Randi Lewis at age 18 is starting work on her Master of Science in Chemistry (read Randi and the Professor), and Charli Brewer will soon be a freshman in pre-med at UConn. Bobbie Anderson is setting the golf world on fire having now won tournaments on the PGA in addition to her many victories on the LPGA. This story takes place a year before Bobbie and the Glass Ceiling. If you are not familiar with the stories that make up the Cynthia Chronicles, you might want to go back to the beginning with An Incremental Journey. There are references to Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend and Charli and the Girl Cave. If you don’t remember what happened in those stories, you might want to go back and read them again. This story also takes place just a few months before Cynthia and the Queen of the Knight.
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.
Chapter 3
“So how was your day?” Don Brewer asked. He’d come home to find his beloved sound asleep. She’d been working four straight with little rest. She’d been officially a Medical Doctor for several years by this time and it wouldn’t be long before she and Bobbie would be able to start their clinic. She was a medical doctor; however, her goal had always been to be a psychiatrist. In her first year of internship she completed four post-graduate months of internal medicine and an additional four months of pediatrics. She also completed two months of neurology during that first year. Since that time she’d been spending time at various mental health institutions in the area. For the last eight months she’d been counseling victims of mass terror acts and shootings. Those acts had seemed to be on the increase lately; however, her younger sister, Randi, had told her that things were far worse in the universe she’d left years before.
Four days before, someone who Cindy deeply regretted never having contact with, managed to get into the underground with an assortment of weapons. He killed 12 men, women and children in seconds. He wounded several dozen more; some of whom never survived. Two genuine heroes tackled him and prevented further mayhem. He was not allowed the privilege of dying by his own hand. Cindy had spent the last four days working in the trauma ward with both the survivors, families and their loved ones. It wasn’t easy work. She got to see the results of the worst of mankind.
“Sorry I asked,” Don said after Cindy gave him more details of the aftermath of the shooting.
“Don’t be sorry; I have to get rid of some of this. The victims are recovering, and their families are there for most of them. I did a lot of grief counseling last night. I think I helped ease a lot of pain.
“I was a little late getting home. I knew you were in court, so I wasn’t about to bother you. A wonderful thing has happened, or maybe I should say is happening.”
Cindy proceeded to explain the events of that morning.
“So, His Wisdom is up to his usual tricks,” Don said with a knowing tone.
“It certainly appears that way. He’s twice told me that the ball was in my court.”
“Do you think he’s going to allow you to do a transformation?”
“I don’t think so, and I’m not sure I want to. He’s allowing Mom to do some under strictly controlled conditions. If it comes to the point where she will be allowed to do them on her own, it will still have to be coordinated with The Wizard. He said he wasn’t allowed to do any for more than 100 years when he first started out as a new wizard.
“So, tell me more about this ‘little girl’ who found you this morning.”
“Here’s her picture, and if you scroll one back you’ll see her sister’s picture.”
Don looked at the picture of Tommie. “What a shame, can you do anything about that?”
“That port wine birthmark means nothing to her. It’s not important. She doesn’t think about it, nor does her family. The most important thing to her is getting her body in sync with her gender, and she’s well on the way without our help. I know His Wisdom will fix things, but he’s going to do it in his own time and way
“Now, take a look at the next picture,” Cindy said.
“Wait a second, that’s not the right picture. That’s a picture of ….”
“No, that’s a picture of Elaine Floria Donizetti DiMaggio. Now, do you get an idea of what’s going on?”
“This is amazing; all these years. How long has it been?”
"Well, we were looking for a place to live in Boston. So that had to have been 10 years ago.”
“Wait a minute, something isn’t right here. How old is Tommie?”
“Eleven.”
“And, how old is Elaine?”
“About 15.”
“Do you see what I’m talking about?”
“Yep. They’re not old enough, but that’s nothing for his Wisdom. He took them four years into the future, changed a little paperwork, and no one is the wiser. Elaine would have been about four. It wouldn’t be too difficult to make her think she had remembered the wrong date if even she had.
“What I’m wondering is why is he doing this?”
“I’m sure he’ll tell us in good time. However, there is another problem. I think he wants me to handle everything right up to the penultimate moment. I have quite a bit going on, but I can handle it, I think.”
“I take it you found the doctor,” her aunt said. “You’ve been gone quite a while.”
“Yes, we had a nice conversation. She knows about me. I didn’t have to tell her.”
“Is that a good thing?”
“Yes, she has to stick to that Hypo …, Hippocratic Oath.
Tommie could see that his mother was holding his father’s hand across the space between the beds. His dad was definitely awake.
“How’s my little girl doing?” her father asked.
“Glad you’re back, Dad. You had everyone worried for a while.”
“Dr. Adams said everything was fine; that there was nothing to worry about.”
“There’s another thing,” his mother said. “The driver of the truck that hit us turned himself in. His company’s lawyers contacted us. They want to settle for a lot of money. On top of that, the doctors said that we’ll be able to go home by next weekend. The trucking company has already said they will pay for the ambulance and the in-home care until your dad and I get back on our feet.
“Your uncle and sister will be here in a little while. Your sister said the cats miss you.”
The drive back to New Bedford the following day was only a little over an hour, and Tommie was itching to tell her sister about what had transpired earlier that day. Elaine (Lainie) and Tommie had fixed dinner for their uncle before retiring to their upstairs retreat in the rear wing of the small boutique hotel. Actually, the dining room staff had done most of the work. Most of the time the two families prepared their own meals in their own quarters. Aunt Delia and Uncle Rudolfo, who were several years older than Tommie’s parents, had a separate house closer to the harbor. Their two children were in college nearly three thousand miles away on the northern coast of California.
Uncle Rudolfo had retired to his own home after dinner. He knew Lainie and Tommie were perfectly capable of taking care of themselves.
“Lainie, remember those stories I showed you about The Wizard and those nice witches?”
“Yes, they were a little weird, but mostly sweet. Wouldn’t that be nice if there really were such people? If that were the case, you wouldn’t have to be going through what you’re going through and they could get rid of that birthmark.
“Are you feeling okay? No nausea? I know the doctor said that could be a problem. I can’t wait to help you pick out your first bra.”
“Lainie, I met them.”
“You have to be kidding. That stuff you’re taking has to be messing with your mind.”
“No, really, I met a very pretty doctor. Her name is Cynthia Brewer. She’s a witch and she knew about me right away. Then I met Dr. Bettencourt. He is The Wizard. There is no question about it.
“Dad had a clot on his brain, and The Wizard fixed it. I saw the clot. The thing is that neither Mom, Aunt Marie, nor Dr. Adams remembers anything about it.”
“What have you been smoking?”
“Nothing: you know I don’t smoke.
“Matilda, stop kneading my thigh. You’ll mess up my skirt.”
‘I’m sorry Tommie. I’m so glad you’re back home, and I’m so glad Mom and Dad are going to be okay.”
“You know, it’s like that cat understands every word that you say,” Lainie said as she watched the little cat curl up in Tommie’s lap.
