Chapter 21
Alethea tried to stifle a yawn as she put the lid back on the can of paint primer. Despite the amazing day of rest, she once again felt exhausted to the bone. Laying awake the entire night before, sleep had eluded her as the barrage of swirling thoughts inside her head had refused to relent. As much as she wanted to pretend it hadn’t, yesterday had really happened. Now she had to face the fact that not only were witches real, but she was one of them! She felt crazy even just thinking those words. Not to mention, this fact had supposedly been hidden from her by her family. Alethea reached into her back pocket and grabbed her phone, dialing her aunt”s number as she felt anger and confusion rising inside her. After four rings it went to voicemail.
“Hi Aunt Scarlet, we need to talk. Please call me when you get this.” Alethea knew her aunt would read between the lines at the tone of her message. Please call me Aunt Scarlet. I need you to tell me the truth. Am I really a witch? She imagined her aunt’s response, her belly-laugh at the absurdity of Alethea’s question. Of course she wasn’t a witch, her aunt would reassure her. Alethea’s mind jumped to the image of the forest creatures lined up on Brent’s woodpile and it shook her out of her fantasy. As much as she wanted to talk to Aunt Scarlet so she could tell her this was all nonsense and that Mr. Cornerstone has way too active an imagination, in the pit of her stomach, she knew the truth.
The big tires of Brent’s F350 pulled into the driveway and her heart skipped a beat. Seriously? No, she would not let herself get excited at the sound of his truck, this pavlovian response of infatuation needed to be stopped dead in its tracks. With everything going on in her life, the very last thing she needed to be doing right now was to indulge in a silly crush that would just make her life more complicated. She had hired the man to do a job for goodness’ sake, she needed to remain professional! Besides, Queenie was looking better by the day and Brent’s job would soon be complete. All of their hard work was starting to pay off as she watched the house come together, especially now that Priya had started reworking the decor. It was amazing how simply rearranging the furniture could make such a large impact. There was an air of renewal that was palpable. It wouldn’t be long before they could take photos and get the house listed on Airbnb. In a few weeks, she’d be back home in the city. Back where she belonged and nowhere near Brent Cornerstone.
The smell of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee wafted up the stairs and Alethea couldn’t help but draw in a deep inhale, savoring the chocolatey scent. Was there any smell in the world better than coffee? Maybe the mixture of pine and frankincense, she thought before quickly pushing the thought out of her mind. She forced her focus back to the coffee, surprised there was enough of her aunt’s favorite blend left to brew another pot. Priya must have taken a real liking to it, as most mornings there was already a pot brewed by the time Alethea was up and over in the main house. She could use a coffee break while the primer dried anyway, so she cleaned up the rest of her tools and washed the paint off her hands and arms.
Dandelion met her on the staircase and gave her an escort into the kitchen much to Alethea’s delight. Her cat had been acting more independent lately, and Alethea missed some of her pet’s old clinginess. The house was so big and Alethea was glad Dandelion had so much room to explore, but she did miss always having her cat by her side. It had been comforting to have Dandelion tagging along behind her like a little shadow, like she used to in the apartment. As Alethea walked into the sunny kitchen, she stopped short as she saw Brent standing at the counter, pouring the dark liquid from the percolator into a large yellow mug with a hot pink drawing of a lemon on the side. Her aunt’s love of the color pink could be found all over the house if you looked hard enough. She crossed her arms over her chest and gave her cat a dirty look as Dandelion sidled up to Brent and rubbed her cheek against his calf. Now she saw the real reason her cat had wanted to go to the kitchen.
“Well good morning, Miss Dandelion.” Brent turned and looked over his shoulder at Alethea. “And good morning to you, too.”
“Well it’s morning but I’m not so sure what’s good about it.” She was in no mood for his chipper pleasantries at the moment.
“I take it you didn’t sleep again?” He poured a generous splash of Priya’s oat milk into the mug then handed it to her. “Oat milk, no sugar, right?”
