When I made it home, Lee-Ann was almost ready to leave, waiting just for me to turn up. She hadn't been out for a date for some time. She always made an effort, though I think it was more for her benefit than her date's. Sometimes it felt that a date was an excuse to wear a flattering smart dress and high heels. This time though she looked that she was really looking forward the evening.

“Anyone I know?” I asked as she was showing me what to serve for dinner. She smiled, so eager to share any details. I was happy to listen, though, that’s what friends are for. Plus I hadn't seen her that interested in a long time.

“Well, it’s this guy from the office….” Of course, it was him. I didn’t know him personally, but she had mentioned him a couple of times over the past few weeks. I pretended I didn’t remember. I waited for her to continue.

“Oh, let’s see. It is a bit too early.” I was thinking that this was probably the most promising guy I had seen around her in the past three years I was living there. I understood what she didn't say. She didn't want to jinx it and there was no need for me to prey. I smiled. I was happy for her. It was nice to see someone around me happy for a change.

“Just order pizza, no need to cook.” She finished. I nodded and she left for her date.

As soon as Lee-Ann closed the door, I realised how tired I was. Luckily, I really didn’t need to do anything with the children. Thanks god for computer games, I knew that all I needed to do was to let the children play and call them once the dinner was to be served. I knew I should have felt guilty that I was not really trying to do anything with them, but I decided I should really prepare a bit for Tuesday. Plus I was still not comfortable about seeing Jake on Monday. Plus I was probably about to become the best au-pair ever, especially once the pizza arrived. I dialed the number and ordered our usual order. I added some ice cream. Critical situations are always better with Cookie Dough. Ice cream is not healthy but that was not a problem. I was not planning to share.

Suddenly I realised that I really needed to prepare for Tuesday. First of all, I didn't have a shift on Tuesday. A detail I completely forgot. I was not sure how I knew that it would be a full moon, but I was relieved that at least that I got right after I checked the calendar. The situation needed a drastic action I hoped I would not regret later. And probably another tub of ice cream. I sighed and picked up the phone to dial Mark's number.

“Mark? Hey, it’s Jane here. Listen, Mark, what about me taking your shift on Tuesday?” I silently prayed he would be so taken back by my offer, that he would not ask any questions. I could hear he was at work for a change.

“Jane?” Mark sounded surprised. I knew that the chance he would not make a joke out of it was very slim. I could have felt him grinning. “Oh, what happened to you having a life? Being mere mortal again?” The bastard was chuckling. I started to count to ten. When I reached 4, I simply replied: “Nope. Just saw an AWESOME dress I HAVE to have. So, cash needed.” Wink, wink. I secretly congratulated myself on being a genius.

“Unfortunately, I kind of need money too, you know…” He replied. I underestimated him. I didn't believe him for a moment he was not tempted to just give me that shift.

“But wait,” he told me and I could hear him asking Ellen, the other waitress if she wanted to swap with me. That would mean me and Mark working there when Jonathan and Jake came. Not the best combination.

“Yes, no problem. Ellen wants the Tuesday off. Actually, she will take it another time, so don’t worry, you will not miss me on Thursday,” he said after a short discussion with Ellen I didn't quite catch. Mark, the employee of the month, working three times a week. What was this world coming to... Suddenly I thought I should have used a little bit of magic.

“See you on Tuesday,” I thanked him and hung up. I could have sworn they were now both chuckling. Mark had a good talent, I was sure he would be even better in telling Ellen how desperately I needed the AWESOME dress. Maybe I should have called Pete instead. After all, he was the owner. Or just walk in on Tuesday and make them believe nothing was out of ordinary and I was meant to be there. I just wanted to use what supposed to be the easiest, most mundane, way. Just be like the others.

My mood brightened a bit on the way to my room when I decided that I would just make Mark forget the little incident. I loved Mark dearly in a way, but our relationship needed to be managed carefully. I smiled. I picked up the laptop and checked on the kids - both still engrossed in their games. Some things work better than magic.

I sat down on the sofa, switched on the TV and started the laptop. I was not sure how to prepare for the ritual but I needed to do some research. Or should I have called it a spell? I knew the basics of course, but communicating with death was a bit out of question during any training I didn't ignore. Overall, seeing things that are is easier than seeing things that were. It is more natural and definitively healthier not to dwell on things from the past. I felt a bit lost. When in doubt, ask Google.