“Oh, she does. She’s very glad that Mom and Dad will be alright”
“Lainie, have you been able to find out anything more about our parents? I told Dr. Brewer about us. I gave her your picture. She seemed very interested in it.”
“I think I found some interesting stuff while you were gone. I ran across it yesterday. I don’t know how I missed it, before. There was a robbery at a grocery store in East Boston that seems to fit the right time frame. Four, possibly five people were killed, and their names were, get this, Giuseppe, Floria, Matteo and Zerlina Donizetti. The fifth one was Charles Donizetti. I remember them, Tommie. Dad was Matteo, and Mom was Zerlina. Giuseppe and Floria were our uncle and aunt; and Charles was our cousin. I think he was about your age. They never found him but presumed he was dead. They thought he could probably identify the killers. So they killed him and got rid of the body. As far as I could tell, the killers were never found.
“I guess I just buried most of my memories. I remember being taken to that orphanage, and Mom and Dad taking us home with them just a little while later.
“I’ll keep looking. I had to pay to look back in the Globe’s archives, but I think it was worth it.
“By the way, I bought you a present. It’s in that bag. They had a sale at that little boutique dress shop. I thought you’d like it. You needed one of your own, anyway, rather than wearing my old nightgowns.”
“Lainie, it’s beautiful,” Tommie said holding up the lavender nightgown. “It might be a little big, but I will grow into it. I might be able to even fill out the top part after a while.
“I love you, Big sister.”
“I love you, Little Sister.”
Next: Charli is let in on what has been going on. Randi has to hold her back.
By Portia Bennett
Introduction: We have met Tommie who seems to be a very well-adjusted young boy going to be a girl. She has a great support group behind her as she starts her transition. Cindy realizes very quickly who Tommie is, and her full name, sister’s name, and picture confirms her suspicions. The Wizard seems to be a bit Laissez-faire about the whole thing, and that perplexes Cindy.
This story is another addition to The Cynthia Chronicles. Cynthia (Cindy) Brewer has graduated from medical school, and is well into her residency. The Wizard has difficulty remembering exactly where she is in her studies. Randi Lewis at age 18 is starting work on her Master of Science in Chemistry (read Randi and the Professor), and Charli Brewer will soon be a freshman in pre-med at UConn. Bobbie Anderson is setting the golf world on fire having now won tournaments on the PGA in addition to her many victories on the LPGA. This story takes place a year before Bobbie and the Glass Ceiling. If you are not familiar with the stories that make up the Cynthia Chronicles, you might want to go back to the beginning with An Incremental Journey. There are references to Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend and Charli and the Girl Cave. If you don’t remember what happened in those stories, you might want to go back and read them again. This story also takes place just a few months before Cynthia and the Queen of the Knight.
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.
Chapter 2
“Would you like a sweet roll?” Cindy asked as Tommie sat in the place The Wizard had occupied a few seconds before.
“No thank you, my aunt and I had breakfast at IHOP early this morning. We’re staying at a hotel, but they weren’t ready that early. Besides, their food isn’t that good, anyway. I would like some hot chocolate though if you’re buying. I would have thought you would have known that. I know you can read my mind.”
“I’d be glad to get some chocolate for you,” Cindy said as she stepped away from the table. “How’d you know I could read your mind?”
“You and His wisdom made the same mistake. You called me by my name. I didn’t tell you my name, and no one else told you.”
“I’ll be right back. Would you like some marshmallows in the chocolate?”
“Thank you.”
“Okay,” Cindy said as she set the cup of hot chocolate in front of Tommie, “we need to talk. I will not deny anything you said. I would appreciate it if you would keep it under your hat for a while. As far as reading your mind goes, your name is right on top. I don’t pry in people’s minds unless I’m invited or if there are serious circumstances involved.”
“Is that something to do with that hypocritical oath?” Tommie asked.
“That’s Hippocratic Oath,” Cindy chuckled. “Yes it does; however, when you are like His Wisdom, some of my friends and family are and I am, it does allow us to do quite a bit more. Yes, we do have rules and restraints, at least most of us do.”
“I suppose you know that other ‘thing’,” Tommie stated rather firmly.
“Yes I do; however, I almost missed it, because you seemed so positive. There didn’t seem to be any conflict. I am able to sense it when there’s a conflict between sex and gender. I’ve been able to do that for nearly 20 years, and it doesn’t entail mind reading. It’s something that radiates from within. Most of my friends can do it; some better than others.
“Okay, I promise not to read your mind unless you want me to. I do have a question, though. Why are you so at ease with the problem you’ve been dealt?”
“Because my family’s so great. Mom suspected something for quite a while. I like to do boy things, but I also like to do girl things. I’d play dress up with my older sister. We’d do the clothes and makeup thing, still do. She’d do my makeup and I’d do hers.
“Mom asked me one day if I wanted to be a girl. I had no trouble with the answer. I told her I was a girl. She just hugged me and cried and told me that she loved me and my sister so much. Mom can’t have children. We’re adopted. I’ve been to a doctor and a counsellor, and they put me on blockers. Things have been going very well. I started low dose estrogen last month. I can’t tell much yet, but I’m hoping we started all this stuff soon enough.”
“Do you know anything about your background, anything about your parents?”
“I know I’m Italian. That was one of the reasons our parents adopted us. From what we’ve, Elaine and I, been able to find out, our parents won’t tell us much, our natural parents were murdered when I was only a few months old and my sister was about four. We were sent to an orphanage in western Connecticut, and were adopted only a couple of months later. We live near New Bedford. Mom and Dad and my aunt and uncle operate a hotel and sport fishing business. My boy crazy sister is in high school. Dad’s watching over her. My Aunt’s staying here until Mom and Dad get better. My uncle will drive up here tomorrow with my sister, and then we’ll go back home.
“My sister’s real pretty. I’d like to look like she does when I get her age.”
“I don’t think you will have to worry about a thing.”
“The Wizard saved Dad, didn’t he? He took a blood clot out of his brain. I saw it.”
“You weren’t supposed to remember that.”
“I don’t think I was, but I do. They know you were there and that you got them to fix Mom’s morphine pump. None of them remember Dr. Bettencourt. His little disappearing act down here didn’t do much to change any opinions I might have had earlier. I would guess he’s not worried about me. Why would that be?”
“His Wisdom loves to keep us guessing. It’s all part of our training. He’s probably over a thousand years old.
“May I ask, how do you know about him, and the fact I’m a witch? You don’t seem to be too disturbed by all this.”
“I’ve read about The Wizard on some of those sites. Some of the stories are bull shit.”
“Tommie!”
“Well, they are. Some of them are written by people who don’t have a clue; however, some of them are real nice. The authors aren’t all hung up on sex and boobs; not that I wouldn’t mind having a pretty pair.
“Then, there’s this other thing. As The Wizard said in one of the stories, there are few accidents. Your being here and his being here is no accident. There’s a reason for this. I’m hoping I know what it is; but, just meeting him is quite an honor.”