Alethea nodded and graciously accepted the steaming hot mug, surprised he remembered her coffee order from that day he had run into them at the cafe. She took a long sip. It was perfect. Brent took another mug down from the cabinet and poured himself a cup.
“Have you had any more of Nan’s tea?” He looked concerned as he came around the side of the prep table and stood next to her.
She shook her head. “No, I can’t afford to sleep any more days away, thank you very much.” The smell of pine and frankincense made her pulse quicken. She casually backed away to give herself some space, taking a seat at the kitchen table in the chair farthest away from Brent.
He thought about that for a moment. “It’s strange, my nan drank that tea every day. And I mean every day. She always made it a point to drink her ‘health tonic’ after a meal.” He used air quotes around his grandmother’s nickname for her tea. “I wonder if taking it on a full stomach would make a difference?”
Alethea shrugged. She wasn’t really sure that she wanted to find out. All this talk about supposed witch’s tea was making her feel woozy. Brent still looked pensive as he continued to puzzle over the tea’s strange effect on her.
“Or maybe you build up a tolerance to it after a while? That could be it.”
Alethea stared down into her mug as she swirled around the coffee inside, making the light brown liquid splash against the sides of the bright yellow mug. “Or maybe it really is a health tonic and it just gives the body exactly what it needs.” The thought had come from nowhere, but as soon as she said it, she felt certain it was true. Why? There was no rational reason. She had no way of explaining how she knew this, just that as soon as the words had come out of her mouth, that knowledge was there inside her. The way that you know the sky is blue and that rain is wet. You can’t say how you know, you just do.
Brent raised his eyebrows at her. “Interesting, that would make a lot of sense actually.”
Alethea looked at him in disbelief. Sense was the very last word she would ever use to describe any part of the conversation they were having. Did he not see how ludicrous this all was? Discussing a witch’s potion over coffee at the kitchen table like it was the most normal thing in the world.
He ignored her look of incredulity, taking another sip of his coffee before continuing on. “The window is pretty close to being ready, I should be able to do the installation next week.” His eyes lit up as he started talking about the stained-glass window and his whole demeanor changed, clearly excited to get the window restored back to its original splendor. “Well, I should get to work.” He stood up from the table. “Alethea, I can only imagine how difficult this all is. I may not have the answers you’re looking for but I’m here if you ever want to talk.” He gave her a timid smile, then walked out of the kitchen through the dining room, Dandelion trotting along behind him.
Alethea sat there for a long while, silently staring into her coffee, not even moving to wipe away a stray tear as it splashed onto the kitchen table. Please call me Aunt Scarlet! I need to talk to you. Alethea took out her phone and dialed her aunt, again getting her voicemail, as well as the distinct impression that her aunt was avoiding her.
Summoning all of the strength she could muster, she stood up from the table and put her now empty mug in the sink and unplugged the percolator. She wanted nothing more than to go take a nap, but she feared as soon as her head hit the pillow those racing thoughts of hers would take over again. Well, she could at least give it a try. As she walked into the cottage she found her two friends curled up on the couch watching an old rom-com that was a favorite of Priya’s.
“Perfect timing, we’re only at the part where they get into the wrong taxis!” Priya scooched over on the small couch and patted the seat, motioning for Alethea to come join them.
Alethea smiled at her friends but decided to decline. “I’m going to try and lay down for a bit. Not sure I got any sleep at all last night.”
Danica looked over at her, surprise on her face. “Seriously? You couldn”t sleep again? Did you drink any of that tea last night?”
“Oh my god! What’s with everyone and this stupid tea?” Alethea hadn’t meant to snap at Danica, but her irritation was starting to overwhelm her and she couldn’t help herself.
“Whoa, okay there. Sorry if I hit a nerve!” Danica looked at Alethea like she had two heads.
