Chapter 25: Community Minded
Thomas didn’t complain too much more over the next few stops. They dropped by the Manson residence about a haunting. It turned out to be wind going through a hole in the walls, especially when someone opened or closed the front door. They took care of that one in ten minutes and they moved on to the Poyle family, who had a terrible feud with the Spaceys that got better or worse depending on the season.
Thomas had been the one to come up with the solution there. They were next door neighbors, and could often be heard shouting at each other at all hours of day and night. Through a tricky bit of layered spells, he managed silence from each other but not the rest of the world. They left with the hope that the lack of perceiving each other would usher in peace.
After that was Erin Davis, who had a break in two nights before. The sheriff and deputies were stretched thin with the increased population and tourists, and had shifted the responsibility to Wil, now that he was home. Again, Thomas had an easy solution and conjured a vision of the culprit in the middle of the act.
Wil had captured that vision in an illusion he stuck to a piece of paper, handing it to Erin afterward. “Just give this to the sheriff and tell him I sent you this time. If he continues to give you guff, I’ll get my dad to lean on him a little. How’s that sound?”
“That sounds excellent, Mr Wizard, thank you!”
Three hours of working on different small cases and they’d earned a break. Wil brought them to a place that specialized in one food only. Crane’s Chickporium, or CC’s, was the best place in town for fried chicken, and the two dug in with gusto once they got their plates.
“Still a bit confused about the work?” Wil asked, dipping a chicken strip into honey mustard. “Now that we’ve been at it for a while, I mean.”
“Honestly? Yes. I am so confused. And tired. Walking around town and being reasonable around upset people is…” Thomas made a face. “Why would you do that to yourself? Why does Bram want to do this so badly? You both have a business that has to be more rewarding and less demanding.”
“Yeah, probably,” Wil admitted. “But that’s not the point. The point is helping people. No matter how small their problems may seem. Might feel like a waste of time to you, but for those people? Their days or weeks are made better by getting a bit of help with something they can’t do.”
Thomas chomped a strip in frustration. “Half the tasks,” he said after he finished chewing, “are things they could’ve done on their own.”
“Maybe, but everyone needs a bit of help now and then. Even if it’s not with something concrete, just having someone help makes it feel like someone cares and is looking out for you.” As he spoke, Wil realized he’d never truly verbalized it before. It felt good.
“Maybe there are other cities or positions that could use me more, but if I did that, who’d look out for Harper Valley? It’s easy to say that it is…was a podunk farming town, but when you know every face in the community, it changes things. Besides, are you sure you can’t think of any other reasons why I might be so insistent on making appearances around town?”
“Hmm.”
Thomas took his time thinking about it. That suited Wil just fine. They ate in relative quiet. There was only the hollering of the front counter lady to the cook in the back, the hiss of oil, and a quiet mutter from the other people in there.
“Is it image work?” he finally asked. “Just making yourself look good?”
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Kind of,” said Wil. He leaped on that angle. “I’m a pillar of this community. It took me time, but the majority of these people trust me. Or at least, I hope they do. When the time comes to change things, they’ll be more willing to listen to me and take my suggestions. And more than that…”
Wil leaned in close. “The more we know about what kind of problems they are having most, the easier it gets to think of possible solutions. For example, I know that every winter here, people will want help with warming their homes. So if we were able to harness leylines better, we could make it so every house is warmed naturally.”
Thomas shook his head. “I know you’re not stupid, but it’s strange to hear you being both saccharine and deliberate about things.”
“Deliberately saccharine, perhaps?” Wil smiled.
“I suppose that’s one way of putting it. But you know what I mean!” Thomas brushed crumbs and grease off his hands and onto a napkin. His brow was furrowed, like he was trying to work through something difficult. “This is the first time you talking about helping others has made real sense, and sounded like a plan instead of a bad habit.”
“Thanks, I guess.” Wil finished off his food and chased it with lemonade. “I like getting as many goals done at one time as possible. In the long run, altruism almost always makes more sense. You don’t have to be a bastard in order to be smart or contribute to the world. Don’t have to be a wizard either.”
Thomas winced. His sharp featured face showed a mix of regret and irritation. “I didn’t mean it like that,” he said.
“Then how did you mean it, Tom?” Wil pushed his plate away. He wasn’t angry, or even bothered. He’d had hours of hard work to push the anger out of his head, leaving only curiosity.
The other wizard set his food down and sighed. “It’s…I appreciate how much you care for your friends, and respect your town. You’re right, in that wizards aren’t any better or worse than non-magical people. You know how it is, spending your life around other wizards and then going back to the rest of the world. You get used to being able to relate to everyone around you and have them understand you.
“I respect Bram and Darlene. Darlene especially. But it’s impossible for them to truly understand what we go through, and what we’re capable of. And sometimes, that gets all encompassing to me. I don’t think they’re not capable in general, I just get stuck on knowing they can’t do most of what we do. But their work is important too.
“Again, especially Darlene. I don’t know what a goober like you did to land a sharp woman like that, but oof.” Thomas pulled on his collar, feigning heat.
Wil laughed and kicked him under the table. “I’m still trying to figure that out. But I try not to take her, or Bram, for granted. They’re smart, strong, good people, and I guarantee you they’ll pull their weight. You don’t have to like them, but I won’t tolerate you disrespecting them.”
“I understand,” said Thomas. He returned to his food, grabbing the last few bites and dipping them in a thick white dressing that stunk to high heavens. “And I was telling the truth. Darlene’s sharp and is handling all the stuff I’d ordinarily have a hand in. It’s a relief to be able to focus on the research itself.”
“And Bram?”
Thomas sighed. “He’s goofy, excitable, and wishes he was a wizard very, very badly. He’s so jealous of us. Of you.”
“He is not,” said Wil, a flush coming to his face. “He wishes he had magic too, but he doesn’t hold it against me or anything.”
“Not yet. Look,” he finished up and pushed his plate back. “I admit I could be wrong about him, but I feel like he’s going to get in the way more than be helpful if we’re not careful. He’s smart and he has access to your books, but he doesn’t understand. It’s all guesswork to him. And in an important research mission like this, it can be a liability.”
Wil figured it was about as much as he could hope for. If things didn’t work, then at least he could say he tried. “Good enough. But Bram will surprise you. In the meantime, we’ve got more work ahead of us. You good to continue?”
Thomas stood up, grabbing both of their plates. “Are you kidding? I’m looking forward to it. More chances to help the little guy and figure out how to make money off them later. It’s the perfect public relations scam position.”
With a roll of his eyes, Wil got up. They threw away their trash and left Crane’s Chickporium behind. He wondered how Bram was doing, though it was probably fine. He’d managed for months without Wil, what was another few hours? Tomorrow they’d get back to working on the leyline, and hopefully heads would be cooler then.