The Fairy-Tale Matchmaker (15 page)

The rain grew harder and the wind picked up as Cory headed to Stella Nimble's house. With her head down, Cory plodded through the driving rain, trying to stay on the path to the front steps. She was an hour and twelve minutes late when she finally reached 47 Winding Way.

Cory knocked on the door, feeling as wet as if she'd just taken a bath with her clothes on. A woman with graying hair and a sweet smile opened the door and gasped when she saw her.

“I'm Cory Feathering,” Cory said, shivering. “I've come to help with the beans.”

“Oh, you poor dear!” said the woman. “You're all wet. Come in and we'll get you dried off. I'm Stella, by the way. You need something to wear while your clothes dry. Go in the bathing room and I'll get you a towel. … Here you go. Get out of those wet things and I'll be right back.”

Cory had just dried her hair and face with the towel when Stella was back with a soft white shirt and some faded blue pants. “These belonged to my son when he was young. I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you used them. He was such a nice boy. Come join me in the kitchen when you're ready. It's just down the hall.”

Cory was relieved to get out of the wet clothes and into warm dry ones. Both the shirt and pants were too big, however, so she rolled the shirtsleeves and pant legs up and hoped the pants wouldn't fall down when she walked.

Following the sound of a chopping knife, Cory found Stella in the kitchen, standing at an old wooden table piled high with green beans at least three feet long and as big around as her wrist. Cory had never seen such huge beans before and was staring at them when Stella noticed her.

“There you are!” said Stella. “Here, take this knife.
We have to cut these up so they'll fit in the jars.” She pointed at the end of the table where rows of ordinary glass jars waited to be filled. “I was thinking about that rain,” Stella continued. “It was very odd. It started just before you got here and ended as soon as you stepped inside the house.”

Cory sighed. “It's the Tooth Fairy Guild. I quit recently and they're punishing me for leaving. This isn't the first time they've used rain.”

“The big guilds are all connected and help each other out, not always in nice ways,” said Stella. “I know what it's like to have a guild mad at you. I was born a flower fairy, as were my parents and their parents before them. My specialty was pansies and I was quite good at my job. Then I dared to fall in love with a human and married him without the guild's permission. They punished me by taking away my fairy powers, wings and all, leaving me as helpless as a human. The guild used its connections to make sure that my husband couldn't get a job, so we made do with what we could and were happy despite the Flower Fairy Guild's best efforts to destroy our lives. We were even happier after our baby boy was born, but my husband died a few years later, leaving me to raise my son alone in this cottage.”

“Did the guild stop punishing you after your husband died?” asked Cory.

“Yes, but by then there wasn't much more they could do to me. I was still happy; I had my wonderful son, who was a good boy and a track star in school, although a little strong willed. Then one day he traded our cow, Pansy, for some magic beans. I was so mad at him that I took the beans from him and threw them out the window,” Stella said, pointing at the window above the sink. The view was filled with a few big, green leaves.

“One of the beans grew into an enormous stalk that reached up into the clouds. The day my son climbed it, the sky was a beautiful blue. I remember because I couldn't find him anywhere and I kept expecting to see him on the stalk. Anyway, that foolish boy climbed the stalk with nothing more than a flagon of water and a small ax tied to his waist. When he came back, he was loaded down with a giant's gold. The giant was chasing him and would have caught him if Jack hadn't taken his ax and chopped the stalk in half.”

“What happened then?” asked Cory.

“When the top half of the stalk fell, the giant fell with it. He hit the ground with so much force that he made a crater. The hole filled with water and is called Giant Lake now. It lies about a half mile west.”

“What happened to Jack?” Cory asked as she reached for another bean.

“He was happy and excited for the first few days,
planning how he was going to spend all the gold, but then the giant's wife and parents came after him.”

Cory shuddered, thinking of all the awful things a giant could do to a person.

“Fortunately, Jack left enough of the bean stalk that it still produces beans,” said Stella. “I can them when they ripen. They're delicious and I make good money selling them.”

