Chapter 12
Luckily, rain wasn’t in the forecast anytime soon. Alethea and Danica had managed to tape together a few trash bags to cover up the gaping hole in the side of the house where the stained-glass window had been. It wasn’t exactly sturdy but at least it would keep the bugs out for now. The mood in the house had been somber since Wilbur’s accident yesterday, and Alethea felt a mixture of emotions flitting back and forth within her from angry to overwhelmed to dejected.
Danica decided they could all use a vibe reset and declared that today was a mandatory day off. “No painting, no sanding, no stressing!” she instructed, pointing her finger at Alethea on the last word and raising her eyebrows for emphasis. “I’ve been dying to get outside into all this beauty since we got here and a day in nature is just what I need to feel more grounded.” She borrowed Priya’s Jeep to drive the few miles over to the ridge where there were ample hiking trails. Her plan was to hike to Green Falls where she’d spend a few hours practicing some new asana flows she was putting together for her next class and enjoying a picnic lunch next to the waterfall. The out and back trail was just over six miles long, so she’d be fully immersed in nature all day.
Priya loved the idea of a day just to enjoy themselves and immediately got settled into her zone in the kitchen, pulling out all kinds of ingredients and muffin pans from the cabinets. “I can’t believe your Aunt Scarlet has marzipan and whole vanilla beans from Madagascar!” Priya kept marveling as she placed the items one by one on the counter. “It’s like every ingredient anyone could ever need is here, it’s unreal.” She shook her head in happy disbelief and turned up the volume on her phone, dancing along to David Bowie as she planned out what to bake.
Alethea had to give a little thought about what she wanted to do with her free day and decided to take Danica’s lecture about not stressing to heart. Her emotions had been so unpredictable lately, even affecting her physically, which was strange and honestly a little worrying. A relaxing day of self-care was probably just what she needed. But what to do was the question. She didn’t have a hobby or a passion the way the other two did. Over the last few years she barely had any downtime from her busy work schedule and what little she did have had always been spent with Jackson or her friends.
Dandelion rubbed against Alethea’s legs, weaving in and out, her tail up in the air in the shape of a question mark. Alethea scooped up her cat and hugged her close to her chest as she wandered through the house, browsing through each of the bookshelves that were scattered about. There was an incredibly eclectic mix of books. She picked out a random assortment of titles that sounded interesting to her, Death on the Nile, I Dared the Duke, Jane Eyre. She poured herself a tall glass of lavender lemonade that Priya had just made, the ice crackling in the glass as the light purple liquid ran over the cubes, and headed upstairs to the hall bathroom with the giant soaking tub. She set the stack of books and the lemonade down on the small wooden stool that was next to the tub. The water gushing out of the spigot was miraculously the perfect temperature and she poured in a homemade mixture of epsom salts and peppermint essential oils that Danica had made.
She lowered herself into the hot water, the peppermint sharp on her nose, and closed her eyes. Inhaling slowly, she practiced one of the breathing techniques she had learned from the MeditationSpace app and felt her muscles slowly start to unwind. This is perfect. Well, technically, if she had a snack it would be perfect, but this was pretty darn close. She couldn’t help but conjure up an image of that delicious coffee cake from yesterday, her stomach rumbling gently. She opened her eyes and stretched her feet above the water line, sinking down further, while she dried her hands off on her towel. She reached for the lemonade and took a long sip, the liquid cold as it went down.
As she set the lemonade back down and went to pick up the top book on the stack, her hand froze in midair. There on the tray next to the lemonade was a small plate of blueberry coffee cake. Despite the hot water, she felt a chill work its way over her body. She had absolutely no memory of getting that slice. How had it gotten there? Squeezing her eyes shut, she took a deep breath then looked again. No luck, the plate was still there and not a figment of her imagination. Hadn’t she just wished she had something to snack on? This settled it. She absolutely MUST get more sleep because she was starting to lose it. Maybe she absentmindedly grabbed the coffee cake when she was in the kitchen. Her thoughts had probably been wrapped up in her pity-party, she reasoned. The cake certainly hadn’t just appeared out of thin air. Adding in more self-care days from now on was going to be top priority. Pushing the thoughts about the slice of cake out of her mind, she chose a book and opened the front cover. Now, it was time to completely lose herself in the glamor of a 1920’s cruise down the Nile.
