Chapter 2

Growing up in a house full of Sorcerers hadn't been easy. It wasn't that Sean and I misbehaved, but it had been so easy for our parents to keep track of us, and what we did. At first there had been the Fairies, Emer and Fand, who watched and took care of us while our Mothers were busy. They sang and told us stories. Our sisters loved them and always obeyed them. Sean and I were boys, and we wanted to play with cars and trucks, and run around, not to sit and listen to Fairies. We weren't interested in stories about Fairies and elves. Emer and Fand left shortly after we were two years old. Our four sisters were very upset about this and blamed us for the Fairies leaving.

Our sisters were the ones who watched us next. It was difficult to evade the four of them, and they would always tell our Moms what we were doing. My brother and I always seemed to be in some kind of trouble. As an example, there was the time when we were nearly four that we managed to evade our sisters and went through the portal to our Grandmother's house. We were very quiet and played with the toys in her back parlor for several hours before she discovered us there.

"What are you boys doing here? Why are you here by yourselves?" our very shocked Grandmother asked.

"We're playing, Oma," we answered.

"Have you eaten lunch?" she asked, concerned.

"No, Oma," we answered. She took us in the kitchen and made something for us to eat while she called our parents and told them where we were. It turned out that our parents had been searching for us for some time, and Dad came to get us. We could tell right-a-way that he was very upset with us for doing this. Dad, however, was nothing compared to our Moms. They hugged us and kissed us when we returned home, but then shook us good.

"Don't you EVER do that again," they told us in very loud voices. We had never seen them so upset before. It was a good thing that our Grandmother had fed us, as we were sent to our room and didn't get any dinner that night. The next morning Sean and I were crying because we thought that our Moms didn't love us anymore, and we promised to be good from then on. That promise lasted for a few weeks, but we never again went through any of the portals without permission.

When we were nearly six, Dad let us ride on the tractor with him when he was working on the fields. We loved that and helping him work on the tractor - getting dirty and greasy. We really felt like we were big boys then. Our Moms despaired of ever getting us clean, but Dad knew just the right spell to remove all of the dirt and grease. Of course that was also the year that we seriously started Home-school. We were all Home-schooled. You just don't send little Witches and Wizards out to play with normal children. Even at six we knew some spells and could do some Magic. That was also the year that our sisters got to sleep with the 'Book of Dreams' for the first time. They were able to do a lot more Magic after that and were insufferable, or so it seemed to Sean and me at the time. That was the last year for our old MT tractor also.

The next year, when we turned seven, Dad got a newer but not a new tractor. He sold the old MT and the parts tractor to a man who was a tractor collector and restorer. Later the man sent us pictures of the restored tractor. It had been completely rebuilt and was all painted up. He had certainly spent a lot of time on it, and it really looked good. He kept it with his collection in a barn, but didn't use it other than to take it to shows and tractor pulls. We were glad that it had a good home, but sad that he didn't actually use it, as that was what it was designed for.

That was also the year that Uncle Frank and Aunt Theresa retired. They moved to the Otherworld with Brian the Druid. We have all visited them with our parents. Even though Uncle Frank had retired, when he found out that that there were no printing presses or newspapers there, he had the gnomes help him build a Gutenberg type printing press and started a newspaper. He has also started reprinting limited editions of some of the books of Magic in the Otherworld library. He is as happy as ever, and Aunt Theresa has her herb garden and makes teas and salves.

After we turned eight, Dad allowed us to help out in the printing plant between school and working in the fields. Our sisters and Moms took care of the garden and herbs.

Uncle Frank had trained Thomas Stuart on the Linotype machine and the Chandler and Price Letterset press. Sean and I loved the old C & P and would watch it for hours. Thomas eventually started teaching us how to set it up and run it when we were older. We also liked to watch the other presses, but not as much as the old C & P. People still stopped to look in the front window and watch it operate. Our sisters have gotten very good at reading backwards to check the type for errors. They also learned how to do bookbinding. We still have a couple of college students who help with that and other chores.

By the time Sean and I were fourteen, we were apprenticed to Uncle Will on the offset presses and could do a decent job. Uncle Will and Aunt Myra will be retiring in a few years, and Dad has started looking for replacements already, but most of the young people aren't familiar with the presses or plate making, and most don't have the Talent. Sean and I may wind up running the presses ourselves and our sisters may do the plate making, but Dad is planning on all of us going to college.

