joegoda | The Mad Wizard - A B&P adventure

At dinner Grizelda was very quiet. Bags ate heartily, roast and potatoes and baby carrots disappearing from his plate, complimented by contented sighs. Grizelda picked and pushed and played, the meat and vegetables trading places on the plate. Bags noticed, but didn't say anything. He knew it would come.

"Bags?" Grizelda began, and then stopped. Silence ensued for a while, Bags giving her a brief look, and then going back to his dinner. "Bags, do you think Pockets is all right?"

"Sure he is, Griz. Pockets is fine as a fritter. If he wasn't either you would know or I would know, right?"

Grizelda nodded, but something wasn't quite right. 'Perhaps it's the baby", thought Bags. He put down his fork and looked over at his wife. "Okay Griz. What's up? Pockets has only been gone for not quite a day. I'll start to worry about lunch tomorrow. Until then, I'm going to pretend he's perfectly fine. Do the same, all right? Or is it more than just that?"

Grizelda looked up, and her eyes were shining. "Maybe it's just the baby, Bags, I don't know. I just feel kind of lost without him here." She dropped her head and continued, "No, that's not quite right. I don't feel lost, it's just that..." She looked up and said "You know that story about where we came from, that bit about coming from the stars?"

"Yeah? What about it?" Nonchalance wasn't coming through very well, because concern showed all over Bags' lined face.

"Well..." Grizelda was hesitant. "You don't know a whole lot about my past, but my family used to talk a lot about that story. They believed it."

"I thought you didn't have a family. I thought you were sold to a brothel when you were just a kid."

"Not the family I was born into, Bags." She was speaking a bit haltingly. "This is the sort of family you find, or the sort that finds you. Like you and Pockets found me. Understand?"

Bags nodded, waving at her to go on.

"My family, before you and Pockets, tended to be... um... healers... witchy women."

"Oh." said Bags. "Okay, I can see that."

Grizelda's mouth took a while to close. "You can see that? You're ok with that?"

"Sure." Bags said. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well it's just that... Okay, most people I've met tend to look at witchy women a bit oddly. Sometimes they've been known to burn us at the stake."

"Griz, I've been healed by some of you witchy women. So has Pockets. I've seen you do a few things, yourself. Why would it be a big deal with me? Hells bells, I love you, and I've pretty much suspected you of being a witch for a long time."

"And you never said anything?" Grizelda exclaimed.

"Honey, what's the big deal?" Bags said, confused. "You're who you are, I'm who I am, and Pockets is who he is. Frankly, it would surprise me if you weren't a witch."

"Why so?" it was Grizelda's turn to be confused.

"Because, it would take a witch to put up with Pockets, and I know I'm not jewel either. It's one of the hundreds of reasons I love you."

"Awwww." Grizelda melted. "That was exactly the right thing to say, Bags." She got up, walked over to him and kissed him fully on the lips. She went back to her seat, grabbed a bite and chewed happily.

"And..." Bags asked?

Grizelda looked up from her plate and said "And? And what?"

"The story? The stars?" Bags prompted.

"Oh!" Grizelda put her fork down and said "Well, there was a story, and it also included Shockley, but in it, he was called a God, and if you called out to him, he would answer." She looked at Bags. "Well, it was just a fairy story, after all."

"Oh, I don't know, Griz." Bags said. "I think there is some merit to it."

"You do?" Grizelda said. "You? Mister Skeptic? You?"

Bags laughed. "Oh, I didn't say I believed all of it, but every legend has some basis in truth. There was probably some guy named Shockley, and he was probably quite a guy. But a God?" He shook his head. "Not likely."

Dinner continued with small talk about life, the universe, and everything, occasionally populated with tales of 'do you remember when Pockets did...' and laughter. Grizelda was standing to clear the plates when she gasped and dropped her plate.

Bags was on his feet in a moment and rushed to her side. "What is it, Griz? Pockets?"

"No!" she had the look of immense surprise on her face. "The baby just moved!"

"What?" Bags asked, panicked. "Are you all right? Is the baby all right?"

Grizelda sat, smiling and said "Of course, silly. It was just a little movement. It's the most natural thing in the world." She saw that Bags was still not completely sure. "Calm down, honey. We women have been having babies for a very long time. Baby moving just means that he's healthy."

"You sure? Is there anything I can do?" Bags asked anxiously.

"Yes. There is something you can do." Grizelda said, smiling and patting his hand.

"What? Pillow? Water? Anything, Griz. You just ask for it."

"A pillow would be nice, Bags. But I was thinking you should go to the pub and tell them the rest of your story. I'll go with you, just give me a minute. It was a bit of a surprise, after all."

"The pub? Why would I want to go to the pub tonight?" Bags asked, incredulously.

"Because, love, you need to calm down, or you're going to pop a vessel. Telling the story will take your mind somewhere else. I'll be there, okay? And I promise you, I'm perfectly all right."

"You want to go to the pub." Bags stood and scratched his head. "Well, all right, if that's what you want."

"Just give me a moment, dear." Grizelda said.

At the pub, Bags took great lengths to make sure that he stopped at ever table to tell everyone about the baby's movement. Some he told twice. Damien raised a glass and toasted to the baby's continued growth and health.

After the baby excitement died down, someone asked Bags for the rest of the story. It was a slightly different crowd, with a few faces from this afternoon. Apparently the tale of a Pockets story had circulated around the town. There were people there that had never entered the pub before.

Damien brought an ale to Grizelda, who just waved it away saying, "Not anymore, Damien. Bring me herbal tea, at least until the baby is born."

Damien nodded, knowingly and said "Smart woman. Bags, you hooked yourself a smart woman."

Bags replied "Yep and you don't know the half of it." He looked around at the anxious faces and said "However, that doesn't mean I won't take a beer." Damien left to fill the orders. "Now, where was I?"