The Third Wish Read online

  The Third Wish

  Yes, Master book 3

  Simon Archer

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  11. Vila

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  16. Lottie

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  27. Lottie

  Author’s Note

  1

  I stood aside to allow the freakishly over-sized movers into the house with the large teakwood cabinet they were carrying. It was a piece that my fiancé, Lottie, had picked out at an antique auction just before we decided to move to Barbados. She was overjoyed that the cabinet would ‘fit in’ with the vibe of the house we’d bought. I’d simply made fun of her for looking like a beautiful, tiny, porcelain doll when she stood next to the massive thing. She’d smiled sweetly, given me the finger, flipped her jet-black hair, and walked away with such a dramatic sway to her hips that she could have made a fortune teaching runway models the technique.

  I was pulled from my imagination by a frenzy of light blonde hair whizzing in front of me, followed by dark purple hair, and the scent of orchids and lilacs. The whirlwind girls were Andi and Vila, my genies. Since there were strangers present, they were running around on legs instead of whisking around with bright trails of colored mist behind them as they often did when we were alone.

  “Bennett!” Andi squealed as she circled around me. “You have to come see this!”

  “It’s too beautiful not to see!” Vila added excitedly. She grabbed my hand and flipped her black hair over her shoulder and started pulling me away from the house. The sun caught the purple stripe in her hair, and it sparkled like there she’d put glitter in it. There was a good chance she had, with as much as she loved shiny things.

  “And it begins,” I laughed as Vila pulled me, and Andi pushed me. They led me down the path on the side of the house that eventually disappeared into the sand of the beach. Vila didn’t let go of my hand until we were at the water’s edge. She faced me, looking at me with her aqua blue eyes that were just a shade lighter than the water next to us. She snapped her arm up and pointed out into the ocean, an obvious command to look. My gaze went out across the water, watching for something out of the ordinary. I didn’t notice anything, however.

  “Am I missing something?” I asked, looking from her to Andi. Andi had nearly white hair that shone so brightly that the glow almost covered the black streak she had.

  “Just watch for a minute,” Andi responded in a whisper.

  “Okay, that’s good. Now I know I am watching for something other than the tide,” I joked and returned my attention to the water. The three of us stood silently, staring at the calmness of the ocean. About the time I was going to inquire again about the object of our attention, a small shape emerged from the water, one-hundred yards out. I squinted as the shape sunk back into the water. Instantly, another shape emerged, this one much larger than the first.

  “Do you see them?” Vila whispered.

  “What are they?” I whispered back. “And why are we whispering?” Vila shot a frown my way.

  “Whales! And we are whispering because they are so magnificent!” she replied. I shaded my eyes with my hands and leaned forward just as six figures simultaneously arched out of the water together.

  “Holy shit! How many of them are there?” I called out, forgetting that we were whispering.

  “At least a dozen!” Andi squealed. “There are babies with them, too!”

  Sure enough, after the larger whales arched back into the water, miniature versions of them came to the surface.

  “Aren’t they adorable?” Vila sighed with a smile. She clutched her hands to her chest as though holding precious gems. Her complete immersion in her whale-sighting was cute. I couldn’t resist the opportunity I saw before me, however.

  “If you like slimy, grey things, I guess ‘adorable’ could apply,” I whispered sarcastically. I leaned away from her just as she swung to punch me in the arm. I realized quickly I had miscalculated the possible ramifications of my joking with Vila because I didn’t see Andi’s swing from the other side of me. Her hand landed squarely on my back.

  “Bennett Alex Anders!” they both scolded. “You are so NOT funny!” The words no longer left their lips when the three of us started laughing.

  “I had no idea we would have the privilege of watching whales from our own beach,” I observed when we’d returned to staring at the school passing slowly by. “I’ve read a lot about the island and never came across anything about whales.”

  “Probably because this is one of the few islands that doesn’t offer whale-sighting tours,” Andi commented offhandedly.

  “Why wouldn’t they do that?” With as much of the Barbados economy was amped up by tourism, the fact shocked me.

  “Not sure.” Andi shrugged, keeping her eyes on the water. “I bet Lottie could get that changed, though!”

  “That’s an excellent idea!” Vila piped up. I glanced at my watch and back at the house.

  “She should be back from the store any minute. Maybe you should go tell her,” I suggested.

  “Another excellent idea,” Andi chimed. She reached behind my back and grabbed Vila’s hand. The two of them turned and started running back to the house without saying another word.

  Shaking my head at their child-like glee about nature, I went back to whale-watching. The majestic animals were just one more reason I was happy about our decision to move here. Of course, we were perfectly happy in our home in the States, but our island discovery when we’d vacationed here a few months ago had set the move in motion. Since I was able to run my technology projects remotely from anywhere, my boss, who knew about the discovery, had no issue with my departure.

