The Fairy Godmother Part 55

“There’s Mummy and Daddy,” said Ella pointing, we rushed over to them and walked along beside the stretcher. I didn’t want to think about what Enid was doing, but the thought still crossed my mind, I just pushed it to the back again there was enough with the here and now to occupy anyone’s mind.

Jessie was taken to a delivery room, Ian followed her in without question.

“I think we have enough in here,” said someone as Ella and I got to the door.

“Could you look after her for us?” Ian asked me. “Is there somewhere they could wait?” he asked a nurse.

“Of course, I’ll take you to the waiting room,” she said, smiling. “Though I don’t know how long you are going to be there.”

“Don’t worry,” I smiled and we followed the nurse to a room nearby full of chairs, tables, magazines and toys along with a lot of mothers, children and babies.

“If you’re needed, someone will come for you,” said the nurse and disappeared off back to the room Jessie and Ian had gone into.

“How long do you think it’s going to take?” Ella asked me.

“I don’t know,” I said. “Would you like to read a book?”

“They’re all baby books,” said Ella after looking through the nearest pile.

“Would you like to draw a picture,” asked the receptionist.

“That would be an idea,” I said. “You can give it to you Mummy when the baby is born.”

“I don’t like drawing,” Ella replied, sounding really angry, though I wasn’t sure why.

“I’d like to draw something,” I said. “You can always watch me, till you think of something else to do,” Ella said nothing, just sat next to me looking angry.

“What don’t you like about drawing?” I asked sketching the horizon on the sheet of paper.

“Whatever I do, someone tells me that it’s wrong,” she said, looking out of the window.

“Who?” I asked, drawing in the beach as I remembered it from the first time I went to the hotel. “The teacher,” said Ella, so quietly I almost didn’t hear her. “She thinks I should draw a dark line around everything.”

“Strange person, I don’t see any dark lines on me, or you,” I replied.

“Exactly,” said Ella. “But she wouldn’t accept my picture of a lizard because I hadn’t drawn a dark line round the edge.”

“Well, she isn’t here now and I don’t think she’s going to see anything you draw, unless you want her to,” I said. “However, your Mum and Dad will see and they will think you are very good.”

“OK,” said Ella, getting a piece of paper and sitting next to me at the table.

One by one the other people in the waiting room went to there appointments and left, till we were the only ones there.

“There is a cafe downstairs,” said the receptionist. “If anything happens, I’ll tell them where you are.”

“Thank-you,” I said. “How about some food?” I suggested to Ella.

“That would be a very good idea,” said Ella. “But what about Mum and Dad?”

“I think they are a bit busy at the moment,” I smiled. “However, we can always get some snacks for them and something to drink.”

“What about the baby?” asked Ella.

“I’m sure they will be able to sort something for the baby when it’s born,” I said.

“Good, because I don’t know what babies eat,” Ella smiled.

“Neither do I,” I said as we headed off for the cafe.

We returned from the cafe, having had a decent tea and bought some snacks and drinks for Ian and Jessie to find Enid and all of Ella’s grandparents in the waiting room.

“Did Ian ask you to come here?” I asked.

“No,” said Enid. “But I think they aught to be here.”

“It is not your place to decide who is and isn’t here,” I snapped.

“Well I’m glad she told us about it,” said Jessie’s Mum. “Jessie needs me, whether she knows it or not.”

“It’s for Jessie to decide on that,” said Ian, from the doorway. “And she doesn’t want to know you.”

“Is the baby born?” Ella asked, dancing about in front of her Dad.

“Not yet,” said Ian. “I just came out to check up on you. You’ll be needing something to eat.”

“Myrtle took me to the cafe for tea,” said Ella. “And we got some snacks for you and Mummy,” she added handing the bag of snacks to him. He took a quick look.

“All our favourites,” said Ian smiling. “I’ll take these in to your Mum. Thanks Myrtle. As for you lot,” he added looking at the grandparents. “When we want you here we’ll let you know.”

“You need family to look after Ella,” said his Mother.

“I can do that,” said Jessie’s Mother.

“I wouldn’t leave you to look after a dead hamster,” said Ian’s Mother.

“I’m not choosing any of you, Myrtle is doing a very good job and you lot would only argue, so you are all going. I could do without the stress,” said Ian.

“That’s no way to talk to your elders,” said Enid.

“It’s the way to talk to people who butt in without being asked,” I told Enid. “And that includes you, by the way, Mother.”

“Really!” she replied.

“I think we’d better go,” said Ian’s father, looking at Enid.

“Fine,” she said waving her wand, they all vanished.

“Sorry about that,” I said to Ian. “Parents!”

“I know what you mean,” he sighed. “Anyway, thanks for the snacks and looking after Ella.”

“She’s been drawing a picture for you and Jessie,” I replied.

“That’s very good,” said Ian looking at the picture. “It looks like it could walk off the page.”

“You don’t mind that it doesn’t have a dark line round it?” asked Ella.

“It’s perfect the way it is, just like you,” said Ian.

“Your wife needs you,” said a nurse standing at the door.

“You’d better go,” I said and he dashed out of the door.

“What do you think’s happened?” asked Ella.

“I don’t know,” I said. “But I get the impression we wont be waiting long. Your Dad will let us know as soon as he can.”

“What should we do?” Ella asked.

“You could draw another picture,” I suggested. “Maybe something for the baby.”

“Our pet rabbit just had babies,” said Ella. “I could draw a picture of them for the baby.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” I smiled, she set to work on that and I set to work trying to find out what was going on with Jessie. My mind wandered to an operating theatre, Jessie was on the table and they were performing a caesarian section. Things didn’t look too good, so I tapped my wand and things started to improve, the Doctor relaxed as did all the people round him.

Ella had just finished the picture of the baby bunnies when her Dad came back, he looked strained, tired, but relieved.

“Would you like to see your new little sister?” Ian asked.

