Chapter 12
Help.
I need help.
OMG.
Help. Me.
Isent off the emergency text then went back to staring at my closet, which I’d been doing for the past hour and a half. At least.
Nothing had changed. Cecelia had not managed to produce the perfect outfit for my first ever date with Ethan. My first date in over twenty years.
Only a few days ago, I’d convinced myself to start small. A casual lunch with someone I could talk to. A man I trusted and, yes, had a pretty intense sexual attraction to. But he was also fun and easy to talk to, and we would have been at Illusion Square.
It was supposed to be a safe start to a new adventure. But no. That plan had gone to shit, thanks to Ethan.
A fancy dinner. In the city. Sure, the gist with the guy was the same. I liked Ethan. I trusted him. Could I say my attraction to him was as intense as with Ray? Sometimes. Conversation wasn’t my concern, or at least I didn't think it would be.
But I hadn’t been on a date in a long time.
What were they like now? We hadn’t even talked about where to meet, or if he was picking me up at the door.
Oh God, what if I was supposed to meet him at the restaurant?
I didn’t know where we were going. I’d have to borrow Bri’s car, or get a rideshare, or—
The ding of my phone stopped my thoughts from running all the way off track.
Be right up. Bringing reinforcements.
Bless that Lauren. I didn’t know who the reinforcements would be, but I would accept any and all help. Lauren was the only one I knew of who routinely stayed late on Saturdays, a habit I’d been trying to break her of but was grateful for in the moment.
I checked the time. It was after six. A little twitch of panic pulsed at the base of my throat. It was after six! What time did Ethan say?
I fumbled with my phone, remembering just before I spiraled again that he’d sent a text message earlier in the day. I hadn’t even glanced at it, as if I was trying to look nonchalant for the no one who was watching me. As if my first date since college was not a big deal.
Reservation is at Creole Luxe at 8. I will pick you up at your house at seven. Looking forward to it. -E
He’d actually added the E, as if I wouldn’t know who sent it. Proof that we were both old, I suppose. I knew the restaurant by name. Super fancy. A vein in my wrist fluttered as I searched up the website on my phone.
I’d be less nervous if I could review the menu ahead of time, right? Then I could decide what to order once I got there. That way, I wouldn’t get something that might make me gassy or bloated or anything with too much oil.
If I could eat anything at all. My stomach was so twisted into knots I was pretty sure I would throw up all over his probably expensive designer shoes the moment I saw him.
It had been a long time since I’d thrown up on shoes, too. At least I could say that.
Actually, that thought settled me. I closed my eyes and took a few calming breaths, focusing my magic on the muscles in my shoulders and relaxing them. I spread magic through my body, offering it peace and a reminder of its strength.
I’d come a really long way since last summer. I wasn’t having panic attacks or randomly throwing up every time I got nervous. I was confidently making decisions about my business and my personal life. Hell, I’d even asked a guy out for coffee. Well … lunch.
“This isn’t a bad thing. It’s just a new thing.” I used my BMVTM, remembering that I had it for a reason. That I’d earned it.
“That always gives me such a tingle.” Lauren’s way-too-chipper voice jolted my eyes open.
She and Nina were standing in the doorway to my bedroom.
Cecelia must have let them in while I’d been too lost in my mental mayhem to hear it.
“At least hair and makeup are done. But, girl, those are not putting-out undies.”
That was the moment I realized I was wearing nothing but a bra and underwear. They matched, at least, and didn’t have any weird stains or tears on them. Something to be grateful for. But I did not know Nina well enough to show her my goodies. Heck, I didn’t know Lauren well enough for that.
“I’m not putting out tonight. No matter what Cupid did.” I snatched my robe off the bed and slid it on. I stopped at the full length mirror, giving myself a once over before I belted the silk. “It’s not too bad, this old body.”
“It’s wonderful.” Lauren nudged me aside and began to thumb through the clothes in my closet. Each time she passed one item, Cecelia produced another. “No. Not that. Maybe this but in black? No. Next. Oh, that’s a good color. But that style.”
“What was that thing you were doing when we came in? The thing that made the room buzz?” Nina remained near the door, a curious look in her eyes and half a smile frozen on her face.
Since the first time we’d met, she hadn’t said much to me, but I frequently felt her stare on the back of my neck.
More than once, I’d tried to catch her eye, only to have her look away.
Aside from that initial morphing of her face, she hadn’t tried to hum at me or anything.
I wasn’t getting the sense that she was evil or had ill will or anything. Maybe she was just awkward. I could relate to that.
