The Fairy Godmother Part 101

“You don’t have to do this,” said James.

“I am a Fairy Godmother,” Myrtle explained slowly. “There is nothing wrong with me.”

“You are pregnant!” James shouted.

“A perfectly normal, biological condition,” Myrtle interrupted him.

“One which most fairies avoid,” he pointed out.

“I have asked your colleagues and they say there is no reason why I can’t go back to work now that I have stopped being sick all the time,” Myrtle smiled. “I know you worry, but I will be all right.”

“Some of the jobs you’ve told me about have been rather risky,” James reminded her.

“Don’t worry about that Violet is sending me on some of the more sedate jobs,” Myrtle sighed.

“I didn’t think you did any sedate jobs,” James replied.

“They are just standard things, the sort of thing that apprentices train on,” said Myrtle. “Mine will be more of a supervisory role, I stop them before they make a total mess of things. That’s the idea.”

“And if everything goes right?” asked James.

“I just sit around in the background observing them,” said Myrtle. “And getting bored.”

“I like the sound of that,” said James.

“So can I go to work?” asked Myrtle.

“Only as long as you promise not to do any heavy lifting,” said James.

“What do you think I have a wand for?” asked Myrtle. “I don’t lift things. I make them lift themselves.”

“OK,” sighed James. “But I want you to ring back and tell me how things are going.”

“If there’s a problem it might not be possible to ring back,” said Myrtle. “But I will ring back as often as I can,” she added quickly.

“Promise to come home the moment you start feeling tired,” said James.

“Stop mollycoddling her,” said Enid, appearing next to them.

“What did I tell you about appearing?” Myrtle asked Enid.

“Not to do so before breakfast,” said Enid looking pointedly at the breakfast dishes sitting in the sink waiting to be washed.

“I’ve got to go,” said James looking at his watch. “Don’t do anything that you know I wouldn’t like you to do,” he added. “But if you could wash the dishes, before you go.”

“You need to let her get on with her work,” said Enid. “You will regret it if you don’t.”

“Is that a threat Mother?” asked Myrtle.

“I don’t make threats, you know that,” said Enid, trying to look innocent.

“No you carry them out,” said Myrtle.

“It saves time,” Enid smiled. “And in general, it stops people thinking about disobeying me the next time. Now, would you like me to walk with you to work?”

“Better do the dishes first,” said Myrtle, looking at the sink. Enid waved her wand, the dishes washed themselves, dried and took a quick walk to the cupboards and the place they waited in till the next meal.

“Thanks Mum,” said Myrtle.

“Good morning Violet,” said Enid and Myrtle together. “We’ve come to see what work you have for us.”

“Right,” said Violet, looking down at her laptop, not that she needed to, but it did give her a moment to gather her thoughts. “Enid, you were suspended till you did a course.”

“I know, the one on not taking advantage of my position,” Enid interrupted.

“You haven’t done it yet,” Violet reminded her.

“I don’t see that there is anything that lot could teach me that I don’t already know,” Enid blustered.

“How about following the rules you claim to know so well,” said Violet. “It’s one thing knowing the rules, but you have to follow them.”

“This is stupid,” said Enid. “I know the rules, I’d fly through the exam.”

“Prove it,” said Violet. “Because you are not getting any work till you have handed me the exam certificate. And it better be a good grade, non of this scrapping through.”

“Go on Mum,” said Myrtle. “If you think you know it all, it should be a doddle.”

“Fine,” muttered Enid. “But this is a total waste of time.”

“The sooner you do it, the sooner you will be back at work,” said Violet. Enid waved her wand and vanished.

“Let me know how she gets on,” said Myrtle, frowning slightly.

“It all depends on how much she knows,” said Violet. “They have just added a few new things to it which she may not be aware of.”

“And if she listens to the lecturers rather than argue with them,” Myrtle smiled.

“I hope I am doing the right thing,” sighed Violet.

“Would you do anything differently if she was anyone else?” asked Myrtle.

“No,” Violet replied.