“Yes please,” said Ella jumping up from the table and running over to give him a hug. “Can I see Mummy as well.”

“Of course,” said Ian, sounding very relieved, taking us though to a side ward where a very tired looking Jessie was lying in bed next to a cot containing a sleeping baby.

“She’s wonderful,” said Ella, leaning over the cot and kissing her on the head. The baby yawned and turned round. “Yes, you are,” she said to the baby.

“Hello Ella,” said Jessie sleepily.

“Hello Mummy,” said Ella nipping round to the other side of the bed and hugging her.

“You two aught to go home and get a good night’s sleep,” said Jessie. “Me and the little one will be fine here.”

“Small problem there,” said Ian. “I came in the ambulance with you.”

“So the car?” she asked.

“Is at home,” he said.

“Don’t worry,” I told them. “I can sort this, after all, I am your Fairy Godmother.”

“Thank-you,” said Jessie.

When we got to the car park I waved my wand and we were back at Jessie and Ian’s home.

“Could have done with a bit of your magic earlier,” said Ian after we tucked Ella into bed, she was fast asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow.

“You had it,” I smiled. “Now, I’ll watch the phones, you get some sleep.”

By Janice Nye © 2020

The Fairy Godmother Part 54

“I didn’t think I’d see you this soon,” said Jessie standing at the garden gate. I hadn’t really thought about where I was going when I’d waved my wand, but something had brought me here. “Is there anything wrong with Rosie?”

“No,” I said. “Well, not as far as I know. Last I heard she had made a full recovery.”

“So, if you don’t mind me asking, what are you doing here and come to that how did you know where we were?” Jessie asked.

“I don’t know,” I sighed. “I was having a rough time with my Mother and I just waved the wand to get out of there and it brought me here.”

“I didn’t know you had a mother,” said Jessie. “Sorry, that was a bit insensitive, of course you have a mother.”

“It’s OK, I’ve only just found out who she is,” I sighed. “She couldn’t deny it any longer.”

“That’s bad,” said Jessie. “Would you like to come in, have a cup of tea and talk about it?”

“A cup of tea would be nice, I’m not sure about talking about it though,” I replied. “How are Ella and Ian doing?”

“They are doing fine,” Jessie smiled. “And aren’t you going to ask about this little one?” she asked, patting her stomach.

“Little one?” I said looking confused.

“Don’t fairies have babies the same as humans?” Jessie asked walking up the garden path.

“You’re pregnant?” I asked. There was me thinking she had put on a bit of weight, following her up the garden path I could see that it was quiet a lot of weight. “When is it due?” I asked cautiously.

“It was supposed to arrive last week, but babies never arrive on time,” she smiled and then grabbed her stomach and gasped in pain.

“Where are Ian and Ella?” I asked helping her into the house.

“They just went down to the park for a bit,” said Jessie trying to get her breath back.

“They should be here,” I said, tapping my mobile phone. The phone on the hall stand rang.

“I told him to take his mobile,” gasped Jessie.

“I could wave my wand,” I said.

“It’s OK, it’s eased off again,” she sighed, sitting down in the kitchen.

“Does that mean the alarm is over?” I asked.

“For the umpteenth time,” Jessie sighed. “I’ve had so many false alarms, even I have lost count.”

“How about I get you a cup of tea and you can tell me all about the little one?” I suggested.

“You are the only one who hasn’t realised I’m pregnant,” said Jessie.

“They don’t go on much about babies in fairy school,” I replied. “They don’t mention much about parents either for that matter.”

“You said your mother only recently admitted who she was,” said Jessie. “Did you know her, as a fairy that is, not your mother, if you know what I mean.”

“Yes,” I replied. “I’d been working in the same department as her for several years.”

“And she didn’t tell you she was your mother?” asked Jessie.

“No, not one word,” I sighed. “Not even when I mentioned that others knew who their parents were.”

“That’s rough,” said Jessie. “Did she tell you why she didn’t keep you?”

“Father went off with someone else and she didn’t feel like bringing me up by herself,” I said.

“That’ s rough,” she replied. “Shame your friend Enid wasn’t your Mum, I got the impression she wouldn’t have let something like that stand in her way.”

“Unfortunately you are wrong about her,” I replied. “She is my Mum, she called me Myrtle and then handed me in to the nursery for them to look after.”

“And you never suspected a connection?” Jessie asked.

“I did, but she said the mother couldn’t carry me, so she had carried me for her, like you carried Rosie,” I explained. “She only admitted it when there was no way out.”

“And you had a row with her?” asked Jessie.

“Yes, but not about that,” I sighed. “All these years I wanted to find her, now I have I just wanted to get away from her.”

“Have you thought about a holiday?” Jessie suggested.

“I went for one,” I replied.

“What went wrong?” Jessie asked.

“She followed me,” I replied. “And the place I chose wasn’t in the state I thought it would be in.”

“Go on,” Jessie smiled.

“Two people I helped, they were going to do up a hotel, it was on the coast, beautiful beach, lovely weather, you name it,” I sighed. “Unfortunately other people had ideas of what they wanted to do with the land and they were making any work on the hotel impossible.”

“So the beautiful hotel was a tip and then your Mum turns up and starts taking over,” said Jessie.

“You’ve got it in one,” I replied. “So long she didn’t want any part in my life, now she’s made a mess of hers, she’s all over me, being all buddy buddy whilst telling me what a mess I’ve made of things.”

“And I thought I had problems with my Mum,” sighed Jessie.

“What does she think of the little one?” I asked.

“I haven’t told her about it,” Jessie replied. “After what happened last time, I don’t want her anywhere near this pregnancy.”

“I can understand that,” I sighed. “Though it may be a bit hard on your Dad.”

“I know, but I couldn’t work out how to keep in touch with him without her knowing,” said Jessie, gasping in pain and grabbing her stomach.

“Is that another contraction?” I asked.

