My boss ended up needing more than just a couple hours to figure out how to broach the subject with her wife. In fact it was another two days before Erin finally got back to me about arranging a meeting between her and Sherry and my girlfriend and I.

  After some more back and forth we agreed to make it a dinner date for Friday night. The four of us would meet somewhere nice for a good meal, so she and her wife could get to know Jenna in a rexed social setting. Then if it went well we'd probably head back to their home afterwards, so the four of us could discuss the supernatural side of things in private.

  I passed all that on to my genie girlfriend to make sure it was ok with her, but like I figured she was happy to agree with whatever pns I made.

  In the meantime Erin decided to hold off on those announcements she'd been pnning, at least until the following Monday. She still took most of the week off to be with her wife, but there was no official talk yet about her possible retirement. Or of her possibly turning the administrative duties over to me.

  Meanwhile the rest of my week was fairly busy as I picked up another couple listings, one of which was eager to have an open house that weekend. Which meant things were more than a little hectic for me for the st two days of the week, as I made all the arrangements and preparations for Saturday. It also meant I couldn't get out of the office as early as I'd pnned on Friday, so when I did finally close the pce up for the weekend I had to hurry to get myself ready for dinner.

  "You haven't forgotten about my magic right?" Jenna asked with a little smile. "I can do all that for you with just a flick of my wrist."

  I was currently rushing to get my make-up done, standing in front of my mirror in our huge patial bathroom. My girlfriend was all ready to go, in a gorgeous pink dress and with perfect make-up and a gorgeous new hair style.

  I remained focused on my mascara as I replied, "I remember love. You know I still prefer to do it myself though."

  She pouted, "I know, but we're going to be te if you take too much longer."

  "I'm sure Erin will understand," I grimaced, before moving on to my lipstick. And when that was done I added, "Luckily the restaurant isn't far, it'll only take us a few minutes to get there."

  Jenna asked, "We're not walking are we? Oh! I could get us there with magic! That'd be even faster than driving!"

  I shook my head as I hurried back to our bedroom to grab my purse and little jacket in case it got chilly tonight. My outfit was a standard little bck dress, with some low-heeled shoes that were fairly comfortable.

  Then as soon as I was ready I headed down the half-staircase and towards the front door as I responded, "We're driving. We're probably going back to Erin and Sherry's pce afterwards, remember? And I know we could get a lift with them if we walked, but then they'd have to drive us home again afterwards. Anyways I'm all set now, so let's go!"

  Sure enough it only took a few minutes to arrive, and we were less than three minutes te when we walked in through the front entrance. Erin and Sherry were already there waiting, they had a nice private booth where the four of us could talk without being too bothered by the other patrons.

  "Hello Vikki, you're looking lovely this evening. And you as well Jenna, it's nice to see you again," my boss greeted us both.

  Despite her words I could tell she still felt a little wary of my girlfriend. There may have even been a little fear in her expression and tone, like she probably wasn't that comfortable with the idea of having dinner with a powerful genie.

  Meanwhile Erin continued the introductions, "Vikki you remember my wife Sherry of course? And Sherry, you know Vikki, and this is her girlfriend Jenna."

  A couple months had passed since the st time I saw Sherry, and that was only briefly when she waved from her car while picking up Erin at the office. This was probably the first time in over a year that I'd actually seen her up close, and I could tell she wasn't doing well.

  For one thing it looked like she'd lost too much weight, and that left her looking thin and frail. I also got the impression that age had caught up to her. I knew Erin was around sixty, but my boss still had a lot of energy and vitality to her. Her wife used to as well, but tonight she just seemed like an old woman.

  Both of them had dressed up for the occasion, although not quite to the same extent as my girlfriend and I. Erin was in a nice blouse and scks, and Sherry wore some dark comfortable looking pants and a light sweater on top.

  After the introductions Jenna and I got seated, and as soon as we were comfortable a waiter was there to get our drinks orders. Erin suggested we could all share a bottle of wine, although we all asked for some water as well. My boss also requested a straw for her wife's drink, which reminded me that she said Sherry was having trouble swallowing. Then we took a few moments to look at the menus before the waiter returned with the beverages.

  The restaurant specialized in steak, which sounded good to me. I ended up getting a filet mignon with a loaded baked potato and sad on the side. Jenna opted for a small sirloin with a side of fries, and Erin got the roast beef with mashed potato. Her wife was the only one who went in a different direction, she ordered a chicken and pasta dish.

  The waiter returned once more with a basket of fresh-baked rolls and some herbed butter, then once he'd gone again we could all enjoy some wine and begin our conversation.

  Sherry actually kicked things off, and she was surprisingly direct and to the point. "So Vikki and Jenna, my wife told me some rather remarkable things earlier this week. Things I wouldn't have believed, had they come from anyone else. But I know Erin's not given to flights of fancy, and I trust her not to outright lie to me for the sake of a joke or prank."

  I obviously had a good idea what Erin had been talking to her about, but I had to ask. "What sort of things has she been telling you?"

  The older woman took a sip of her wine before replying, and I noticed the little tremor in her hand when she held her drink. I was sure Jenna saw it as well, but neither of us commented.

  After setting her gss down she responded, "Erin told me that there's real magic in the world, and that supernatural creatures exist. That beings from myths and fairy-tails even live right here in town with us."

  "And you don't believe that's true?" I asked.

  Sherry smiled, "I'm sixty-two years old Vikki, and I've lived here with Erin for almost thirty-five of those years. I've yet to see anything, in this town or anywhere else, that would make me believe in real magic. Or that creatures from myth and fairy-tales really exist."

  Jenna stayed quiet for now, but Erin finally spoke up again.

