“Maybe we should go to the waiting room at this point,” Morgaine said. “I have a feeling it won’t be much longer before she delivers.” She winked at Sly.
The nurse looked over at Morgaine. “Are you a nurse or a midwife?”
“I took some classes in midwifery.”
Merry was about to explain that Morgaine was her father’s girlfriend, but another contraction hit, and it seemed superfluous.
Jason paused. “Are you all right, honey?”
“Will be. Keep rubbing,” she said.
Jason returned to his task.
Sly reluctantly let go of her hand. “Good luck, sweetheart. Jason, be sure to let us know how she’s doing as soon as you can.”
“Will do.” He reached over her and shook Sly’s hand.
Morgaine closed her eyes briefly and murmured something just under her breath. When she opened them, she must have noticed a puzzled look on their faces.
“Just offering a prayer for the best possible outcome,” she said.
“Why? Is anything wrong,” Jason asked.
Morgaine quickly interjected, “No! Nothing at all. I just figured it wouldn’t hurt.”
Merry smiled at her. “That’s perfectly fine. In fact, all prayers and good wishes will be gratefully accepted.”
Sly walked Morgaine to the waiting room. A couple of other people were there, reading, so he whispered to her. “Did you really say a prayer or were you doing a spell?”
“They’re pretty much the same thing.”
He took a seat, even though he felt more like pacing. Morgaine settled into the chair next to him.
Keeping his voice low, he continued. “You are so talented in magic. I imagine you could make good money at that alone, if you wanted to.”
“What are you saying?”
“I just think you could let Gwyneth take over the phone sex business and you could become a full-time witch. You know...doing spells for people like you did for Mikhail.”
“First of all, witches aren’t supposed to sell their magic. We can charge money for tarot, palm, or tea leaf readings, but when it comes to spells, we have to be asked. We can trade favors as I did with Mikhail.” Her voice took on a slightly hissed, higher pitch as she whispered. “Why do you think there are no signs that say, ‘Spells R Us’? Magic is not to be used lightly, and it’s definitely not for fools. If you don’t know who you’re helping and what they’re up to, it can be very dangerous.”
The other people in the waiting room looked up from their magazines.
“Hey, what’s the matter? I was giving you a compliment,” Sly said.
She folded her arms and huffed. “I suppose.”
“Then why are you pouting?”
“I’m not pouting.”
There was that raised whisper again. Something was bothering her.
“Morgaine, if you have something to say, just say it.”
“I could say the same to you,” she snapped.
“Shhh...” He looked over at the other visitors, but they continued reading, hopefully tuning them out. “Excuse me?”