“No, I’m the one who’s sorry.” Alethea flopped down in the chair across from the couch. “The lack of sleep has me all cranky and I just had to listen to Mr. know-it-all-Cornerstone lecture me on the tea not five minutes ago.” Okay maybe lecture was a bit of an exaggeration, but that’s what it had felt like to her. She didn’t need another man in her life telling her what to do. “I didn’t mean to take it out on you.”
“It’s okay, we’re good, hon.” Danica immediately accepted Alethea’s apology and squashed the subject of the tea. But that didn’t stop her from starting in on the subject of Brent. “That man really has you frazzled.”
“Um, maybe we should let Al go lay down and get some rest.” Priya flashed Danica a pretty obvious look of warning.
“No, it’s okay. Dani’s right. That’s a big part of my problem, actually. I just get all crazy when he’s around me, like I’m off in la-la land! My insides turn to mush just being near him and my body…betrays me.” It was as close to the truth as she could get with her friends. She couldn’t explain that after seeing her glow and float and hold court with woodland creatures he had diagnosed her as a witch! Despite the supernatural aspects of the situation, everything she had just told her friends was honestly how she felt.
“But isn’t that a good thing? I mean, he’s a really great guy. Surprisingly nerdy for how hot he is, sure, but really great nonetheless!” Priya giggled and Alethea couldn’t help but join in. “He is kinda nerdy, huh?” Alethea thought about this for a minute. “I think that’s actually part of his charm. It’s refreshing to be around a guy who is so comfortable with being himself. Like he really couldn’t care less what others think about him.” Jackson had been the complete opposite. Status, or the appearance of it at least, had always played such a large role in his life.
Alethea let out a long sigh. “But sadly, no. It’s not a good thing.”
Priya and Danica both looked at her questioningly but Danica spoke first. “And why not, exactly? A little fun could be just what you need to help you forget about The-Jerk-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named.”
“Because we leave in a couple weeks! What’s the point?” Alethea didn’t want to admit that she was actually glad that they would be leaving soon. That it was the perfect excuse for her not to pursue things with Brent. There was no denying that she could feel something electric between them. But she was a city girl who would be working long hours at a new agency, having to prove herself all over again. There wouldn’t be time for a relationship, never mind a long-distance one. If anything even did end up happening between them, it would be over in a couple weeks anyway. Why complicate her already mess of a life even further?
Priya invited her to join them on a trip into town after the movie, but Alethea politely declined. She wanted to be alone for a while. Once she was comfy on the twin mattress in her room, she put on her favorite satin sleep mask that had a colorful tropical print and tried napping. Unsurprisingly, sleep refused to come and she tossed and turned until she heard her friends leaving, finally giving up. Trudging toward the house like a zombie, she noticed that Brent’s truck was gone as well. No one was here besides her, something that had rarely happened over the last month and a half. She appreciated her friends’ company of course, she couldn’t imagine this adventure without them, but a few hours of solitude to recharge sounded delightful. Scrapping her plan to call more locksmiths, she decided to draw a bath instead.
The little bowl of chopped herbs that she had left on the counter the other night caught her eye as she walked through the kitchen. She hated to admit it but tea actually sounded good, and as odd as the blend of herbs was, Alethea found herself with a mild craving for it. With the others gone she wouldn’t have to eat crow about the tea in front of Danica. She put on the kettle and did a quick bit of tidying up while she waited for the tea to brew, tossing out some circulars and organizing the pile of papers on the counter. She thought about her aunt, it dawning on her that she still hadn’t called back. Seriously? She tried her aunt again and left another heated voicemail when her aunt didn’t answer, slipping her cellphone back into her pocket.
Being careful not to spill the piping hot mug of tea as she walked up the stairs, she passed by Dandelion who was lounging between the banisters in a pool of sun coming in from the front windows. “There you are! I miss you, Princess, where’ve you been?” Dandelion glanced up and flicked her tail in reply before she closed her eyes again and settled back into her sunbathing. Alethea wondered how her cat would adjust going back to apartment life again. It was clear she loved all the extra space to roam around, and she seemed to be so much more active now, always dashing about. Thinking about going back to the city reminded Alethea that she really needed to start job hunting again. The renovations would be finished soon, and she had to find an apartment and a place to work.
