Chapter 6
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY, EVAN
On Valentine's Day, everyone exchanged cards- either store bought or home made. Marcia had even bought an extra set of cards and signed Evan's name to them, even though he was too young to understand. Of course, everyone had a card for Griselda too, who by now, seemed like one of the family.
But the cards were soon forgotten when Josh brought out little heart shaped boxes filled with chocolates for Marcia, Melanie, and Arielle. They only had four candies in them apiece, but they were a special treat in household where candy was almost never allowed. He gave Griselda a red carnation to put on her cape, because he knew she wasn't supposed to eat candy. Evan, who was too young for either chocolates or flowers, didn't get anything.
"This is the best candy I've ever eaten," said Arielle as she bit into a chocolate caramel.
"Ooh, my favorite kind," said Melanie. "Nuts!"
"Look, Evan wants some candy too," Marcia said, as Evan tried to grab a piece from her box. "No, no, Evan, candy is not for babies," she said gently, pushing the box just out of his reach.
"No, Evan, DON'T!," Arielle shrieked as Evan grabbed a piece of her candy. Evan started to cry.
"Here, Evan, have this," said Melanie, offerring him the ribbon from her box. But the ribbon didn't interest him for long. He could tell he was missing something special, and he wanted to be part of the fun. Soon he was pulling at people's legs and whining, trying to get his share of the treat.
Although Griselda was more polite about it, it wasn't easy for her to watch either. Ever since she discovered the joys of cooking and eating good food, she didn't miss candy too much. But watching the others licking their lips and saying how delicious the chocolates were, was just too much. "It's still my favorite food," she thought sadly. But she knew she couldn't eat any. She didn't want to get sick again.
"Let me take Evan out for a spin on my broom," Griselda finally offerred, when neither of them could stand it any longer. "Evan deserves a little treat of his own."
So Marcia bundled Evan up in his snow suit, hat, and mittens, while Josh went to the car to get his car seat. He buckled Evan safely in, on the back of the broom and Griselda got on in front.
"Bye Bye," Marcia called out as they were leaving.
"Have a good time," called Josh, waving.
Griselda circled over Ossipee Road once and looked back to see how Evan was doing. He was having the time of his life. At first he was so fascinated by what was happening, he did nothing but stare wide-eyed and open-mouthed. But soon he began to babble excitedly and wave his arms up and down.
"Let's go visit some of my old favorite haunts," Griselda said. "Hold on to your hat." The broom picked up speed and she pointed it almost vertically, towards the top of the sky.
Griselda weaved her way skillfully between the clouds, and soon they were so far away from the earth, that they were flying in outer space.
Evan became quiet again, mesmerized by the twinkling stars, which were coming into view. "First stop, the moon," Griselda announced to him.
The moon, which seemed the size of basketball from earth, looked larger and larger. In a short time, they had arrived, and Griselda gently landed the broom. "Let's see if the Man in the Moon's in" Griselda said as she unbuckled Evan from his car seat.
"Griselda!" a large voice called out. "What are you doing here. It's too early for the annual witches convention?"
"Hello Mooney!" Griselda called back. "I'm just in for a short visit with a little friend of mine. Come on over."
The Man in the Moon came closer. He was tall and thin with a long wispy, white, beard, and his skin was a pale glowing green. "That's a human baby," Mooney said loking worried. "Griselda, what tricks are you up to now?"
"No tricks," she told him. "This is Evan. I'm a family friend. I'm just taking him for a little ride."
"Family friend," Mooney repeated thoughtfully. "That's something new for you. So what have you been doing with yourself?"
"Actually, I've taken up cooking," Griselda said. "Nutritious food can be quite tasty and it gives me something new to do with my spells."
"What! No more eye of newt and wing of bat? Griselda?" said Mooney."No wonder your looking so good."
"You old scoundrel," laughed Griselda. "Well, Evan. I bet you'd like to see something of the moon." She put Evan down in a crawling position but he immediately pulled himself up to standing, holding on to her skirt. Then he let go and took his first, few, cautious steps.
At ten months, Evan was a little young to start walking. But the moon has less gravity than earth and this made Evan lighter, so it was easier to walk. The funny thing was that he didn't take tiny baby steps, like he would have on earth. Instead, he took slow little leaps into the air, like a ballet dancer in slow motion. This is how Griselda and Mooney walked too, only their leaps were bigger.
Evan was delighted with his new skill, and with only a few tumbles, had soon leaped some distance away. "Evan, come back here," Griselda called as she went bounding after him. "Come see this crater," she said when she caught him. "You'll love it."
