"Okay, remember, hold your head up, make eye contact, and smile," Augustus explained, walking beside me out of the servant's quarters while I held a tray of crab puffs in my hand. "Because right now, you're frowning, Andrea, and that's not what these people want." He continued, his tail swishing back and forth.

"If it's that easy, why don't you serve these people food and drinks?" I answered; the tone of my voice was harsher than intended.

Glancing down, I noticed Augustus stopped walking and was now sitting down on the wooden floor on his back legs. He looked at both of his front paws, then at me. "I don't have opposable thumbs," he said, stating the obvious.

"Hilarious, little kitty," Cassie announced, next to me, holding a tray of various sodas in one hand and glasses of champagne in the other.

Almost immediately, Celia came walking towards Cassie and me, making Augustus slowly walk towards her, wrapping his tail around her leg, purring softly. "Hurry up, you two; our guests are waiting. Oh, and Andrea, uncle David should be arriving with your mother shortly."

"Why are you wearing a tiara on your head, Andrea?" Celia asked, looking straight at me; her eyes left my face and landed on Cassie's jeweled Rapunzel tiara. "Jewelry of any kind is prohibited. What if the tiara were to fall off your head and hit one of our guests? I can't have you embarrassing this family."

"This celebration isn't ever for you. The party is for Andi and her mother to finally reconnect, so fuck off," I heard Cassie mutter underneath her breath.

"Excuse me, what did your friend just say, Andrea?" Celia placed her hands on her hips and shot daggers between both of us.

I opened my mouth to speak, but Cassie interrupted, saying. "Nothing, ma'am. We'll get the guests their food and drinks straight away, and I'll make sure Andrea gets rid of this ridiculous tiara," she told my aunt.

"Good. Now get going." Celia said, picking up Augustus and carrying him away.

Heading towards the other larger living room my aunt used more for parties and such, Cassie leaned over and whispered, "See, I told you, Andi, Celia's one complete motherfucker. I can't believe your uncle David married her."

"Well, he did," I said. Reaching up, I took the plastic tiara off my head with my free hand, and the smile Augustus told me to have plastered on my face during the party would slip back into place every time I turned away from any guest.

• • • •

"Are you enjoying the food, ma'am?" I asked a middle-aged woman wearing an elegant floor-length dress with sequins paired with a fury white shawl.

"Oh, the food is exquisite, dear!" she exclaimed, putting her hand on my arm. "Who's your cook? I must have them cook for me at my next birthday party. I'm turning fifty-three next month."

"Our chef is Jean-George Pépin. He's originally from Toulouse, France, and I'm sure he'd love to cook for your next birthday." I told the woman, which caused a smile to spread across her wrinkle-free face.

"Excellent, excellent!" She reached into her teal-blue clutch and pulled out what looked to be like a business card. "Tell Mr. Pépin that Ms. Margaret Webbs of Webbs County Club of Connecticut wants him to give her a call."

"Will do, Ms. Webbs," I said and stuck her business card into the front pocket of my apron. "It was nice talking with you."

"You too, dear." Ms. Webbs said. "What's your name?"

"Andrea. Andi for short." I told her.

"Well, it was a pleasure meeting you, Andi. I enjoyed talking with you much better than any of these old brutes." she winked at me and walked away towards a cluster of ladies and gentlemen gathered together, chatting amongst themselves.

The sound of metal tapping against glass caught my attention; turning around, I saw Celia standing in front of the fireplace at the front of the living room, holding a glass of champagne.

"Hello, everyone. I hope you all are enjoying yourselves." Celia announced to the crowd, and everyone began raising their glasses. "This celebration wouldn't have been possible without my two glorious daughters, Ruby and Emily." 

"Bullshit. Pure bullshit." Cassie said, walking over towards me with empty drink trays. "Assholes, all three of 'em." her lips pressed into a thin line.

I watched Ruby and Emily walk towards Celia, giving the crowd kisses as they passed. It was sickening, but the reality of the party finally clicked into place. This party wasn't for my mother but for my aunt and cousins to build their status with their rich country club friends.