She sank as low in the tub as she could without submerging her head and let her muscles relax. The tea didn’t taste quite so unusual the second time around. She sipped down the hot liquid as quickly as she could then relaxed back into the bath. No overwhelming sleepiness took over this time, thank goodness, but she did feel a sense of tranquility that was hard to explain. Relaxed wasn’t quite the word for it, more like being at peace she supposed. Her racing mind seemed to slow and quiet down its normally constant chatter. Drunken monkey mind Danica had called it one time. She smiled at the memory and took a few deep breaths.
Her marveling at how fantastic she felt in this moment of respite was cut short when a faint sense of foreboding began to tickle at the back of her mind. Something wasn’t right. She pushed the thought away and let her mind drift again, this time thinking about the overwhelming tasks ahead of her. Even with the added income from the Airbnb, what if she couldn’t find a job with a high enough salary to afford living alone in the city? Danica always had nightmare stories about her roommates, and Alethea didn’t think she could handle living with a complete stranger.
As she thought more about her predicament, fear and anxiety started pulsing through her. She had been a fool to think she could put her life back together. What was she doing playing house out here with her friends when she shouldn’t have left the city in the first place? Jackson would never have done something so stupid as this. He always knew what to do, the right course of action to take to achieve his goals. Maybe he regretted what had happened between them. Maybe he would take her back, promising to never misstep again.
A thick black cloud of helplessness settled down on her, heavy and oppressive like a weighted blanket. She felt like all the energy had been sucked out of her body. What an idiot she had been to get caught up in this fantasy of renovating the house with her friends, to listen to Brent’s nonsense about replacing the window and digging out the herb garden. Why was she putting in all this extra effort? An Airbnb certainly didn’t need a stupid stained glass window. Now her worry was turning to anger. Why had she let Brent convince her to remake the window in the first place? She was such a pushover. She had let his good looks go to her head. He was clearly trying to control her, trying to use this crush of hers to manipulate her! She thought about Jackson and Susan and being used like a play thing by others, and she felt the rage inside her building. Sweat was dripping down her forehead, the water felt hotter than she remembered but she didn’t have the energy to sit up and turn the cold water knob on. Her anger continued to grow, hatred seething through her veins.
Thick curls of steam filled the bathroom now, condensing on the mirror into droplets, and the sound of a cat wailing came from out in the hallway. Alethea ignored the noise and let the hot water turn her flesh cherry red. She wanted Jackson to hurt, wanted him to suffer like she had. But sickeningly she also wanted him back, wanted things to go back to normal before Black Tuesday had ever existed. The wailing at the door became louder and Dandelion’s tiny black paw was reaching underneath the door, her sharp nails scratching at the wood.
“Dandelion?” Alethea snapped out of her anger-induced haze, forcing the barrage of negative thoughts from her mind in order to regain her focus. The intense feeling of despair lifted, and she jumped out of the bathtub, realizing for the first time just how hot the water was. “Yow!” Her skin was bright red but not actually burned, thank goodness. What had just happened? She wrapped a towel around herself and opened the door, Dandelion running to her side.
“What the hell?” she asked out loud. Had it been the tea? She didn’t think so. The tea had seemed to react with her body almost immediately, and the effect had been a pleasant, restorative feeling. It had made her feel calmer but also more in control of her thoughts and emotions, ironically. She sat on the floor of the bathroom in her towel, Dandelion in her lap. No, she had felt a tangible shift within her, like a power struggle of her emotions. The wave of apathy that had just taken over had squashed her previously blissful feelings, and she had felt something else, too. Right before the bleakness and despair had taken over, her intuition had warned her that something was coming, but she had ignored it.