She placed Evan in a crater, about 20 feet across. He had a wonderful time leaping around in it, but he couldn't climb up the sides. Griselda and the Man in the Moon sat on the rim of the crater and talked.
"Well, I'm afraid we must be going," Griselda said at last. "Evan will be getting hungry soon, and I still have a few more things to show him."
"Well, it's been a real pleasure having you," said Moone. "Can I give him a little green cheese to tide him over until you get him back?"
"Certainly," said Griselda.
The Man in the Moon reached down on the ground and pulled out a green hunk. He handed a small piece to Evan, who nibbled at it and gave two larger pieces to Griselda- one for herself, and one for Evan's family.
"This will be delicious in a pasta recipe I have," Griselda told him as she buckled Evan into his car seat.
"Good-bye," said Mooney, waving. "Come again."
Griselda and Evan flew off into space, away from earth. "Next stop the Milky Way," said Griselda. "But there a few things on the way that I know you'll like."
As they flew, they were getting quite close to the stars, which looked big and were shining very brightly now. "Look over there," said Griselda pointing. "It's the big dipper. And over there is the little dipper." Evan looked over and saw two enormous ladles, one the size of a car, the other the size of a truck. They were filled with water and each had seven golden stars attached to it.
"There's Draco the Dragon." she said, as they flew on. "Watch, if I get him angry he'll blow fire out of his mouth." Draco was also very large, and his big head and long body were all covered with shiny goleden stars. Griselda kept her distance when she called out, "Hey Draco, You've got bad breath."
Draco turned towards Griselda and Evan, and opened his mouth, sending out a jet of fire. They could feel the heat on their faces, but it didn't hurt them.
"Look over there. Sirius the Dog and Lepus the Rabbit." They flew over and played with the friendly dog. Evan loved trying to catch his tail, which like the rest of his body, was covered with stars. But Lepus was too shy too play and hopped away.
Griselda and Evan flew on and on. They saw Orion the Hunter, and Castor and Pollux the Gemini Twins. Finally they came to a place where there were millions and millions of bright white stars, all close together, and all different sizes.
"Here's the Milky Way," announced Griselda. "Isn't it beautiful?"
Then she grabbed a star the size of one of Evan's toy balls at home. It had five points but they weren't sharp.
"Are you getting hungry?" she asked, handing Evan the star. "Try this."
Evan took the star, put one of the points in his mouth, and sucked on it. He grunted contentedly as he drank the delicious milk. As they flew on, he reached out and grabbed a few of the tiniest stars.
"Oh, no, Evan," Griselda said taking them from him. "These are too little for you to play with. But this one will look nice on a chain for Arielle, and these other two will make nice earrings for Melanie. I think we'll take them home."
Evan continued to suck on the star, and soon he was asleep. He slept for almost the whole ride home, until they had entered the earth's atmosphere again.
This time, Griselda flew right into the clouds. Evan laughed as the wispy, wet, whiteness tickled his face. Coming out the other side of the cloud, they soon came to another cloud. This one was and thick and cottony. Sitting on top of the cloud was a winged boy who looked not much older than Evan. He was playing with a bow and arrow.
Griselda landed the broom gently on the cloud. "Hello, Cupid," she said.
"Hello, Griselda," said Cupid. "What brings you here. I didn't think a witch would be very interested in a holiday like Valentine's Day."
"Oh, don't be so sure," laughed Griselda. "I brought my little boy friend with me today. We've been having a wonderful time. He doesn't seem to mind spending Valentine's Day with an ugly old witch."
"So, little boy," said Cupid. "Have you been having a nice Valentine's Day with Griselda? How would you like a Valentine's Day present? Here," he said, handing Evan a little, fluffy, white rabbit, made from a cloud. "It's perfectly safe for him to put in his mouth," he explained to Griselda.
"Thank you, Cupid," said Griselda. "That's very kind of you. We'll name it Lepus. Now we must be going before his parents get worried about him. Good-bye."
Griselda and Evan flew off and soon they were home on Ossipee Road.
"We had a lovely time," said Griselda. "I got him some milk and he had a nice nap. And here. We got you some Valentine's presents."
She presented the cheese to Josh and Marcia, the star necklace to Arielle, and the star earrings to Melanie.
"Well, now you're in for a big Valentine's treat," said Marcia. "Josh has made some pizza and its in the shape of a heart."
They all sat down to eat. And although the pizza wasn't as delicious as Griselda's, it was very good.
While the others ate, Evan tried to walk, the way he had on the moon. But of course, on earth, he was heavier again, and he wasn't strong enough to stand by himself. So after falling on his face a few times, he went back to crawling and played with his new bunny.