31. Hydrangea
Hydrangea
I t had been only a week since we had found Talli and started working with her to decode the grimoire.
Still, that one week felt like at least three.
Every day, as soon as Simone and I would get off work, Maisie would teleport us to Talli’s house using a connection they had built so we didn’t have to drive back and forth so frequently. We would work late into the night to learn as much as we could about the grimoire, its history, and the purpose of the Archaics and spells within it. Then we would teleport home to do it all over again the next day.
In the short time we’ve had to research, we were able to confirm many of Izzy’s theories. It was created around the 1870s to contain secrets particular to the Pierce family—one of the oldest grimoires Talli had ever worked with and she had worked with countless ones in her day. The grimoire housed stories from the previous generation of the Pierces to guide them through life like an ancestral manual. Only Pierce family members could fully read the book, but pages could be shown to others if the owner allowed it. Witch-fae have made edits to its magic to strengthen and add to it over the years. Talli’s magic was the one that made the grimoire empty, revealing only parts of it at a time once the question from the Forget-Me-Maybe spell had been answered. It had been added to the grimoire the day Mom died—which Talli naturally didn’t recall.
Still, there was nothing to inform us of how to break the spell to allow me to read everything. More stories hadn’t appeared, nor had I had anymore dreams about Mom or Pops. We also hadn’t been able to figure out what kind of shifter Mom, Pops, and I were based on the grimoire. There were still far more questions than answers.
Gods, I was long overdue for a vacation.
I was tired of thinking of possibilities, questions, and mysteries. I was beyond ready to just relax and try to turn my brain off. I couldn’t be more grateful that it was time for our annual Friendsgiving trip, this year featuring a tiny roadtrip just before.
“Remind me again why we can’t teleport to Daylily Isle from Bee’s condo like we do every year?” Simone asked, stretching up from the backseat to lean on the middle console. We already weren’t far from the cousins’ house.
“Well,” I answered. “Only certain humans can enter Blackbell, and now is not the time to see if the cousins are in that group unless you want to be driving all over Georgia and still have to teleport.”
“Besides, need we remind you that your island can only be accessed with a boat if you are on it, Sea,” Maisie added.
“Oh, yeah! I always forget about that Atlantisian spell!” Simone giggled. While Maisie and I shook our heads, Simone asked. “It’s about to be crazy to be teleporting with so many people!”
“Ugh, who are you telling! This is going to take so much magic,” Maisie groaned.
“I’ll make sure Dorian has those cocktails ready that you love! He’ll put some healing liquor in there, too.” Simone said, phone already out.
“Ooooh, Dorian? Is he the handsome pool boy or the hot butler?”
“Yes,” I answered, chuckling. “It’s an island of water elementals, merfolk, and aquatic shifters owned by the Atlanean royal family . They are inherently pool boys and servants. And they are all very fine.”
Maisie dramatically put a hand on her forehead like a Hollywood starlet. “Why would you have such temptation around me? I’m spoken for!”
“Yeah, every day that ends with a Y,” I snorted.
Maisie playfully punched my arm. While I rubbed my arm, I said, “Hey! I’m driving here!”
“Don’t talk shit if you can’t take the hit, honeybun!” Maisie laughed.
I turned my 4Runner from the woodland road to the circular driveway in front of the house. Despite having been to this house before, there was something still outright stunning about seeing it. There wasn’t a line of cars like there had been on the night of the party. In fact, there wasn’t anyone waiting for us at all when we arrived nor was there any luggage outside.
“Where are they? I figured they would be waiting outside,” I said as I turned the car off and opened the door.
“Maybe they are finishing up packing or something,” Simone said, getting out of the car. “I mean, Coco hasn’t texted me?—”
Simone’s words ended in a high-pitched squeal on the other side of the car before descending into giggles. Before I could round the car to see what was happening, I caught only the briefest glimpse of a beaming Quinn running toward me before I was swept off my feet, making me squeal, too. She lifted me up in her strong arms, and instinctively I wrapped my legs around her waist. She held me close, tight, and effortlessly like I weighed nothing at all. Which, I definitely didn’t. But the ease and weightlessness made me feel so giddy I couldn’t help the laugh that burst from me, especially as Quinn spun me around.
