Page 53 of Jack of All Trades

“I’m amazing,” Maltin said, laughing. “It’s all because of you.”

They started to kiss, and Jack felt again that heat that flowed through him before, like he was in season, and he figured he was. This time, when they mated, he knew he’d become pregnant, andhe’d give birth to Maltin’s children. The thought was elevating his happiness, his love.

Maltin’s hands on his face, their breath, their lips and mouths, they were together, then and always.

They didn’t stop kissing until they heard Rodney clearing his throat obnoxiously.

“What, Rodney?” Maltin yelled.

Rodney held up both hands. “Don’t destroy me with a blink or anything, Malty, but you’re in mixed company. Save the make-out until you’re alone.”

“Stop it, Rodney. It’s romantic. He’s more like his father than I’d have guessed.”

“Mother!”

Rodney teleported them to the north side of Alberta, Canada. The limo and all. Jack felt cold immediately, but the car warmed quickly once Rodney snapped on the heat. “We’re meeting your real family, Jack. Are you ready?”

With Maltin’s hand in his, Jack knew he could face anything. “I’m ready, Rodney. Thank you all for being with me.”

Trudy reached across and cupped his cheek in her palm. “Dear boy, you’re family now. I’d like at least one granddaughter, of course. I need someone to leave my jewels to.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Jack got out after Maltin and they were in a snowy wood, the smell of the air crisp and clean, the trees towering around them. It was breathtaking.

“They live here?”

“I’m magic, Jack. I asked for them, and the magic took me here.”

“I feel them,” Maltin agreed. “I feel those like us.”

Jack closed his eyes, ready to tell them they were crazy, but then, like a heat was beckoning, he felt it too. “What is that?”

“Heat, like the fires of hell, Jack,” Maltin said with his neck craning to the north. “It’s warm, though, not hot. And I feel no threat.”

Jack didn’t feel a threat either. In fact, the opposite. “You’re stronger than me, Maltin. Point the way.”

Maltin grabbed his hand and led him into the trees, through a trail Maltin couldn’t have known was there.

It was a well-worn trail, shoe prints marking the way.

“Mud! Rodney, you owe me five pairs of shoes now!”

“Yes, Trudy. I’ll get you ten, straight off the drafting tables.”

Maltin called back, “Don’t worry, Mother. We’re close.”

Jack was about to ask how close when Maltin stopped. Jack came up beside him, and there on the trail stood four people. An older couple, man and woman, and two younger women…about Jack’s age. Maltin let go of Jack’s hand and let Jack take a step ahead of him as he felt the familial presence of them.

They were all so like him, it was as if he were staring into a mirror. The man looked like his older twin, and the girls, with blond hair long to their waists, had tears streaming down their faces.

The older woman was crying too, as she stepped flush with her husband. “You’ve come home,” she said, her voice cracking.

Wearing plain clothing, they were nothing like the Pengroves, but he didn’t care. In fact, he liked the jeans and flannel they wore, and the wistful smiles that were blooming on each set of cherub lips.

“Are you…are you my parents?”

The woman nodded and held out her arms, and Jack hesitated only for a moment before he ran to her and was finally held in the arms of a mother.

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