  "Like I told you the other day hon," she began, "I believe one of the reasons you don't see this sort of thing is that the kinds of supernatural beings we're talking about tend to try and keep their nature secret. They may sometimes drop hints, or occasionally you see something you're probably not supposed to. But even those clues can be easily ignored or discounted, if you're not looking for it or simply refuse to believe it's a possibility."

  My boss added, "It's only the st year or two in fact that I've seen anything overt. I'm referring to those people we sometimes see around town, with animal ears and tails."

  She looked to her wife and reminded her, "Like the waitress at that little cafe we visited on main street st week? The one with the red and white canine ears and the curly tail?"

  "Surely those people are just wearing costumes," Sherry stated. "I know people today are into that kind of thing. Anime or whatever it's called."

  My girlfriend finally spoke up to respond to that point, "There's a couple people at college like that. A cute little catgirl with grey furry ears and a tail. And a tall wolfgirl with arctic wolf ears and white tail. I don't think people like them are technically supernaturals though? I'm pretty sure they're normal humans, who've been changed by magic."

  "From what I've seen they actually can't hide their furry attributes," Jenna added. "Actual supernaturals, like werewolfs or fae for example? They're able to blend in and look human, which they do so nobody suspects what they really are."

  Sherry nodded slowly, "That's awfully convenient though, isn't it? It means there's never any proof, no way to say for certain whether these things exist or not."

  Erin argued, "I'm sure that's for their own safety. You know what people are like hon, you remember what it was like for queer people back when we first got together. It's still against the w even today, in some parts of the world. I'm quite sure supernatural beings keep their secrets so they don't end up being victims of some sort of witch hunt."

  Her wife sighed, "I won't try and argue that point. I still don't believe in magic or the supernatural though. Not without seeing some sort of incontrovertible concrete proof, with my own eyes."

  After a slight hesitation I asked, "Then why did you agree to meet with Jenna and I tonight? I apologize if this comes across as rude, but I thought we were here because my girlfriend might be able to help you."

  "It seemed like a good excuse to go out on a date with my wife," Sherry replied with a little smile. "And to catch up with the rising young real estate star that Erin's been talking about non-stop for the st few months."

  I felt my cheeks heating up, but before I could respond her expression became much more serious.

  She sighed, "To be blunt Vikki, I've reached the stage where I don't have any other options. My wife told me some fantastic stories earlier this week, and while I remain sceptical I suppose I'm desperate enough to entertain the possibility."

  My boss added quietly, "I haven't told Sherry exactly how Jenna can help, or even what she is. I felt like those were her secrets to share, not mine. I've told her what I know about the supernatural in general, and that you believe your girlfriend can work miracles."

  "Thanks Erin," I replied. Then I looked to Jenna and asked, "What do you think love? Are you comfortable talking about this here? Or do you want to wait until after dinner?"

  My genie had a thoughtful look on her face as she contempted the bread roll she was holding. She didn't seem to be eating it though, she was just sort of fidgeting with it and turning it around in her hands.

  After another few seconds she finally looked across the table to Sherry and said quietly, "I'm a genie. Like in the stories, Vikki released me from my prison so I granted her some wishes. Except instead of using those wishes for herself, she freed me. We became friends after that, then girlfriends."

  "That's how we can help you," my girlfriend continued. "Vikki could wish for it herself and I'd do it. Or she can sort of loan me to you two for a bit? Then you could have some wishes of your own."

  Sherry frowned, "That's a fascinating story, simir to the ones Erin's been sharing with me tely. I still can't bring myself to believe it though."

  "Right. You said earlier you wanted concrete proof," Jenna responded. Then she reached out and set the roll down on the table with an audible clunk and asked, "Is this solid enough evidence for you?"

  Sure enough instead of a warm fresh-baked roll it was now a fist-sized chunk of dense grey rock-like material. And both Sherry and Erin stared at it in wide-eyed shock.

  After a couple seconds Sherry half-mumbled, "How did you do that?"

  "It's just magic," my girlfriend replied with a shrug. "I turned the roll to stone."

  The older women both looked like they had more questions, but before either of them could ask our waiter turned up with the food. He seemed a little confused to see the roll-shaped lump of rock on the table, but he didn't ask. Instead he set down all the ptes, then topped up the water gsses and asked if anyone wanted more wine.

  My boss and her wife were both still shocked by Jenna's little magical demonstration, but for now we all just focused on our meals. That's when I got another reminder of Sherry's condition. She managed ok with her pasta dish, although it looked like she had to really concentrate on what she was doing.

  In fact I got the distinct impression that she simply wouldn't have been able to manage if she'd ordered a steak. Even if her wife cut it up for her, she might not have been able to chew and swallow it safely. It was a bit of an eye-opener for me, and definitely drove home the real reason Jenna and I were there.

  While I was watching Sherry she was still stealing gnces at the petrified bread roll. So was Erin, for that matter. And when they weren't regarding that, they were looking at my girlfriend. Or each other.

  Eventually Sherry seemed like she'd had enough to eat, although she'd barely made a dent in her meal. She set down her fork and took a deep breath then stated softly, "Jenna, Vikki, I apologize if my earlier scepticism was off-putting. You've convinced me, and now... If you truly believe you can help me, then I'd be extremely grateful."

  My girlfriend nodded, "I'm sure we can help you ma'am."

  Before I could add anything to that Jenna leaned closer to me. Then she whispered softly in my ear, "Normally I'd suggest making your wishes as specific as possible, so there's no room for error. But in this case, the more vague you are the more leeway you'll give me to help them. Like you did with Sophie Kovalenko."

  "I understand," I nodded slowly. Then after giving her a quick kiss I responded, "I wish we could do something to help Sherry and Erin."

  Jenna smiled brightly, "Granted of course!"

  PurpleCatGirl