Quinn peppered me with kisses on my lips, cheeks, neck, shoulders, everywhere she could before she captured my mouth in a full, complete kiss. It was sweet at first like a welcoming hello after a long journey away. Her lips were soft, verging on torturously so. She moved them slowly against my own. But then, she deepened it. Her lips moved faster, and her tongue teased me. It took everything in me to swallow my moan. Gods, she tasted divine. I just wanted to drink her in and do this forever. When we both finally parted, we were both breathless.
“Ah, mi novia , I have been wanting to do that for weeks ,” Quinn said into the crook between my neck and shoulder. Her smoky golden voice kissed my skin, making me shiver. She nuzzled her nose in the same spot and kissed it. I couldn’t help but giggle. “Mhm, even calling you novia ! I just can’t get enough of it. I missed you like crazy, mi novia !”
“I love it, too! You have no idea how much I missed you. I love that we are girlfriends now. It’s all just perfect!” I reached down and gave Quinn another kiss.
“Wow, my besties are so down bad it’s like I’m living in a Taylor Swift album.” I could practically hear Maisie’s head shake on the other side of the car.
“Aw, don’t feel left out, babycakes. I missed you, too,” Cody said from presumably close by.
“Bite me.”
“Oh, I plan to later, hot stuff.”
“ A-a-and , mood ruined,” I heard Cole say. “Let’s get you three inside with your bags. We were just finishing up with stuff before we left. Maisie, can you teleport us from in the house?”
“Is Cody an asshole? Of course, I can,” She replied, making us laugh.
With one last kiss, I untangled myself from Quinn and placed two feet on the ground again. We rounded my SUV to meet the others. Quinn and the boys retrieved the luggage there, and we made our way inside. The cousins joked about how Simone, Maisie, and I didn’t know how to not overpack with our three bags each. I was about to respond when Quinn opened the door, and I was hit with the smells of peppered bacon, something salty baking in the oven, and freshly brewed coffee. Chaka Khan’s “Ain’t Nobody” was playing, and I could hear a woman’s voice singing along. The mansion felt warmer, more lived in than it did the night and morning after the party. It reminded me of...
I swallowed around the sudden ball in my throat.
The six of us rounded the corner, the cousins and the girls happily chattering, but I was mentally elsewhere. No, I wasn’t a freshly twenty-eight-year-old about to go on vacation with her friends and girlfriend. Now, I was maybe seven or eight. Mom was ironing clothes, the house filled with the smell of laundry and starch. I sat next to her, doing my homework while some sitcom or reality show played softly in the background. Auntie Max was there, having just broken up with someone and needing to not be alone. Pops had just gotten off from a late shift, and he came bursting through the house full of energy. He immediately turned on the radio, having caught the beginning of one of his favorite songs. Whether it was Luther Vandross or Anita Baker or Frankie Beverly or someone else, I don’t remember now, but I do remember how he took Mom’s hand and started to dance with her. I got up and pulled Auntie Max from the couch to join. We danced through that song and the next and the one after, switching partners until we just descended into a dance party when a Prince song came on. We went along with it, and nothing had felt more right. By the end, we were on the carpet together, breathless from dancing and from our giggles. Our laughter echoed off the walls, through the house, on for miles and years, across realities until it was reverberating in my ears and making my hands begin to shake. Something within me was itching for something, what exactly I wasn’t sure. But everything was too familiar, and it filled me with such longing my heart felt like it was being crushed and ready to flood the mansion with it.
Was this the sign? Was this what I asked for? What did it mean?
Quinn and the boys placed our bags next to the pile of various duffel bags, suitcases, and backpacks that must have been theirs. Quinn took my hand after, calming some of my nerves as we made our way to the kitchen. There, the music was louder, but not too loud to where people had to yell over it. The smells were loud enough to make my mouth water, though, reminding me that we hadn’t even stopped for coffee before we drove down. Cooper sat at the bar on his phone, but I barely registered him. Instead, my eyes were on who was behind the massive countertop.
