Chapter 9 Rosie
Rosie
Each September, Heartwood Hollow hosts a fall festival that capitalizes on the quirky, wholesome nature of our seemingly magic-tinged town.
Businesses set up booths outside, lining Main Street with colorful stands, and festivalgoers wander around, shopping, eating delicious treats, and watching music performances in the main square.
While the existence of magic in this area isn’t actually confirmed, the true secret being one that the supernaturals have kept for decades, Heartwood Hollow leans into the fun of it this time of year to encourage tourism.
It’s my favorite not just because it means I get to spread my love story magic to even more people, but because Violet makes the world’s best apple cider donuts and sneaks me at least three a day.
Throughout the day, I find myself catching glances of Jack across the way, smiling and waving, watching as he talks to customers with genuine excitement, in between my own customers, but we don’t actually get a chance to talk until a lull hits the street around four o’clock.
He catches my eye across the way and I wave, then lift up a white, grease-stained paper bag that Vi handed me thirty minutes before.
“Want a donut?” His eyes go wide, and he smiles before making his way across the street.
I reach into the bag and hand him one before grabbing one for myself, then rest my ass on the edge of my table as I enjoy my treat.
It’s been a long day, and I know Phillip is watching me from above, annoyed that I didn’t have a real lunch today, but sometimes, that’s life, not that his dead ass would know anything about that.
“That’s smart,” he says, tipping his head to the small map of the festival in a frame on my table before taking another bite of his donut.
I nod, looking at a heart around my table on the map.
He grabs one of the extra punch cards that let people who visit all of the participating booths enter to win a gift basket of items from all ten booths.
“You’re not on it,” I say. “A paper went around, did you get it?” A blush blooms over his cheeks. I know he’s part of the committee for the businesses in town, but now that I think about it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him take part in anything other than having booths at events.
“Yeah, I got it. I just… didn’t fill it out.”
I nod, understanding. “You forgot?” That blush deepens, and I realize I got it wrong when he shakes his head.
“I just… I didn’t want to put myself on it. Everyone here is so close, and you all have a kind of rapport with one another. You have collaborations or joint sales all the time. Adding in my business just to help push my business felt off.”
My brow furrows, trying to understand, and despite myself, I feel a pang in my chest at the awkward look on his face.
“You go to the business meetings, right?” I’ve seen him sitting in the back because Vi, Poppy, and I sit back there, too, laughing and whispering about Old Man Connors, who always gets up and has some new tirade to rant to the board about.
It’s always very entertaining. But I realize now that Jack always sits alone and never stays for drinks and snacks after.
I’ve definitely never seen him at one of the mixers, which means he pays dues to be in the business committee, but doesn’t really utilize it at all.
“You’re part of the committee. That was the only requirement, Jack. ”
“No, no, I know. I just… I don’t really know anyone here.
I didn’t want to make it weird, being the nerd with a gaming store disrupting the vibe or something.
And as you know, I haven’t been the most…
welcoming resident of Heartwood Hollow. I feel like that kind of thing is more for groups of friends who can recommend one another.
I don’t want to make Martha down at the gift shop pretend she knows or cares about the Gaming Den. ”
Martha is possibly the kindest person on this planet and would hype up anyone she was friendly with.
However, if you don’t know her, she can come off a bit standoffish and like she’s annoyed by you, so I can see where he’s coming from.
Especially if he doesn’t know her. I guess I take it for granted since I grew up here, but this town is very close-knit and always has been.
I’ve known most of the people who own businesses in town since I was a kid, so there was never the awkward getting-to-know-you moment, but it could seem cliquey if you’re a newcomer.
I’m sure that with him being someone who is shy and stays to himself, it makes him feel uncomfortable.
Maybe he just needs someone to show him around, make some introductions for him.
With that, though, a plan starts to brew in my mind. I wipe the sugar off my fingers, then turn to the man I’m slowly learning to call a friend.
“Hey, actually, when are you taking a break?” I ask, and he shrugs.
“Haven’t really thought about it. Why, what’s up?” I turn on the drama, looking left and right before leaning into him.
“This might be a good place to get one of our ingredients, if you know what I mean.”
