Page 84 of Fairy Godmothers Aren't Cheap

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The next morning,having a blessedly later start to my A.M. shift, I waited for James outside the museum. I was excited to see him before we both started work. We’d talked on the phone last night, but with his jet lag and us both working this morning, it had been short.

“Hey,” I said to Greg, one of the museum’s guides, as he poked his head out the front doors. I still hadn’t quite forgiven him for his lack of support over making a park in Everstone.

“We’re not opening today.”

The change in the museum’s hours tweaked my interest. Had Richard found more issues with the artifacts? “Why not?”

Greg slipped outside to join me. “Some pottery got stolen.”

I stared at him, trying to figure out if this was related to Richard’s discovery of the fake pieces last night. Richard had planned to do a sweep of the back rooms after I left. Greg’s choice of words made it sound as though Richard hadn’t found the originals.

I mentally smacked myself. In all of the excitement last night, I’d forgotten to tell Richard about the fakes I’d spotted in the gift shop. This whole thing was starting to feel pretty big and pretty real. What else was being secretly stolen from the museum?

“I can’t believe it.”

Greg looked left and right, then leaned in. “They were big pieces from the exhibit rooms. But Richard says they were found.”

“That’s a relief.”

“It took the police over a day to trace the pieces back to us. It hasn’t even hit the news yet.”

“Wait. What?” My mind struggled with the timeline discrepancies between the reported theft and the found items.

Had I accidentally made a wish, and Estelle had gone back in time to change things so it all happened for me? But why would I have wished for this?

Quite plainly, I hadn’t. I was sure of it. This was my happy place, and I wouldn’t wish it any harm.

“Are you saying the theft wasn’t reported by the museum?” I asked Greg. “And that the police discovered the stolen items on their own?”

Greg nodded.

That made no sense. I’d been sure Richard planned to report the fakes last night if he couldn’t find the originals. Was this all some big inside job and Richard was connected to it, so he had merely gone through the motions last night to take any suspicion off himself?

No, he wasn’t that great of an actor. Unless his panic had been over me spotting the artifact discrepancies, and not over the missing originals.

Either way, this was starting to sound like a real heist-type situation. I took in the museum’s sand and limestone exterior anew, almost expecting to see yellow police tape or other physical signs that a robbery had taken place. I wanted to go inside and look for lasers. Ropes dangling from ceiling vents. Something. Anything.

But everything seemed perfectly normal, just like it had last night. There wasn’t even a police car in sight.

* * *

A police carcame while I was talking to James.

Shortly after Greg had ducked back inside, I’d spotted James making his way to the front steps, forsaking the staff entrance to meet up with me. I’d peppered the poor man with kisses, which were quite happily returned.

“How was your trip?” I asked, barely releasing him so he could reply with a quick ‘good’ before kissing me again. “You look so tired.”

“Jet lag is real.” He gave me another squeeze, his arms feeling so good around me. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too,” I said shyly.

James had sent a few images and texts from the hostel’s Wi-Fi, but for the most part, due to the time difference and our mutual busyness, we hadn’t had much of a chance to stay caught up with each other. I was itching to see all of his photos and hear every detail of his whirlwind trip.

“Next time I leave you, I’m springing for the international phone plan, no matter how expensive.” He buried his nose in my hair and I felt a surge of happiness.

When we finally broke apart, he started showing me photos of the archaeological dig tour he’d taken for me, even though we both knew we didn’t have enough time before work.

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