102. Departed

Things were sort of quiet but busy through the week after mom's visit. The twins were still spending all their time working, and most of my time was spent with Elise and Kaitlyn.

My cousin was finally settling down and getting over her giddy phase as she began to get into the right mindset for going back to college, which would happen in a couple more weeks. And as for Kaitlyn, I really wasn't sure what we were going to do with her but I did look into schooling options incase she wound up staying here with us.

I was still hoping to find someone else to take her, but I knew it was probably a long-shot finding the right fit for her. I wasn't just going to kick her out or leave her with random strangers, but I didn't really know where to turn or how to find someone who'd want to take her in.

It wasn't really ideal keeping her with us though. The twins hadn't said anything but I knew with the history between them and Kaitlyn, it probably wasn't good for any of us to be raising her here.

On the other hand I felt responsible for her, and she'd opened up to me a few times. So if it came down to it, I'd do my best to look after her and just hope that didn't become an issue between me and my girlfriends.

Things got less quiet and more busy on the thirty-first, when a delivery truck rolled up to the house right around noon. The king-size bed we ordered had arrived.

I convinced Kelly and Keira to take the rest of the day off, and the three of us got to work moving the old bed down into the cellar for storage. Then we got the new bed put together and set up. It would have been infinitely more difficult if not for the fact that we could just teleport the bulky heavy stuff up and down the stairs.

Even with the advantage of magic it still took us all afternoon to get the new bed assembled and get the mattress and box spring in place. Then we got all the sheets and the new king-size duvet and everything else sorted out. It was already dark out by the time we finally finished, and I really had zero interest in doing any cooking at that point.

Elise came to the rescue and drove down into the city, then returned with a big order of all our favourite sushi along with some General Tsao chicken and pad Thai and other related goodies.

Keira opened a bottle of wine, Kelly and Elise and I got into the hard lemonade, and Kaitlyn stuck with soda of course. The five of us set all the food out on the coffee table, and we all got comfortable in the living-room to eat as we watched a movie.

After the movie was over, me and the twins bid Elise and Kaitlyn a good night as we headed upstairs together. My cousin and the teen were planning to stay up till midnight, but my girlfriends and I were going to celebrate the new year together in our big new bed.

"This is nice," Kelly said quietly as she cuddled up against me on my left.

Keira was already snuggling against me on the right as she agreed, "Very nice."

"It's not bad," I teased quietly, "But I'm still squished in the middle. I think you two stole all the additional space."

That just made the two of them cuddle up even closer on either side, which wasn't entirely a bad thing. Kelly gave me a kiss on my left cheek and I felt one of her hands caress along my side then across my chest.

"Hey babe?" she asked softly. "Do you remember that fable Colm told us, about the twin fae queens?"

I nodded slightly, "I remember. I'm not a big fan of that story though."

Keira kissed me on my right cheek as I felt one of her legs rub against my right leg, before she slipped it in between mine. She whispered, "Then when you met Taralynn, she said you had two souls, because you were a child of two worlds."

"Yeah," I replied, then I frowned. "Wait what? What are you two saying?"

Keira kissed me on the lips and smiled, "We were just thinking how things worked out so perfectly, like the good ending of the fable."

"We're twin fae," Kelly added, "Who both love the same beautiful woman."

When I turned to look at her, she smiled and kissed me on the lips as well.

"A beautiful woman who has two souls," Keira concluded, giving me another kiss.

I looked back and forth between the two of them. I was a little overwhelmed for a moment, then I smiled.

"I normally don't like fables and legends and fate. But this time, I guess it's worked out all right."

They both smiled back, then the three of us decided to try and break in the new bed together.

• • • • •

It was mid-afternoon on the second of January when I felt mom drive back onto the property. I met her at the door and welcomed her in, and she greeted both Kaitlyn and Elise who were there with me in the living room. The twins were busy in the office again as usual.

About three weeks had passed since I'd done some magic for Elise, and Sue was finally ready and eager for me to do it for her too. She had an overnight bag with her, and the two of us went straight upstairs to have a private chat in the master bedroom.

We talked for about ten minutes, and she filled me in on exactly what she wanted me to do for her. Beyond making her twenty-five, the sorts of changes she wanted weren't all that drastic. Certainly nowhere near as big as what I'd done for Elise.

Once I understood what she had in mind, I loaned her a bathrobe and let her get undressed. When she was ready I cast the spell and that was that. She was happy and she smiled a lot, but she wasn't giddy or bouncy or hyper like my cousin. Susan got dressed in some clothes she'd bought in advance then we went back downstairs and I introduced her.

"Elise, Kaitlyn?" I said as Sue and I came into the living-room. "This is Susan Madison Shaw."

The most obvious thing beyond her age was Sue was taller than mom had been. In fact she was an inch or two taller than the twins. She was slim, with a somewhat athletic physique. Her hair was shoulder-length, wavy, and strawberry blonde. Her eyes were sort of steel-blue, but there was a friendly sparkle to them. Her face was attractive, but there was also a hint of toughness under the surface. Like she could look delicate and pretty when she wanted, or she could come across as a strong, tough young woman when she needed to.

In some ways she actually reminded me of Captain Siobhan.

Susan was wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, nothing fancy. Something about her made me picture her in overalls and a flannel shirt though. There was a bit of a 'country' look to her now, I thought. Which was funny because she was very much a city girl. Or at least, my mom was a city girl. Maybe Susan really was a country girl at heart.

