I waited patiently while my clients reviewed the test offer. We'd already had two rounds back and forth negotiating a few sticking points with the prospective buyer, but the st email I received from their agent suggested this was the best we were going to get.

  After another minute or so Mr. Roslovic looked up at me and asked, "What do you think Miss Lawrence? Should we take it?"

  I gave him and his wife an apologetic look, "It's really not my pce to tell you whether or not you should accept it. I do think it's a good offer though."

  Then his wife asked me, "Do you think the buyer would be willing to give us a bit more leeway on the closing date?"

  "Probably not," I shook my head. "Mind you I've only met her once, and that was back at the open house? But speaking with her agent, I don't think she's willing to budge any further on the details."

  Thinking about the buyer made me suppress a little shudder. I wouldn't say it, but the woman gave me the creeps. Outwardly she looked like a moderately attractive thirty-something blue-eyed redhead, but there was just something about her that I found off-putting.

  For one thing she had a demanding attitude that gave the impression she thought she was better or more important than anyone else in the room. I had no idea what she did for a living, but she was dressed in a retro style. Sort of like a business woman might have looked back in the seventies or eighties, as though her fashion sense was at least forty or fifty years out of date.

  The really creepy thing though was when she shook my hand. Her skin felt cold enough to leave me wondering if there was something seriously wrong with her. Between that and her pale complexion I might have thought she was actually a vampire, except she was out during the daytime. Then again, I had no idea if those myths about vampires bursting into fmes or crumbling to dust in sunlight were true. Perhaps her rge sungsses, wide-brimmed hat, and long-sleeve blouse were enough to protect her.

  While I had some suspicions about the buyer, the sellers were the por opposite. They were an older couple who were all smiles and friendliness and warmth.

  Mr. Roslovic was in his mid-sixties, while his wife was in her te fifties. Isaac had short greying hair, a kind smile, and was dressed in well-worn scks and an old threadbare cardigan. His wife Mary's hair was a very pale gold, and in her pretty pale pink sweater and wool skirt she came across as a friendly doting aunt or kindly neighbour.

  Their home was a converted farmhouse that sat on a couple acres, just off one of the main regional roads a few kilometres outside of town. It was a nice-looking pce and definitely had a cosy homey feel to it, but the ndscaping required a lot of maintenance in the summer and snow was always an issue during the winter. Both of those things were becoming a problem now that the two were getting on in years. According to Isaac he took early retirement from his job at the hospital st year, and now they were ready to move on.

  "I don't suppose there's been any other buyers interested?" Mrs. Roslovic asked after another couple seconds.

  I shook my head, "A few inquiries, but nothing serious I'm afraid."

  There was more I could have said, but I warned them from the start their asking price was too high. The house looked nice but it needed work. And while the nd and the location seemed good they were on the wrong side of the county line, in an area where the zoning ws were a lot more strict. That ruled out rich folks buying the pce so they could tear down the building and put up a McMansion. Or developers carving the property up into a half-dozen tiny lots.

  "I'll be honest," I added after a slight pause, "I have a feeling this is probably the best offer you're going to get, in the timeframe you're looking for. I'm sure you both recall the conversations we had prior to setting up the listing?"

  They nodded, then after another little pause Mr. Roslovic took out his pen. He and his wife exchanged a few quiet words, and in that moment I was touched by much they obviously loved each other. I had no idea how long they'd been together, but knowing that even after so many years they were still very much in love left me feeling happy.

  In the end they both agreed to accept the offer. The paperwork was signed, and I shook their hands before gathering up my folio and everything. I bid them a good day and a good weekend, then finally headed out to my Jeep.

  It was about half past three Friday afternoon when I pulled into my parking spot behind the office, alongside Erin's SUV. Jason's pickup was absent, but I assumed he was out meeting with a client. The days of him disappearing after lunch or taking Fridays off were long past. On the other hand it was te enough in the day I was almost tempted to just head home myself and leave the paperwork for Monday morning. In fact I figured there was a fifty-fifty chance my boss would tease me for coming back to work rather than going straight home.