Dandelion sniffedat the fragrant steam wafting out of the bathtub and then squinted her eyes open and shut at Alethea in approval. Peppermint was an extremely good choice. She was very pleased to see that Alethea was returning to old habits. A daily bathing ritual was of utmost importance, it was a basic matter of protection really. Goddess knows she herself hadn’t gone a day in her life without a bath. She settled down on a fluffy white towel on the floor and set to washing behind her ears, careful to avoid any stray splashes of Alethea’s bathwater.
After indulging in a long,relaxing soak Alethea carried the stack of books, along with a napping Dandelion, up to the tower loft. The room was essentially just a small sitting area, with a settee, a few chairs, and end tables that didn’t seem to fit the round walls quite right. She snuggled into an oversized leather club chair, the aesthetics of which did not match the rest of the house. Alethea ran her hand over the soft, worn leather, tracing the indentations of lines that had formed over years and years of use. She suddenly had a flash of her father sitting in this chair with his reading glasses perched on the edge of his nose. Just as suddenly as the memory had come it had vanished again. Was it even a real memory or just something her overactive imagination was making up? But curled up in the large chair, her legs tucked to the side, a strong feeling of security and peace enveloped her. This had been her father’s chair, a little voice inside her insisted. She felt a tear run down her cheek before she even realized that she was crying. As hard as she tried, she couldn’t bring up any more memories to support this claim, but a strong feeling in her gut told her it was so.
Dandelion jumped up onto her lap and after making a few exploratory circles, finally settled down and began kneading Alethea’s legs beneath her. Alethea lovingly pet her cat, glad to have her there as a distraction. The memories that kept popping through seemed to disappear just as quickly as they came, like bubbles in a glass of champagne. Would she ever regain her memories in whole, or would it always be like this, just flashes here and there? She decided she didn’t want to think about it anymore on what was supposed to be a relaxing day. She picked the copy of Death on the Nile back up and began reading again, getting absorbed in Christie’s evocative prose before long. Fully engulfed in an alternate universe, the way that only books can transport you, she had no concept of how much time had passed before Priya popped her head up the stairwell.
“There you are! Hope you’re hungry,” she said with a wink. Alethea’s stomach growled in immediate anticipation. How long had she been up here reading? She was famished. She thanked her friend for the tray of leftovers from last night’s dinner with a small side salad and some fresh fruit.
It was late in the afternoon by the time she heard Danica come home, the sun casting long shadows that stretched across the yard and highlighted the green maple leaves on the surrounding hills. Closing the book she let out a contented sigh, feeling a complete state of relaxation. She couldn’t remember the last time she had spent a whole day just laying around and reading, and she felt grateful for how restorative it had been. Carefully moving Dandelion off her lap, she went downstairs to join her friends.
Danica was all smiles and excitedly relayed the best parts of her day to the others. “You can see it better on this one.” She held her phone up for Alethea and Priya to see the pictures she had taken of the waterfall.
As she looked at the pictures of the stunning scenery on Danica’s phone, Alethea’s attention strayed, her nose picking up on the bright, citrus notes hanging in the air. Orange zest mingling with a juicy, fruity smell. She scanned her eyes around the kitchen, settling on the tea towel with a multi-colored print of birds, covering what looked like something very lumpy. Priya caught Alethea’s gaze and beamed in excitement. “Voila!” she exclaimed as she whipped off the kitchen towel with an exaggerated flourish.