“Exactly, you have to treat her just like any other Fairy Godmother,” said Myrtle.

“Just like I have to treat you like any other pregnant Fairy Godmother?” said Violet.

“I wouldn’t expect you to do anything else,” Myrtle smiled.

“Meet Rosemary,” said Violet ushering forward a rather small, nervous fairy. “She has just graduated from the Fairy Godmother school.”

“I came top in my class,” Rosemary stuttered.

“Yes,” said Violet. “One of the most talented pupils they have had in a long time.”

“Nice to meet you,” said Myrtle.

“I’ve read up on all the work you have done,” said Rosemary. “I’m not entirely sure that I would have tackled them all in the same way, but I’m sure we could discuss that.”

“Things aren’t always so clear cut when you are in the field,” said Myrtle. “Sometimes you just have to improvise.”

“There are guidelines on problem solving,” said Rosemary. “Shouldn’t we stick to them?”

“The guidelines are a good place to start,” said Myrtle. “However, they don’t always fit the situation and it is necessary to learn how to adapt in order to solve the problem.”

“I’ll have to think about that,” said Rosemary

“And you want me to observe her?” Myrtle asked Violet.

“And step in should the need arise,” Violet smiled.

“Why should it be necessary for her to step in?” Rosemary asked Violet.

“That’s a good question,” Myrtle smiled at Violet.

“We have to allow for the unexpected,” said Violet. “But as it is unexpected, we can’t say what it will be.”

“Right,” said Rosemary frowning and obviously thinking over what she’d been told.

“So, what is our first job?” asked Myrtle.

“It’s a simple task,” said Violet, pressing a few keys on her laptop. “When I can find it.”

“Do you want me to look?” asked Rosemary eagerly.

“Do you want a hand?” asked Ethel, looking up from her computer screen.

“The sodding thing’s hung,” Violet snapped, picking it up and looking as if she felt like hurling the machine across the room, but couldn’t think of a direction to throw it.

“It’s probably the big update,” said Ethel, carefully taking the machine out of Violet’s hands.

“So how long will it be before I can use it this time?” asked Violet.

“A day, maybe two,” said Ethel. “It is a big update and it has been causing problems for some people, I have done a lot of research into how to sort any, should they happen.”

“And what am I supposed to do whilst I am waiting?” asked Violet.

“You could always come with us,” said Myrtle. “Then you can observe me, observing Rosemary.”

“Doing what?” asked Violet. “I was just about to give you your job and the thing went down!”

“Don’t you know what it is?” asked Myrtle.

“I can’t keep everything in my head,” Violet snapped. Ethel ducked down and concentrated on the offending laptop and Violet’s phone rang.

“Hello,” said Violet, struggling not to snap at the caller.

“Hello,” came a voice.

“Who are you?” asked Violet.

“I am the valet of King Rufus the third,” he replied.

“And to what do I owe the honour of this call?” asked Violet.

“We weren’t sure who else to turn to,” the Valet replied. “The King has decided that he has had enough of being a King and he wants to go fishing.”

“Is that a problem?” asked Violet.

“This is a big week for us, we have delegates from all the neighbouring countries coming to discuss boarder issues. If we aren’t careful they will just divide the kingdom up between themselves and that will be the end of our country,” sobbed the valet.

“That way the King wouldn’t be a King any more, so he would get his wish,” said Rosemary. “That would conform to the least interference principle.”

“There is more at stake than the wishes of a mere King,” said Myrtle. “There is what his people think about the idea of being divided between his neighbours without a bye your leave to them.”

“You are right,” said Violet.

“So what are you going to do?” asked the Valet.

“We will be with you in a second,” said Violet.

“Thank-you so very much,” said the Valet hanging up the call.

“Shouldn’t we work out a plan of action or something first?” asked Rosemary. “It is what we did in class.”

“Sometimes there isn’t the time,” smiled Myrtle. “Sometimes you just have to hit the ground running and fly by the seat of your pants,” she added, waving her wand.

By Janice Nye © 2021