“So, you would like him to finish the process.”
“Certainly, and I think that might happen. From what I’ve read, he would never let me come this far without fixing things. I’m going to make that assumption; however, there has to be a lot more to this than I have any idea about.”
“Tommie, I think you’re probably right. I don’t understand why he does things this way, sometimes. Many times, I have no more idea of what he has in mind than we do right now. There are powers above him that control many things. He would like people to believe he is a lone wolf, but that is far from the case. Let’s just let this thing play out.
“You need to get back to your family. I’ll keep track of things from this end. Think your email and phone number for me and I will remember them. We’ll keep in touch.
“I do have two questions.”
“Sure.”
“What is your full name?”
“Tommaso Antonio Donizetti DiMaggio. Why?”
“Just curious.”
“What was your other question?”
“Do you have a picture of your sister?”
“Yes, she wants me to show it to good looking boys who are older than she is. I don’t know how she thinks I’m going to meet them, but I carry it for her. Here it is.” She said handing her phone to Cindy. “Would you like me to send a copy to you?”
“Sure.” It was a simple matter to send the image to Cindy’s phone.
“I think you’d better get back to your family. We’ll keep in touch. I need to get some sleep. I’ve been up since yesterday morning.”
Tommie gave Cindy a hug and kiss before skipping off to her parents’ hospital room.
Cindy stared at the image of Elaine Floria Donizetti DiMaggio. She shook her head. “Well, Your Wisdom, you’ve had to have known about this from the beginning. What in the hell am I going to do?”
“The ball’s in your court, Cindy.”
Cindy is very sure about who Tommie is, and the picture of her sister confirms it. Cindy agrees that since The Wizard is certainly in the know about things that eventually Tommie will have what she’s always wanted. However, why the delay and The Wizard’s seeming indifference.
By Portia Bennett
Introduction: Randi fills Charli in on what has been going on. Needless to say she is beyond happy. Tommie has a very pleasant surprise.
This story is another addition to The Cynthia Chronicles. Cynthia (Cindy) Brewer has graduated from medical school, and is well into her residency. The Wizard has difficulty remembering exactly where she is in her studies. Randi Lewis at age 18 is starting work on her Master of Science in Chemistry (read Randi and the Professor), and Charli Brewer will soon be a freshman in pre-med at UConn. Bobbie Anderson is setting the golf world on fire having now won tournaments on the PGA in addition to her many victories on the LPGA. This story takes place a year before Bobbie and the Glass Ceiling. If you are not familiar with the stories that make up the Cynthia Chronicles, you might want to go back to the beginning with An Incremental Journey. There are references to Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend and Charli and the Girl Cave. If you don’t remember what happened in those stories, you might want to go back and read them again. This story also takes place just a few months before Cynthia and the Queen of the Knight.
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.
Chapter 4
“Randi, it’s tough being a witch. There’s all this responsibility. I’m going to have to make a decision about those three guys that tried to kill me. I’d rather just forget about them, but that can’t be. I think 500 years being locked up in a bocce ball set is too much. As much as they wanted to, they didn’t kill me, although I understand Pilonetti probably did kill some other people. Luca had probably been in on it. Danny Malpais was just a wannabe crook and child rapist. I think I’m going to ask His Wisdom to give them a ‘do over’. Maybe he can find a place for them. It might not do any good, but we could try. Maybe the way they were was due to environmental factors. I think I’ll ask him to start them over in some nice families where they get a lot of love and some good discipline.”
“I’m sure he’ll listen to you, Charli,” Randi replied. “He’s been talking about that new project he wanted us to help him out with. He said there is a good chance for two transitions and two new witches. He said it looks very good. He also said there will be several sent all the way back to the womb. He could probably take care of your three nemeses at the same time.
“Speaking of wombs, Cindy told me she and Bobbie are going to try to get pregnant early next year. They don’t see any reason to wait any longer.”
“I think I knew that, but what will that do to Bobbie’s golf goals?” Charli asked. “If she doesn’t stop playing immediately, she’ll be pregnant when the Masters comes up.”
“She told me it wouldn’t affect her game that early. She’s about ready to retire, anyway.
“Okay, I have something more important to talk about. Have you had any luck trying to find your cousins?”
“It took some doing, but I’m pretty sure I found the orphanage where they were taken. But the problem is they say they didn’t take in any orphans that fit the age description around the time our parents were killed. I’m almost sure it’s the right place. It’s been more than fourteen years and they may have just misplaced the records. I suppose if I went out there I could do a little mind reading. The other problem is Charles Donizetti is dead. Charlene Michelle Donizetti Brewer isn’t related to Elaine or Tommaso Donizetti. I don’t really have any official reason to be looking for them.”
“And, The Wizard won’t help?” Randi said smiling a bit.
“Right,” Charli answered. “He says he has too much on his plate right now. This big project we’re going to be involved in this fall is taking up most of his time. For a man who can be in two places at once, I don’t think I understand it.”
“Okay, look at these pictures Cindy sent. She wanted you to see them. She thought they might answer some questions you have.”
Charli looked at the picture Randi had brought up on her phone.
“When was this taken? I never had an outfit like that. That had to have been taken two or three years ago.”
“Take a closer look. That picture was taken just this year. That’s not you. Think about it. You reacted as if you were looking in a mirror. She parts her hair on the other side. I have a feeling she might be left handed, too.
“Now take a look at the next picture.”
“What a cute little girl. What a shame about that birthmark.”
“This is going to get interesting,” Randi replied. “That’s an eleven year old boy who’s currently transitioning with his entire family’s approval. By the way, the older girl, his sister, is fifteen.
“Take a good look at that birthmark. Have you ever seen one like it before?”
“Not that I remember. Wait! My cousin had one similar to that, but he’d be fifteen now. I remember my aunt and uncle talking about trying to get it removed. That little boy is how old?”
“Eleven and the girl is fifteen, like I said. Would you like to know their names?”
“Sure, for whatever good it would do.
“The boy is Tommaso Antonio Donizetti DiMaggio, and the girl is Elaine Floria Donizetti DiMaggio. When they were adopted, their new parents kept their old names and just added their new surname.”
“What? How? That has to be them, but they’re too young.”
“You’re not thinking clearly, not that I blame you. His Wisdom went to the orphanage, did his little time travel thing, altered the records a bit and your two cousins were suddenly four years into the future and four years younger than they should have been. I’m sure he arranged things so that the DiMaggios would adopt them.”
“So, what’s he going to do?” Charli said a bit overwhelmed by the moment.
“Apparently nothing immediately. He’s dumped the whole thing into Cindy’s lap; as if she didn’t have enough to do. She’s going to have to work out how this whole thing is going to be resolved. When she has it all figured out, I’m sure he’ll step in and do whatever he would have, regardless.”
“Well, I’m going to have to see them.
“Willy, wake up.”
“Huh, what?” the giant cat muttered. He’d obviously been napping.
“We’re going to visit my cousins.” Charli exclaimed.