  "Hello Erin," I greeted my boss as I moved past her office.

  "Hi Vikki!" she called back. "How'd it go?"

  After leaving my purse and folio on my desk I returned to her office doorway, but before I could respond I noticed the stressed and weary expression on her face.

  "Is everything ok?" I asked her. "You look like you could use another vacation."

  She waved my concerns aside, "I'm fine hon. How was your meeting, did they accept the offer?"

  I was still a bit concerned, but if there was something up it was none of my business. So I nodded, "Yeah they did. Now I just need to let the buyer's agent know, so we can get the rest of the process underway."

  Erin smiled, "Congratutions on another sale."

  "I'll let you take care of that now," she added, "But you could come and see me when you have some time? There's a few things I need to speak with you about."

  That left me worried again, but rather than ask I just nodded. "Sure thing. I shouldn't be too long."

  My boss just gave me another smile before her attention returned to her computer, while I headed back to my desk to finish up the paperwork on the Roslovic sale. That took less than half an hour, then I was back at my boss's door again to see what she wanted.

  "Come in Vikki, have a seat," she said.

  "All right," I replied as I moved to one of the guest chairs in front of her. Then I asked, "Where's Jason this afternoon? Did he have a showing or something?"

  Erin shook her head, "I told him to take the afternoon off. Partially to reward him for working as hard as he's been tely, but also to ensure you and I could talk in private."

  That second point left me worried again. I tried not to look or sound too anxious though as I responded, "That sounds serious. Is there something wrong?"

  She gave me an apologetic look and shook her head, "Nothing you've done wrong hon, I promise."

  I couldn't help noting that she didn't say nothing was wrong, only that whatever it was wasn't my fault. That only added to my concern, as I waited for Erin to expin what was on her mind.

  After a brief pause she asked, "Would you be open to continuing your education a little further? Not another full-time course, but perhaps evening csses? Or online studies?"

  Her question caught me off-guard and left my eyebrows raised in surprise. Of all the things I'd been expecting her to say that definitely wasn't on the list.

  "I don't really know how to answer that yet," I replied. "What sort of csses?"

  Erin grimaced, "Sorry Vikki, I probably should have led with that. I'm thinking about a business management course, something that would focus on the ins and outs of running a small business. Such as handling finances, managing taxes and payroll deductions, handling government permits and licenses, that sort of thing."

  She continued with a sigh, "I know a few months ago I said it would probably be another five to ten years before I expected you to take over the agency Vikki, but I'm afraid that was some wishful thinking on my part. It's looking like I may be turning things over to you much sooner than I originally pnned."

  By that point I had a cold heavy feeling in my stomach. I asked softly, "Is it your health? That's why you've been taking all those random days off, isn't it? You've been seeing doctors, or specialists or something?"

  "Not quite hon," she sighed and slowly shook her head. Then she admitted, "It's Sherry. I'll spare you the details, but after a long battle things are starting to get worse. Yes, some of those random days off have been to accompany her to various appointments. But other times I've just gone home to be with her."

  With another sigh she added, "That's why I'm hoping you'll be able to take charge of things here much sooner than we originally pnned. I'm sure you can understand, I'd rather spend as much time with my wife as possible, rather than be in here worrying about the business."

  It took me another second or two to find the words, "Erin I'm so sorry. Of course I'll be happy to do whatever it takes."

  "You're not pnning on waiting for me to complete another course before you step down though, are you?" I asked.

  She shook her head, "I wanted to talk with you before making any decisions or announcements. But I think starting on Monday I'll be cutting back to one day a week, to take care of the finances and the management. I'll be turning over everything else to yourself and Jason."

  "I'll also be avaible by text or email if anything comes up when I'm not around," she added. "At least until you're ready to take over the management side of things as well."