“Really? Here?” I nod, then make a show of looking around, like I’m looking for listening ears.
“Yeah. I mean, time is running out—only forty-one days until the full moon. We could probably find a sweet exchanged in harmony,” I say, lifting an eyebrow. “A place like this, I bet we can find it.”
“What does that even mean?” Jack asks, confused.
“A treat of some kind that is currently in possession by someone experiencing inner peace,” I lie.
I don’t tell him that when I asked Phillip, he said I just needed to get a piece of candy from someone with a friendly demeanor.
When I originally wrote it down, I’d planned to go to the candy store after work one day and just say please and thank you, but this is even better. Two birds, one stone.
“How the hell are we supposed to know what that means?”
I give Jack a knowing look, then glance around once more before whispering a spell under my breath.
“We need a sweet ingredient, magic boots on the ground, make it obvious to only us once it’s found,” I say, then a spark of pink glitter leaves my hands, moving down the street.
Jack watches it, awestruck as always, and I smile.
It’s fun seeing that look take over his face, remembering that not everyone grew up knowing that magic was real.
It’s even more entertaining, knowing Jack spent most of his life reading and learning about worlds he thought were fictional, only to find out that at least parts of them were not.
“Can anyone else see that?” he asks, staring down to where the glitter disappeared. I shake my head.
“Not unless they have magic.” There are a handful of magical people in Heartwood Hollow, not including my sisters, but there’s a bit of an unspoken agreement not to question other people’s magical use when you see it around town.
We turn a blind eye, as if it doesn’t exist. “Come on. We have a sweet treat to find,” I say, gripping his elbow and tugging him down the cobblestone road lined with booths.
Our first stop is just two tables down, where the head of the business committee, Mrs. Hanna, has her craft booth.
The town’s retired art teacher, she now runs a store on the very end of Main Street, where she sells crafting supplies, from yarn to beads to paints of every color.
She hosts parties and classes, and Poppy had her thirteenth birthday party there, making clay trinket trays, one of which still sits in my bedroom.
I give the woman a wide smile, and she returns it, then I continue to tug Jack into the booth.
His eyes scan the offerings, seeing a mix of finished crafts for sale, craft kits for customers to complete on their own, and supplies.
“Hey, Mrs. Hanna!”
“Well, hello there, Rosemary,” she says, and I bite back a reminder for her to call me Rosie. She’s always called me Rosemary, even when she was my teacher. “Good turnout, huh?”
“Yes, maybe the best ever,” I agree. “You know Jack, right?” Mrs. Hanna turns to him, assessingly.
“I believe we met when you first opened your shop, right?”
Jack nods. “Yes, you were very kind to tell me all about the business committee and all of its perks. You do an amazing job with these events.”
“You never take part in the mixers,” she says bluntly, and a blush moves across Jack’s cheeks in response. God, the man is sweet. He’s always been so combative and argumentative with me, but I’m beginning to realize he’s only so bold with me—with everyone else, he’s shy and keeps to himself.
“Yeah, I…” he hesitates, that blush moving from pink to red. “I’m not big on gatherings.” I bite back a laugh at his understatement.
“Well, how on earth are we supposed to learn about your business and support you!” She moves to the map I had at my booth and scans it, trying to spot his shop. “You didn’t even add yourself to the scavenger hunt.”
“He’s shy, Mrs. Hanna, and you know how intimidating the business committee meetings can be.”
“Oh, well, that’s no reason not to get involved! We’re a bit hectic, but we’re a fun bunch. Gosh, I’m falling down on the job if you haven’t felt welcomed!” Jack shakes his head to argue, but I know there’s no use now that he’s on her radar. It’s why I brought him here first, after all.
Over the next few minutes, I watch as Mrs. Hanna does what she does best, taking a shy student under her wing and guiding him along, insisting Jack sets up a meeting with her soon to tell her all about his business, the events he holds, and what kind of collaborations he might be able to set up with other businesses.
She’s suggesting a craft night for one of the games he features when a customer comes in, and she tells him she’ll call him tomorrow to set up a meeting.
We wave goodbye and step back onto the street.
“There’s no sweets there,” he whispers as we leave. “Why did we go in?”