“Hold your horses girlfriend, sister-in-law. This is Cindy’s show. We’re going to have to see what she has in mind. She just wanted you to stop worrying about your cousins. We know where they are.”
“Where are they?”
“I’m not telling. You’re just going to have to wait until Cindy’s ready. Don’t spoil it for her. You know that things are going to work out.”
“Lainie, look, I have boobs!”
“Wow, where did those come from?” Lainie said looking at two small but very definite AA breasts. “It’s a good thing that school will be over this week. You’ll not be hiding those much longer, and they look just right on you.”
“I don’t know where they came from. They’d been getting kinda sore and itchy for the last few days. The doctor said they would. I thought I saw something yesterday. Well I know I did, but I wasn’t going to make a big deal out of it. Then I got up this morning, and there they were. It really is happening. Come Saturday, I’m going full time. The boy clothes are gone forever. Then we have all summer before going to my new school. I don’t think those nuns would be very accepting if I had to go there another year.
“I’ll just deal with it when I get to the middle school. Most of my friends knew what was happening. They’re cool. I’ll just be another girl to everyone else.”
“Let’s hope so. You gonna tell Mom?”
“Of course, as soon as the nurse serves Mom and Dad’s breakfast. She doesn’t need to know quite yet. She thinks I’m a girl, well I am, anyway.”
The DiMaggios had been home for more than a week. The trucking company, true to their word, was paying for everything including a full time nurse. The lawyers were still working out the details; however, things were going to work out very well for the DiMaggios. Well, considering the pain and agony they’d gone through, it would be difficult wipe out what had happened with a check.
The trucking company wanted to avoid a law suit at all costs. Actually, their insurance company was the one deeply interested. It had turned out that the driver had forged several documents indicating he was physically able to meet DOT requirements. The company’s lax controls had allowed him to drive when he shouldn’t have. If they were unable to reach a settlement, they might be brought to court. If they were found criminally negligent, their insurance wouldn’t cover them. At this point, the company was essentially admitting guilt without admitting guilt.
Business at the hotel had always been good. They had a good occupancy rate, and their restaurant attracted many additional customers. They didn’t actively pursue the business crowd; however, they frequently hosted small business groups in their relatively small business facility.
When Elaine and Tommie arrived for breakfast they found their parents in a deep conversation with the business manager. She was an attractive woman, married to one of the local fishermen, John Lagasse. Maria and John had five children, with another on the way. All five had ‘grown up’ at the hotel. As far as the DiMaggios were concerned, there never would be too many children there. Maria was discussing business with their parents.
“As you know, we don’t get much call for the business facilities on weekends. The downside is that is the weekend you wanted to use the room for Tommie’s birthday party.”
“I think we can move the party to another weekend.
“Would that be a problem,” Tony DiMaggio said turning to his soon to be ‘official’ daughter.
“No, besides the invitations haven’t gone out. I guess we could have it the next weekend. The best thing is that I will be attending as Tommie, rather than Tommaso.”
“Fine,” Maria said, “I’ll respond to their email immediately. A phone call might be a good idea. It sounded like there would be around 30 in attendance. There should be plenty of space available.”
As soon as Maria and the nurse were out of earshot, Elaine spoke up. “Tommie has something to say. Daddy, cover your ears.”
“Tony, please get a cup of fresh coffee for me. This one’s cold. Besides, you need to walk.”
Tony DiMaggio wasn’t going to question his wife when it came to ‘girl’ things, and he had a pretty good idea that was what this was about.
“Go ahead, tell her,” Elaine almost giggled.
“Mommy, I got boobies. They just sort of appeared.”
“Well, I guess we have some shopping to do on your first full-time day as a girl.”
Tommie has a very interesting and strange at the same time visit with her doctor. Matilda tells her about her sister’s plans.
By Portia Bennett
Introduction: Tommie has an appointment with her doctor. Things start out quite well. The doctor is a bit surprised by her development and then things get a bit strange. Tommie’s ability to converse with animals comes to the forefront.
This story is another addition to The Cynthia Chronicles. Cynthia (Cindy) Brewer has graduated from medical school, and is well into her residency. The Wizard has difficulty remembering exactly where she is in her studies. Randi Lewis at age 18 is starting work on her Master of Science in Chemistry (read Randi and the Professor), and Charli Brewer will soon be a freshman in pre-med at UConn. Bobbie Anderson is setting the golf world on fire having now won tournaments on the PGA in addition to her many victories on the LPGA. This story takes place a year before Bobbie and the Glass Ceiling. If you are not familiar with the stories that make up the Cynthia Chronicles, you might want to go back to the beginning with An Incremental Journey. There are references to Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend and Charli and the Girl Cave. If you don’t remember what happened in those stories, you might want to go back and read them again. This story also takes place just a few months before Cynthia and the Queen of the Knight.
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.
Chapter 5
Other things were happening as well. Tommie had been on testosterone blockers for a little more than a year and had started low dose estrogen two months before. The doctors had told her not to expect major changes, especially not right away; however, her development seemed to be going a bit faster than anyone had expected.
The distaff side of the family made a trip to the local department store the Saturday after Tommie’s discovery of her unanticipated rapid development. It was a time of bonding that only mothers and daughters can have. The van provided by the trucking company was equipped with a wheel chair lift, and they were able to park in the van accessible parking spot close to the entrance to the mall. Dartmouth Mall was probably not the greatest shopping venue, but under the circumstances, it would do. It did have a Victoria’s Secret and a couple of other nice boutiques that would do well enough until Francesca got back on her feet and could travel to Boston or Providence to some of the finer shops.
Having been assured by the doctors that Tommie would not be undergoing any rapid drastic changes, Francesca was a bit surprised at how much Tommie had changed over the last few weeks. She was actually developing hips, and she measured to a 30 AA bra. Other than the slight ‘protrusion’ she looked very natural in a pair of panties. That anomaly was quickly hidden with a feminine pad. There was no question that Tommie was becoming a young woman; if only in shape. Things were going better than anyone had expected, including her doctors.
Her doctor’s appointment was the following Wednesday, a week and a half before her birthday.
“Tommie, have you been taking anything in addition to the shots we gave you?”
“No sir, you told me not to; not that I would have known where to get anything, anyway.” That wasn’t entirely true. Tommie had discovered several sites where hormones were available. However, she would have to have had a credit card. Besides, she certainly didn't know more about what she should be doing than the doctors did.
“Your lab results are rather interesting,” the doctor said scanning his computer screen. “Your estrogen and progesterone levels are at the upper end of the scale we’d expect for a girl exhibiting the stage of puberty you appear to have reached. Your testosterone level is right on line for a girl your age. I double checked everything as far as the dosages we gave you. I don’t think we overdosed you.
“How have you been feeling; any nausea?”
“No sir.”
It was at this point that things got a little weird.
“You seem to have a little acne. If that doesn’t clear up right away, I might prescribe birth control pills. I know you’re not having sex; at least I hope not. Sometimes the pills help with that sort of thing.