Cory and Stella both looked up when there was a knock on the door leading outside. Before they could move to answer it, the door opened and a handsome young man with thick blond hair walked in.

“Hello, Mother!” he said, smiling at Stella. “I see you're canning beans again.” He kissed Stella on the cheek, then glanced at Cory. “You have help today.”

“This is Cory,” Stella told him. “She's a very good worker. We haven't been at this long and we've done a lot already.”

Cory glanced at the table and was surprised by how much the pile of whole beans had dwindled while the pile of cut-up beans had grown.

“We were going to take a lunch break soon,” said Stella. “Why don't you join us, Jack? I know how much you like beans.”

Jack snorted and Stella laughed while Cory glanced from one to the other. “My mother is joking,” Jack told
her. “I've hated beans ever since I cut down the stalk. I will join you for lunch, though, Mother. In fact, I brought some with me and there's enough to feed a small army.”

“He doesn't visit as often as I'd like, but he brings food every time,” Stella told Cory. “As if I don't have plenty already! He's such a good boy.”

Cory helped Stella and Jack clear the table, then they all sat down to eat the food that Jack had brought in a big wicker basket. There were berry and nut butter sandwiches, fish and herb sandwiches, a delicious cheese with a yellow crust, fresh peaches, and a box of cookies with “Perfect Pastry” written on the outside.

“I just met Jack Horner,” Cory said, taking the box of cookies out of the basket. “It's funny. That's two Jacks in three days.”

“Names follow trends,” said Stella. “Some will be popular for a time, then others will take their place. The name Jack was popular when I had my baby. Mary was, too, back then.”

“I know Jack Horner,” said Jack Nimble. “I've known him for years. How did you meet him?”

“He's hired my band to play at the Shady Nook,” Cory said.

“Really?” said Jack Nimble. “Then your band must be good.”

They talked about the band and Jack Horner's
restaurants until the end of lunch. Jack was reaching for one last cookie when he glanced at Cory and said, “Would someone mind telling me why Cory is wearing my old clothes?”

Stella set her cup on the table with a thump. “She quit the TFG and they're harassing her with rain!”

“They made it rain when I was on my way here,” Cory explained.

Jack shook his head. “I can't believe the guilds are still able to get away with that kind of thing.”

“They'll never change,” said his mother.

“And no one will ever do anything about it,” Jack added, looking glum.

After they had cleaned up the food, Jack stayed around while Cory and his mother finished cutting up the beans and put them in sterilized jars. When the jars were filled and sealed, he helped put them in a pressure cook-pot on the stove. Once the last jar had been processed and was on the table again, Cory went into the bathing room to change back into her clothes. Jack was waiting for her when she returned to the kitchen.

“Would you like a ride home?” he asked. “The rain could very well happen again, don't you think?”

Cory shrugged. “I suppose it's possible, but since I'm going straight home, I could put on dry clothes when I get there.”

“You won't have to if I take you,” said Jack. “Have you ever flown in a hot-air balloon?”

Cory's eyes lit up. She had seen the balloons from a distance, but had never actually been in one. “No, I—”

“Then let's go!” said Jack.

Stella held up her hand. “Not until I thank Cory. Here's the money I owe you,” she said, giving an envelope to Cory. “Thank you so much for all your help. It would have taken me more than twice as long to can all those beans.” When she leaned closer to give Cory a hug, she whispered in her ear, “I think my son likes you. He never stays around this long! Good-bye, my dear. I'm sure you'll be hearing from me again soon.”

Even as Cory followed Jack out the door, she planned to fly back to town on her own. Sure, Jack Nimble was handsome and successful, and he might actually like her, but she couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't right for her. Under the circumstances, riding in a hot-air balloon for who knows how long might be awkward. All of that flew out of her mind, however, as soon as she saw the balloon.

