Wendy waited for Charlotte and Kristin to take seats before sitting down in the Denny's booth. Andrea, Charles, and Miss Newman were on the opposite side of the table. Miss Newman had stressed they shouldn't stop for long, but they all needed a proper meal in them. Charles had raised an eyebrow when she had directed them to the non-smoking section. She hadn't gotten around to telling him about her possible future diagnosis or the news that all the girls had picked up the habit as teens, and despite Miss Newman saying she didn't expect her to stop cold turkey, she was making a concerted effort not to light up. There were bigger things to worry about. She could discuss it with him later.
The motel had been kind enough to refund them the fee for the second night, even though they had canceled it after check-out time. They didn't have the money to spare to splurge on hotel rooms or eat out, and somewhere in the back of her mind, she worried about how they were going to pay the power bill and phone bill with these extra expenses. However, it was only a trace thought, something to worry about another day. Utility bills paled in comparison with the safety of her daughters.
The waitress came over to them with a smile, laying out menus. "Welcome to Denny's, home of the grand slam breakfast. I'm Cathy and will be your server today. Can I start you folks off with some drinks?"
Wendy nodded as she started looking at the menus. "Two coffees, three glasses of milk, and whatever Miss Newman wants."
"Do you have sweet tea?" Miss Newman asked the waitress. The waitress nodded. "Sweet tea then."
"Can I have sweet tea instead of milk?" Charlotte asked.
Wendy grimaced. "Baby, you've never had sweet tea before. You might not like it."
"I want sweet tea," Charlotte insisted.
Wendy sighed. "Make that only two milks, two coffees, and two sweet teas. Can you add a glass of water too? Just in case she decides not to drink the tea?"
The waitress laughed. "I'll just switch it out for some apple juice if that turns out to be the case. They are similarly priced. I've got experience with kids ordering drinks they won't drink."
"Thank you," Wendy replied gratefully. She noted she needed to make sure to leave a good tip.
The waitress walked off to get their drinks, and they all studied their menus.
"Do I have to order off of the kid's menu?" Andrea asked.
"What are you wanting to order?" Charles asked.
"The all-American burger and fries," Andrea said, pointing at the picture on the menu.
Charles looked at it and considered. "That seems a little big. Are you sure you can eat all that?"
Andrea nodded. "I'm sure."
"You won't get whatever toy or activity comes with the kids' meal if you get that," Charles reminded her.
"That's okay," Andrea said with a shrug.
Kristin looked worried as she looked over the menu, and Wendy looked over to her. "Something wrong, Kristin?"
"Am I going to get sick like Miss Newman if I eat meat?" Kristin asked.
"No, you shouldn't have any changes in your diet due to your experience," Miss Newman answered quickly. "Order what you'd normally want."
The girl still looked a little anxious. "I want the kids' cheeseburger."
Wendy smiled, hoping that Kristin wouldn't make herself sick worrying about it. She then glanced over at Charlotte. "Kids' cheeseburger for you too?"
Charlotte looked at Miss Newman. "What are you getting?"
Miss Newman frowned. "Scrambled eggs and hash browns, and you shouldn't copy me because I know for a fact you don't like scrambled eggs."
Charlotte frowned in disgust. "Why are you eating eggs? You don't like eggs. Eggs are yucky!"
"Correction, you don't like eggs," Miss Newman replied. "My tastes have gone through at least three significant shifts over time, so I do like eggs. I know you'll pick at them and refuse to eat if you order them. Get your cheeseburger, child. You need to eat, not waste your parents' money."
Charlotte pouted. "But I want to be like you."
Miss Newman raised a finger but caught herself and swallowed whatever it was she was going to say. She took a deep breath and seemed to force herself to relax. The woman then reached over and grabbed a pencil and a napkin, unfolded the napkin, and began writing on it. Wendy tried reading what she was writing, but it made little sense to her. There were odd symbols that seemed to overlap one another and what looked like algebra or calculus equations. She was very rapidly filling the entire napkin with it.
The woman spent about thirty seconds scribbling then placed the napkin in front of Charlotte. "Do you see that?"
Charlotte gave the napkin a confused look. "It's a bunch of weird numbers and stuff."
"That is a written representation of what I did when I gave those guys a flat tire," Miss Newman explained. "There's some advanced math involved, math that you don't know yet. You want to learn to do the things I do? It takes a lot of work to be truly great. Start with doing well in school and learning your math."
Charlotte stared at the napkin as if that would better help her comprehend what was written on it.
Wendy questioned in her head whether it was wise to have that written down where someone could find it, but then reminded herself that there wasn't anyone who could do anything with it or even understand what they were looking at. She certainly didn't. Some of that was math, but a good deal of it was those odd shapes overlapping. She was sure that anyone looking at it would only believe it to be random scribbles.
The waitress returned with their drinks, and Wendy waited to see how Charlotte would react to the sweet tea.
The girl sniffed at it and wrinkled up her nose, hardly the most encouraging sign that she would end up drinking it. She didn't have much experience with drinks beyond milk, water, juice, and kool-aid. Soda was rarely purchased in their household, so Charlotte didn't even normally drink that. Tea, like coffee, tended to be an acquired taste. She also read in a Reader's Digest that sweet tea had more caffeine than a can of soda, although less than a cup of coffee. Given Charlotte's small size, they might just be handing her the equivalent of an espresso. Maybe she should hope Charlotte didn't want to drink it after trying it.