“Let’s see, you haven’t started your periods yet. I think we’ll schedule you for a complete exam next time, and we’ll give you your papilloma vaccination at the same time. It’s just a good idea. It’s no big deal and your mother’s already okayed it. Your sister got hers four years ago.
“I’ll have the nurse schedule you for a complete exam in six months. I’ll tell you what, I’ll write a prescription for some pills. Just follow the instructions. I wouldn’t want to see any acne problems develop and mess up that beautiful complexion of yours.”
In spite of what some might think due to the birthmark, Tammie’s complexion, with the exception of a few ‘zits' was very nice. Some would say her skin was porcelain smooth.
Tommie had happily and with her parents’ permission been wearing girl’s clothing at home for many years. The hotel staff had been aware of Tommie’s situation for many years and were wholly supportive with the exception of one caretaker who was asked to find employment elsewhere.
“Mom, Dr. Leibowitz talked to me as if I were a real girl. He asked me if my periods had started yet, and then he prescribed birth control pills for my acne.”
“Well that certainly is a bit strange. I mean you do have a couple pimples, but certainly nothing to get excited about.”
“He also wants me to come back for a complete examination and get a papilloma shot. I guess that’s okay,” Tommie said sounding a bit perplexed.
“Maybe he was just having a little fun with you. I certainly don’t think what you’re going through is anything to joke about, though.
“I guess we’d better get that prescription filled.”
Matilda and Henrietta were napping on Tommie’s bed when she returned from the morning appointment with the doctor. They were rescue cats. Both had been found as kittens around the docks. Henrietta had joined the family five years previously, and Matilda had come along three years later. Both were short haired calicos, and might even have had the same parentage. Henrietta was Elaine’s cat; however, she was pretty independent, and she spent a lot of time in the lobby greeting guests. She never ventured far from the hotel, though.
Matilda was a different matter. Although she was friendly with the hotel staff and guests, she was definitely Tommie’s cat. As Elaine and others had noted, there seemed to be a strong bond between the two. Tommie swore that she knew what Matilda was thinking, and that she had no trouble communicating with her.
Had Tommie been a bit more truthful, her family would have discovered that Tommie was certain that she could communicate with many animals. Cats and dogs were easy. Basic ideas were easy to get across; however, with Matilda, and Henrietta to a lesser degree, it was like carrying on conversations. Trips to the zoo were overwhelming; especially the ape exhibits. Some of them were not too upset, especially the rescue chimps that compared their new ‘freedom’ with where they’d been. All of them expressed a wrongness about their situation and a great desire to return to a homeland they’d never experienced. Tommie wondered if it would ever be possible.
“So what have you two been up to?” Tommie asked as she placed her purse on her dresser.
‘Not much, Henrietta killed a rat out back by the dumpster. It was a Norwegian rat; not one of the native species. Although we don’t see many of the latter.
‘We’ve been getting word from the west that there is a campaign among some cats to set up an organized program to get rid of non-native species. They say it’s working. It’s just been words so far. I haven’t seen any attempts to get anything organized around here.’
“Well that’s very interesting. Why are you sleeping? You didn’t do anything, did you?”
‘Of course I did. I flushed the rat out so Henrietta could kill it. It was her turn. We left it on the back step so that the staff could properly dispose of it.’
“Yuck.”
“Yuck, what?”
Tommie turned to see Elaine entering her room.
“Matilda was telling me that she and Henrietta killed a rat. They left it by the back door to the kitchen.”
“How did you know that? The sous chef just found it.”
“I told you. Matilda just told me. She flushed the rat out from where it was hiding, and Henrietta killed it.”
‘Tell her that she promised to sneak out this evening to see Eric. They are going to meet at the old boat house.’ Eric was one of the summer hire waiters and bellhop. He attended Providence College in Providence Rhode Island. He was a ‘good’ Catholic boy; which was one of the reasons the DiMaggios hired him. Of course, being 19 and working close to the frankly very attractive Elaine DiMaggio got the hormones going into overdrive. He may not have realized that the dark haired beauty was only 15, and she certainly wasn’t going to tell him.
“So, are you going to use protection?” Tommie asked quietly.
“Wha …, what in the world are you talking about?”
“Matilda just told me that you and Eric are going to have a little meeting in the boat house after he gets off work tonight. Have you told him that you are only 15? If you don’t, I will. That could really screw things up for both of you, and he could go to jail. I don’t think Mom and Dad want to be grandparents quite this soon, anyway.”
“You little shit, don’t you dare tell Mom and Dad.”
“I’ll leave that up to you. I like Eric, too; however, you need to be fair to him and you. I’m not saying don’t date him. I’m saying don’t screw things up for everyone.
“Now, about Matilda, are you beginning to understand that she and I are able to communicate on a bit higher level than you might have thought. Henrietta and I can communicate on the same level. It’s the same reason I don’t like to go to the zoo. They are so unhappy there.”
“Are you sure you’re only 12, well almost. You sound a lot like Mom.”
“Lainie, I may be a girl and I think I’m going to be a pretty one, but unless something extraordinary happens, I’ll never be able to have babies. Don’t mess it up for you. I want to be an aunt someday, but not right away. Be cool, okay.”
Something big is going to happen at the hotel, and Tommie isn’t too sure about it.
By Portia Bennett
Introduction: Big things are happening at the Hotel, and Tommie is becoming a bit uneasy about things. Most of the special group that has been arriving since the day before is magic, and they seem to have an unusual interest in her. Cindy realizes she may have made a big mistake.
This story is another addition to The Cynthia Chronicles. Cynthia (Cindy) Brewer has graduated from medical school, and is well into her residency. The Wizard has difficulty remembering exactly where she is in her studies. Randi Lewis at age 18 is starting work on her Master of Science in Chemistry (read Randi and the Professor), and Charli Brewer will soon be a freshman in pre-med at UConn. Bobbie Anderson is setting the golf world on fire having now won tournaments on the PGA in addition to her many victories on the LPGA. This story takes place a year before Bobbie and the Glass Ceiling. If you are not familiar with the stories that make up the Cynthia Chronicles, you might want to go back to the beginning with An Incremental Journey. There are references to Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend and Charli and the Girl Cave. If you don’t remember what happened in those stories, you might want to go back and read them again. This story also takes place just a few months before Cynthia and the Queen of the Knight.
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.
Chapter 6
It wasn’t that unusual; however, it was nice when the hotel was filled to capacity. It was a rambling structure overlooking the bay that separated Fairhaven and New Bedford. The frame structure was nearly 100 years old and had been updated numerous times during that time. The DiMaggios were proud of their hotel and knew that the money three generations of DiMaggios had put into it would continue to pay off. Elaine was pretty sure she would continue in the family’s business after she graduated college. Tammie wasn’t that sure what she wanted to do; however, 12 years old might be a bit early for some to make a lifelong decision.
Elaine and Tommie were helping out at the front desk on Friday afternoon when the first of the weekend guests started arriving.
The very attractive redheaded woman and her equally handsome husband approached the desk. The lady was carrying a platinum gray cat.