  I gave her a sad look, "Couldn't we hire a bookkeeper or something in the meantime, to handle the finances and stuff like that? That way you wouldn't have to spend any time away from Sherry at all."

  "Not really," Erin shook her head again. "We could hire someone to do those tasks, but that would mean bringing in an outsider who doesn't know you or Jason or myself, and doesn't know the business or how we do things here. Then either that person would require management and oversight, or we'd be trusting a stranger to look after the money. I wouldn't feel comfortable doing that Vikki."

  That made me grimace, "I didn't think of it, but when you put it like that it's pretty obvious. I wouldn't trust a stranger with your business either. Sorry Erin."

  "It's fine hon. I know you're trying to help," she replied.

  "I do want to help," I agreed. "I just wish I could do more -"

  My voice cut out when I realized I'd just said the W word again. Even though Jenna was nowhere near the office I wouldn't be surprised if she was able to hear me making a wish from halfway around the world. Except those thoughts were instantly forgotten as something even more important suddenly occurred to me. I might not be able to help Erin and Sherry directly, but my genie girlfriend could.

  Before I even opened my mouth my boss gave me a firm look and slowly shook her head. "You know how I feel about the supernatural Vikki. I don't want to get involved in anything unnatural, and I certainly don't want to drag my wife into that sort of thing either."

  "But Jenna can help," I protested. "I'm sure of it! And she's not like you hear about in stories or movies Erin, she's not cruel or evil or scheming. She's a sweetheart and a romantic, and I happen to know she's got a massive soft-spot for queer people."

  Erin looked like she was going to argue so I continued, "It wouldn't cost either you or your wife anything. I can guarantee that. I know I still have a couple wishes left, and I can use one of them to help Sherry."

  "I don't want my wife exposed to the supernatural Vikki. And that's final," she stated.

  I wasn't ready to give up though, "So we can do it without telling her it's magic. She probably wouldn't even have to meet Jenna, I'm sure the magic can be done remotely."

  "At least think it over Erin?" I added when it looked like she was going to refuse again. "I know you and your wife have been through a lot. You told me how many years you had to wait just to get married, because it took that long for the ws to change. You two have both been so good to me, I want to do something for you. Please? At least sleep on it. Take the weekend and think it over."

  She watched me for another few seconds before finally sighing, "All right Vikki. I'll consider it. But please don't do anything on my or Sherry's behalf unless or until I ask, alright? Promise me that?"

  "Only if you promise you'll put your prejudices aside and seriously consider it," I countered.

  Erin hesitated before slowly nodding, "Alright."

  "Now why don't you pack up and head home?" she added with a sad smile. "I'm going to do the same."

  "Sounds like a good idea," I replied with a weak smile of my own.

  It didn't take long for both of us to gather up our things. I locked the front door and turned out the lights, then headed out the back with Erin. Then before we both got into our cars I surprised her with a quick hug.

  "I'm sorry things have been so hard for you and Sherry," I told her, "And I'm sorry your wife is struggling. I really hope you'll let Jenna and I help."

  Erin seemed awkward for a moment before returning the hug, "Thank you Vikki."

  With that we parted ways. She got in her luxury SUV while I climbed into my Jeep, then we both set off in opposite directions.

  Only a few minutes ter I was at the house, and the front door was unlocked which meant my girlfriend was already home from school. Which was good because I couldn't wait to talk with her about the situation at work. I wanted to make sure she'd be able to help if Erin asked, and that she could do it without Sherry having to find out about magic or the supernatural.

  "Hi Jenna I'm home!" I called out as I closed the door behind me.

  A moment ter she shouted up from the basement, "Hi Vikki! We're down in the games room!"

  That caught me off-guard and I found myself frowning as I quietly asked myself, "We have a games room?"

  Then my eyebrows crept up as I added, "And who's 'we'?"

  PurpleCatGirl