Cory gasped and changed her mind in an instant. A swirl of colors danced around the balloon like a captured rainbow; she couldn't take her eyes away as Jack helped her into the large basket below it and they rose into the air. When she finally looked down, her heart
began to race. Although Cory flew all the time, she couldn't help but feel that this was entirely different. Fluttering her wings was work and always left her tired. Flying in a hot-air balloon was a delight that left her feeling excited and invigorated.

“Tell me something,” said Jack. “Why did you look so surprised when I walked into the cottage?”

“Your mother had made it sound as if you were dead. I mean, she talked about what a good boy you were, and how the giant's wife and parents came after you. From the way she said it, I thought they had—”

“What? Ripped me limb from limb?” Jack said, and laughed at the expression on Cory's face. “The giants did come after me, but I was long gone by then. I used some of my gold to hire the best lawyer available and the giants weren't able to do a thing to me. I used the rest of the gold to start a business. You might have heard of it—Nimble Sports. We make all sorts of athletic clothes, including running shoes. I just opened an outlet store in town.”

“It sounds as if you're doing very well for yourself,” said Cory.

“I am indeed,” Jack replied. “I learned an important lesson from what happened to my parents. I'm living my life the way I want to live it without any connection or interference from fairy guilds. I know it's hard for you
now, what with the guild harassing you and everything, but plan your course and go for it. The guild can do a lot to you, but they can't take away who you really are.”

“I'll keep that in mind,” said Cory.

Jack smiled. “Good. Now if you tell me where you live, I'll look for a place where I can drop you off.”

After a few minutes search, Cory was able to point out her uncle's house. Jack set the balloon down in the park across the street, making all the neighbors come outside to watch. Her uncle Micah was among them, and when he saw her climb down from the balloon, he hurried over to her.

Cory waved as Jack took off again before turning to her uncle. “Is something wrong?” she asked.

“Not wrong, precisely,” he told her. “We've been invited to your grandparents' house for supper tonight. We're supposed to be there in half an hour.”

“Then I had better hurry and change out of these wrinkled clothes,” said Cory. “I don't want to hear Grandmother's lecture about appearances again.”

“Or her lecture about being late,” muttered Micah.

Cory gave him a humorless smile. “She is your mother.”

“Don't remind me,” said Micah. “Deidre is the least motherlike woman I know.”

When Cory and Micah walked in the front door, her
grandfather was in the main room working on a scale model of a castle.

“There's my girl!” he said when he saw her. “How are you, darlin'? Where's my hug?”

“I'm fine, Grandfather,” Cory said, wrapping her arms around the old man's narrow shoulders. “What castle are you working on now?” She stepped closer to his workbench to get a better look at the little castle and its many turrets that reflected light as if it were covered with hundreds of tiny prisms.

“Ah! This is Rupert's castle in the Blue Forest. He commissioned me to make him the model as a gift for his new bride. I have three more days to finish it. I'd be a lot farther along if the scales weren't so slippery,” her grandfather said, picking up a rag to wipe the remnants of the shiny scales from his fingertips.

“Do your joints still ache? The last time I was here you told me that your hands—”

Cory jumped when her grandmother stuck her head out the kitchen door and cried, “What are you two doing out there? Cory, come see me! All the interesting people are in here. Micah, you can stay there and talk to your father.”

“Mother is as charming as ever,” Micah murmured as Cory walked past him.

“Don't complain,” she whispered back. “At least you get to stay out here.”

When Cory entered the kitchen, her grandmother was stirring something in a pot. Cory opened her mouth to speak and froze; her mother was seated at the kitchen table shucking peas.

“Don't just stand there gaping like a guppy out of water,” said her grandmother. “Come give me a kiss.”

Cory kissed her grandmother on her cheek, but made no effort to go any closer to her mother. “Uncle Micah didn't say that Mother would be here.”

“That's because I didn't tell him,” her grandmother replied. “Your mother is very upset about this rift between you. I want you to sit down and work it out.”

“There isn't anything to work out,” said Cory. “We'll be fine if she'll stop trying to make me do something that I know is wrong for me.”