Glynnis saw the cat almost too late, instinctively swerving her ancient Dodge into the next lane as the silly animal darted across the road. She felt an impact, and winced at the thought of killing the poor beast. No, the cat was safe, already halfway up a tree on the other side of the road. A blaring, high-pitched horn drew her attention to the side-view mirror, where she saw a bright red car stopped behind her.
"Oh, dear." It was hard enough getting a license at her age. She certainly didn't need an accident on her record. Opening the door, she slid out and turned just in time to nearly get bowled over by a raging bull. At least, that's how the other driver came across. A huge, balding, middle-aged lout, he was screaming at the top of his lungs, waving his arms and practically frothing at the mouth.
It took a while for the blustering fool to wind down enough to pick out a few decipherable words. "Ferrari." That must be the car. "Stupid, blind, senile, useless..." She tensed, and counted to ten in an effort to maintain her composure. Luckily, it also gave the man time to finally run out of steam.
Looking up at the brute with an icy stare, she chose her words carefully. "I will take care of any damages. My insurance..."
"Your insurance!" The man exploded in a fresh tirade. "That's a hundred-thousand-dollar sports car! If you can't drive this piece of shit, you outa stay back at the rest home! Or trade it in on a broom, you damned, ugly, old Witch!"
"ENOUGH!" The lightning bolt that lanced down from the sky didn't quite cover her outraged command. Reaching down, she picked up the battered plastic toy car that was sitting on street and handed it to a rather bewildered-looking 6 year-old. "I assume you know the old saying about the difference between men and boys? Now it's worth two dollars." She fished in her purse and pulled out a couple of crumpled dollar bills. "Take this! And next time, be more respectful of your elders!"
The child's small fingers closed on the money automatically, but he was still in shock over his sudden return to kindergarten. Glynnis almost felt sorry for the little brat, but he shouldn't have made her lose her temper like that. Which reminded her...
A quick gesture stopped the already fleeing spectators who had started appearing after the accident. She chanted out a spell, and then released them. Confused looks faded as the accident was completely forgotten, and a lost little boy began to wail. His memories were fading fast, but he just might remember to be more careful about who he called a Witch.