“I need the toilet,” said Jessie staggering to her feet and making a dash for it. Just as the bathroom door shut, the front door opened and Ella and Ian walked in, looking all excited after racing up the road together.

“Where’s Jessie?” asked Ian as soon as he saw me.

“She’s just nipped to the loo,” I smiled.

“Is Rosie OK?” asked Ella.

“Rosie is fine,” I replied.

“It’s coming,” Jessie shouted from the bathroom. “It’s really coming this time.”

“What?” shouted Ian dashing up the stairs.

“We need to ring for an ambulance,” Ella told me.

“Why?” I asked.

“The baby is about to be born and Mummy needs to be in the hospital,” Ella explained.

“Then I’d better ring for an ambulance,” I replied, fishing out my mobile phone.

“I’ll get Mummy’s bag for her,” said Ella. “She put it behind the sofa so that she didn’t trip up over it.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” I replied, though I hadn’t the first idea of what she was talking about.

The ambulance arrived as Ian guided Jessie down the stairs.

“I should ring for an ambulance,” he said as the door bell rang, Ella opened the door and there stood an ambulance man.

“I believe someone is about to give birth,” he said, looking at Jessie.

“That would be me,” she said.

“You go with Jessie and I’ll bring Ella along,” I said to Ian as Ella handed Jessie’s bag to him, he took it without registering what it was and followed Jessie to the ambulance.

“Are we going by wand?” asked Ella.

“Well,” I smiled. “I don’t have a car and I don’t know how to drive, so it would seem the most logical way to go.”

“Wont we get there before Mum and Dad?” asked Ella. A very bright child, I hadn’t thought of that.

“I’ll time it to arrive at the same time as them, so we can go in with your parents,” I told her.

“That would be a good idea,” agreed Ella. “Should I ring their parents?”

“I think I would leave it to them, if I were you, there seem to be a few issues there that they need to resolve,” I said.

“They aren’t doing anything to make things better,” said Ella. “And I miss my grandparents.”

“They should be there,” said Enid, stepping out of the shadows.

“I wondered when you would turn up,” I said, then waved my wand and took myself and Ella to the hospital just in time to see Jessie being helped out of the ambulance.

By Janice Nye © 2020

The Fairy Godmother Part 53

“What time is it?” asked Enid, looking at her watch for the umpteenth time and taping the grandfather clock for reasons I really don’t know.

“Five minutes latter then last time you asked me,” I replied.

“Right,” she said, looking at Jim and Derek. “When I tell someone to come, that is what they do.”

“He isn’t here and I don’t suppose he’ll come,” said Jim.

“It was expecting a lot of him,” said Derek.

“His Father said that he would come,” said Enid. “And come he will,” she added waving her wand. The rich man’s son appeared, in his pyjamas, looking rather stunned.

“What the hell!” he shouted picking himself up from the floor.

“You were supposed to come here to help get this hotel and it’s grounds sorted,” said Enid. “Oh and by the way, I wont have any of that sort of language round here.”

“I was asleep, in bed!” he said.

“What is your name?” I asked. It hadn’t been mentioned and it seemed rather long winded to think of him as the rich man’s son.

“Liam,” he replied.

“Nice to meet you,” I said.

“Have you finished?” asked Enid.

“Yes,” I smiled.

“Good,” said Enid, giving me a bit of an odd look. “The idea was that you arrive here in the morning and help sort this place out.”

“I was going to come straight after breakfast,” said Liam, yawning. “But you brought me here before I even got out of bed.”

“Morning means before mid-day,” Enid replied. “We could do without spending half the day waiting for you to emerge.”

“I didn’t realise you wanted me here so early,” he smiled. “I promise to do better tomorrow. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to go home and have my breakfast.”

“Yes, I do mind,” replied Enid. “You are here now, so you can start working.”

“But, I’m not properly dressed,” Liam replied.

“There are only us here,” said Enid. “Does anyone mind what Liam is wearing.”

“No,” replied Derek and Jim.

“Myrtle?” Enid asked, looking at me.

“What?” I asked, my mind had got rather distracted and I hadn’t been listening.

“Do you mind what Liam wears?” Enid asked, that odd look was there again.

“No,” I said, trying to agree with everyone.

“Good,” said Enid. “So we should get to work.”

“So what should we do?” asked Liam, looking at Jim and Derek.

“I hadn’t thought about that,” Derek replied. “I’ve been to busy trying to keep the place to think about what to do to get it back into business.

“Not much point in me staying if we don’t know what needs to be done first,” said Liam. I could see where he was coming from, but I didn’t want him to leave, not yet.

“We could start by clearing out the mess in the bar,” I suggested.

“That sounds like a plan,” said Enid. “And whilst we are in there we could throw about a few ideas on how to get something happening in here so that it can bring in some money. I’m sure that would help both of you,” she added looking at Jim and Derek.

“It would be good to have some money,” said Jim.

“I will pay you as soon as I can,” said Derek.

“I know that,” said Jim.

“My Dad could,” Liam started.

“What?” I asked. “Throw enough money at the problem and make it go away?”

“Well,” said Liam trying to avoid making eye contact with anyone.

“That would teach you nothing,” I said.

“But it would get things up and running quicker,” said Derek.

“That’s true,” Enid agreed. “There is no reason for Jim and Derek to suffer getting things sorted just to teach Liam a lesson.”

“Especially as I understand that what I did was wrong on so many levels,” said Liam.

“Fine. You solve it how you want to,” I told Derek, waved my wand and vanished.

“I think you have upset her,” said Jim, looking at the space where I had been standing.

“She’s just a bit headstrong,” said Enid. “She’ll get over it.”

“So, you’re going to do nothing?” asked Liam

“I don’t see that there’s anything to do,” said Enid looking from Jim to Derek. “You need to get this place up and running as quickly as possible, getting him to help with the work would add years to the project.”

“Because I’m so useless,” said Liam.

“I don’t see you as being a hands on type,” said Derek.