“May I help you,” Tommie asked.
“Yes, we’re the Andersons and we’re here for the conference tomorrow and Sunday. We might need some help with our luggage. We’re also doing a demonstration and some instruction at the Acushnet River Valley Golf Course on Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon.”
“Certainly, here you are in the computer,” Tommie said as she printed out the registration form for Mr. Anderson to sign.
“Eric, would you help the Andersons with their luggage.”
“Certainly,” Eric replied. He’d been staring at the young couple for several minutes.
“You’re in room 126 right down that hall,” Tommie said as she handed them their electronic room keys. “The vending machines are on your left just past the door to the pool. You’re the first of your party to arrive. Please enjoy your stay.”
“We will, Tommie. I know we will,” Mrs. Anderson said with a warm smile.
Eric followed the pair out to their state of the art hybrid SUV, and loaded the luggage cart with their two enormous golf bags, suitcases, and boxes.
“Eric, I believe you’re free tomorrow afternoon. I just happen to have two tickets to our charity golf event out at the Acushnet River Valley Golf Course. Why don’t you ask Elaine if she’d like to come with you? I’d bet that Andy and I can help you get rid of that nasty slice that keeps showing up at the most inopportune times.”
“Er, uh, thank you Ms. Anderson.”
“It’s okay to call me Bobbie, and Andy is just Andy. Be sure to come. I know you’ll have a great time. You’ll be breaking 80 before you know it
“Do you realize who they are?” Eric half whispered to Elaine when he returned with the empty cart.
“No, they’re just part of that group who will be here for the weekend.”
“That’s Bobbie Anderson, the greatest female golfer in the world, and she gave me two tickets to the golf clinic they’re putting on out at the Acushnet River Valley Golf Course. Would you like to come?”
“I’d love to, but I’ll have to ask Mom.”
“Kids, sit over there until your mother and I get us checked in. I promise we’ll go swimming as soon as we get settled.”
Elaine looked up to see two women approaching. Each was carrying an infant and there were six other children accompanied by a nanny and two cats heading for the sitting area.
“Hi, we’re the Fischer-Hamiltons. Hopefully you have the suite ready for us,” said the towering redhead.
“Yes, Ma’am, if one of you will sign here, we’ll have someone help with the luggage. You are in the Narragansett Cabin which is right down that hall, out and to the left. You may drive around to it. There is a reserved spot for you.”
“Rose, I’ll help Amy herd the children to the cabin. It will probably be easier if you took the Denali around without the rug rats. Fred and Linda want to meet Matilda and Henrietta. They can work that out among themselves. ”
Rosemary was glad to do it. What should have been a little over two hour drive quickly became three. Four 4 year-olds had to stop at the first rest stop before they even got to Providence. All four were very excited about going swimming. They swam like fish. Rosemary and Lisa had made sure of that. The middle two were almost out of diapers, and would be ready for their naps. The youngest two were getting antsy and would need a feeding before being put down for their naps.
Amy was from the Maine Coven. She’d been hired to help with the children and help out at the restaurant as soon as it opened which was hopefully going to be around the first of October. Lisa was going to teach her the ins and outs of being a fine chef. Lisa had given her notice to kitchen supply and design company she’d spent the last five years with. They would continue to have an outstanding relationship over the years, and Lisa was even considering having a weekly television show that her previous company would help sponsor. Of course she’d have to see first how the restaurant turned out.
After Amy got the children off to the pool, Lisa put the 2 two year old girls down for their nap. Then it was down to the business of feeding the newest additions.
“Do you regret one bit what you did, Rose?” Lisa asked.
“The only thing I regret was delaying my transformation as long as I did. I loved you so much, and when His Wisdom gave me that figurative kick in the ass, I knew I’d been foolish for waiting. I might have been just a bit afraid of the whole thing, but being able to give birth to the girls and to this little boy and being able to feed them at my breast like this is all it takes for me to know that this is what my soul wanted all along. We are so fortunate. I’m absolutely certain I did the right thing.
“I told Amy to wait until 3:00 before coming back. Do you think we have time?”
“I’m certain we do my sweet little Rosemary.”
“Yes, we’re the Matthews. We’re checking in for the weekend’s events. I believe Dr. Cynthia Brewer is running the show.”
“Yes, Mr. Matthews, your room is ready for you. The two cribs and the roll-away are in place. The Fischer-Hamiltons checked in a while ago and asked that you call them after four. They’re in the Narragansett Cottage. Your room is 124; next to the Andersons. Eric will help you with your luggage. The dining room hours are from 6:00 to 9:30. Please enjoy your stay.”
“We were certainly glad to see you are pet friendly.”
“That’s not a problem at all. Each of your rooms has box for the cats, and room service will clean and replenish the litter. Our owners’ daughters have two cats and they more or less have the run of the place. There’s never been a problem with them getting along with any of the visiting pets.
“And, where have you two been,” Elaine half jokingly asked as Henrietta and Matilda sashayed into her room. She and Tommie had been comparing notes about the unusual goings on that had been taking place since early that afternoon.
‘We’ve been visiting with our guests. We showed them where Henrietta killed the rat, and Fred showed us some neat tricks. Phantom showed us how to differentiate between birds that were fair game and those we should leave alone. Phantom also showed us how to open the pantry where the cat food is kept.
‘Dr. Brewer and her husband arrived a little while ago and we got to meet Queen Maddy. She is such a powerful cat. She’s going to teach Henrietta and me how to kill cockroaches.”
“What in the world are you going on about?” Tommie asked Matilda.
“What is she saying?” Elaine asked, half believing that Matilda could really talk.
“Every one of those groups of people who checked in this afternoon had at least one cat with them. Matilda just said that they’ve been meeting with them and learning some new tricks.
“Remember what I told you about Doctor Brewer, the lady I met at the hospital; the one who helped save Dad. She must have checked in a while ago. She brought her cat, too. I know Dr. Brewer is a witch. She admitted it to me. She asked me not to tell. But I had to tell you.
“I just realized it a few minutes ago. They’re all witches. This big meeting must be some sort of coven thing.”
“If what you’re saying is that having a cat makes the ladies at least witches, there is one family that isn’t. Two professors from MIT checked in while you were taking a break. They didn’t have any cats or other animals, just three kids. Their name is Mankowitz or something like that. They are definitely with the group.”
The next morning did nothing to change Tommie’s mind that something big was going on. Another family had checked in the evening before, and they were seated with Dr. Brewer and a man who had to be her husband.
A lot of happy noise was emanating from the dining room; however, none of it was understandable. Dr. Brewer waved at Tommie, motioning for her to come over to the table. As she approached she was suddenly able to understand the conversations going on.
“Tommie, I’d like you to meet my family; well, most of them, anyway. My oldest brother and his wife couldn’t make it, but you will meet them soon enough.