“It made the room buzz? That’s fun.” I hadn’t felt the buzz at all, but it gave me my own little buzz to know I could energize a room. I smiled at her. “That’s my Big Magic VoiceTM. I’m a word witch. I was channeling my power to boost myself up.”
She didn’t respond, only twiddled her fingers and stared at the carpet. She’d traded her braid in for loose strands, and they shielded her from me when she looked down. “You’re welcome to come all the way in,” I told her. “I promise not to use it on you.”
I’d meant it as a tease, but an acute fear shadowed her eyes. She gnawed on her lip, the tension passing as quickly as it had appeared. Then she turned away.
“Wait, you don’t have to leave …”
My voice trailed off as she took her first tentative step inside. Backwards. It was only then that I noticed her feet.
Not just her feet. From the knee down, her legs faced the opposite direction. How had I missed that before? To be fair, when I’d first met her, she’d spent most of the time on her hands and knees, petting Gumbo. And I’d been distracted by her deep black hair and crazy-fit body.
Still, it seemed like something a normal person would notice.
Like when she dropped to her knees, which now seemed impossible.
It made my brain spin. How did she paint her toes?
Oh God, I was staring at them. I dragged my eyes back up to her face.
Cecelia produced a chair by the window, so I gestured toward it. “Have a seat.”
Stare at her face, Simone. Don’t look down, Simone. Don’t watch how she walks, Simone.
A few seconds after she took the seat, a small table appeared next to her with an assortment of drinks and snacks on it. Nina gawked at it, eyes wide, then looked to me for an answer.
“That’s from Cecelia. House.” I circled my fingers in the air. It had been so long since I’d called her House that it felt foreign on my tongue. “She likes to keep guests happy.”
“She’s a she? With her own personality?” Nina selected a slice of raw fish, placing it on her tongue like it was poison. Then she closed her eyes, an expression of pure bliss softening her features. “Yum.”
“Who has her own personality?” Lauren emerged from the closet holding a dress I’d never seen before.
“Cecelia,” I said.
“Oh, she really does,” Lauren laid the dress on the bed smoothing its wrinkles with her hands. “A big one. Wear this.”
Where had that dress been an hour ago? It was absolutely perfect.
The material was light enough for a January evening in Louisiana, but not so light that I’d be cold off the river.
The soft rose color wrapped across the bodice and cinched at the waist before flaring just a bit to my knees.
I could already see myself in it. The skirt blowing in the breeze.
The color, that dreamy shade of pink, complementing my dark hair.
I let out a little squeal, suddenly feeling delightfully feminine. As I disappeared into the bathroom to change, Lauren explained Cecelia and our connection to Nina. She asked a lot of questions while I primped in the bathroom, about our coven, the Magnolia, and my magic.
But when I walked out of the bathroom, they both went quiet. Lauren cupped her fingers at her mouth, tearing up a little like I was going to prom. I’d successfully used my BMVTM to calm my nerves a bit, but putting on the dress ramped them right back up again. I inspected myself in the mirror.
There were a few of those varicose veins on my legs. And more than one scar from a bug bite I’d gone ahead and itched to death. My arms weren’t perfectly smooth or toned. And my hands conveyed my age better than any license. But all in all …
“I don’t look half bad,” I said, twirling a circle to show them.
“You look damn good!” Lauren tossed shoes at me, laughing when I shrieked and batted them. That woman. Did she expect me to catch them? Had she met me? “Put those on.”
I slid them over my feet, more than a little grateful she’d chosen a shorter wedge heel as opposed to some tall, skinny number that might put me eye level with Ethan while simultaneously breaking my ankle. Again.
We fussed over jewelry and a purse. Cecelia painted my toenails. When we were done, I stole one last glance in the mirror.
“I feel like a woman.” My voice almost broke, the words coming out in a surprised whisper.
“Why shouldn’t you?” Lauren stood behind me, hands on my shoulders. When my tears welled, she dashed to the bedside for a tissue and shoved it into my hands. “Now, now, none of that. Don't want to ruin the makeup.”
“It’s the Magnolia line,” I blubbered. “Magically water- and smudgeproof.”
“Well.” Lauren dipped her head to my shoulder. “I’ll have to check into that.”
A chime sounded softly from the front door. A doorbell. I had a doorbell? Huh.
“We’ll stay in here so it’s not awkward.” Lauren shoved me gently. “Go have fun, Simone. You deserve it.”
With one last, steadying breath, I left the bedroom and went to the front door for my first date in twenty years.