Finn's mom had already served us a plate, which was waiting for us when we sat down.
"So, Elise, my husband tells me he caught you holding Finn's snake in his room." Finn's mom said. I started to tell her about it, but then Finn's dad choked on a laugh and was trying very hard to hold in more laughter.
I looked at Finn, confused. He protested, on my behalf. "Mom, Dad, that's not funny."
Both his parents erupted, laughing so hard all the peas rolled off of his mom's fork and his dad was smacking the table with his head thrown back.
I said quietly to Finn, "What is so funny?"
He looked surprised, "You really don't know?" he said. I shook my head, so he leaned over and whispered in my ear. "They were making a joke about you holding something else that is 'like' a snake."
I blushed, and they laughed harder.
"I'm very sorry, Elise. We don't mean to embarrass you. It's just, I can't resist making a good joke." Finn's dad said, calming down and resuming his meal.
"Well, not all of your jokes are good, dear, but that one was pretty funny." Finn's mom said to her husband. She looked at us and explained, "He came in here and told me to say that as soon as you sat down."
"Oh, well, I'm sorry I didn't get it at first, but it's not like that. I mean, I'm not like that." I still hadn't picked up my fork. My hands rested in my lap.
"Oh, sweet girl, I'm so sorry. We've made you uncomfortable. Here," she put her fork down and stood. She looked at her husband and said, "My Love, would you join me in the living room for dinner?" She balanced her fork on her plate, picked it up, and her water, and waited for her husband to do the same.
"Oh, no, you don't have to leave the table. I'm sorry, I'm just not used to anyone making jokes around me. It's ok, really." I told them, feeling bad that they wanted to leave.
"Now, now, We'll talk more after dinner. I can't stop my husband from making jokes, so that is something you may have to get used to, but I think you and Finn should have dinner together. Alone." She nudged her husband with her hip, and walked around the table to the living room. Finn's dad followed her with his plate, apologizing again before he left saying, "Sorry. I better go with her, or I'll be dinner tomorrow night." As he walked past his wife, she playfully kicked him in the shin. "Ow!" we heard him say when they had just moved out of sight.
Finn chuckled lightly, and failing to hide his grin, he said "I tried to warn you that my parents were weird, right?"
I chuckled too, "Yeah, I'm sorry I didn't believe you. But it is kind of nice of them." I picked up my fork and prepped a bite.
"What do you mean?" Finn said, chewing and swallowing.
"They're sort of letting us have a date by leaving us alone. And now that I get it, it was kind of funny." I poised my bite and looked over at Finn.
He was smiling down at his plate. Then, he laughed. "Yeah, it was a little funny." Taking a breath, he said, "That probably was her plan all along. My mom does stuff like that all the time. She is attuned to her psychic abilities. She also likes to joke as much as my dad, so get ready for that."
We giggled and continued eating. I set my fork down and took a drink of my water. When I had swallowed, I asked, "So, I guess you and your parents will be teaching me?"
Finn swallowed his bite, then said, "Yeah, and the Elders may also have some wisdom for you, if that's ok." I took another bite and chewed it slowly.
He continued, "It's just that, this is a really bid deal, and it's important that you level up. Though I'm not a novice anymore, I'm still not ready to really teach anyone else. They'll be able to answer your questions better. I'm still learning too."
"It will be alright. I just wasn't expecting it, that's all. But I can't wait to meet them properly."
"If your mom doesn't stay for the bonfire, maybe we can call them over."
I nodded because my mouth was full, but I still didn't say anything once I swallowed. I just took another bite. Finn stopped to take a drink.
I took a drink as well, then said "How much about us did you tell them?"
"I told them you're my girlfriend, and that you know about me being Pagan. I told them you were curious about it, and that I trusted you. They are good people, they just are very cautious."
"And your parents?" I raised an eyebrow at him. "How much do they know about us?"
