YOU'RE ALL MINE - ch 27

YOU’RE ALL MINE - ch 27

(the magic of Midnight)

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Mia’s phone hardly rung when she answered and said, “Mom, Dad, it’s Mr. O’Malley’s pharmacy, not their house.”

Brian shook his head, “Morena, how does she do that?”

“Mia, thanks, honey, that’s why I was calling. I’ll let you know what’s happening as soon as we can.”

“Brian, I’ve stopped asking that question a long time ago. And between the talisman Finola gave her and the bracelet Francis gave her, it appears that her intuition has only doubled, if not escalated off the charts.”

Brian stepped a little harder on the accelerator and soon they were in town nearing the pharmacy. “Morena, look, there it is.”

“Well, it doesn’t look too bad. The fire department has done a wonderful job in getting it under control. Oh, there’s Francis. Let’s see how he is and find out if his dad is alright.”

Brian almost ran the short distance to where Francis was standing. “Francis, son, are you alright? What happened? Is there anything we can do? How’s your dad?”

Francis looked away from the charred store front. “Hi, Mr. Diehl. Some mess, huh? Guess Mia knew before anyone. The fire chief said that it was Mia who called it in. Don’t know how she did that so quickly but if it weren’t for her, we’d have had a bigger problem. Dad’s ok. He’s in the back of the store making sure his inventory is still ok. He keeps the heavy mediations in the safe in the back room but it’s the smaller items like aspirin, joint braces, toothpaste, things like that, that he needs to check. So far it seems like the damage was only to the front wall, but we won’t know for sure until the Fire Marshall makes his inspection.”

Morena placed a gentle hand on Francis’ shoulder. “Francis, do you have any idea how this happened? We’re just so glad you and your dad are okay but was there anyone in the store? And a side question, how’s your arm?”

The boy smiled weakly. “Thankfully, there was no one in the store, Dad and I had just locked the door to head for home. We must have been about ten feet, maybe a little less from the shop when we heard a pop then a boom! The blast knocked us down but we’re more stunned than hurt. Well, my arm feels a little sorer than before, but well, I did get thrown to the ground, but I’ll be fine. Guess I’m still amazed that Mia knew immediately.”

Brian, with his hands in his pockets, said, “Francis, it’s the bracelet you gave her. It heightened her foresight. She’s gotten a bit scary with what she knows and when. Do you think it would be ok if I went in the back and tried to help your dad?”

Francis’ smile grew a bit as he said, “Mr. Diehl, I really think he’d like that.”

As he began walking away, he heard one of the firefighters shout, “Men, blaze. Let’s go! Sounds like a big one.” The driver asked, “Cap, destination?” The captain shouted as he hopped on the back of the truck, “The Dwyer Distillery. Full blaze. Let’s move.”

"Where's that?" the driver asked. "That's the new name for the MacNamara Brewing Company. Let's go!"

Morena looked at Brian and whispered, Uh oh. Go talk to Walter, then we’d better get home and tell Mia – that is if she doesn’t already know.”

Walter O’Malley, with laptop in hand, walked through the pharmacy and checked his inventory. “Walter,” Brian called out, “Is there anything we can do? Are you alright?”

“Ah, Brian, my friend. Surprisingly enough, the only damage done was to the front of the store. It’s almost as if a hand swept it away before it spread inside. ‘Tis a blessing, and we have Mia to thank for that. Francis told us he’d given her the Crown Chakra bracelet, and well, I just put two and two together. She’s a very special young lady.”

Brian smiled, “Walter, you can think of complimenting my daughter when you have this mess to clean? Where’s your shovel? I’ll help you clean.”

“No, my friend. Go be with your family. We’re fine. We’ve many family members to help us board up this wall. But, if you’re free tomorrow, maybe we can meet at Mickey’s for a pint.”

Brian smiled, “That would be great. I have appointments that will keep me busy until after lunch, so how about three?”

“Sounds good to me, laddie. Go on now. Here comes my brothers and cousin.”

Brian and Morena drove to Finola’s house where Mia was sitting next to her great-aunt, tears streaming down her face. “Aintin, what have I done? Aintin, I didn’t mean it.”

Morena’s heart cracked as she walked across the floor to where her daughter sat and heard, “Mia, mo mhuirnin (my darling), mo chailin daor (my dear girl), it wasn’t you. You didn’t spell Tim to do anything he hadn’t already done. You didn’t create his mean streak. You didn’t push him to cause harm. That’s all on him. All you did was protect your family and friends. Think, mo bhinneas (my sweetness), if you hadn’t protected Francis and his family, that fire might have burned his store to the ground and even more possible, with Francis and his father inside. Come here, lovey, dry your tears. You’ve don’t nothing wrong.”

Brian and Morena knelt beside Mia and agreed with Finola. “Aintin is right, my love,” Brian said, “Tim did this to himself, and his family and we all thank God he didn’t hurt us. Tomorrow, we’ll go and find out if the family is unharmed. Meanwhile, Midnight is crying along with you. Comfort your familiar and she’ll comfort you.”

Morena stood and asked, “Finola, is it alright if I pour all of us a glass of wine?”

Finola smiled, “Ah, my lovlie, Hennessey for the adults but I think under the circumstances, Mia should be allowed a small glass of white wine. Am I wrong?”

Even Mia laughed a bit as her parents agreed.