Charlotte took a sip, and her face scrunched up. "It tastes weird. It doesn't taste normal."
Miss Newman grit the back of her teeth. "Saying something isn't normal implies being wrong or bad. Trying to avoid classifying things as normal or not normal, lest you start stigmatizing things you should not."
"I don't know what that word means, stigmatizing," Charlotte replied.
"You are implying something should be disapproved of. That is what stigmatizing means," Miss Newman answered. "I did it far too much when I was younger; to myself and others. You shouldn't try to be like me; you should try to be better. Don't cast judgment by saying things aren't normal." She then took a sip of her tea, and her eyes bulged before spitting it back into her glass. "Okay, you win this round, child. These people don't know how to brew proper sweet tea. Good Lord!"
Charlotte smiled and pushed her glass away. "Good Lord!"
Miss Newman glared at her then shook her head. "I guess I'll get a coffee instead."
"No, you can't have coffee," Wendy informed Charlotte before the question could be raised.
Charlotte pouted again.
The waitress returned. The drinks were replaced with plenty of apologies about the quality of the tea, and orders were placed. They sat in silence while they awaited their food. It was hard to talk about much while out in public, and Wendy was thankful that the girls had the good sense not to say anything that would earn them looks from people within earshot. When the food arrived, everyone ate in silence for at least two minutes before anyone dared speak.
Wendy cleared her throat as she poked at her eggs. "I was thinking we could loop around Nebraska and head back home."
Miss Newman raised an eyebrow at her. "Well, that isn't what they'd anticipate me doing, so I suppose that could work. It still would leave us with the issue of my landlord's friends."
"We can lie and say we dropped you off here, and we were only doing you a favor driving you here since your house burnt down, but we didn't know you that well. We can claim you paid us or something," Wendy suggested. "You just have to keep out of sight."
The older woman grimaced. "I'm not sure I'm happy with this plan, but we'll go with it. Perhaps I can supply you with lottery numbers that they could steal off you. That might satisfy them."
"Heh, maybe we'll get lucky and not need to go that far," Charles laughed.
"You winning the lottery would ensure they won't leave you in peace," Miss Newman said dryly. "The numbers are to be stolen, not used."
Charles frowned. "Well, that sucks."
"Being dead sucks more," Miss Newman replied and took another bite of her eggs. She finished chewing and swallowed before continuing. "Money came and went and came again for me. I'd trade it all to bring back those I lost along the way."
"Do you make lots of money being a mage?" Charlotte asked.
"I don't ever get paid for that, just get drafted into projects by the government or other powerful people that order me to do something or by people that guilt trip me into helping. I make all my income off of political consultant work and book deals. Primarily the book deals; the consultant work barely pays a living wage in my case. Pay attention to your grammar and writing lessons, kid," Miss Newman answered.
"The government doesn't pay you for your work?" Wendy asked. "That doesn't seem right."
Miss Newman shrugged. "They pay me in a different coin. I get a lot of favors, and they stay off my back. Do you know how much trouble anyone but me would get into for using the methods I did to get here— or even coming here? I'm going to probably get off with a slap on the wrist and have to make a special promise not to do it anymore or teach anyone how to do it. I'm such a hypocrite. I write about the misuse of power and need for oversight; then I make dangerous things with no such oversight."
Wendy shook her head. "Special promise, seriously?"
"A very special promise, one that I can't break. My daughter would administer it, and it is beyond anyone's power to break such promises. You surrender your free will regarding the matter. It's one of the reasons they're feared and hated more than me," Miss Newman explained. "Some criminals choose to avoid jail time by agreeing to such contracts to say they won't break whatever law they broke again, although the choice to sign such a contract is always up to them. There is nothing as binding as one of those contracts, and no one can force you to agree to one."
"But you agree," Wendy replied.
"I always end up agreeing," Miss Newman said with a nod. "It's for the best. People can't coerce me into giving information because of them. I really should start proactively making such agreements."
Wendy wanted to ask why the woman spent time designing spells she didn't ever want anyone to use, but they were already saying too much in public. She also wanted to know what Miss Newman's daughter got out of making these people sign these contracts. It was magic of some sort, scary magic that overrode free will. It sounded like making a deal with the devil. She could understand the distrust people must feel. Miss Newman had said her daughter was more important than her; being in control of unbreakable contracts seemed extremely important.
"Your daughter sounds intimidating," Charles remarked.
Miss Newman chuckled, then quietly recited what sounded like a children's song.
"#There is no place that you can hide,
#The Wardens are already inside,
#Fiery Rage crying for loved ones lost,
#The Sea knows who you love the most,
#Be glad that Death is dead,
#As you face the monster beneath your bed,
#Know the rules you cannot break,
#Because everyone must sleep before they wake."
"A simple rhyme meant to scare both children and adults. I don't think my daughter entirely disapproves of being referred to as the monster under your bed, but that verse refers to her specifically," Miss Newman explained.
"Isn't there anything pleasant where you come from?" Wendy groaned.
"Everywhere has its good and its bad. My children and grandchildren would be miserable here, cut off from their technology and so many other things they are familiar with," Miss Newman answered. "Finish your food. We are still in the direction they are searching, and they can still chance upon us."