“No,” said Jim. “But you might have a few ideas on what needs to be done to bring in the customers.”

“I’ve stopped in lots of hotels,” said Liam. “I know what’s good and what’s to be a

avoided. How about we take a walk round the place and see if we can come up with some ideas, meanwhile, you should talk to Myrtle.”

“I don’t need you to tell me how to treat my daughter,” snapped Enid.

“She’s your daughter!” Liam exclaimed. “And I thought my lot were dis-functional.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about,” said Enid. “Your Father is one of the most successful people I have ever met.”

“Yes and he has a PA to remind him when my birthday is and to go out and find a present for me,” said Liam.

“What’s so bad about that,” asked Jim. “At least you get a present.”

“Yes, but it’s nothing personal, nothing he’s put any thought into, some years he didn’t even sign the card, he was too busy,” said Liam.

“But he’s a good man,” Enid persisted.

“How would I know, he’s never had time for me,” said Liam.

“He has bailed you out of more problems than I can remember,” said Enid.

“He’s thrown cash at the problem and made it go away,” said Liam. “And then, as far as he was concerned I merged into the back ground till there was another problem to turn the spot light on me.”

“And Myrtle wanted to change that,” said Derek.

“Except it isn’t you that needs changing, it’s your old man,” said Jim.

“I’d better go and talk to him,” said Enid.

“I think we can do that,” said Liam looking from Jim to Derek. “You need to talk to your daughter.”

“I don’t see why, she’s just had a bit of a hissy fit,” said Enid. “She’ll get over it when she’s calmed down.”

“That never solves anything,” said Liam. “I should know, I’ve been left to get over things tons of times and it’s never work.”

“And what have you been left to get over,” snapped Enid. “Your Father always does the best for you.”

“When Mum died, he just sent me back to school, didn’t even let me come to the funeral and afterwards, she was never to be mentioned,” said Liam.

“Your Father found that whole thing difficult,” said Enid. “There were a lot thought that he should remarry, but no one was good enough to fill her shoes.”

“And me?” asked Liam.

“You reminded him too much of her, he couldn’t be around you,” Enid replied.

“Did you tell him to send me back to school?” asked Liam.

“It was for the best,” said Enid. “You weren’t getting used to her being gone, it was making things difficult for him.”

“No wonder you’re no good with your daughter,” said Liam. “We’ll go and talk to Dad and you can talk to Myrtle, the least you can do is apologise for giving her such a crap name.”

By Janice Nye © 2020

The Fairy Godmother Part 52

“What have you done?” I demanded of Enid when the people and everything else outside the gate house vanished, leaving a milky white nothingness.

“I just put everything on hold,” said Enid.

“What!” said Jim and Derek.

“I just pressed the pause button, that’s all,” said Enid acting as if she hadn’t done anything wrong. Then again, she probably didn’t think she had done anything wrong.

“You’ve got to undo it,” I said. “That is abuse of power and you know that.”

“They are going to break in and wreak havoc on Jim’s home,” Enid replied. “You don’t want that now do you?”

“Of course I don’t,” I replied. “But there has to be an alternative to this, it isn’t as if it’s sustainable.”

“No, but it does give us some time to think about what to do next,” Enid smiled.

“That’s true,” said Jim.

“I know,” said Derek. “But I have been thinking about it since Burns night and not come up with any answers, they want to buy the place out and they aren’t going to stop till they’ve got it.”

“But the people in the big house,” I said.

“Can’t or wont do anything to help us,” said Derek. “I keep asking and all I get is, “you must do what you must do”, a great deal of help that isn’t.”

“And why do they want the hotel?” I asked.

“They don’t,” said Derek. “They plan to demolish it, it’s the land they want for a golf course.”

“Golf! I agree with whoever it was that said it is a waste of a good walk,” said Enid.

“Wont they need a club house?” I asked.

“Yes,” said Derek. “But they didn’t want the hotel, they have plans for something, they think it’s going to win lots of architectural design awards, it will be ground breaking and make their names.”

“It will be an eyesore,” said Enid. “They always are.”

“They are using the situation to benefit themselves,” I said.

“We know that,” snapped Derek. “What we don’t know is how to get them to back off. It’s doing my head in.”

“We need to find a way to get them to help you do the hotel up, find a way that is beneficial to all concerned,” I replied.

“How are we going to do that?” asked Jim.

“We need to talk to them,” I said.

“And how are we going to organise that?” he asked.

“I don’t suppose you have a phone number for them?” I asked. “Then we can arrange a meeting.”

“What about that lot out there?” Derek asked, glancing at the window. “It doesn’t matter what we agree with the architects, it’s going to take a while for the message to get through to them and they could do quite a bit of damage in the meantime.”

“We could move them elsewhere,” I suggested.

“They may smash that place up as well,” said Jim.

“I could move them to the architects office,” said Enid.

“That would be interesting,” said Jim.

“OK,” said Enid waving her wand. The view returned to the window, but the people were no longer there. Derek’s phone rang

“It’s them,” he muttered.

“Answer it,” I said. “Put it on speaker and record the call.”

“Can you do that?” asked Enid.

“Yes,” said Derek, putting the phone down on the table.

“Derek,” said a voice, in the background we could hear other voices raised voices.

“Hello Dean,” said Derek. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

“We went where you said and something weird happened and suddenly we are here,” said a voice in the background.

“Can’t you keep that lot quiet,” Dean hissed.

“Sorry about that, a school visit, my colleague is taking them to another part of the building,” Dean said to Derek.

“I don’t think so,” said Enid.

“Who’s that?” asked Derek.

“I am,” Enid paused for a moment. “I am Derek’s Fairy Godmother, Enid, and I just returned your people to you.”

“Enid, your Fairy Godmother!” Dean stuttered.

“Enid!,” said the voice in the background. “We’re off, don’t bother contacting us again.”

“But,” said another voice.

“We know Enid and I for one am not going to do anything to upset her,” said one of the people we sent there.