"I don't have to tell them anything. They just pick up on stuff. But I'm sure my feelings for you became clear last Saturday. My parents are laid back, but Elise, I don't want to move too fast. I want to enjoy the anticipation a little longer. I want you to see magic first, and then we can feel magic together. My parents are lewd, sometimes. They tell me things I don't want to hear, but that's their way of jokingly telling me to go away. I stay out of their way, then. But they love each other, and sometimes they just flirt like that. It's weird, but sweet."
I sat for a while after I had swallowed my food. Then, I said, "That's very different from my mom. You're parents are growing on me. They're just a bit to get used to." I set my fork down and rested my hand on his knee. "And I love you for being the way you are. Thank you for saying it so beautifully. I can't wait to feel magic together, but I want to wait until I'm ready."
He set his fork down too, and wiped his mouth with his napkin. Then, he laid his had over mine. We looked at each other knowingly, then he lifted my hand to his lips. Just before he placed a kiss on it, he said, "But we don't have to hide our affection from my parents, if that's what your asking." He kissed my hand. I took my hand from his gentle grasp and traced along his bottom lip with my forefinger. I looked into his eyes, and he looked back at me with hunger. He leaned forward and kissed me. I closed my eyes, and my heart was racing when he released me.
"But we do have to hide it in front of my mom." I told him. A smile spread slowly across his face. A mischievous smile or a good-natured smile, I couldn't be sure. "Yes, ma'am," he replied. We sat back in our seats and faced our plates again. Forks poised with grins on our faces, we finished our dinner. Finn took up our plates when we were done, and I followed him into the kitchen with my cup. He set the plates in the sink and sprayed water over them. When he moved out of the way, I filled my cup with cold water from the tap. His parents heard us at the sink and had brought their plates to the sink as well. I moved out of their way, and Finn took my hand and led me to the living room.
Finn brought me over to the loveseat, and we sat. His parents came in and his dad sat across from us in the living chair, and his mom sat near him on that end of the couch.
"Oh," I said to Finn, "I left my journal on your bed." Finn squeezed my knee, and cot up to go get it.
"So, Elise, Finn told you about what happened. Did you have any questions?" Finn's mom said, crossing her legs and leaning against the arm of the couch.
"Yes. I didn't want to believe him at first, but I believe him now. I don't have any reason not to trust him. I don't want to be a snake forever, so I'm ready to get started learning what I need to learn to suppress it." I told them. Finn came back with my notebook and a pen. He handed it to me and sat next to me, resting his arm over the back of the couch behind me and propping his leg over his knee like his dad.
His mom continued, "Well, Sage Desmond said that you would have to level up as a witch. First, I believe you have to awaken. But it won't end there. You will have to surpass the first point, which is often the hardest, but easily the most important place to start. Even well-trained witches must revisit this point time and time again. Did Finn tell you about any of that?"
"No," I told her. Finn chimed in, "I kept everything general. I wasn't sure where to start."
"Well," his dad said, "let's worry about your awakening first, then. Have you felt the spirits before, or had any kind of spiritual experience?"
"I felt the elements in the forest with Finn," I said.
Finn finished the explanation, "I was cycling energy and guiding her through meditation. I wanted her to feel my sacred space."
His parents nodded and his dad went on, "The spirit of the elements makes up everything. There are five. Do you know them?"
"Yes, I think." I counted them on my fingers as I named them off, "Water, Earth, Air, and Fire, and... Spirit."
"Yes, and did he draw you a compass?" I must have looked confused because he suggested that we all sit around the coffee table. Finn helped his mom clear everything off of it, and I kneeled across the coffee table from Finn's dad. Finn was beside me and his mom was across from him. Finn's dad took the journal and opened it up to the second page. Taking the pen, he drew a compass, with the North, East, South, and West labeled. He wrote in all caps, but small and neatly. Above the words, he drew a symbol that was either a upright or upside-down triangle. North had an upside-down triangle with a line through it close to the point. East was an upright triangle with a line through it. South was an upright triangle with no line, and West was an upside-down triangle with no line. By the flat edge of each triangle, he wrote the name of the element associated with each direction. I watched him do this with fascination.