For the first time since all of this witch-nonsense started, Alethea felt the gravity of the situation. What had just happened had been dangerous. No more being in denial, she needed answers before she burned the house down because she accidentally stubbed her toe. As much as she wanted to hide away from all the messy complications in her life, she couldn’t run forever. How did any of this work? And for that matter, what was it going to take to get her aunt to call her back? She decided she would send her a text next, her aunt hated those. How could Aunt Scarlet be this selfish? She knew it must be important if Alethea kept calling! Her anger started kindling again as she thought about her aunt, and her hand began squeezing into a fist until she caught herself.
Where were all of these negative emotions coming from? The only thing she did know was that she couldn’t let them take over again. Luckily, the bathwater hadn’t gotten hot enough to do any damage, but Alethea shuddered to think what could have happened if things had gotten more out of control. Dandelion began purring as Alethea stroked her cat’s soft black fur. It was important for her to stay calm and focused. Closing her eyes, she did a few rounds of the square breath technique Danica had instructed her to use that day in the car when she had a panic attack. She felt better. Dandelion’s rhythmic purring was soothing and she felt more grounded now.
It occurred to her that if her intuition really was getting stronger, maybe it could help her now. This whole witch thing had to be useful in some way, didn’t it? An image of Brent’s grandmother’s grimoire popped into her mind. She should take another look through it. Rationally, she knew she wasn’t likely to find anything of much use in there. It had seemed more like a diary than a spell book. But she was trying not to listen to her rational side at the moment. Something in her gut told her she might just find what she was looking for in its yellowed pages.
She dried off and got dressed, feeling surprisingly calm given what had just happened as she watched the last of the bathwater drain from the oversized tub. Gathering a few provisions along with the grimoire, she headed up to her old bedroom. Dandelion hadn’t left her side since the bathtub incident and kept pace behind Alethea as they went through the house.
Alethea felt along the back panel of the armoire, just as Brent had shown her, and slid the wood to the side, exposing the door. She turned on the LED lantern, its bright light transforming the dark space. Alethea blinked her eyes and looked more closely once they adjusted. Not a single trace of a cobweb to be seen. She ran her fingers along the wall in the small hallway. Not a speck of dirt. How strange!
Alethea propped the lantern on the secretary where it could illuminate the whole room and sat cross legged on the small rug. The rug felt like it was brand new, its fibers vibrant and without age. She thought about the small iron key she kept in a dish on her nightstand that had popped out of the tiny hidden drawer. What did it unlock? She was about to open the leather bound grimoire but something gave her pause. Adjusting her posture, she sat up straight and put the book in her lap, laying her hands on the cover and closing her eyes. Please show me the answers I’m looking for!
Opening her eyes, she looked around and let out a self-conscious laugh. She had no idea what she was doing after all. Was magic really as easy as just asking for things? It was doubtful. All the more reason she needed to learn Magic 101 as fast as she could. She opened the book and began flipping through the same pages she had already perused, searching for any nuances she may have missed before. Something on the bottom corner of a page caught her eye, but when she looked more closely there was nothing there. She went back to scanning the top of the page and again saw black lettering out of the corner of her eye. That was weird. She held the book further away and tried unfocusing her gaze, the way she used to as a kid looking at magic eye puzzles. Miraculously, another set of text suddenly came into view, but as soon as she focused on it, the writing disappeared again.
She practiced unfocusing her vision over and over, making out a few scraps of words here and there, but she couldn’t get the text to hold still long enough for her to read it. Flipping through the rest of the book, she tried a few different pages but it was more of the same. Every page seemed to have another layer of writing on it that was frustratingly just out of her grasp.
Dandelion purred softly at her side and nuzzled her face into her leg, and Alethea absentmindedly stroked her between the ears. She was close, she could feel it, but she knew she wasn’t going to be able to read those words for now, no matter how long she sat and stared at the book. She pulled out her phone and sent her aunt a text with a few choice words in it. If the stubborn luddite thought she hadn’t liked texts before Alethea was certain she definitely wouldn’t now. Then, before she could stop herself, she texted Brent. “I think I might need your help,” was all it said.