I asked. I had a vague idea about the fact the intent was important. I needed to be close to the body. I needed something to draw energy from. I needed both Jonathan and Jake there. Jonathan could possibly do as the object close to the person we needed to question. After all, he was technically dead. He also used to be close to the woman - though probably not in a way one would describe closeness. The tension could easily work to build up for the energy needed. I felt like I had more or less all the ingredients needed. It was just the essence I needed. Google, Google, answer me.

Someone knocked on the door.

The sound startled me and the laptop fell down on the floor. I was ready to fight or flight. Then I paused. Pizza. Pizza guy would not probably try to kill me. Unless you count the pizza itself as a weapon of mass destruction. I smiled at my own joke, how sad. I called the children and went to open the door.

The delivery guy was rather young. I smiled and took the order in. Two pizzas and an ice cream. I was tempted to just make him give me the cookies he had for the next customer, but I didn’t want to get him into trouble. There was no need to be evil after all. I sighed. Life was sometimes really hard.

When I turned around, the children were already there. After all, I called them for pizza, not some chores.

“Do you want to watch a movie after?” Daisy asked. Unfortunately, both kids were too grown up for me to tell them to simply go sleep. I nodded. After all, a little break would do me good. It was only Saturday, I had several days to look into the spell or ritual or whatever.

“Just choose something,” I told her and smiled when she started to argue with Toby about what movie we would watch. They manically searched Sky for the right movie and then settled on Flubber. Why not. At least it wasn't Frozen for the 50th time. What a family evening, pizza and a movie. I sat down with my ice cream on the sofa. I always took just a slice of the pizza to go with it. It was delicious to eat the pizza and the ice cream at the same time. I could feel the salty and sweet taste on my tongue, the hot pizza, and the melting ice cream. Those people who say you shouldn’t eat out your stress seriously don’t know what they are talking about. I felt that my stress was simply eaten out.

I was a bit surprised when the movie finished.

“OK. That was funny.” I looked at Daisy. They didn't talk during it unless they argued about who will finish the pizza. I haven’t paid attention at all. I was still thinking about the essence. Google search didn’t help that much. It did give me some general idea - luckily today’s witches were tech savvy. Or at least the few who wrote about it online. I guess it didn’t matter to be open, majority people would simply deem them being the odd lot.

“Time to go sleep. Brush your teeth and so on - you know the drill.” I ushered them upstairs.

Once they were gone, I went outside to see if there is any new flower. This time there was no lily. I picked up a silver forget me not. Today it felt a bit warm. I could feel the pulsing energy running through the plant. I took it upstairs to my room, determined to put it away in the drawer. But I could feel the flowers calling me, each delivering a distinct message. It was annoying and overwhelming. Then it struck me. The essence. I could have used them.

I looked around the room - there wasn’t much space, to be honest. I decided to sit down on the floor. I arranged the flowers around me in a circle. Then I closed my eyes. I could see the energy channeled through the flowers. I was looking for the very essence that allowed them to deliver their message. The feeling of power was intoxicating. I never really practiced this type of magic. After all, I spent all my life running away from it to the point I moved away to the UK. It was intoxicating. I was smiling. I was not sure where I was ending and beginning.

“JAAAANE”, I could hear Daisy calling me, waking me up from my trance. I opened eyes, panting. I was out of breath. All I could think about was that maybe I should have done more aerobic exercise. And eat less ice cream. Or do exercise while eating ice cream. The room was spinning.

“Jane, the electricity is out.” Toby was standing in the doorframe, stating the obvious. I finally realised that I had to drain the electricity. The room was really dark. Actually, the only source of light around seemed to be the streetlamp outside the house and Toby's mobile phone.

“Sorry.” I looked around me and added, “ I was just in the middle of a meditation. I will have a look at the fuse box.”

I went downstairs to look at the fuses. Silently I was praying that they were fine, that they simply went off. It was such a relief when I found out I only needed to put them up. The only problem was now how to make the spell work. Or rather, how to make it work without me losing inside of it.