CHAPTER 13
Jackie looked down into the murky mug of liquid and frowned.
“Ignore the smell.” Bronwyn pushed the mug closer to Jackie. “Trust me, it will help.”
Jackie let out a breath. At this point, she was desperate.
It was the end of the third day with no voice.
Her silence in meetings left her colleagues more than amused.
She’d tried using an AI-generated voice for her virtual meetings, but those voices could never capture her inflection or soulfulness, no matter how advanced the technology was.
Jackie put her nose to the mug and gagged.
God, it smelled like the back of a roadside flea market.
Bronwyn waved her off. “It’s not that bad.
It’s just sage, licorice root, a little nettle.
And…. Oh gosh, I forgot. What else is in this, sweetheart?
” Bronwyn called out to her son, Thyme, who was behind the herbal apothecary counter at her store, Thyme in a Bottle.
Jackie wasn’t sure it was wise to take medical advice from her barely legal godson, who she also wasn’t quite sure had a degree.
“There’s also a little ginseng, marshmallow root, slippery elm, valerian root, and a dash of turmeric, Auntie Jackie,” Thyme said as he ground something with a pestle and mortar.
He paused to wipe his brow and move floppy curls out of his face.
“I basically threw the kitchen sink at it. Something should help!”
Jackie’s eyes widened. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to be experimented on. She shook her head in a vehement Hell no.
Bronwyn held Jackie’s manicured hand, a set of mismatched gold rings adorning her own.
“Listen, Thyme knows what he’s doing. When I started going through perimenopause, he made me a wonderful salve to ease the night sweats.
I’m telling you, my baby is amazing. Holistic medicine is truly his calling.
” She beamed proudly as she looked at Thyme, who had now moved on to helping a customer.
Jackie admired that Bronwyn loved her seven kids so fiercely, no matter what they did with their lives. The only person Jackie had ever felt that type of love from was her father. He was the missing half of her heart.
Eventually, Jackie let go of Bronwyn’s hand and put the steamy mug of Thyme’s elixir up to her lips.
Here goes nothing. Jackie took a sip and winced.
It wasn’t bad, but it damn sure wasn’t good either.
Thyme had asked a series of questions about Jackie’s symptoms, touched her neck, and looked down her throat with a flashlight.
Based on whatever he saw or didn’t see, he was convinced she wasn’t contagious, which she hoped was true for the good of everyone around her.
She loved Thyme but was still skeptical of his medical credentials.
Jackie looked up to see Bronwyn looking at her, expectantly.
“Well,” Bronwyn asked. “How do you feel?”
Jackie rolled her eyes. Surely she didn’t think that one sip would work instantaneously.
Bronwyn nodded with understanding. “Right. You just had one sip. You have to drink the entire thing and wait a while. In the meantime, tell me how’s it going with that fine specimen Antonio. Well, I mean, not tell as in talk. You know what I mean. Give me a thumbs-up or down.”
Jackie shrugged, then gave a sideways thumb.
She couldn’t say it was bad or good. It was just…
different. Ever since she got back to the office, it seemed like everywhere she went, Antonio was there.
Meetings. In the hallway. He’d even infiltrated her morning routine, showing up at her favorite bakery and the coffee shop she frequented.
She was starting to think it wasn’t a coincidence anymore.
“Hmm,” Bronwyn mused. “Just okay? Do you think you could, you know, see the two of you rekindling? You said it yourself that what you two shared was magical.”
Jackie scoffed, then held up her hand to Bronwyn’s face to get her to stop talking. She’d rather drink a gallon of Thyme’s sewer water tea than rekindle anything with Antonio Steele.
So why was it that, every time she saw him, her stomach did summersaults?
She’d been trying her best to ignore him and that feeling.
Her eyes tried to look elsewhere but always seemed to come back to him.
Despite herself, she took daily inventory of his suit game, which was impeccable.
And his cologne—that very familiar cologne that announced his presence every time, before she could even turn around—had some sort of power over her.
Fuck. Maybe I just need to get laid.
Jackie looked up to see Bronwyn giving her a slight smile.
“I know that look, Jackie. You have thought about taking that man out for another ride. I say, what’s the harm? You’re adults.”
Jackie looked at Bronwyn as if she’d grown a second head.
“Okay,” laughed Bronwyn. “I’m just saying. I’m a firm believer that things happen for a reason. There is a reason he’s back in your life. I don’t think it’s all about work. And you know it, too. The universe has a way of putting things in your path at the right time—and when you least expect it.”
In addition to being a self-proclaimed witch, was Bron also playing psychic now?
Jackie took another sip of her tea as she thought about Bronwyn’s words.
At first, Jackie had thought Antonio was just hanging around to steal PJ as a client and get a leg up professionally.
But…she wasn’t sure about that anymore. He’d been there when PeeWee got sick.
He’d bought her dog a present. He’d calmed her down when she lost her voice.
It seemed like he wanted to, at the very least, be her friend.
Jackie didn’t let a lot of people into her circle.
Making an exception for Antonio seemed like a recipe for disaster.
“Hey Auntie Jackie, here’s your phone!” The chiming voice of Bronwyn’s daughter, Honeysuckle, brought Jackie out of her thoughts.