"Yes, Finn did try to explain this to me." I said when he was done.
"Ok," he began drawing a new diagram underneath that one. "This is the pentacle. A five-pointed star." He looked at me to see if I was following.
"Finn has one on his ring." I said. "It represents all five elements, and the point up is for the Goddess."
He looked impressed and I felt proud. "Yes, very good. Now," he drew a circle around it, "when it is enclosed in a circle, it shows the elements are protected, encompassed in the circle. This will be important later, but it is foundational knowledge you should have now. So, when you felt the spirits in the forest, describe that to me." Finn's dad rested the pen in the crease of the journal, and adjusted himself into a comfortable position.
"I went out there with Finn," I began, "and he told me if I was still, I could become part of the forest. So I closed my eyes, and I followed his breathing, and I listened. I could hear everything, and I knew what it was without seeing it. I felt it, and I just WAS. I felt heavy and light at once. like I knew I couldn't leave the ground, but like I could float into the sky."
"Great! That's perfect. I want to try something." We all followed him over the the open part of the living room and sat facing each other. Finn's dad sat with his back straight and we followed his lead. "Now, close your eyes." We all did, and he continued, "In meditation, or during ritual, or anytime you feel like it, you can call on the spirits. You just focus on them, aspects of them, or creatures or items that represent them. I'll explain those more later, but for now let's think of Air. What makes you think of Air?"
I said, "Wind."
"Yes, good, but there is so much more you can do with Air. We breathe it in, for example." He took a deep breath and blew it out. I did the same. "Birds use it to fly. Our sky is air. And the sky is above us. With the Cosmos, it is considered the heavens, therefore it is wise. Since it is our breath, it rules over communication. Because the winds can change, it is fluid and fickle, and playful and harsh." He paused for a moment to let me sit with those words. "Then, there's Fire. What comes to mind when you think of fire?"
I sat thinking for a while, trying to say something clever. Then, I said, "A flame. The flame of a candle, or a campfire."
"Yes. Fire also symbolizes passion. 'It burns with the intensity of a thousand suns'," he quoted. "The sun is Fire. Even a spark has power because it has all the potential of becoming an uncontrollable wildfire. It hungers for more always, until it has nothing left to burn, and then it dwindles, but it leaves behind hot coals. It can purify, and it can destroy."
I opened my eyes to peek at the clock. I didn't want to stop him, but it was already 9:15. I would be late getting home if I left now anyway. I touched Finn's knee. He opened his eyes and looked at me.
"Is it time for you to go?" He looked at the clock. "Oh, yeah. Hey, dad?"
By now everyone's eyes were open. I looked at Finn's dad, "Thank you. I'll try to come over again tomorrow. I have to go. I'll already be late."
"That's alright. I understand. I guess we covered enough for you to think about. Try to understand the elements. How do they interact, and what do they do. How do we use them. How are they vital to life? Think of the plant cycle. Nature is a big part of it. But, I could go on. You get home. I'm glad you were able to come over."
"Yes," Finn's mom added, "And you know you are welcome here anytime. Just maybe don't surprise Finn." We all looked at her like 'really?' "Too soon? Alright. Well, anyway, bye dear. We stood and she wrapped me in a hug. Finn's dad joined in, and Finn had one arm around me and one arm around his mom. I had never really been part of a group hug before, but it was nice. I just really had to go. I flailed my hand around for Finn, and he pulled me out.
"I'll walk you out," he said. I said goodbye one more time, took up the journal Finn gave me, and we walked out to my car. I leaned up and left a peck on Finn's cheek before I got into my car. He waited for me to pull all the way out, but in my rearview mirror, I could see him pressing his hand to his cheek as a silhouette against the light coming off his garage.