"Thank you, mother." Ruby and Emily said in unison. "And thank you all for attending this celebration."

Cassie made a gagging noise, and I stifled a laugh.

"See, you two are inseparable now more than ever." someone said from behind me.

Watching Cassie immediately break into a grin, I turned around and saw my mother standing behind me with her arms open wide and tears glistening in her eyes, making her cheeks flush.

"Mom!" I said, tears of joy running down my cheeks.

She wrapped her arms around me, pulling me into a giant bear hug. "Oh, Andrea. I've missed you so much." she cried, wiping the tears from my face.

"I've missed you too, mom," I said, sniffling.

"Mother and daughter reunited again after eight years, so touching." I heard Cassie say and couldn't help but laugh, wiping the rest of my tears away.

"So, tell me everything," my mom said, smiling at me. "How's school going? Do you have a boyfriend? Are you still practicing your magic?"

"Um, everything–" I started to say but couldn't finish because she interrupted me.

Pulling away from me, she raised an eyebrow as she eyed the outfit I was wearing. "Why are you wearing a catering uniform?"

I opened my mouth again but was interrupted by Cassie. "Because Celia's a bitch and forcing us to serve people while she and her two daughters are total asskissers," Cassie informed my mom, who nodded her head.

"I see; well, those three are about to become the main event." my mom said and winked mischievously.

"Oh, are you going to hex them?" Cassie asked, her eyes full of excitement. "Turn them into toads with tons of warts?"

Ignoring Cassie, my mother shook her head and fixed her attention on Celia, Ruby, and Emily standing in front of the fireplace, then snapped her fingers.

"Okay, now what?" Cassie asked, her eyes widening.

"Look," my mother told us, and we both turned our heads to where Celia, Ruby, and Emily stood. Within seconds all three of them started scratching themselves continuously while jumping up and down, making some people laugh while others whispered in hushed tones.

"What spell did you put on them?" Cassie asked between fits of laughter.

"Only a simple itching spell. Don't worry; the effect will wear off in an hour or two." my mother explained.

"Why didn't you turn them into toads?" Cassie questioned. "That would've been way more hilarious."

"The witches council frowns upon witches and warlocks using transfiguration spells on humans, and–" my mother started, answering Cassie's question.

"–The council only allows transfiguration on magical beings such as witches and warlocks, but they only use those spells when you've done something terrible, like having plans for world domination." Augustus finished, wrapping his tail around my mother's leg, purring loudly.

"Augustus, how did you know my mother was here?" I asked, looking down at him.

"Your Uncle David told me while I was busy eating a can of tuna," he said and continued purring.

My mother bent down and picked up Augustus, holding him in her arms. "Well, I thought seeing your friend after quite a long time would be better than gorging yourself on canned salt-water tuna." she planted a kiss on his furry black cheek.

"I'm a cat. What did you expect?"

Cassie cleared her throat. "I thought you were a warlock, Augustus?"

"Potato, potato," Augustus said, saying the American and British version of potato, making my mother sigh.

"Someone's a sour-puss tonight." my mother began scratching Augustus behind his ears.

"He's a sour-puss every day," Uncle David announced, walking over towards us, holding two glasses of champagne. "Aren't you, Augustus?"

"Don't talk to me." Augustus turned his head away from Uncle David, making my mother, Cassie, and I roll our eyes.

"So, what's going on with my wife and two daughters?" Uncle David asked, eyeing my mother. "You wouldn't have anything to do with that, right, Heather?"

"The itching spell will wear off eventually. I told the girls that," she informed him, sounding like a kid getting caught doing something they weren't supposed to.

Sighing, Uncle David handed my mother the other glass of champagne and said, "Fine, but make sure the spell doesn't get too out of hand."

"It's an itching spell," she motioned towards the front of the living room, where Celia, Ruby, and Emily told, still scratching themselves. "That's about as "out of hand" the spell's going to get."

"Good, and keep it that way." Uncle David said and started walking away, but stopped when he got next to me. "Keep an eye on your mother for me, Andrea," he whispered, and I nodded my head.