Elise and Kaitlyn both greeted her, and Sue wound up joining the two of them on the sofa to visit with them while I went into the kitchen to start making dinner for everyone. After dinner Sue volunteered to do the dishes, then roped Kaitlyn into helping her again.

I had Kaitlyn move out of the guest room and back onto the living-room sofa so Sue could have the guest bed. The kid didn't complain though. And in the morning she was back in the kitchen with Susan yet again as the pair of them made breakfast for everyone. The real surprise came after breakfast, when Kaitlyn actually volunteered to help Sue with the dishes.

We were a little busy for part of the day as I got all Sue's ID updated and made the arrangements with my 'shadow economy' contacts to get the official government records updated as well. By the time all that was done it was mid-afternoon, and she decided to stay with us one more night.

That would be it though, the following morning after breakfast she'd be setting out on her long drive east. After that we probably wouldn't see her again for some time. I had a feeling the twins would be busy with their studies until summer break. There was a chance I could go and visit sooner, if I went by myself. And of course Sue likely wouldn't be coming back this way any time soon, she'd be too busy getting herself established out there.

That evening Susan and Kaitlyn made dinner for everyone while I hung out with Elise, and afterwards the two of them did the washing-up together too. It was really kind of amazing how quickly and easily Sue took charge of the teen. Kelly and Keira took the evening off, and when Sue and Kaitlyn were done in the kitchen all six of us crowded into the living-room for a quiet evening talking and watching tv.

The next morning after breakfast, Sue sat behind the wheel of her car, engine running, all set to go. She had her window down as I stood next to her and we said our last goodbyes.

It was cold out and I was trying not to shiver. I knew I could have just said goodbye in the house, but I was a little reluctant to let her go. I still felt a bit sad I guess, about her moving so far away.

"Are you going to be ok driving all that way?" I asked. It was silly but I was fussing over her and I was worried. "Don't push yourself too hard, if you start feeling tired you stop. Find a motel or a hotel or something and sleep, don't just keep driving."

Before she could protest I added, "And stay on top of the weather reports! Don't go driving off into a blizzard or anything!"

"Yes mother," Susan smirked. She wasn't even a teen but she managed to get the sarcastic tone and expression down perfectly.

"If she gets tired I can take over," Kaitlyn suggested from the passenger seat. "We can alternate, cover twice the distance each day."

I frowned at her, "Absolutely not! You can't drive, you're too young."

The young redhead rolled her eyes, "Still five hundred and seventy-nine years old here. I've been driving since the nineteen forties, Lady Tegan. I know how to do it."

I looked at Susan, "Don't let her drive. Whether or not she knows how, she's only fifteen and she doesn't have a license."

She smiled "You don't have to remind me Tegan. She's going to be busy enough navigating for me. And don't worry, it wasn't that long ago I had another fifteen-year-old know-it-all around the house. I survived you just fine, I'll manage Katie here alright too."

"Katie?" I asked, raising an eyebrow as I looked at the redhead again.

The teen stated, "That's Kaitlyn to you. Only Maddie gets to call me Katie."

"Maddie?" I looked back at Sue. "You two already have nicknames for each other?"

She smiled, "It's called bonding, Tegan. Now enough chit-chat. We need to get moving, and you need to get back inside before you catch a cold."

I nodded "Ok Sue. You two take care. Drive safe! And stay in touch! Call me every night when you stop, so I know where you are!"

Susan smiled "Ok Tegan. You look after yourself and your girlfriends. And keep your dad out of trouble!"

Kaitlyn waved at me as the window slid shut, then Sue pulled the car out and around. I stood there in the cold as I watched them head out to the end of the driveway. They turned onto the country road and a few seconds later they were gone.

I stared for a few more moments, then finally hurried back into the house. I wound up standing right next to the wood stove for a while, letting myself warm up again.

"They'll be fine cuz," Elise smiled at me.

I turned to look at her, "Cuz? Did everyone have a meeting about new nicknames while I was out or something?"

She shrugged, "You didn't like it when I called you Teeg. And I thought the plan was to tell people we're cousins?"

"Yeah," I nodded, then moved to sit next to her on the sofa. "It's another two weeks right? I'll drive you to college and get you settled in, then I guess we'll figure out when you'll be visiting or whatever."

She watched me for a few moments then asked "How're you handling all this, Tegan?"

I could tell from her concerned tone she was back in 'dad mode' now. I sighed, "I'll be fine. It's been a few crazy weeks. I'm glad you're happy though, and I'm glad Sue's happy."

"Are you happy?" she asked.

"I'm numb," I replied truthfully. "And after you're at college I'll probably be lonely, to be honest. Kelly and Keira might be swamped with university stuff for another month or two yet, trying to catch up on everything. Having you and Kaitlyn here kept me busy, but without you both it'll probably seem too quiet."

She frowned, "Will you be ok? Do you have any hobbies or anything, something to keep you busy?"

I leaned back and stared at the ceiling for a few moments, then admitted "I've actually been thinking about trying college again. The place you're going had some courses that caught my eye. Jewelry making, goldsmithing. And the campus is only about fifty kilometers away. That's like, ten leagues? It might just be close enough for me to teleport there and back."

A wide smile formed on Elise's lips as she stared at me. "You're going to come to college with me?! Teeg that's amazing!"

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