Her phone buzzed as soon as she set it back down. “I’ll be right there.”
No less than five minutes had gone by before she heard the sound of his engine in the driveway. She smiled reflexively. He had gotten here so fast! He must’ve dropped everything the moment he had seen her text. A small pang of guilt hit her, she had clearly been too vague with her message. It might have been better to have clarified that it wasn’t some kind of house emergency, like a burst pipe.
She met him on the front porch and motioned that they could take a seat on the double-wide porch swing. “Thanks so much for coming over so fast.” The hum of the cicadas in the background made the late afternoon haze of summer feel even hotter somehow. Alethea gently rocked the swing with the pads of her bare feet on the porch. For as fast as he must have hustled to get over there so quickly, he seemed calm and collected, patiently waiting for her to continue and explain what she needed from him.
She had intended on peppering Brent with questions about witchcraft but instead found herself recounting the whole episode in the tub. Breathless by the end, her body shaking from reliving the ordeal, she felt like all the blood had drained from her extremities. He put his hand on her arm in a comforting gesture, the warmth of his touch radiating down to her fingertips. She desperately wanted to collapse into those strong arms of his, where he could hold her tight, protecting her from herself.
Once she managed to regain her composure, she told him about his grandmother’s grimoire and how she could almost see the writing that was just out of her grasp. Brent was quiet and looked out over the front lawn, processing everything Alethea had just told him. He turned on the swing to face her when he finally spoke. “I can’t imagine how scary that must have been for you.” His eyes looked grave. “You’re right, we need to figure this out fast. Alethea, I don’t like what you described. It sounds like dark magic, doesn’t it? Almost like the tea was interacting with something evil that lashed back.”
Alethea felt a chill run down her spine and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. “What does that even mean?” She was exasperated now. “Is there even such a thing as good and bad magic? And if dark magic is real, why is it in me?”
Brent shook his head slowly. “I don’t know. We need to find an actual witch who can answer some of these questions for you. What about your aunt, have you tried asking her?”
Alethea rolled her eyes. “She’s being…evasive.”
“I’m sorry I can’t be of more help. Keep working on the grimoire, I bet you’ll figure it out in no time.”
She looked at him in disbelief. “Why on earth would you think that? I’m totally clueless about all this stuff!”
“Well, you may not know anything about magic per se but you”re smart and obviously incredibly strong. I mean you fought off some evil magic of unknown power with your sheer will alone. I’d say that’s pretty impressive.”
Alethea hadn’t thought about it like that. It appeared that despite her fanciful yearnings, Mr. Brent Cornerstone was not going to come rushing in on a white horse to magically solve all her problems for her. And that, she realized, was because Brent didn’t see her as a damsel in distress. In fact, he didn’t see her as helpless at all. He saw her as a capable and powerful woman. Had any man in her life ever seen her like that before?
“Brent, there was so much anger inside me. It was terrifying.”
“Well, given what you told me the other night, I’d say you have your right to a fair share of anger. Betrayal is the cruelest kind of hurt.”
“Maybe part of the reason I’m so angry with Jackson is because of how angry I am with myself. I couldn’t believe that after all that time he didn’t really love me. We were going to get married. But being here, this time away, has really given me some new perspective. Honestly, now I’m not sure that I truly loved him either. I think I was so busy doing what I thought I was supposed to do that I forgot to ask my heart what it actually wanted.”
He thought about this for a moment. “Well, it sounds like it’s a good thing you figured that out, so now you won’t forget to check in with your heart next time.” He spoke the words softly.
She looked at his chiseled features, their proximity to each other on the swing making her body hum like an electrical current. She wanted nothing more than for him to lean forward and kiss her. “Thanks again for coming over, Brent. I feel better after talking about it.”