“Everyone, this is Tommie DiMaggio. I know we will be getting to know her more as time goes by. Now, to make this easier I’ll just go around the circle. This handsome fellow is my husband Don Brewer. The redheaded firebrand is my sister Martha. She likes Marti. Next to her is my brother, Stan Jr. That’s,” she said pointing to the stunning blonde, “my mother, Marissa, and the lucky guy next to her is my Father, Stan, Sr. Finally, next to me is my sister Christine Miranda. She goes by Randi to most everyone.
“There’s not time now, however, I know you’ve met many of the folks here. I’ve already talked to your mom and dad about this, and we’ve made room for you at the dinner this evening. We’d like you and your family to sit in with us. I know you’d originally planned to have your birthday party this weekend, and we’ve seemed to have intruded at a very special time. I guarantee we’ll make it up to you.”
“Thank you for the invitation. If Mom said it was okay, I’ll be glad to have dinner with you. I just wish I knew what was going on.”
Cindy watched Tommie walk away as a sinking feeling engulfed the pit of her stomach.
“Mom, I’ve really screwed up big time, haven’t I.”
“The ball’s in your court, Cindy,” her mother said.
Maybe it’s the hormones, maybe it isn’t; however, Tommie suddenly realizes that this meeting of all the magic people and their friends might be about her. All the attention may be more than she’s prepared for. After all, what she’s been going through should be a private thing, and apparently, she’s been outed to the world. Cindy realizes at the same time that she really screwed up.
By Portia Bennett
Introduction: Tommie is confused by the enormity of what she thinks might be happening. She returns to her room and cries herself to sleep. Cindy realizes that her whole approach had been wrong, and turns it over to The Wizard.
This story is another addition to The Cynthia Chronicles. Cynthia (Cindy) Brewer has graduated from medical school, and is well into her residency. The Wizard has difficulty remembering exactly where she is in her studies. Randi Lewis at age 18 is starting work on her Master of Science in Chemistry (read Randi and the Professor), and Charli Brewer will soon be a freshman in pre-med at UConn. Bobbie Anderson is setting the golf world on fire having now won tournaments on the PGA in addition to her many victories on the LPGA. This story takes place a year before Bobbie and the Glass Ceiling. If you are not familiar with the stories that make up the Cynthia Chronicles, you might want to go back to the beginning with An Incremental Journey. There are references to Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend and Charli and the Girl Cave. If you don’t remember what happened in those stories, you might want to go back and read them again. This story also takes place just a few months before Cynthia and the Queen of the Knight.
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.
Chapter 7
Tommie’s emotions were on a roller coaster ride, and she wasn’t exactly sure why. All of these magic people were there at her parents’ hotel. They were obviously there for some sort of important meeting. I guess they can have their meetings wherever they want, she thought. But why here?
Did they all know about her like Dr. Brewer did? Obviously, The Wizard did. Why were they so open with her? What were they doing? Were they teasing her? Nothing she’d ever read about The Wizard even remotely resembled what was going on. All she’d ever wanted was to be the girl she knew she was. She didn’t want any fanfare. She just wanted everything to continue going in the way it had been before all these people showed up.
She had left the dining room a little after 10:00. The group, coven or whatever they were, were going on a sightseeing cruise of the bay. It would take a couple of hours. They would be back at around 1:00. They’d have lunch aboard the tour boat. She’d seen the Andersons leave quite early for the golf course where they were putting on a demonstration and giving some lessons.
She hadn’t seen the cats since breakfast. That was very strange. The staff had set up a buffet for the cats in a small room adjoining the dining room. All sorts of delicacies had been set up on a large revolving serving tray, and the lady who was the nanny for that beautiful couple with eight children seemed to be serving to each cat what they indicated they wanted. Matilda and Henrietta were there right along with the rest of the cats, some of whom she hadn’t seen before. One cat, a tabby, was more than twice as big as many of the cats. A long-haired black and white cat was almost as big as he was. She could ‘hear’ the cats commenting among themselves about the excellent quality of the food.
For some reason she found herself tearing up. It was like the world was closing in on her. She collapsed on her bed sobbing before she fell asleep. She awoke briefly as Matilda snuggled up against her. She remembered her saying, “It’s going to be alright, Tommie.” She must have been dreaming that, but when she woke up, Matilda was sound asleep up against her. She washed her face in the bathroom adjacent to her room before returning to sit on the edge of her bed. A gentle rap at her door brought her back to reality.
“Just a moment.”
Dr. Brewer was standing there with Tommie’s sister standing a little behind her in the dark hall.
“May we come in?”
“Uh, sure.”
“Tommie,” Dr. Brewer said as Tommie pointed her to a chair, “I owe you my deepest apology. I wanted everything to be special for you at this very special time, but I realized this morning how selfish I was being. I thought I knew what you wanted. I know what you want, but I never thought to ask you how you wanted things to happen. I knew, and I think you knew when you met us in the snack bar that eventually you would get your wish. I think you remember The Wizard saying that the ball was in my court. Well, I dropped the ball.”
“I don’t think I understand.”
“I was like you were many years ago. Unfortunately, I lived 35 years in the wrong body. When I was finally allowed to occupy the body you see, I was not quite nine years old. Several years later I finally reached the stage where you are now. To put it bluntly, I was afraid, very afraid. My folks were great, but it was tough. I had been caught up in the joy of being a woman without really understanding what was involved; the reality. It took the love of my life to finally make me understand what it was all about.
“What is happening to you, has happened to you is not like throwing a switch and ‘bingo’ you’re a woman. It’s a long process, and whether you realize it or not the physical process is over. It happened while you were asleep. Your mother and sister will be here in a little while. His Wisdom has been talking to them, and they know what’s been happening. Your parents also remember what happened in the hospital. You need to spend some time with your mother. It’s going to be a very long day; however, The Wizard had to do a little ‘cleaning up’ of the mess I made.
“Fortunately, you have been transitioning for quite a while, and you have a great support group. No one outside your family will notice any of the adjustments he had to make. As far as the others are concerned, you have always been Thomasina Antonia Donizetti DiMaggio.”
“But my sister’s here,” she said realizing what Dr. Brewer had said about her mother and sister a moment before.
“Nope, Tommie meet Charlene Michelle Donizetti Brewer. Charli is your cousin.”
“But, …?” For the first time, Tommie took a closer look at the person she’d assumed to be her sister.
“I know. Remarkable isn’t it. Charli could be your sister’s twin. The fact that the three of you look so much alike just confirms the fact you’re related. By the way, Myrna, you haven’t met her yet, has already completed a DNA analysis. You are definitely first cousins. Both of you inherited an interesting trait from your paternal grandfather, and that is your ability to communicate with other animals. You also inherited something from your mother. Your mother and Charli’s mother had inherited the magic trait through both your mothers’ ancestries. Your mothers are cousins about 10 generations removed, and they passed on the magic trait to you and Charli.”
“What do you mean?”
“Tell her, Matilda.”
“You’re a witch, Tommie,” Matilda said in her sweet voice.