“They’ve gone!” Dean was told.

“We need to talk,” said Enid.

“I don’t know,” said Dean.

Enid waved her wand and Dean and his colleague were standing in Jim’s living room.

“When I say we need to talk,” said Enid. “It is not open for debate.”

“She is my Fairy Godmother,” said Derek with a smile.

“Oh shit!” muttered Dean’s colleague.

“The golf course,” said Enid.

“We have a client who has great plans for the area,” said Dean.

“Don’t you think it would be better if you got agreement from the people here rather than threaten them into submission?” I asked.

“It isn’t the way our client works,” said Dean’s colleague.

“John!” Dean hissed at him.

“Don’t try to shut him up,” said Enid.

“Who are your clients?” I asked.

“Client confidentiality,” said Dean.

“Do you want to get out of this building in the next hundred years?” asked Enid, tapping her wand on the back of a chair.

“See the building up there,” said Dean.

“But the people there have been helpful to us,” said Jim.

“The old man may be, but he’s not long for this world and his son hates the place,” said Dean.

“So it is the son who is behind all of this,” said Enid.

“I didn’t say that,” said Dean.

“I think his Father needs to know this,” said Enid, waving her wand and we appeared in his office.

“Enid,” said the old man sitting behind the desk.

“Would you care to explain to my son why it is not a good idea to build a golf course here?” he said.

“You know him?” Dean asked.

“Yes,” Enid replied. “I am also his Fairy Godmother.”

“You don’t look old enough,” said Dean without thinking.

“I shall take that as a compliment,” said Enid. “Most things wouldn’t be a problem, but a golf course, there are a group of imps living in the woods, down there,” she added pointing out of the window.

“So what,” muttered the old man’s son. “They’re at the edge of the course, they wont be effected.”

“Normally they collect small stones and throw them about a bit. If they see golf balls, they may not notice the difference and start collecting them. Generally they are perfectly harmless, but this particular group can get rather aggressive if someone tries to take back anything they have collected,” said Enid.

“In other words they might start pinching the golf balls and get aggressive with anyone who tries to get their balls back?” asked the son.

“Something like that,” said Enid.

“But I want to make a golf course,” he said sounding something like a spoilt child.

“Is this a map of all your estates?” I asked the old man, pointing to a map on the wall.

“Yes,” he smiled. “Though it isn’t as impressive as it might seem, that island there, the soil isn’t every good, there are even pockets of sand around it, not enough to make it worth excavating though.”

“Is this map to scale?” asked Dean walking over to take a better look at it.

“Oh yes,” said the old man. “It’s quite a big island, but it doesn’t have much going for it.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” said John, joining his colleague. “We’ll have to take a look at it, but going by this map, I think it might be a better site for the golf course. It would have an added angle of exclusivity in that you could control who went to the island.”

“I like the sound of that,” said the old man’s son. “If that’s OK with you,” he asked his Father.

“It’s fine by me,” said the old man. “You know where I am if you need any help.”

“Thanks Dad,” he said. “Shall we go to the island?” he asked Dean and John.

“Certainly,” said Dean.

“Will you stop pestering us about the hotel?” asked Derek, as Dean, John and the old man’s son seemed set to walk out.

“Of course,” said the son.

“I think Derek and Jim deserve an apology at the very least,” I said, standing in the doorway.

“I’ve said we aren’t interested any more, isn’t that enough?” said the son.

“No,” I said. “You’ve made their lives a misery for the past few months, your thugs smashed up the hotel bar and wrecked their first attempt at getting the place back on it’s feet, just because you had other plans for the land.”

“I’ll sort it out,” said the old man, reaching for his wallet.

“No, I don’t think that is the solution,” I said. “Your son needs to learn that throwing money at something isn’t going to make it go away. He needs to do something to make amends, show that he’s learnt that you can go pushing people around when you feel like it.”

“So what do you suggest?” asked Enid.

“He doesn’t get the island until he has helped fix the hotel up, and by that I mean actual work as well as paying for the materials needed,” I replied.

“Sounds reasonable,” said the old man.

“But!” the son stuttered.

“I would not advise arguing with Fairy Godmothers,” said his Father.

“The sooner you start, the sooner you get your island,” I said.

“This should be interesting,” muttered Jim.

“We will be there to supervise,” said Enid smiling.

By Janice Nye © 2020

The Fairy Godmother Part 51

There was a roaring fire lit in Jim’s living room, that is when I realised how cold and dreary the weather it was. I had seen the place in the summer and somehow it hadn’t crossed my mind that it wouldn’t be summer any more.

“Come in,” said Jim ushering us through to the fire. “You should get out of those wet clothes,” he added looking as if he was not entirely sure how he was going to organise that.

“It’s OK,” I said waving my wand and moving the water outside somewhere, leaving our clothes and hair dry, if slightly dishevelled.

“Would you like a drink?” he asked.

“A cup of tea would be very nice,” said Enid sounding very prim and proper.

“That would be very kind of you,” I smiled.

“Right, I’ll get it sorted,” he said. “Make yourself at home, I shan’t be long.”

“If I wasn’t taking leave, I might have something to say about your use of the wand,” said Enid after Jim had disappeared from sight.

“But you have,” I replied.

“What do you mean?” snapped Enid.

“You commented, which means that you don’t approve,” I replied.

“If you are going to be like that, it wasn’t necessary for you to remove the water like that,” hissed Enid.

“Why not, he knows I can do things like that and he didn’t look as if he knew how to sort out dry clothes for us, but was too polite to say. Lastly, we were making a mess of his living room dripping like that,” I replied. “It was a necessary use of the wand.”

“If you say so,” Enid replied with a sniff.

“Are you sure a brandy wouldn’t be an idea, it is quite chilly outside and we don’t want you coming down with a cold,” said Jim, walking in with a tray of tea things, which included a plate of rather nice looking scones.