It was nearly two weeks before we saw the O'Neill sisters again, but Sean and I had thought about them, and dreamed about them every day in that time. It was Saturday morning, the 5th of April when they appeared in the printing plant. Sean and I were helping Thomas clean the C & P press when they came through the portal from Denver.

"Gus, Sean, those girls are here to see you," our sister Tara informed us just after 12:30 that afternoon. We both instantly looked up and saw them standing there and smiling at us. They both had on light blue blouses and dark blue skirts. Their long auburn hair was loose around their shoulders, and they looked fabulous.

"Go ahead. I'll finish up here. It's almost time to go home anyway," Thomas told us with a smile. We quickly used a spell to clean up and went to greet the sisters. Even though they were dressed identically, I didn't have any trouble picking out Annie from her sister.

"Hi!" I said, as I approached her.

"Hi," she answered shyly, but didn't hesitate to move into my arms. God, she was as soft and warm as I remembered. Annie pressed herself against me, and I leaned down and kissed her waiting lips. She still tasted like strawberries, and now smelled of lavender. Sean already had Sara wrapped around him. It was a while before we all came up for air.

"We weren't sure you would be here," Annie told me when we could talk again.

"We usually work half-a-day on Saturday and are closed on Sunday and Monday," I told her and then asked, "Is anything wrong?"

"No, we just wanted to see you again," Annie answered.

"We're glad to see you, too. We thought about you every day," I told her. The truth is we did more than think about them in private in our separate bedrooms.

"So did we!" she answered quietly with a blush.

"What do you want to do?" I asked.

"I don't know. What is there to do in Statesboro?" Annie asked, mischievously.

"Uhm ... there isn't much to do in Statesboro that doesn't involve drinking or dancing," I told her, "and besides we need to change clothes. Our Moms will be glad to see you again."

"OK, we can do that. How do we get there?" Annie asked.

"We have a portal," I told her, as I turned to look at Sean and Sara. They had started round two already.

"Time to go, Sean," I called.

"Where are we going?" he asked when he finally took his lips off of Sara's.

"To the house to change clothes and eat. After that we'll see," I told him. We went through the portal to our house and came out in the downstairs hallway. We continued on to the kitchen.

"You're early," Mother Katie said, as we came into the kitchen.

"Oh ... hello girls," she added on seeing the O'Neill sister with us. Annie and Sara had stopped to look at the kitchen in wonder. Of course we were used to it having seen it our entire lives, but others were often surprised by it.

The old oak icebox that had been converted to a storage cabinet still stood next to the large modern double-door freezer / refrigerator. There was a large new modern gas range that had replaced the older gas range some years ago, but the old wood stove still stood next to it. The cabinets, counters, and sink had been replaced with more modern ones also, but the large farmhouse worktable was still there. The old linoleum had been covered with new tile. It was a large roomy kitchen, but at canning time it got very crowded.

"Go change your clothes," Mother Margie told us, as she came into the kitchen from the garden. "We'll talk to the girls while you do that. Then you can all eat."

Sean and I headed upstairs to shower and change ... The hall bathroom had been upgraded when we were about three with more sinks and a large shower enclosure to accommodate all of us children. Sean and I changed into matching khaki slacks and light gray shirts after showering, before returning to the kitchen to eat.

"You aren't eating," Mother Margie said, as the sisters only tasted their food.

"We just had breakfast before coming here," they answered.

"Oh, yes. Denver is three hours different, isn't it?" Mother Katie asked. "Would you just like some tea?"

"Yes, that would be fine," Sara answered.

"What are you all going to do today?" Mother Margie asked.

"We don't know," I told her after swallowing. Sean and I had appropriated the sisters' uneaten food. We're growing boys after all.

"Why don't you show the girls the house and grounds and your sisters' houses, also," Mother Katie suggested.

"Yes, we can do that," Sean agreed, but had a sly look on his face. My brother can be very devious at times.

After lunch we showed the O'Neill sisters around the remainder of our house: the down stairs and then the upstairs, especially our rooms. We also showed them the various portals here and explained where they each went. They were quite impressed. We then took them over to our sisters' houses to tour them. We found our sisters at home with their boyfriends, but not in any compromising positions. They showed the O'Neill sisters their houses. Although the houses are similar, they are not the same, and each is laid out a little differently. The girls were impressed.