Chapter Twenty-Seven
At dawn, Calisa opened the closet door and walked through to the Night Market.
Stars twinkled overhead and the endless music of the market drifted up to her.
True to his word, Rin was waiting with baskets strapped like saddlebags to his horse half.
Behind him were a half-dozen others carrying crates, baskets, and bags.
“You did it,” Calisa said.
“Did you doubt?” Rin asked.
She smiled. “No.”
Chattering, they all followed her back through the portal. “Thank you for coming,” she repeated to each of them as they arrived, laden with far more supplies than they’d requested.
“Pleasure to be here.” “ ’Course. It’s Auntie Zee.
” “What a charming place.” “My pleasure.” “Happy to.” “Glad to do it.” “Hope it helps.” “The figs are fresh. Wait a few days on the peaches.” “Anyone bring the starseed?” “Hey, watch your pack.” “Where should I put these?” “Glad to help.” “It’s an honor.
” The smells of baked bread and spices and flowery fruits that she couldn’t name saturated the air, and the chatter of the voices blended into a pleasant hum.
She’d never imagined so many vendors would come.
Auntie Zee was going to be…Probably pissed, but she’ll live.
Once they were all through the portal and crammed shoulder to shoulder in the guest room, Calisa lifted her voice.
“If you’ll follow me…” She led the way out into the hall, down the stairs, and into the kitchen.
She felt a bit like she was leading a parade, especially with the clatter of Rin’s horse hooves on the stairs.
All they needed was their own marching band.
“What is all this?” Auntie Zee cried. She was at the stove, an apron wrapped around her waist, stirring a pot of golden syrup that smelled like honey and lavender.
Smiling broadly, Rin trotted across the kitchen and kissed her on the cheek. “Happy reopening day, Auntie Zee,” he wished her. He then deposited his baskets of sugar-covered pastries on the butcher block island.
The other vendors repeated the greeting, each kissing her on the cheek and delivering baskets of ruby and golden fruit, fat berries, fresh-baked breads, honeyed pastries, packets of spiced meat, and jars of pearly beverages.
Soon the parcels, jars, baskets, and crates were piled as high as the rafters, and the sweet and savory smells were thick in the air.
Inhaling, Calisa thought it was like being inside the most delicious café in the world. In many worlds, she corrected herself.
Auntie Zee was glaring at Rin. “I can’t afford all of this! Calisa, what did you do?”
“All I did was say yes.” Calisa stepped sideways so that a tower of baskets blocked Auntie Zee’s view of her. She truthfully had not expected the vendors to all be so generous. She marveled at the bounty. This was phenomenal. Their guests would feast!
“We will take no payment,” Rin said.
Auntie Zee let out a strangled noise halfway between a yelp and a snort, and Calisa peeked out around a bread sculpture of a swan to see what she’d do next.
“We will also take no objections and no refusals,” Rin said, grinning at her. “Our gift to you for years of patronage.”
She put her hands on her hips. “I am not a charity.”
Clasping his hands to his heart, Rin trotted forward. His hooves clicked on the kitchen floor. “Let us do this, dearest Auntie Zee. It is truly our pleasure. You have touched each of our lives, and it’s finally our chance to thank you.”
Others echoed him, each of them repeating that it was their pleasure and honor.
Before Auntie Zee could marshal up an argument or refuse the gifts entirely, Rin gave her a jaunty wave and trotted out of the kitchen. The stream of vendors filed out after him.
Hurrying ahead of them, Calisa scurried up the stairs to the guest room. Thanking them each profusely, she held the closet door open as they went through the portal, Rin last.
At the closet, he winked at her. “Don’t let her discourage you,” he said. “She needs you. And she’ll appreciate you eventually.”
“Thanks,” Calisa said. “For…all of this.”
“You’ll make a great witch of the inn, when it’s your time.”
Before she could do anything but gape at that, Rin trotted through.
His tail flicked before it was swallowed by the iridescent swirl.
She stared at the portal for a moment more, and then she decided to leave it open in case any other vendors wanted to come through to deliver gifts, before she headed back downstairs to the kitchen.
Auntie Zee was waiting for her. “Calisa. What did you do?”
Calisa halted in the doorway. “Rin offered, and I said yes.” She’d already decided that if Auntie Zee was mad, she was going to pretend it was just her and Rin who had done this. She’d deny that Jack was even there. He didn’t deserve any anger directed at him.