“Thank-you, but I will be fine with a restorative cup of tea and a scone,” said Enid.

“If you are certain,” Jim smiled. “Shall I pour the tea?”

“That would be very good of you,” said Enid.

After the tea things were washed and tidied away we sat down again in front the the fire.

“I don’t know what you know about the hotel,” said Jim.

“I haven’t heard anything since I left you,” I replied. “Someone has been keeping me very busy.”

“You had come to the notice of the Fairy Council, what with your excessive use of the wand and you unorthodox methods,” said Enid.

“We saw what happened down on the beach,” said Jim.

“The bucket of ice cubes?” I asked.

“We were wondering how she found them, the ice maker hadn’t been working in ages,” Jim replied. “And the supplier took away the last of the ice buckets a long time before, according to Derek.”

“You used your wand?” I said looking at Enid.

“I deemed it necessary,” she said, having the grace to look uncomfortable.

“So what happened after I left?” I asked.

“First things first, we set about trying to work out a plan of action,” said Jim. “That is where things started to fall down.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“We couldn’t work out where to start,” said Jim. “I suggested that we start by opening up the bar and restaurant, there was plenty of alcohol there, it seemed like a good way to get some money in so that we could sort out the rest of the building.”

“He didn’t agree?” Enid asked.

“He thought it was a great idea, we got things ready for a grand opening on Burns night,” Jim said with a sigh.

“What went wrong?” I asked.

“We got quite a crowd in, unfortunately they started arguing, some said that we weren’t Scottish, so we shouldn’t celebrate Burns night, even if we did get a haggis and bagpipes to do it. Others wanted to know if we were doing anything for Australia day, we hadn’t thought about it, but it was the next day and they said if you are going to do one you should do them all. We were quite happy to go along with the idea, but by then there was a fight going on, bottles were being hurled and when I looked round for Derek to say we aught to close up before things got out of hand, he’d legged it into the cellar and shut the trap door. I sent the bar staff home and then made a quick exit out the back way,” said Jim.

“That would explain the bar full of broken bottles,” I said.

“We were outnumbered,” said Jim. “I’ve been in tough situations before, but there was only one outcome that I could see if we hung around and it wasn’t pretty.”

“And Derek?” I asked.

“He was safe enough in the cellar, nothing they had would have made any impression on the trap door,” Jim replied.

“Sounds like they came prepared for trouble,” I said.

“Put that way, yes they did,” said Jim.

“So who have you upset?” I asked.

“Why should he have upset anyone?” asked Enid.

“They were trying to make a go of the hotel, it sounds like someone didn’t want them to,” I replied.

“Don’t you think you are jumping to conclusions?” said Enid. “I mean, have you or Derek had anyone try to buy the hotel or make any sort of deals that involved you not reopening?” she asked Jim.

“See the big house on the cliff top,” said Jim pointing out of the window, just in time for the scene to be illuminated by a flash of lightening.

“They don’t like you being here?” I asked.

“Of course they don’t,” snapped Enid. “Why would they want to see a tip like that from their windows?”

“They aren’t the problem, they have been encouraging us. No, the problem is there is a company trying to buy the whole area up, they know they can’t buy the people from the big house out, but if they get this place then the development they build will spoil the view from that house to such an extent that the people there will eventually have to sell out,” said Jim.

“They are attacking you as the easier target,” I said.

“Exactly,” Jim sighed.

“And what has Derek done about it?” Enid asked.

“He’s spent the last few months in the cellar,” Jim replied.

“That can’t be good for him,” I said.

“I’ve tried to get him to come out, I’ve done a few jobs round the place to get him to come out and help,” Jim sighed.

“I saw the gardening stuff,” I said.

“He was really getting into it, but some thugs came and started getting nasty, Derek ran to the cellar and hasn’t come out since then,” he said. “I don’t know what to do next for the best. I’m beginning to think that selling the place up and moving away from here would be the best solution.”

“What does Derek think?” Enid asked.

“I’m not sure if he’s thinking at all,” sighed Jim.

“Why isn’t he here with you?” I asked.

“He wont come out of the place,” said Derek.

“Then we must go and talk to him there,” I replied.

“But how do we get there without them seeing us?” Jim asked as I waved my wand, the room disappeared and was replaced by the hotel basement.

“How did you get here?” asked Derek rushing towards the nearest door and then stopping when he realised who we were.

“You remember me,” I said smiling. “I am the Fairy Godmother and I can get where I want to go with the wave of my wand.

“So you didn’t come in through the door?” he asked.

“I did that earlier and then left when I thought there was no one here,” I said.

“Did they follow you?” he asked.

“They may have,” I replied. “I didn’t realise there was any reason to be careful.”

“They may have gotten into the gatehouse,” said Derek. “We need to get there, but I can’t leave here.”

Enid waved her wand and we were back in the gatehouse, only it was surrounded by some rather nasty looking people. She waved her wand again and they vanished, as did everything else outside.

By Janice Nye © 2020

The Fairy Godmother Part 50

A quick wave of my wand had taken me to the hotel that I had ended up at after sorting out the problems for the shoemaker.

“They said I could have a holiday here anytime I wanted,” I reminded myself. “This is as good a time as any.” But looking round the place didn’t look in anyway ready for holiday makers, if anything it looked worse than it had done before. The half hearted efforts to get the grounds in order and the scattering of garden tools, which looked as if they had been thrown, did nothing to help the look of the place.

I walked towards the hotel with the hope of finding some answers in the reception. The door opened when I pushed it, creaked and then fell off, making me jump, but no one came to see what was going on, so after a couple of minutes I headed into the hotel to see what I could find out. What I found was that there was no one there, the bar was littered with empty bottles, may of which lay smashed around the room as if there had been some sort of bottle hurling contest or a fight. I decided to see if anyone nearby knew what had gone on and walked back out through the broken door.