“Tommie,” Charli explained, “I’ve been looking for you for years; just like your sister has been looking for me. Thanks to His Wisdom’s shenanigans, we never connected. That was because we were both looking in the wrong time.”
“This is crazy. Charles Donizetti should be considerably older, and you’re a girl.”
“Yeah, I’m just like you. We have quite a bit in common. I’ll fill you in on all the gory details, but not right now. When The Wizard saved my life he fixed my problem just like he fixed yours. He also took nine years off my life so I could grow up properly. In a way, he did the same thing for you and your sister. He brought you four years into the future, or he went four years back and brought you into that present. I don’t really understand it. Avery Mankowitz will have to explain it to you. He’s the physicist.
“Anyway, I’ve been given the assignment to help you out as far as getting used to being magic. Your mother and sister have been doing a great job with you about the other things. It’s not that I have enough to do as it is. I’ll be a freshman at UConn just a couple of hours down the road. I will also have one of The Wizard’s projects as a roommate, but that’s another story.”
Charli gave Tommie a hug and kiss before stepping back. Tommie’s mother and sister were standing in the doorway. Her mother was holding a tray of soft drinks. That was a bit strange because that morning she’d been in a wheelchair.
“Is she going to be okay?” Tommie’s mother asked. “His Wisdom said everyone should relax and have a glass of their favorite soft drink.”
“Mom, I think I’m a real girl, and what happened to your wheelchair?”
“You’ve always been a real girl except for some little problems The Wizard fixed. He told me he fixed most of them that first day you met him in the hospital. No wonder you’ve been making such progress.
“As to the wheel chair, apparently your father’s and my injuries were a lot less severe than was thought. Although we know otherwise. The trucking company’s lawyers contacted us this morning, and are very eager to make a very equitable settlement. After our lawyers are paid, you and your sister will have more than enough to go to just about any university you want to. Just as long as you keep your grades up, that is. Well, that’s more your sister’s problem right now.
“Drink up. It seems that your birthday party is this afternoon, after all. Those invitations we never sent out were sent out two weeks ago. We’re going to have to find the right dress for you.”
“I think I will leave you girls alone for a while,” Cindy said as she got up to leave. “There won’t be any need to take a trip to town today to find an appropriate dress. I think you will find everything you need in your closet.
“We’ll see you at dinner tonight. I promise you it will be a quiet affair. It will just be a great chance for you to get to know many of us. You have no idea how happy we are to have found you.”
Epilogue
“Hold still while I fix this veil. There, that should do it,” Elaine said as she stepped back to admire her beautiful little sister.
“Okay ladies, I’d like to get a couple of dozen more shots of the Bridal party,” the photographer said. He proceeded to put the group of beautiful attendants and equally beautiful bride through the tried and true poses.
“When did you know he was the one?” Randi asked.
“Ed, who’s that beautiful girl?”
“Which one.”
“The one looking at us.”
“The one with the birthmark?”
“I hadn’t really noticed. I saw her the other day in freshman orientation. She was with some friends, I guess they are friends, and she seemed so happy. That’s what got my attention. She’s almost effervescent, and it seems so contagious. I know she looked at me then, and she’s looking at me now.”
“She’s Tommie DiMaggio. Her parents own that posh hotel in New Bedford. Her sister married that pro golfer, Eric Wolfe, last year.”
“Yeah, I remember that. Attractive lady, I think she’s a writer.
“I think I’d better go over there and introduce myself before she gets away. There’s just something about her.”
“That was very nice. You are really getting very good at that.”
“I have to be, I don’t want to lose you.”
“You know you don’t have to worry about that,” she said as she snuggled up to him. There would be time for a warm shower together later on. Ostensibly, they were on a ski trip to Stowe, Vermont over semester break. They would find time to do some skiing later.
“When did you fall in love with me?” she asked.
“You know exactly when it was. It was when you smiled at me when I walked over to introduce myself to you. You had me before that. I just wanted a chance.
“How about you?”
“When I saw you at freshman orientation. I saw you and did a quick read. I never tried to read you again. I knew then and there you were the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I just had to get your attention.”
“That wasn’t too difficult. Then you told me you were a witch. That made things so much easier. I thought maybe we’d been set up, but Mom and His Wisdom assured me that was not the case. Then Bobbie told me she knew you and what a wonderful woman you were. I’d have to agree.”
“Randi told me the same thing happened to her and Frank the summer after my transformation. When it’s the right person, falling in love is a pretty easy thing to do. Those were a couple of great years. Well, they all have been, really. I remember Bobbie talking about her ‘baby’ brother, but until that freshman orientation we’d never seen each other. I should have realized you were related when I saw that red hair. Two seconds later I knew everything I ever needed to know.
The wedding of Thomasina Antonia Donizetti DiMaggio and Amos Emmanuel Schmedlap, Jr. garnered the attention of the society sections of several major eastern newspapers. The ring bearer was Donald Brewer, son of Drs. Donald and Cynthia Brewer. The flower girl was Linda Anderson, daughter of Felix and Roberta Anderson. The bride’s sister, Elaine Wolfe, was Matron of Honor. Attendants to the bride were Dr. Cynthia Brewer, Roberta Anderson, Dr. Christine Deere, and Charlene Brewer. The best man was Stanley Lewis, Jr. The groomsmen were Felix Anderson, Ezra and David Schmedlap, brothers of the groom, and Eric Wolfe.
The reception was held at the DiMaggio Hotel. Many of the photos of the reception caught, if you looked at them just right, a distinguished gentleman and his enormous dog. There were several pictures of more than a dozen cats and a ferret feasting at a buffet obviously set up for the animal guests. One particularly endearing photo showed two very large dogs and the sated cats and ferret sleeping on a mat in a corner of the reception hall.
The quarter page photo of the bride and groom definitely caught the attention of the readers who didn’t know either of the families. Many couldn’t understand why the bride hadn’t masked the birthmark that covered nearly a third of her face. Really, those question didn’t have to be asked; however, in the past some did anyway. “I am who I am. I have everything I could have ever hoped for. What is it that bothers you: the fact that I am ‘disfigured’, or the fact I don’t want to do anything about it?”
The fact was The Wizard could have removed the birthmark at any time. Cindy realized early on that Tommie had no desire to change what was truly her. There was only that one thing that needed to be corrected, and that was done quite nicely. Tommie did remove the birthmark the year before her first child, Amos the 3rd, was born. It was a simple spell. Besides, she knew who her friends were. No one said anything after it was gone.
Cindy attended many transformations over the years as a doctor, counselor and witness; however, they were always very small and personal affairs. Although able to, she left the process to The Wizard and a select few, including her mother.
There will be more stories about Cindy and her friends. A bit of an idea about Tommie had been running around in my mind for a couple of months. I started writing it in the middle of March, and just let it go where it did. I didn’t think it was necessary to dwell too much on the physical transformations. Why did Cindy do the things she did? I think it was fatigue. Resident physicians go through hell. I sometimes wonder why they are allowed to practice medicine, much less magic.
I have a non-magic story in mind. It will not involve characters from my previous stories.