He took her words as his cue to head home and stood up from the swing. “Anytime. I’m always here if you need me.” He didn’t say anything else but bent over slightly, resting his hand on her shoulder in a reassuring squeeze. His work boots crunched on the gravel as he got into his truck and drove away. Alethea sat rooted to the porch swing, a strong tingling radiating out of the spot where Brent’s hand had been. She felt like she had just chugged a bottle of wine, and she let the blissful sensation run over her body. Unable to stop it, she giggled out loud, a goofy smile refusing to retreat from her lips no matter how hard she tried. She had never acted like this in her life, and she chose now of all times to become a googly-eyed romantic?
Opening the door to head back into the house, she was hit in the face by the smell of freshly brewed Jamaican Blue Mountain. Alethea walked further into the kitchen and stared at the percolator on the counter, brimming with a fresh pot of perfectly brewed coffee. She grabbed down the foil bag of beans from the cabinet. She and her friends had been at the house a month and a half now, yet the bag was still almost all the way full.
Alethea poured herself a cup out of the steel pot and sat down at the kitchen table. She thought back to Brent mentioning that Aunt Scarlet had always made sure to brew him a cup during his visits, knowing this coffee was his favorite. The old percolator sat on the counter in front of her, and she glanced around the empty kitchen. Now that she thought about it, had she ever actually seen Priya make the coffee? Alethea had a sneaking suspicion that the contractor’s favorite coffee was somehow magically appearing for him, but she wasn’t sure how or why. Was she subconsciously doing it? The whole thing sounded so ridiculous that she had to laugh at herself. Is that really what witches did with their magic, make coffee?
It was dusk by the time her friends got back to the house. Alethea had enjoyed the rest of her quiet time watching the pastel pinks and oranges of the sunset illuminate the sky in slowly changing hues, like adjusting the saturation of a photo. The friends ate leftovers out on the back porch until they finally gave up and went inside, retreating from the mosquitos.
“Brent said the window will be ready to install next week.” Danica was matter of fact with her words, but Alethea thought her tone might have held a hint of sadness.
“And we should be able to finish up the rest of the house by early next week, no problem. I still can’t believe we managed to stay on schedule! Or that I’m going to be able to see Jake in just over two weeks time!” Priya laughed in delight at the thought. The time apart from her husband had only served to stoke an already vibrant flame.
Alethea smiled, watching her friend get so excited. “I know, it’s wild that the summer is almost over already. This time next week we’ll be doing the photo shoot and listing the house as a rental.”
Danica crossed her arms over her chest and made a slight scowl. “Just make sure you properly vet people before you let them book. You need to be careful, Queenie is historical, she needs respectful guests.”
Alethea was about to tell her she was being silly, but instead she ended up agreeing. Danica did have a point after all. Her mind wandered to the myriad of antiques up in the attic. Maybe she should have Brent install a keypad on the attic door to deter any potential thieves. Thinking about leaving the house opened up to random strangers made her anxiety start to rise, but she quickly tamped it down, trying to remain focused on her friends. She was going to keep her emotions in check at all costs. “What about you, Dani? Are you excited to be going home? You’ve been awfully quiet tonight.” Alethea was having a hard time reading Danica. There were typically only a few reasons for her friend to be this subdued and quiet, and none of them were good.
“Well, maybe I won’t be going home exactly.” Danica casually tossed out the words then glanced between the two of her friends to gauge their reactions.
Alethea was dumbfounded. “What do you mean, exactly?”
Danica looked nervously at Priya before turning her gaze back to Alethea, then she shrugged. “I mean, I’m still driving back to the city with you guys but then I’m packing up and praying my old Chevy can make the trip back out here.” She laughed in her naturally disarming way.
“What?” Priya stared at her with her mouth hanging open. “But why?”
“Because I’ve loved every second I’ve spent in this town. Let’s face it, how excited do you really think I am to get back to a fourth story walkup that I share with three people I can’t stand? ” She was getting more animated now, gesturing with her hands as she spoke. “I pay more money a month to park my car in my building’s underground garage than we spent here on food for the three of us! I want this life, the one I’ve been living here for the last month.”