Dancing to Diana Ross was an older white woman. She had to be at least in her early forties, but definitely not a day over fifty. The woman was fucking gorgeous with long straight dark auburn-brown hair clipped away like a Pinterest inspo post with a few loose strands. Her face was made-up like a professional had done it. Her candy red nails waved her spatula around as she cooked and danced throughout the kitchen. Her pink ruffled apron partially covered the white button-down with embroidery on it that she wore with mom jeans and her bare feet. She was like a celebrity trying to dress casually for a house tour, but there was an air about her that I couldn’t explain. There was something so familiar about this woman that it pushed all my racing thoughts and anxieties away. Had we met before?
The woman plucked a bacon from her cooling baking sheet full of unseasoned ones alongside peppered and candied ones. She tore it into smaller pieces and bent down to give them to a waiting Clarkson I hadn’t noticed sitting like the best pup at the entrance to the kitchen. She chewed it happily and waited for the other pieces.
Quinn shook her head with a smile. “You spoil her, Mama.”
Mama. This woman was…? Now that it was mentioned, I couldn’t unsee the sharp arch of her dark brown eyebrows, the slight downturn in her eyes even as they smiled, the wide nose, the three moles on her face in the exact same spot, the deep loud laugh. This woman looked like an older Quinn but with straight hair and less tan. I felt my cheeks heat.
I was about to meet Quinn’s mother. Like, right now. What do I do? What do I say? What ? —?
The woman, Mrs. Garcia, looked up and beamed. Her eyes… If Quinn hadn’t called it out already, I would have guessed immediately that this was her mom from the eyes. Not only was Quinn a clone of her mom but they shared the same blazing hazel brown eyes. She came around the counter and embraced her daughter. “What kind of grandmother would I be if I didn’t spoil my grandpuppy! Mamas have to spoil their babies. It’s in our nature.”
When they parted, she turned her eyes to me to take me in. I was wrong before. Her eyes were the same color as Quinn’s, but they lacked Quinn’s mischief, sharpness, and edge. Her eyes were softer, sweeter. Where Quinn’s eyes made me want to sit with hot chocolate around a fire with some hard cider, her mom’s eyes made me want to sit wrapped in a blanket to binge Great British Baking Show . Mrs. Garcia smiled at me, her eyes crinkling at the corners as it reached her eyes with sincerity. “Ah, you must be Byrd! I hope you are a hugger because I’m a smother.”
“Oh, I love—” She took me into a hug immediately. It was so warm and sweet I had to blink back tears. She smelled just like desserts and blankets fresh from a dryer. She was just as soft as a blanket, too, her skin smooth and moisturized where it touched my own through the gaps in my outfit. Mrs. Garcia held me so close and tight against her that it just felt like home. But not just any home. It was home with a mom, a family, and everything I hadn’t realized how desperately I missed. It was a home with a mom who loved unconditionally, who cooked with enough love for a thousand Hallmark movies, who thrived on the success of her children, who loved being a mom in every way, who was built for it. Gods, this woman reminded me of my mom, of how much I missed her. It was hard to explain, but hugging her was enough to make me forget…
When she pulled away, I instantly missed it. I was addicted to it already. I barely knew this woman, but I loved her beyond words.
“I have heard so much about you, but my daughter failed to speak to how gorgeous you are! You are so beautiful, my goodness!” She took a step back while holding onto my hands to admire my cropped short sleeve shirt and flared wide leg pants with a fun orange, blue, and white pattern. “And such a fashionista, too!”
I blushed. “Thank you so much, Mrs. Garcia!”
“Oh, none of that. I only have people on payroll or annoying folks at work call me that. With how keen my daughter is on you, you can call me Mama instead!”
“That’s a little insensitive, don’t you think, Mama?” Quinn raised an eyebrow at her mother.