  I smiled at my thought of Jack Richards. Technically, he wasn’t my boss any longer. After our last two artificial intelligence projects were a success, Jack and I had bought the company we worked for, 14Tech. We were now equal partners, but I still called him my ‘boss’ out of habit, and then later as a joke. After he’d found out that Andi and Vila were genies, and there were no secrets about the magic in my life, we’d become extremely close friends. He, and his wife, were talking about coming to the island to visit as soon as we got the house set up. I looked forward to having them stay for a while.

  A car motor sounded up the drive from the other side of the house, and I decided I had watched the whales long enough. The car would have Lottie in it, and she had gone to get food. I would’ve loved to show her the whales, but I knew the girls would beat me to it and have more fun with all their squealing and cooing together. The walk back to the house took a couple of minutes longer than the trip down to the water since I didn’t have anyone pushing or pulling me. When I rounded the corner, Lottie was just coming out the front door which faced inland.

  “There you are! Enjoy your stroll in the sand?” she laughed.

  “Is that what they told you? Little liars!” I shook my head in mock-defeat. Lottie stood on her tiptoes and kissed me when we came together. The woman still made me speechless when she was close. I couldn’t believe my luck when she’d agreed to marry me just a few hundred yards down the beach last time we were here.

  “They tried, but as usual, their inability to
keep straight faces gave them away. What were you doing down there?” Lottie took my hand in hers, and we headed for the front door.

  “The two of them dragged me down there,” I replied. “They didn’t tell you why?” I didn’t think Andi and Vila would be able to hold a secret like the whales in.

  “Nope, they didn’t say, even though I asked,” Lottie confirmed.

  “In that case, neither will I.” I wasn’t about to spoil the whale surprise for her, so I just kissed the top of her head as we entered our new home.

  The foyer was so large I could’ve fit another house inside it. A water feature, sculpted to look like seashells, rose twenty into the air right in the middle of it. The house was constructed to mimic a courtyard villa. The entire middle of the ceiling was made of curved glass, so it was just like being outside. Each door to the rooms on the second floor exited out onto a mock-balcony overlooking the foyer. It added a touch of old New Orleans to the place.

  On the sides of the foyer, under the second-floor balconies, were archways that led to beautifully designed, covered outdoor patios. The left side had a pool and hot tub, while the right side was furnished with suspended seating and a firepit. Directly to the back of the foyer were a massive, open floor plan kitchen and dining room. It was my favorite part of the house because the wall facing the ocean was made entirely of glass. The bedrooms, living room, offices, and theater were all found on the upper level, and each had at least one glass wall of their own. The walls were painted a bright white, and the balconies were trimmed with seafoam blue accents. Light earth-toned tile was found throughout the house, except in the bedrooms, which were carpeted. Lottie and I had both fallen in love with the place just seeing the video tour. We bought it sight-unseen before it could be taken off the market, and standing there, I was happy we did.

  We walked straight back to the kitchen where Andi and Vila were setting out paper plates and napkins aside several large pizza boxes on a curved island in front of the window. I’d always had a tradition of the first meal in a new house being pizza on moving day, so Lottie had kept the tradition alive. Lottie laughed as we got to the girls, and they both looked at her, puzzled.

  “Paper plates?” Lottie giggled. “I wasn’t expecting anything more than a paper towel! How did you find those?”

  The movers had finished bringing in the kitchen boxes but hadn’t unpacked them yet. Andi glanced at Vila, and the two of them looked around and started whistling guiltily. Lottie slowly nodded her head and smiled.

  “I shouldn’t ask such questions,” she added when she realized the girls had most likely simply snapped their fingers and made the paper plates appear. She still wasn’t completely accustomed to the idea of Andi and Vila being centuries-old magical genies. Once I’d asked her to marry me, I had no choice but to let her in on the secret, however. She loved the girls and their magic, but their everyday use of it still surprised her quite often. She reached to open one of the pizza boxes, and the sound of a man walking into the room came from behind us. The two massively huge movers were standing at the entrance to the kitchen.

  “We have everything in. Would you like to do a walkthrough to ensure we have placed the items correctly?” the bigger man on the right asked. He looked like he’d run a marathon in Arizona, the way he was sweating. Apparently aware and self-conscious of his appearance, he continually ran a small bandana over his face. I guessed he was about forty-five years old.

  “No need for the walkthrough,” I replied as I walked over to him. “If something needs moving, we can take it from here.”

  The man glanced behind me at the girls and looked back at me, doubt on his face. “Are you sure? Some of those pieces are really rather heavy,” he said in a low tone. He was trying to be respectful of the girls while at the same time doubting their ability to move such heavy items with me.