“I didn’t realize you wanted to leave the city.” Alethea couldn’t pretend she wasn’t shocked. Danica had never mentioned anything like this before.
“Neither did I! Not until I came here, at least. In all my life, and all the places I’ve lived, I’ve never felt at home anywhere, until now.” She looked at her friends, with sincerity etched into her face. “You guys, I really love it here. I love hiking by the river and how beautiful the sky looks after it rains and Emma is becoming a real friend. I can see myself building a life here.”
The initial shock wearing off, she watched Danica talk about how much she loved the town, and Alethea could see the happiness radiating off of her friend. She jumped up and hugged her, squeezing her tight. “I’m so happy for you! I’m going to miss you every single second but knowing you’ve found the life you’ve been looking for is a pretty good consolation.”
“What she said,” Priya whispered horsely, looking at them through teary eyes.
“I know it seems like it’s out of nowhere but here just feels like where I’m supposed to be.” Danica shook her head in amazement like she couldn’t believe it herself. “It’s going to be really weird without having you guys a ten minute subway ride away.” Her forehead creased in worry.
“That’s an understatement!” Priya was emphatic, but after a moment she let out a deep sigh. “Change has to come sometime I guess. We’ll just have to become FaceTime junkies.” The three friends wore sad smiles and gave each other one more tear-filled group hug before packing it in for the night.
Alethea was glad to go to bed early. She was exhausted from the day. Danica’s bombshell had been a total surprise, and her heart hurt thinking of how much she would miss her dear friend. At the same time, knowing that Danica would be staying in town also gave Alethea a feeling of reassurance. She’d be needing housing after all. The Airbnb prices she was planning on charging for the short-term rentals wouldn’t be practical, of course, but Alethea realized she hadn’t even considered what to do with the guest cottage. Maybe Danica would consider living there in trade for watching over the house and doing some light housework and groundskeeping. Alethea would certainly feel much better about renting Queenie out to strangers if she knew Danica was there to keep an eye on things. It had been a tight fit at times between the three of them in the cozy stone cottage, but if Danica was to live here alone it would be more than enough space. It certainly would be a significant step up from her tiny room in her apartment back home. She’d talk about it with her first thing tomorrow morning.
Only a few hours ago she had been in real danger, a depression so profound that it had soaked into her bones and threatened to overtake her. What she couldn’t reconcile most of all, was that she had actually considered going back to Jackson. The thought made her stomach lurch. Where had that idea come from? No matter how utterly dejected and low she had been over the breakup, at no point had she considered ever going back to that undeserving cheater. Maybe Brent was onto something after all. Could there possibly be dark magic attacking her somehow? It would help explain all these random outbursts of anger she’d been having recently. The thought was terrifying.
She repositioned the pillows beneath her head, and Dandelion curled up on the quilt at the foot of the bed, snuggling close to her feet. At least she felt tired now. She wasn’t sure she could bear another sleepless night of tossing and turning. She had worried for nothing though, because as soon as she shut her eyes, she was out like a light.
Sometimes things have to fall apart so they can be put back together the right way.
She was in a meadow surrounded by flowers, calla lilies she realized. Little pockets of color were mixed in amongst the predominantly white field of flowers that seemed to stretch on forever into the distance. Lilies in shades of pinks and yellows, oranges, reds and purples dotted the landscape, here and there. Some variegated, some ombre, some just solid pops of a bright color. The beauty of it all was overwhelming. Now she was kneeling down, clutching something tightly in her hand. Was someone there with her? Kneeling next to her?
Sometimes things have to fall apart so they can be put back together the right way, the voice said again. She knew that voice; it was so familiar. She squeezed her grip even tighter on what she was holding. The object was hard against her palm but warm. Looking down, she saw a few strands of midnight blue fringe sticking out between her fingers just before the dream dissolved and she sank deeper and deeper into sleep.