As the middle child of the Carter clan, Honey—as she was affectionately called—was the most level-headed amongst her rowdy siblings.
She was also smart as hell, especially when it came to anything tech.
When she heard that Jackie had lost her voice, Honey took it upon herself to step in, lacing her with some technology to help her out.
Honey pushed her glasses up on her freckled nose and took a breath.
“Auntie, I’ve added one of the apps I’m developing to your phone; it’s customized for you.
This app helps people who are non-speaking, whether permanently or temporarily.
I’ve tutored a few kids on the spectrum using the app and gotten good feedback.
I’m building on some existing code for augmentative and alternative communication apps.
It’s in beta testing, but you should be able to type in what you want to say—or even use a picture or emoji to express what you’re feeling.
I did a few tweaks to make the voice a little more, uhm, like you. Here, try it out.”
Jackie took the phone, opened the app, and typed in a few words. After reading over what she’d written, she pressed SPEAK.
“Wow, this is amazing, Honey. Thank you for this, you smart, sweet girl,” Jackie said via the app. Wow, it sort of sounded like her. That was kind of scary.
Honeysuckle blushed at the kind words. “Anything for you, Auntie.”
Jackie stood and opened her arms, and Honey hugged her tight. Honey’s massive Afro puff obscured the restaurant and everything else from view. “I hope you get your voice back. Did Thyme’s tea work?”
“We haven’t tested it yet,” Bronwyn answered.
Jackie sat back down and took one last sip of the tea. She let out a calming breath before she inhaled and attempted to speak. And… nothing. She was so mad she was on the verge of tears.
“Oh Jack,” Bronwyn said. “Don’t worry. We’ll think of something. Besides, it’s only been a few days! I’m sure whatever this is will clear up in before the week is through.”
“Yeah, Auntie Jack, and you have my app to help you!” Honeysuckle reminded her.
Thyme stopped what he was doing to join his mother and sister in comforting Jackie. “I’m sorry, Aunt Jackie,” Thyme sighed, leaning against his mother’s chair. “I really thought the tea could help.”
Their love and concern almost made the dam of emotions break, but Jackie refused to cry in front of her best friend and her godchildren. Instead, she went to the app and typed out her frustrations.
“Thanks for your help, Thyme,” Jackie’s app responded. “This ducking sucks.” Ducking? Jackie sighed, then slammed her phone down. She rubbed her throbbing temples. Thanks to autocorrect, she couldn’t even be pissed off effectively.
“About that,” Honeysuckle began sheepishly. “I didn’t factor in a profanity protocol. This is an app intended for kids to use, you know. Maybe I can fix it—”
Jackie turned to Honeysuckle with a smile. She kissed her on the forehead before typing on the app. “It’s okay. Thank you, little genius, for your help! Auntie should probably ease up on the cursing anyway.”
Bronwyn tapped her chin. “I’m still so puzzled at how this happened. It’s as if your throat chakra is completely closed! You know, this type of vocal paralysis could be a manifestation of many things. Are you suppressing emotions? Does some part of you fear speaking and saying the wrong thing?”
Jackie nibbled at her bottom lip. Should I tell Bronwyn about the redheaded lady in the hospital waiting room?
Jackie was sure her woo-woo best friend would love the story, but she was not about to get Bronwyn riled up.
She’d seen how Bron reacted when Tanika started seeing auras, and she wasn’t ready for all that “spiritual intervention.”
Jackie typed furiously on the app, then pressed SPEAK. “My Chaka Khan is fine, thank you. It’s just bad laryngitis, I’m sure. Or even strep throat. If it gets worse in the next couple of days, I’ll visit the doctor. A real doctor. No offense, Thyme.”
“Totally offensive.” Thyme shook his head with a laugh. “But when Western medicine fails you, remember you can come see me anytime. We’ll figure something out.”
“In the meantime,” Bronwyn said, “I still think you need open up your throat chakra. Let’s do some exercises, shall we?”
Jackie watched as Bronwyn stretched her neck from side to side, held out her long brown arms adorned with bangles, and began a high-pitched hum. At the sound, shoppers in the store stopped and looked around to see what all the commotion was about.
Jackie typed on her phone. “STOP IT! You sound like a wounded chicken!”
“Oh hush.” Bronwyn grabbed Jackie’s free hand and squeezed. “Try it. Cmon on! I heard you grunt, earlier. I know you can at least make a little noise!”
Jackie stared at Bronwyn. Maybe she needed to rethink this whole found family thing, if one of the members included this woman who was now flailing back and forth like a one of those inflatables at a car dealership.
Actually, that was pretty fitting since Bronwyn’s extended family owned a ton of dealerships in the city.
The Nash name was royalty in Atlanta. Thanks to Bronwyn’s casual yet eclectic demeanor, Jackie often forgot that her friend came from money. A lot of it.
Bronwyn, now joined by Thyme and Honeysuckle, continued through various wild movements and chicken noises. Good lord. Jackie pinched the bridge of her nose as an amused crowd began to gather. She typed “STOP” into the app, but the volume wasn’t loud enough to be heard.
She had to get her voice back ASAP.