“Are you going to leave that like that?” asked Enid standing just outside the hotel.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, standing the door up and pulling my God-knows-how-many-in-one tool from my pocket along with a bag containing various screws, nuts, bolts and nails and set about securing the door.

“I suppose that’s better than it was,” said Enid after I’d spent about ten minutes working on it. “Though, as it opened when you pushed it and then fell to the ground, that isn’t saying a lot.”

“If you have any suggestions on how to improve it,” I replied waving towards the door.

“No,” said Enid. “It’s not my place to tell you what to do.”

“That’s never stopped you before,” I said. “And that reminds me, you still haven’t told me what you are doing here.”

“Do I need a reason to visit my own daughter?” asked Enid.

“When it has taken you this long to admit that I’m your daughter, yes I think you do need a reason,” I replied. “And I’d like to know how you knew where I was.”

“Violet said that you’d decided to take a holiday whilst you thought about what you wanted to do next,” said Enid. “Personally I don’t approve of all this thinking, you are a Fairy Godmother, there is work for you to do, you get the next assignment and get on with it. I don’t think it was necessary for Violet to give you time off.”

“You agreed to keep your nose out of Fairy Godmother business,” I reminded her. “And if you don’t approve of taking time out occasionally, what are you doing here?”

“The Fairy Council said that I was having problems getting used to the death of my sister, like they’d have any idea as to what I think,” snapped Enid.

“So they’ve given you some time off?” I asked.

“I don’t need time off,” snapped Enid. “It isn’t as if we were close or anything. What I need is to get on with some work, it isn’t as if there wasn’t plenty to do.”

“I presume you told them that,” I said.

“At the top of my voice, but they still wouldn’t listen,” Enid replied.

“The more you shout, the less they hear,” I replied.

“I don’t know what you mean,” said Enid. “They just wouldn’t let me finish a single sentence.”

“So you shouted and that is when you lost the argument,” I replied.

“You may be right at that,” sighed Enid. “Anyway, they told me to take some time out to sort out my head.”

“So you came to pester me,” I added.

“Can’t a Mother go to her daughter when she’s at a low ebb?” asked Enid.

Bit of a hard one to reply to that.

“You put me in the nursery to be brought up by strangers,” I reminded her. “And it is only now, when you want me, that you admit to being my Mother.”

“You wouldn’t hold that against me, would you?” she asked.

“I would, but I have better things to do,” I snapped.

“What could be better than helping your Mum?” asked Enid.

“I brought two people here, one owned the place and wanted to do it up, the other was going to work here,” I replied.

“So?” asked Enid.

“Something went wrong,” I replied.

“Humans, they have good intentions, but things get in the way,” said Enid.

“I should have been here to make sure they got started,” I replied. “But you threw a bucket of ice cubes over me and dragged me back to the Fairy Council to answer for my crimes.”

“I think you are being a bit over dramatic there,” said Enid as I headed off down the driveway in an attempt to find someone who might know what had gone on there and where the two men where. My idea of a nice relaxing holiday had gone up in smoke and being followed around by Enid wasn’t doing anything to improve my mood.

“We could sort this out together,” said Enid. “We work well as a team.”

“Really,” I muttered.

“All those problems we’ve sorted out recently,” Enid said, flying along beside me.

“That I was supposed to be solving and you were supposed to be observing,” I reminded her.

“We had good results,” said Enid, ignoring my comments. “I’m sure we can get this done and then we could have a holiday together,” she added as we arrived in front of what looked to be a gate house.

I knocked on the door and it was opened by the doorman, the one I had last seen at the hotel.

“I was just coming to find out what happened to you and the other man, the one who owned the hotel,” I stuttered, names do have a bad habit of eluding me at times of stress.

“His names Derek,” said the doorman. “And mine is Jim.”

“Hello Jim,” said Enid smiling. “I’m Enid, I may as well introduce myself as my daughter doesn’t look like she’s going to.”

“I remember,” said Jim. “It’s part of being good doorman, people like it when you remember their names.

“Well, now that has all the introductions done,” said Enid.

“But it isn’t,” said Jim, smiling at me. “I know you are someone’s Fairy Godmother, but I don’t know whose, or what your name is?”

“I just get called the Fairy Godmother,” I replied trying to remember my name, I should know what it is, but I don’t remember being called anything.

“Can’t remember your own name,” laughed Enid. “She is so forgetful,” she added looking at Jim.

“Well, you gave it to me, you tell us what it is,” I smiled at her.

“Myrtle,” Enid replied. “It’s a very pretty flower,” she added defensively.

“Myrtle! No wonder I never got called by it,” I replied trying not to laugh.

“Myrtle!” said Jim. “You don’t look like a Myrtle to me, but what I can say is that that sky looks like rain and when it rains here, you don’t want to be outside, would you like to come in and we can talk about Derek and the hotel and hopefully we can sort this out between us.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” I said, my words nearly drowned out by the crash of thunder as the sky opened up and drenched us before we got the two steps needed to get into the house.

By Janice Nye © 2020

The Fairy Godmother Part 49

“I suppose you expect me to be grateful,” Enid scowled as we walked back to the Fairy Godmothers office.

“You have never have been grateful for anything, I don’t expect you to start now,” I replied, holding the door open for her.

“This was all of your doing,” she snapped.

“How do you work that one out?” I asked.

“You made me do it,” she said. “If you’d just accepted the job non of this would have been necessary.”

“How many times do I have to tell you, I do not want to be Head of the Fairy Godmothers, it is all admin and I don’t want to do it,” I shouted, the office staff looked up from their work and then made themselves scarce.

“You would be ideal for the job,” she replied. “Things have run so smoothly since you have been standing in for me.”

“I told you that was a temporary thing and I have had Violet to help me,” I replied.

“Her,” Enid snapped.

“She is good at organising,” I replied. “And what is more she likes doing it, I don’t see what you have against her, Ethel said that you liked the way she sorted out the laundry problems and getting a discount from our suppliers.”