“Oh my god you made the muffins!” Danica moved across the kitchen and reached across the prep table to grab one.
“It’s just my first attempt, so keep your expectations low,” Priya reminded them modestly. “But you know the drill, let me know what’s different between these and the cafe’s so I can keep tweaking the recipe.” Alethea couldn’t help herself despite finishing her late lunch not that long ago, she had to try one for herself. The warm, buttery muffin was expertly spiced to bring out both the orange and raspberry flavors, without either overwhelming the other.
“Oh wow, these are divine.” Danica devoured the muffin with the fervor of someone who had just spent the day hiking and reached for a second.
“Yeah, but not quite right.” Priya looked thoughtful as she chewed her bite of muffin slowly, savoring the flavors. Alethea and Danica agreed, the muffins were awfully close to the Corner Cafe’s, but they were still missing something, although they couldn’t quite put their finger on what.
Feeling her mood restored, now that she’d luxuriated in a relaxing day of reading and had a delicious freshly baked muffin to further lift her spirits, Alethea decided to go for a walk and enjoy the golden hour outside. She didn’t have a destination in mind but rather just started putting one foot down in front of the other. She thought back to the bookshelves that she had perused earlier that morning. Had her parents been the ones to buy all those books, or had they slowly accumulated over time from different people in their lives? When she thought of her parents it felt like thinking about two strangers that she barely knew anything about. It hurt to feel so distant from the two people who had raised her.
Alethea looked at the bright pinks and purples of the impatiens that were growing in the planter boxes lining Main Street and ran her hand over the heather that was planted alongside. She had ended up downtown, walking the now-familiar route on autopilot it seemed. A sale rack outside one of the women’s clothing boutiques caught her eye, a bright orange 50% off sign taped to the top. She skimmed through the garments hanging there, touching the gauzy, flowing skirts and tunics with bright summer prints. Something on the back of the rack caught her eye and she noticed a small satchel hanging there. The fabric was dyed a rich purple, like the color of the skin on a black plum. A delicate embroidery covered the front, with tiny, intricate violets flawlessly stitched in a winding pattern up the sides. Whoever had made this bag was a skilled artisan to say the least. She turned over the price tag in her hand. $20.00 it said. That couldn’t possibly be right. But after checking with the clerk inside, Alethea was pleasantly surprised to find out that not only was it correct but it was also included in the sale. She couldn’t believe her luck and handed the cashier a ten dollar bill for the hand-stitched satchel. These definitely aren’t city prices.
Smiling to herself over her lucky find, Alethea decided as long as she was on Main Street, she might as well pay a visit to the hardware store. She wanted to talk to the owner, surely he must know a contractor who was available for hire. Checking the time, she realized it might be past closing by now. Shops around here tended to close up whenever the owner saw fit, not necessarily according to the hours posted on their front doors. If she wanted to talk to the owner she’d need to hurry, but as she walked by a small produce stand, she couldn’t resist stopping to try one of the peach slices the vendor had out for samples.
“These are way too delicious to pass up.” Alethea smiled at the older man who sat on a small stool under the awning, his deep laugh lines creasing as his face lit up with a toothy smile.
“For you, they’re free!” He took an overstuffed paper bag full of peaches off the bottom shelf of the display and placed it into her hands.
“Oh, I couldn’t! How much do I owe you?”
He shook his head in response. “Those are perfectly ripe, they’ll do me no good by tomorrow. You enjoy them!” He gave her a wink.
“Okay then, I’ll get a handful of those beautiful gladiolus while I’m at it.” Alethea watched the gentleman carefully wrap the ends of the giant flower stalks in cellophane, using a rubber band to secure it in place. The flowers would look perfect in one of the opalescent carnival glass vases at the house. She could put them on the small butler’s table in the entryway by the stairs for some color. Goodness knows the room could use some cheering up now that the window had been shattered. Alethea paid the man for the flowers and thanked him again for his kindness, juggling the peaches in one hand while holding the unwieldy flowers in the other, trying her best not to squish either. They could grill the peaches tonight for dessert, or maybe Priya would make her famous peach cobbler.