“What is, dear?”
“Byrd and her mom? Remember what I told you?”
Mrs. Garcia’s eyebrows furrowed in thought for the briefest moment before realization dawned. She turned back to me, her mouth a perfect O-shape. “Oh, my goodness! I’m so, so sorry! There I go putting my foot in my mouth again! I didn’t mean to!”
“I don’t understand?” I shook my head, glancing between Quinn’s mouth set into a straight line at her mom and Mrs. Garcia with her hand covering hers.
“When I asked you to call me that, I didn’t mean it like I wanted to replace your mom with her being gone. I just wanted you to know that you can feel safe here. I know I could never replace your mom, sugar bell. I’m sorry if it came off like that. There’s no one who could ever replace her, and I would never try to. I just… I just want you to feel at home here always. So, please call me whatever you feel comfortable with.”
Now, it was my turn to be shocked. “I—I don’t know what to say. I didn’t consider that at all. I thought you were just being sweet and welcoming. If you want me to call you Mama, I don’t mind. I called my mom, well, Mom, so I don’t mind calling you that. I didn’t think you were trying to replace my mom or anything like that.”
“Oh, thank heavens,” Mrs. Garcia—Mama—said with a hand over her heart and a sigh of relief. “I was so scared I had messed everything up! You are such a sweetie pie for understanding.”
Then she turned and popped Quinn on the arm. Quinn held onto the spot. “Ouch! What was that for?”
“For worrying me, that’s what! You gave me plenty enough heart attacks to fill an ICU when you were a child. I don’t need that extra fear now, thank you very much!”
“Hey, it keeps you young, right? You think it was just all the Olay products that do that?” Quinn winked my way.
“You have your hands full with this one, darling love.” Mama rolled her eyes.
“I hate to interrupt this beautiful family moment, but your pan is smoking,” Natassa said as she appeared, tying her hair back.
“Oh, no!” Mama said, running back over to the stove. She moved the pan to another eye of the stove and got another one to heat on a lower temperature this time. “That would have been some charred eggs.”
“I told you that you didn’t have to cook for us, Mama?—”
“Uh, speak for your damn self,” Cody interrupted Quinn with his usual snark. “These are Aunt Addie’s breakfast burritos we are talking about!”
“Yeah, it wouldn’t be her coming home without them!” Cole said with his arm around Simone as they sat at the bar.
“But it’s a lot of work.”
“Oh, hush,” Mama waved Quinn off. “This is nothing at all. I know how much y’all love these. I know you all are going on your big vacation—which I’m so jealous of! I can’t wait to hear all about it when you get back—and I’m sure this beautiful mermaid princess will have plenty of food there. But there’s nothing like a little home-cooked meal to send you off! So, I couldn’t help myself.”
“That is so sweet! Thank you for making these for us, Mrs—I mean, Mama.”
She smiled at me while she started cracking some eggs. “Of course, lovebug!”
Quinn took my hand and guided me toward the counter. Maisie and Cody took turns taking digs at each other with some not-so-subtle sexual subtext. Simone and Cole were in their own bubble, but still remained present enough to contribute to the conversation when prompted. Cooper was… well, Cooper on his phone. Quinn, her mom, and I chatted excitedly while Quinn’s Mom assembled our burritos and dropped pieces to an awaiting Clarkson. Her mom asked me questions about my life and what I loved. She hung on every response with such interest, like I’m all that mattered.
With every answer, I felt less like a girlfriend meeting her girlfriend’s mom for the first time and more like this family was where I was supposed to be this whole time. Quinn held my hand in hers, absentmindedly caressing it with her thumb. I don’t think she realized that I noticed her full beaming smile when I would make her mom throw her head back cackling or when her mom raised her eyebrows toward me, impressed.
I had always had Everett as my Uncle. My best friends had been like my sisters practically since we met. But this? This was a full complete family, and I was a part of it now. It felt just like when I was a kid, maybe better because it had found me instead of me being born into it.
And it had never felt so right.