“Yes, well she was bound to be able to tackle something like that, her Mother used to work there,” Enid replied.

“What did she do?” I asked, slightly sidetracked.

“She was one of the menials, I don’t know what she did,” Enid replied dismissively. “It isn’t important.”

“You remember her, so she is important,” I replied.

“She was a flirt and she didn’t know her place,” Enid snapped.

“And the result was Violet?” I asked.

“Yes and then she insisted on bringing the child up herself,” Enid replied.

“What did the Father think of that?” I asked.

“He left me for her,” Enid replied.

“And you’re taking it out on Violet?” I asked.

“He should have been helping me look after you,” Enid snapped. “If he’d been there I could’ve managed, I wouldn’t have given you to the nursery.”

“I thought you were carrying me for your sister?” I said, my mind spinning.

“So I lied,” she said.

“You couldn’t even admit to being my Mother!” I shouted. “Well this petty revenge has gone far enough, the best one for the job is Violet. You shut me out of your life when you dropped me off at the nursery, so don’t think you have any right to tell me how to live my life.”

“I was only doing it with your best interests at heart,” Enid replied. “If it wasn’t for her Mother Violet wouldn’t exist and I would have brought you up.”

“Excuses,” I replied. “If it hadn’t been Violet’s mother, it would have been some other reason. I know you too well, you were just looking for a reason. Anyway, it ends here. If you interfere with the running of this department again then the file of all of this will go forward and you will be prosecuted and you know where that will end.”

“You wouldn’t do that to me, I’m your Mother!” Enid screamed.

“Only when it suites you,” I snapped. “You know the terms, either you agree to them or you know what will happen.”

“If that’s what you want,” she said looking deflated.

“That is what I want,” I replied.

“There are other jobs available, other departments that need heads,” said Enid. “I could put in a good word for you.”

“I don’t want to be head of anything,” I told her. “Don’t you understand, being head of anything is all admin and I don’t want anything to do with admin, it does my head in.”

“You could delegate the admin side of things, I always have done,” said Enid.

“I take any job I do seriously, I don’t delegate the boring bits to someone else,” I said.

“Are you saying you’re better than me because of that,” she snapped.

“No, you are,” I replied. “Now, much as I’d like to debate this, I have work to do.”

“Are you telling me to leave?” Enid asked.

“No, I am,” said Violet. “We will have to work late to catch up with what we should have been doing today and I will have to find my office staff who seem to have gone missing thanks to you being here. Be gone by the time I get back or I will call security.”

“Are you going to just stand there and let her talk to me like that!” stuttered Enid.

“No,” I said, taking my phone out. “I’m going to call security.”

“Of all the ingrates,” shouted Enid slamming the door after her.

“Thanks Sis,” said Violet.

“I hadn’t thought of that,” I said. “Us being sisters, or half sisters.”

“He did want to bring you up, Dad that is,” said Violet. “And Mum was happy with it.”

“But Enid wasn’t,” I guessed.

“No,” said Violet.

“That doesn’t surprise me,” I sighed.

“Are you OK?” Violet asked.

“We have work to do,” I said. “I will think about how I feel later.”

True to her word, Enid didn’t cause any more trouble for the rest of the month and soon it was time to hand over the ceremonial tiara and wand. It was not a very big ceremony, but had some significance for the office. Five minutes before Violet was due to start work I got a call from Enid.

“Lost my voice,” she said when I answered the call.

“I can hear you taking,” I said.

“Talking, I’m croaking,” she snapped.

“You are supposed to be here to hand over the tiara and wand,” I reminded her. “You were the last Head of the Fairy Godmothers.”

“You’ve been doing the job for the last few months,” said Enid. “Are you sure you don’t want to carry on doing it.”

“You know what I’ve said,” I snapped.

“Is that Enid?” Violet asked.

“Yes, she says she’s got a sore throat,” I replied. “She’s just trying to get out of handing over the tiara and wand.”

“I heard that,” Enid shouted so loud I nearly dropped my phone.

“Doesn’t sound that bad to me,” I replied.

“I have a migraine as well,” Enid added.

“Don’t worry,” said Violet. “I’d rather the Fairy Godmother hand them over to me anyway,” she told Enid. “Hang up,” she said to me.

There was a whirl and suddenly there stood a slightly dishevelled Enid, looking in the wrong direction. She turned round to face Violet.

“Here is the tiara,” said Enid, pulling it out of her hair. It took a couple of minutes to disentangle it and she thrust it in Violet’s direction. Violet placed it carefully on her head and it looked as if it had been made for her. Enid grunted and fished the wand from a pocket, it was rather battered and somewhat dull in appearance, most wands have an inner glow, this lacked any sort of light, yet as soon as Violet took hold of it a glow appeared from the centre spreading out to the edges until it shone brightly.

“Looks like even the wand thinks you are the right one for the job,” Enid muttered.

“Thank-you,” said Violet.

“Do you promise to obey all the rules of the department?” asked Enid.

“All of them, said Violet. It looked as if Enid was going to say something about that, but changed her mind when she caught a look in Violet’s eye.

“Then I shall wish you good luck as Head of the Fairy Godmothers,” said Enid, bowing low and walking out with as much pride as she could muster.

“Thank God that’s over,” said Violet, sitting down at her desk. “Now we can get on with the work of the day. Have you thought about what you want to do next?” she added turning to me.

“I was thinking of taking a holiday,” I replied.

“Any thoughts on where you want to go?” Violet asked.

“There were some people I met, they had a hotel on the coast,” I replied. “They said anytime I was passing they’d find a room for me, I can stay for as long as I like.”

“Sounds idyllic,” said Violet.

“If you need me, not that I think you will,” I said holding up my phone.

“Same goes for me, Sis,” she said.

“I’ll let you know what I’ve decided, when I decide it,” I added, then waved my wand and there I was standing in front of the hotel, my bag packed by my side.

By Janice Nye © 2020