"I guess it's possible she's usually even better, I've only been to the one."

"I think today was about normal," laughs Veronica.

"--Um, before church I found out what my magic was and accidentally started and put out a fire with it."

"Is everything okay?" asks Tabitha.

"I would have texted!" says Veronica. "It's fine, cosmetic damage to a tree and Anna-Charlotte's going to hold off practicing more with lightning till she's a bit older."

"My first spell is rain and my second spell is lightning and I was seeing if I could get more oomph out of lightning by having a lightning bolt motif and I set a tree on fire by accident and I put it out with the rain. And then I went in to tell Veronica."

"You handled it very well," says Veronica.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

They reach the house.

Anna-Charlotte loads her books onto the coffee table in front of the couch and then gets rid of the wagon. 

Veronica and Tabitha have tea.

She curls up and reads about paladins. 

Veronica suggests it might be bedtime at about ten.

She nods and bookmarks her place and goes to bed. 

In the morning there are pancakes! "I usually have cereal for breakfast, but when there's company I seem inspired to make an effort," says Veronica. "There are morning services today, eat up quick and we'll head over."

"Okay!" 

She eats her pancakes quickly and waits by the door, bouncing slightly. 

And they make it to church in time for the morning service, which is almost exactly like the evening one.

Anna-Charlotte likes church a lot. 

That's convenient, since her current caretaker is a thaumaturge. They hang out at church for most of the rest of the day, Veronica being available to people who want private spiritual counseling and in between those doing some church maintenance tasks and swapping Imani's food out.

Anna-Charlotte pets Imani and reads her books. 

The next day the CPS people call. 

"Veronica Norton," says Veronica, when she picks up.

"Hello, this is Child Protective Services. We understand that the minor child Anna-Charlotte Sharma was placed with you under emergency circumstances while her legal guardians were investigate for child abuse."

"That's right, she's been staying here. Unfortunately my wife doesn't want to accommodate her long term."

"That's understandable. The case has been resolved, and we've begun looking for long-term foster placement. When would be convenient for you to bring her for interviewing?"

"I'm available all day today but have an appointment tomorrow afternoon."