Chapter 21 #2
“Carl said the building was filled with happy memories.” Mia didn’t know what he could sense when he was here.
“Carl Hagen? From Nationals? He was here?” Damien turned to stare at her. “When?”
“Just a few minutes ago. He came to talk to me about Suzanne Parker and my retesting. He said she went rogue. Why?”
Damien turned back to the blueprints. “Just a name from the past. Carl was one of the guys Suzanne was dating back then. He offered her the testing job after she was removed from coven leadership. That’s why she moved to Boston and when we broke up.”
When Finn came home, Mia was downstairs reading.
Well, that’s what she told herself. Really, she was waiting to talk to Finn.
Trent had left after lunch to check on his house and give Buddy some flying time in the forest. She figured he’d stop by the store and chat with his father as well. She expected him back for dinner.
Finn saw Mia and walked over. “Hey, I thought you’d be working at the Lodge today. Everything okay? James asked if you were all right.”
“Nothing a couple of days of rest won’t fix.” Mia closed the book. She’d finished a few minutes ago and had been thinking about the ending ever since. She put the book on the table. “Hey, come sit down for a minute. I have a question.”
“If it’s about your offer to let me live here while I go to school, I say yes.
James told me I have a scholarship to pay the tuition, and if I can stay here and pay you rent, I’ll be able to save most of my paychecks so when I get a job, I’ll have money to get set up.
” Finn flopped into the chair next to Mia.
Her hair was bright pink and braided today. She wore a Hello Kitty shirt and jeans.
“I’m glad you’ve decided to stay, but that’s not the question.” Mia leaned forward. “Finn, is today your birthday?”
Finn frowned, then looked at her phone. “November 16. It is my birthday. I’ve been so busy with work, I didn’t even know what day it was. Not that I’ve been a big one to celebrate anyway. My mom always forgot too. I guess it’s easier to forget because she didn’t actually give birth to me.”
Mia hated that Finn’s eyes went sad at the mention of her adopted mother. “Well, happy birthday. We’ll have a special dinner for you tomorrow. Sorry, we would have surprised you if we had more notice. If you want to invite anyone, let me know. Otherwise, I’ll just invite the society.”
Finn stood and stretched. “That would be fine. Like I said, it’s not a big deal.”
“Oh, someone sent you flowers. They were in a vase, so I put them in your room.” Mia stood and put the book on the shelf. Tomorrow, she’d start reading a new book. Something fun.
“Someone sent me flowers? For my birthday?” Finn shook her head. “No one who knows my birthday knows I live here.”
“Hmmm. Let’s go look at the card. Maybe you put the address on your job application? Maybe it’s from Abigail?” Mia had a bad feeling in her stomach.
“I gave her a fake date. It was just habit. I didn’t mean to lie,” Finn explained as she walked to her room with Mia by her side.
“Fix it now.” Mia smiled. “First, let’s see if the card’s signed and we’ll go from there.”
They walked into Finn’s room and Finn headed straight to the flowers. “The card isn’t signed, but the florist is next door to the coffee shop. Do you mind driving me over so I can see who sent them?”
“Not a problem.” Mia needed another cup of coffee anyway. The potion from Cleo this morning was wearing off and she wanted to go back to sleep, but she didn’t want to sleep her life away either. “Let me grab my keys from the apartment and we can go.”
When they arrived at the florist, the woman who had taken the order was gone to lunch. Mia looked at the clock. “It’s almost time for her to be back. Just come over to the coffee shop and I’ll buy you a coffee while we wait.”
Marsha Fieldstone’s face burst with joy as they walked inside Magic Brews.
Mia waved. She’d been so excited to get any information, she hadn’t looked at who was supplying it.
The coffee shop was empty, so after they ordered the coffee, Mia took a chance and asked Marsha about the flowers.
“Does the list of new witches also give you details like their date of birth? How did you know when to send Finn flowers?”
Marsha jerked at the question and spilled coffee on her hand. She grabbed a towel to sop it up. “No, the entrance/exit report just says that. Who’s in and who’s out. How did you know about the flowers?”
Mia smiled as she walked through her guess. “You gave Finn a dragon statue. You talk about her like she’s amazing. And you almost glowed when we walked in here today. On her birthday. You don’t have much of a poker face.”
“As a level five, your intuition is on high alert all the time. You’ll find this happening more and more now.
” Marsha turned to face Finn and took a deep breath.
“I’ve always known Finn’s birthday because I’m the woman who gave her up for adoption.
Finn, I’m your biological mom. I know you don’t have any responsibility to talk to me, but I just wanted to tell you how proud I am of you and the woman you’ve become. ”
Finn stared at her. “You’re my mom?”
Marsha shook her head as she answered. “I know your adoptive mom gets that title. I’m just hoping we can develop some kind of friendship. I never wanted to give you up, but things were complicated.”
Mia and Marsha were floored when Finn went over and hugged Marsha. “Thanks for telling me. Now, my witch talent makes more sense. Thank you for the flowers.”
“You’re welcome. It was the least I could do. Does this mean you might want to continue talking?” Marsha looked at Finn with hope pouring out of her.
Finn looked up at her with wet eyes. “As long as you’re fine with it. I know having me show up after all these years is probably a shock.”
“More for you than me.” Marsha hugged her again, then stepped back behind the counter. “We all need coffee.”