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that’s where your magical energy is.”
    “So, if I wish it, it will come true?”
    She shook her head quickly. “Not everything. Magic is powerful, but it’s also unpredictable. You’ll have to practice. There were many things I wished for that never came to pass. I think it has to do with your emotions and how they affect the energy.”
    “Do I have to say it out loud, or can I just think it?”
    “I’ve never said my wishes while I wrote them. Be careful of what you think when you bake. And you need to understand that as wonderful as this gift is, it doesn’t come without hazard.” She hesitated. It was obvious she didn’t want to say anything that might dissuade me from accepting the gift, but come on—hazardous?
    “What hazards, Grandma?”
    She shifted in her seat. Her gaze, once again, hit the wall behind me. “It’s not a big deal, not really. You just need to be very clear in what you wish for. You need to be positive of the words you use and the outcome you want.”
    “Or what?”
    “Well. As I said, magic can be unpredictable. And where there’s the chance for unpredictability, there’s the chance that something negative will occur. Of course, how bad the possible negativity is depends on the wish itself, what’s at stake, and a whole lot of other things I still don’t really understand.”
    “Grandma! If I need to be careful, shouldn’t you have told me about this from the beginning?” I mean, come on, I bake almost every day. And, mostly, my mind wanders while I do. What type of damage could I have done? A chill overtook me, and I rubbed my arms to stave it off.
    “I was afraid you’d turn it away, like your mother did. So you needed to experience it first. Besides, in all my years of wishes, I’ve only had one truly negative result. I figured you’d be safe enough for a little while.”
    “And what was the negative result?”
    She shifted again. “I don’t know if I want to share this with you.”
    “I’m trying hard to believe everything you’ve said to me, but I need to hear all of it. Otherwise, I’ll wish the gift away. I can do that, right?”
    “Why would you want to? It’s your legacy.”
    “Because if I don’t know the ramifications, it’s not worth it.”
    She pouted. And then, in one huge burst of words, she said, “Years ago, when your grandfather was still alive, he’d lost interest in sex. I wanted him to have that interest again, so I wished that he would.”
    Oh, no . I already knew where this was heading. “Shirley?” I asked.
    Grandma Verda nodded. “His interest was revived, but with someone else. I wished again, over and over, hoping to bring him back to me. Out of her bed and into mine. Into ours. Only, it never worked.”
    “So you knew about her before Grandpa’s funeral?”
    “Of course I did. Your grandfather may never have asked for a divorce, but he left me just as surely as Marc left you. The difference was I had to live with it, every single day.”
    “You don’t know your wish did that. You can’t be sure of it.”
    The sheen in her eyes told me she was holding back tears. “I know. In my heart, I know.”
    “Then why did you name your cat after his mistress? I’ve always wondered that.”
    “To remind myself that I needed to be careful with the magic. While your grandfather was alive, that was all the reminding I needed. And even after he died, for a long time, I was fine. And then one day, the pain left. That scared me, because without the pain… how would I remember? So I bought Shirley.”
    We were quiet for a few minutes. I knew she needed time to pull herself back to the present, and I was still considering everything that had been said. Then I said, “Can you show me? Write a spell now so I can see it work. Something simple.”
    “I can’t. I don’t have it anymore. I gave it to you. This is why I’m so pleased you can use it. I thought it might die with me, which would be a travesty. It’s our heritage; it needs to