Alethea lamented not bringing along one of her canvas totes, although she hadn’t expected to do any shopping. Shifting the bag of peaches to her other arm while trying to see the sidewalk in front of her through the oversized bouquet of gladiolus, she turned and almost walked straight into someone walking in the other direction. Managing to stop herself in time, she just narrowly missed ramming into them head on, her nose barely an inch away from a muscular chest and the most intoxicating smell Alethea had ever experienced. It was a deep, rich fragrance of frankincense and pine, the two distinct scents seemed to entwine together, creating something even more complex. The warm, amber smell permeated every fiber of her being and she felt her knees go weak. What the hell? Alethea looked up only to see none other than Mr. Muffin Man himself, looking down at her.
His face brightened once he saw it was her who had been barreling towards him like a defensive end in the superbowl. “Whoa there!” He chuckled softly and ran a hand through his dark brown hair, brushing the waves away from his eyes. “Don’t worry, you don’t have to try and beat me to the cafe this time. I don’t want to spoil my dinner.” He patted his stomach and he met her eyes as he laughed and a tingle raced down her middle all the way to her toes.
Alethea was shocked by the way she was viscerally reacting to this man. It was out of her control and she didn’t like it. That scent of his was making her head spin, and she felt her grip on the bags she was carrying loosen, the flowers beginning to slip out of her grasp. Brent reached out and grabbed them, steadying her by placing his hand on her arm. Alethea had to use all of her willpower not to jerk her arm away. His touch felt electric, dizzyingly so. Even though he was trying to help her regain her balance, he was inadvertently making matters worse. This just made Alethea even more furious with herself. She had zero intentions of jumping back into the dating pool anytime soon, and romance should absolutely be the last thing on her mind. She couldn’t believe she was acting this way! If his sparkling green eyes could just stop boring into her soul it would make things a heck of a lot easier, though. And why did his jeans have to fit him so well like that? They perfectly hugged all the right places and seemed tailor made for his body, instead of just being the regular pair of Levi’s that they were. And his smell, my god. Was that a cologne?
Shaking herself out of her literal swoon, her cheeks reddening slightly, Alethea readjusted the bags in her arms and politely removed herself from his hold. She needed to stop acting like an idiot and get a grip over these bursts of emotions she kept having!
“Are you okay? I thought you were going to faint there for a moment.” The genuine concern on his face only made him look more charming, which added to her irritation, her cheeks now blazing with fire.
“I’m fine.”
“Here, why don’t I carry those for you? You’re not that far from here, let me walk you home.”
“I said, I’m fine.” Alethea did her best to use the practiced, flat tone she often employed when getting hit on at a bar. A tone that made it clear she had no need of a self-proclaimed Prince Charming. How dare he imply that she couldn’t take care of herself? Now that she was standing further away from him again, she felt those electric, excited feelings turn to anger. Did he really think her so feeble that she needed an escort half a mile down the road? As her temper flared, she felt a prickling sensation run the length of her scalp, like her hair wanted to stand on end. Alethea wondered if that’s how Dandelion felt when her hackles were raised. Her scalp was tingling furiously now. A sudden gust of wind blew a few strands of her hair into her eyes. She brushed the stray locks behind her ear and was surprised by how frizzy her hair felt against her hand. It must be that new shampoo she just got.
She waited for Brent to say something but he didn’t respond. Instead he just stood there wide-eyed, gaping at her. Looks like Mr. Perfect isn’t used to getting told no for an answer, she thought to herself wryly. Without acknowledging him any further, she turned on her heels and strode away purposefully. Of course, her only actual purpose was to get far away from Mr. Brent Cornerstone as fast as she possibly could. Priya and Danica were never going to let her live this one down.