Seething so hard that she was practically hissing, Auntie Zee said, “I didn’t want it spread around that I am in need of help. I have always stood on my own two feet and I always will.”
“No spreading occurred,” Calisa insisted.
“They wanted to do this. They like you. Can’t you accept at least that?
” To be fair, Jack had warned her that Auntie Zee wouldn’t be happy about this, but couldn’t she at least see it was wonderful that so many wanted to help?
She had people who cared and wanted her to be happy.
Surely once she had a chance to think about it—
Auntie Zee snorted. “I’m not likable.”
“That was a half-dozen people who think you are.”
Despite herself, Auntie Zee smiled. It was, however, a somewhat vicious and not very mirth-filled smile. “You owe Rin now. I suppose that’s your problem. He’ll expect to be our primary supplier. You’re going to have to keep visiting the Night Market.”
That sounded great to Calisa.
Auntie Zee opened up the nearest basket, and the kitchen filled with the aroma of pastries—herbs, berries, and the thick smell of cinnamon. “Plate a reasonable amount and bring it to the dining room for the arriving guests. The rest of this we’ll store for later.”
Relieved that her great-aunt was done objecting, Calisa set to work, piling pastries on serving plates, arranging fruit, pouring the pearlescent juice into pitchers, and then arranging it all in the not-yet-used dining room.
Joining them, Jack carried a stack of plates, while Calisa folded the napkins.
She located a vase and filled it with flowers from the B&B’s gardens, and then she ran the vacuum over the carpet an extra time.
If all the guests who’d made reservations came, the bed-and-breakfast would be full.
She didn’t want a single one to be disappointed.
Once they’d finished setting out the welcome spread, they located tinfoil, plastic wrap, ziplock bags, and various containers and began bagging and boxing and sealing the gifted food to serve later.
Soon, they fell into a rhythm: Calisa sealing the food into airtight containers and Jack finding room for them in the refrigerator or on the pantry shelves.
It was almost a dance as they zigzagged through the kitchen and circled the butcher block island.
Some food went into the refrigerator, some into the freezer—each item squeezed in like a complex puzzle—and the rest went into the pantry, labeled and on shelves: pastas and grains and rice, as well as potatoes and onions.
She shelved several jars of sauces, as well as jams and preserved fruit.
She began to feel like a squirrel stocking up for winter.
The vendors had been very generous. There were even a few cakes to add to the chocolate one that Calisa had already baked.
Sitting on a stool watching, Auntie Zee muttered to herself throughout, but Calisa thought that her tone softened as she saw the wealth of delicacies that her old friends had sent.
Every so often, she’d get up and begin to help.
Just as often, Thomas would pass through the kitchen carrying his tools and bark at her that she needed to rest.
Finally, she sighed. “Oh.”
Calisa wasn’t sure what to make of that “oh.” She thought maybe, just maybe, she was pleased? Or at least exasperated with a tinge of amused rather than furious?
“You are…” Auntie Zee began.
Calisa expected to hear any one of a variety of adjectives, but Auntie Zee simply sighed and walked away, leaving them to their unpacking.
—
Midafternoon, the guests began to arrive from various realms. Calisa scurried from closet to closet, welcoming them and guiding them to the lobby.
Seated at the desk in the lobby, Auntie Zee checked everyone in, writing their names into her registrar and handing them room keys.
She offered to close and reopen their portals as needed, typically the closets of their assigned rooms. As soon as the administrative details were completed, Thomas and Jack carried the luggage to the various rooms, while Calisa invited the new guests to tea.
The enchanted teapot hummed happily in the corner.
First to check in were a silent couple, whose shadows spoke for them. The wife sank into a chair in the sitting area with a cup of tea, while the husband browsed the library, to the delight of the ladder. His shadow commented on each book the husband touched.
Second was the young couple of fishmongers, who, from the number of times they paused to gaze into one another’s eyes, looked to be freshly married.
Auntie Zee didn’t ask, and Calisa merely offered them each a slice of strawberry cake.
Carrying their slices to the conch chair, they squished into it together, bumping each other with their elbows as they ate.
When they opened their mouths, Calisa saw sharklike teeth.
Third was the bone person covered in the pelt of a bear from the realm with the labyrinth. Calisa couldn’t tell if the pelt was fused to their bones or if they wore it like a cloak over their skeleton body. She supposed she didn’t need to know.