Page 21 of A Wish For Wilma
‘As long as you don’t burn the house down,’ said Wilma. A delicious meal in the company of a delightful man. What could be better?
CHAPTER16
‘Sam,this noise is driving me round the bend!’ Jinnie peered round the door of the living room, where Sam and DJ had set up an old Scalextric set that had belonged to his son, Sean.
‘This is such fun!’ squealed DJ, as his mini Formula 1 car whizzed around the track.
‘Ha! I’m two laps ahead and counting,’ cried Sam, his face fizzing with excitement.
‘Well, I’ll leave you children to it. I’m off to seek refuge at A Bit Of Crumpet. See you later.’
The pair of them barely glanced up as Jinnie slammed the door and grabbed her coat. Only three days in, and her head was in danger of exploding. DJ was a veritable ball of energy and incessant chatter, and grew at an alarming rate. The only upside was that he no longer required nappies and had toilet-trained himself within twenty-four hours.
‘I doubt you’ll be doing that,’ Jinnie murmured, giving her bump a comforting stroke. ‘Hopefully you’ll be a regular baby who’ll reach the normal milestones at the right time.’
Meandering through the village, Jinnie noted the Halloween decorations adorning houses and shops. Alison’s boutique boasted a fetching display of illuminated plastic pumpkins and cobwebs artfully draped around two well-dressed mannequins. Just two days away, and against her better judgement they’d agreed to help DJ carve a pumpkin and make soup with the leftovers.
‘Morning, Jinnie.’ Jo smiled as Jinnie entered. The café was an oasis of calm. Two customers sat in a corner, tucking into muffins and coffee.
‘Hi, Jo. Did Harvey get off OK?’ She’d bumped into Jo at Janette’s store the previous day, when she was stocking up on supplies to satisfy DJ’s never-ending appetite.
‘His train was delayed by an hour, but otherwise he’s fine.’ Harvey had returned to London to shoot some scenes for his upcoming TV series. Jo waited while Jinnie dithered over a pain au chocolat and an almond croissant. Torn between the two, she decided to have both.
‘Are you OK?’ Jo checked her other customers had all they needed before pulling up a chair next to Jinnie. ‘You look a bit peaky and you seemed on edge when I saw you yesterday. Janette thought Christmas had come early when you filled two baskets with food. Don’t you usually get a delivery from the big supermarket?’
Jinnie had debated whether or not to tell Jo about DJ’s arrival. But only a handful of people knew of the genie situation, and Jo was one of them.
‘Listen,’ she said, lowering her voice. ‘We have an unexpected visitor. A baby, except he’s not really a baby any more.’
Jo frowned and leaned closer. ‘I’m not following, Jinnie. What do you mean?’
Jinnie stared up at the shelf where Dhassim and Aaliyah’s lamps had once lived. ‘There’s a third lamp. And its occupant is staying with us.’
Jo gasped. ‘Are you telling me that Dhassim and Aaliyah have a baby? Oh heck, have they reappeared too?’
‘Thankfully not, although DJ — that’s Dhassim Junior — keeps insisting he wants to see them. Their lamps are locked in a cupboard and there’s no way on earth I want to entertain a whole family of genies. My sanity is on the brink as it is.’
As briefly as she could, Jinnie filled Jo in on Sam’s strange experience travelling back in time, and how Wilma was the rightful master (or mistress) of DJ. ‘Apparently DJ can only grant one wish because he’s little — except he’s not — and Wilma’s smitten with her handyman Gus, who she knew donkey’s years ago. So we agreed to take him for a while to give her some space.’
‘Wilma’s seeing someone?’ Jo grinned. ‘She’s a wee devil, that gran of yours. Does the poor man know what he’s letting himself in for?’
Jinnie nibbled the edge of her croissant. ‘Truthfully, I don’t know if they’re just good friends or what. To be honest, I don’twantto know if something romantic is going on. But he’s a nice guy, and if it makes her happy…’
‘Wow. Mind well and truly blown, Jinnie. What does Sam have to say about all of this? Being a Djinn, too, whatever that actually means.’
‘He’s as confused as I am. Although I just left him playing racing cars with DJ, looking as happy as a pig in you-know-what.’
Wrapping the pain au chocolat to take home, Jinnie paid Jo. Jo pulled her into the back room as Peggy the hairdresser plonked herself down in a chair and rifled through her handbag. ‘Jinnie, love, is there anything I can do to help? With Harvey out of town, maybe I could babysit?’
Jinnie's honking laugh was tinged with hysteria. ‘This is no ordinary baby, Jo. I don’t want to drag you into it. You’ve a business to run and a gorgeous man who really doesn’t need to get involved in this mess. Thanks, but I’d rather your life remained genie-free.’
Dragging herself home, Jinnie wondered how this might play out. At some point, Wilma needed to have DJ back. And he needed to grant her a wish. Whatever would she wish for? Jinnie had been granted immaculate hair, a ginormous TV and a magic-carpet ride, and had wished for Sam to fall in love with her. Redundant, as he already had. That thought put a spring in her step, and she sped up for the last stretch of the walk.
‘Where is he?’ Jinnie found Sam beavering away at the final chapters of his latest book. Copious notes covered every inch of his desk, and a half-drunk cup of coffee sat amidst the chaos. ‘Eurgh! That smells vile.’ Jinnie hoped her love of coffee would return. She missed cappuccinos and lattes, but even six months into pregnancy the stuff turned her stomach.
‘Sorry.’ Sam got up and took the cup out. He returned and wrapped Jinnie in a bear hug. ‘How was Jo?’
‘A bit shocked to hear about our lodger — I know, maybe I should have kept schtum — but they say a worry shared is a worry halved. Is that right? Pregnancy brain is a bummer.’