  “I’m sure,” I replied, then lowered my voice to a whisper. “They’re stronger than they look, and besides, if we ask them to do a walkthrough right now, you’ll be moving furniture two inches this way, and two inches that way for hours!”

  He broke into a smile and nodded. “That is usually how it goes,” the man chuckled.

  I liked him. He was very professional and didn’t act as though he was in a hurry to leave like most of the moving company people I’d dealt with in my life. His associate was quiet but had an easy smile on his face. He was no more rushed than the first man.

  “I’ll walk you out,” I told them as I stepped between them. The three of us sauntered across the foyer toward the door. The quiet man held a card out to me.

  “Here is our direct line if you change your mind about needing adjustments to the furniture,” he said helpfully.

  “I appreciate that, thank you,” I replied as I took the card from him and tucked it in my pocket. “Say, I have a question for you.” The two of them stopped and looked at me.

  “Sure, what can we help you with?” The big man wiped his face again.

  “Do you like what you do?” I had a feeling that even though the men gave no indication they were displeased with their job, it may be a bit rough on them.

  “I like it well enough,” the big man replied honestly. “It keeps a roof over my head and feeds my family, so I’m grateful I can do it.”

  “Hey, it comes in handy when we have to move ourselves,” the quiet man said humorously. “We already have the know-how!”

  I chuckled at his response and started walking again. “With as strong as the two of you are, I would’ve expected to find you in the security field, honestly,” I told them.

  “We get that a lot,” the big man said with a shrug.

  “I bet you do,” I responded. As we reached the door, I pulled my money clip out of my pocket and peeled off two thousand dollars I’d taken out of the bank for them. I split it and gave each of them one thousand. They took the tip and shook my hand.

  “We appreciate your business, Mr. Anders,” the quiet man told me, and the two of them turned to leave. I started heading back to the kitchen when the big man’s voice stopped me.

  “Excuse me, Mr. Anders,” he said, confusion ringing out. I turned and saw him shifting from one foot to the other uncomfortably. “I want to be certain you know how much you’ve tipped us.”

  “I know exactly how much I’ve tipped you, rest assured.” I smiled at them and turned back around. I preferred that the workers I tipped make it a good distance away before figuring out their tip was larger than they were used to, but I respected the man’s honest nature.

  “We truly appreciate it, Mr. Anders,” he called after me.

  “I truly appreciate your service. You’re more than worth it!” I called back without turning around. I slowed my walk and turned my head so I could eavesdrop as they walked out.

  “You know, I did just see a flyer for a security safety course the other day,” the quiet man started. “I didn’t think much of it because the course was kind of pricey. Maybe we should look into it now?”

  “I saw the same one,” the big man answered him. “Right beside it was a job posting for that big office building. I think we should definitely check it out!”

  I smiled at the note of hopefulness in their voices. I never knew how it would work out exactly, but the magic from the first wish I’d made a while back always did indeed work. After the genies had explained that they would be granting me three wishes, my first ended up being that I would have the ability to leave people I’d meet better off than before I knew them. Sometimes the benefit was grand and sudden, like a young kid from a gas station winning the lottery, and sometimes it was more subtle, like with the two movers. I had no doubt they would change professions and no longer have to perform manual labor in the dead heat of summer. The fact that they were grateful for what they had made it all the better that I could help them be more comfortable if that’s what they wanted. Listening to them, it appeared that they wanted just that. I couldn’t stop grinning to myself as I rejoined the girls in the kitchen.
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br />   “First wish working out well?” Vila asked jokingly.

  “You know it is,” I answered as I set my money clip on the island. All three girls looked at me and stopped moving.

  “Don’t you think that perhaps you should keep that in your pocket? At least until we are moved in, and it doesn’t have such a high chance of getting lost?” Andi scolded me. I slowly picked the clip up and slid it back into my pocket.

  “You have a point there,” I started. “I’m not sure if I should be grateful, you are watching out, or offended that you think I’d lose it.” I raised an eyebrow at Vila and held my face straight.

  “You have no idea how many—” Vila launched into a lecture. Andi cut her off mid-sentence.

  “We have changed hands when someone gets all comfortable—”

  “With assuming they are ‘super careful’ but instead—”

  “They end up lampless, and we end up stuck—”

  “With a new master that is from who knows where and—”

  “And who wants us to do who knows what—” The two of them were not only finishing each other's sentences, they were increasing in volume with every word. I put my hands up and backed up a step.

  “Ladies! Ladies!” I called out over their lecture. “I get it. You have very good reason to make sure I’m extra careful, and I appreciate you looking out for me.” I went around the island and stood between them. “You know I would never want to lose you, nor would I be able to live with someone else finding you. I will keep the clip-on me at all times until we have everything set up and a special place arranged for it.”