~

 

Ashley shot up in bed like a vampire rising from its coffin as the sound of the air horn blasted through the cottage. Her heart was doing its best to escape her ribs as she held still, frozen in place in the semi-darkness of the room, and tried to get her brain to work after too much wine.

Not that she thought it was possible that you could ever have too much wine or chocolate, but too little sleep was a definite problem considering her housemates.

“What in the name of the Crone is going on?” Nancy yelled as she raced down the hallway, shot a quizzical scowl in at Ashley, who managed to blink twice, and practically rugby tackled the air horn out of Eliza's hand.

“Thank anyone’s God,” Ashley dropped back on the softness of her pillow and groaned in annoyance at the ringing in her ears and the pounding in her brain.

“Are you insane?” Nancy’s voice reached her ears, and she groaned once more, snatched the pillow from beneath her head and tried her best to suffocate herself with it as she held it over her face.

Not being able to breathe was somewhat preferable to listening to her housemates going at it one more time. Especially, in her delicate condition.

“Thus starts the first argument for the day…” she groaned into the pillow and choked on dust bunnies or something equally nasty and yanked the pillow back down. Breathing was definitely a lot better than suffocating, but her sore head didn’t appreciate the argument playing outside her door.

“Not that I noticed, but you never can tell,” Eliza offered back in a voice that sounded way too bright and breezy for the time of day when it wasn’t at all bright, although the wind was howling something fierce outside the window, so she guessed she had the breezy part covered.

“I can tell!” Nancy snapped back. “You’re bloomin’ well looney tunes. Who does that? Who lets off an air horn at stupid-o’clock in the morning?”

“Somebody who wants to get other people’s attention?” Eliza offered back with a grin that stretched too wide, was too gleeful, and was way too teasing for its own good.

Nancy zapped her with a jolt of magic that made Eliza squeal.

“Congratulations, you got my bloomin’ attention. Happy now?” Nancy scowled.

“Not so much,” Eliza scowled back.

Ashley could hear what she’d already known would be the case when that air horn-brain rattling sound had launched her awake. Her friends were in standoff mode again.

Stand-off mode usually escalated to zapping mode — which led to squealing mode — which led to all hell breaking loose mode — and if Ashley wanted to get any more sleep and wake up at a decent hour, then she knew that she was going to have to intervene. She groaned again.

“Keep it down — you already woke the dead,” Ashley called out into the darkness.

“Not the way I would describe you — but okay,” Eliza said as she appeared at the doorway, and Ashley pried open one eye and noted her friend surrounded by the glow of the hallway light. Eliza was definitely no angel.

“Go to bed, it’s obscenely early, or stupidly late, I haven’t looked at the clock yet to decide which one, and if I do look then I’m more than likely to kill you myself,” Ashley groaned.

“Can’t — we’ll be late,” Eliza informed her.

Ashley’s brain was still on slow mode, and she had no idea what her friend was talking about, and better yet, she couldn’t even try to make a reasonable guess of it and to top it all off, she didn’t much care.

“For what?” Ashley hated to ask, but damn curiosity always got the better of her. She considered it a personal failing. Besides, if she didn’t ask then the personal torture might never end.

Eliza was always full of schemes and plans, and none of them usually ended well. But, she knew that it was still better to be forewarned about those things than to walk blindly into them.

After all, when push came to shove, then she would like time to bend over and kiss her backside goodbye.

“Christmas!” Eliza announced as if it was a new concept that she’d just invented. Ashley groaned.

“Newsflash — we’re witches — we don’t do Christmas. Besides, it’s practically over.” Nancy had said it as if it was a dirty word as she joined Eliza at Ashley’s door and peered in at Ashley.

“What she said,” Ashley agreed with a sigh.

Now that both witches were in her room she felt the promise of sleep getting even further away from her. She just wanted to go back to the drink induced sleep where she been dreaming about the hot, hunky guy with abs like steel, and to partake in sinful things that she wouldn’t get to do in real life. Heaven.

Any mini-dramas could wait until daylight.

“Exactly!” Eliza said as she folded her arms, gave a quick nod of her head as she agreed with her own reasoning, and beamed a smile that stretched from ear to ear.

“I told you you’re insane,” Nancy grumbled as her shoulders slumped through lack of sheer willpower and sleep, and she turned to leave. Her bed was calling to her.

“Not so fast,” Eliza said.

“If you need some company in your psychosis then I strongly suggest that you look to Ashley in your quest and not me. I’m going back to bed,” Nancy informed her.

“Don’t look at me — I think I’m still drunk,” Ashley groaned.

“Well, drunk or sober — tired or wide-awake — you’re both coming with me,” Eliza announced.

“I hate to ask…” Ashley groaned.

“Then don’t,” Nancy warned her. “You know it will only end in tears, hopefully for Eliza and not us.”

“Please ask!” Eliza gave a happy, excited little jig on the spot and clapped her hands together with glee.

The witch’s eyes were way too wide and shining brightly for stupid-o’clock in the morning, so there had to be something big hidden up her sleeve to make her so excited and risk the wrath of her witchy housemates.

“Don’t do it — you know you’ll regret it,” Nancy warned again on a hissed out whisper that wasn’t really a whisper at all. “Don’t let that damn curious gene of yours…”

“Okay, I’ll bite,” Ashley said as she yanked her head up, spun the pillow behind her head, and eyed her friend with suspicion.

“You had to join her psychosis,” Nancy groaned.

“Not my fault. I was born curious,” Ashley shot back.

“On your curious little head be it,” Nancy grumbled, and yet, she didn’t move an inch as curiosity bit her in the backside.

“Where are we going?” Ashley asked.

There was an excited shriek that came from Eliza and Ashley groaned inwardly. She was already sorry that she’d opened her big mouth as her eardrums rattled and her brain heard an internal marching band playing an upbeat tune.

“I’m glad you asked!” Eliza exclaimed.

“I’m not,” Nancy groaned, offering Ashley a hard, I told you so, stare that made Ashley grimace just as much as Eliza’s shriek of excitement had. Ashley tossed her an apologetic grimace.

“I brought us all tickets to… Bermuda!” Eliza squealed again as her happy jig got way out of control, and she started to jump around in circles on the spot.

“Ba-who-da? Say, what now?” Nancy demanded.

“Christmas in Bermuda!” Eliza squealed with excitement and clapped her hands together with glee.

“Bermuda?” Ashley’s brain was still trying to catch up, but when it did; it was flashing up beautiful white sandy beaches being lapped at by crystal clear water, and sunshine, lots, and lots of sunshine.

“Bermuda!” Eliza squealed again.

“Hell yes!” Ashley shot up on the bed once more. Now, she was wide awake. “I’m in!” her head throbbed harder, but for Bermuda, she could put up with it.

“Bermuda?” Nancy mulled over that thought. “Well, okay then!”

“Yea! We’re going on holiday!” Eliza was back to doing her happy jig and clapping her hands with excitement again. “Am I forgiven for the air horn thing now?”

“No,” Nancy offered back as she turned on her heels and started out of the room. She shook her hips and lifted her arms in the air. “Bermuda, baby! Hell, yeah! Now you’re forgiven.”

“Get those suitcases packed, girls! Sun, sea, sand, and…”

“Safety first!” Nancy chuckled as she strolled down the hall toward her bedroom.

It was going to be a Christmas they would never forget.