Chapter 30 #3
“You know what else is heavy?” Talula gestured around them. “Giant pumpkins.”
“Yeah, but look at that wow factor.” Lucia gazed lovingly at the gourds. “See? Wow.”
Talula raised an eyebrow. “Wow, wouldn’t it be nice if the entity who generously gave us these pumpkins helped arrange them aesthetically throughout this large and spacious festival?”
“I suppose.” Lucia rolled her eyes and sinuously got to her feet.
More of Talula’s magical community arrived throughout the day.
Sara’s old buddies showed up with their usual vendor’s booths for teaching smudging and Wiccan altar-building workshops.
The sacred beekeepers brought mead, honey cakes, and gossip.
Descendants of Enkidu brought an extensive petting zoo.
They all came excited to help and meet the new mortal contingent of the Samhain team.
Kanishka’s aunties appeared again with more lunch than Talula had ever seen, a law of magic and love unto themselves.
They fussed over Talula as Dahlia presented her for their inspection.
“Your father would’ve loved her,” Sita Auntie said, lightly slapping Talula’s cheeks with approval.
“Yeah,” Dahlia agreed, squeezing Talula’s hand. “He would have.”
In his first-ever expression of physical affection toward Dahlia, Simon leaned his furry weight against Dahlia’s calf.
Dahlia looked down, then back up at Talula, then back down again. “Is this really happening?”
“Hrmph,” Simon conceded.
“Do you think he’ll let me put that bow tie on him?”
Simon grumbled, but notably did not protest.
The whole day, as humans and magical beings brought the festival to life, Talula thought of her mother.
Her constant worry for her, yes, but also something else.
A deep wish that Sara could see what Talula’s two worlds could achieve, together.
Talula thought, When she comes home—because she will come home—we’ll talk.
About the Blue Moon. About the secrets. Everything.
And for the first time, the thought of being honest with her mom didn’t scare her.
At sunset, Talula surveyed the festival grounds from the top of a hay bale tower.
Pumpkins conquered walkways, their thick green stalks marking avenues of the festival.
The craftsman elves had finished constructing an elaborate stage area, bleachers, a more secure pen for the Enkidu descendants’ petting zoo (there’d been an incident with the emus; Wei had handled it), and two more play areas.
Carnival rides lit up the horizon as Kanishka and Lucia test-drove the scariest roller coaster.
“It’s like Halloween Land.” Dahlia leaned her head on Talula’s shoulder. “Not to be culturally insensitive or anything.”
“I’m horribly insulted.”
Dahlia tilted her face up to Talula’s. “I’ll make it up to you.”
Her chest full of fireworks, Talula leaned in.
“Dahlia and Talula, sitting on a hay bale!” sang Emilio from down below.
“Hon, we’d never sing a song that shames romantic expression at the expense of our dear friend and her brand-new girlfriend,” Anna scolded sweetly with a mouthful of honey cake.
Emilio rubbed his stubble, considering. Then he sucked in a big breath and bellowed, “K-I-S-S-I-N-G!”
Dahlia and Talula succumbed to full-body giggles.
“Come down, lovebirds, it’s almost time for the Magic Box show!” Dave called.
“We’ll see you there!” Dahlia hollered back. She hopped onto the hay bale level below them. She offered her hand to Talula. “Gotta finish up that teamwork montage.”
They picked their way down the straw tower, hand in hand.
“Epilogue at my place?” Dahlia asked in that low, husky voice that set Talula on fire.
Emboldened by the success of the day, Talula pulled Dahlia behind the hay bales. “You really want to wait that long for a happy ending?”
“Talula, so cliché,” Dahlia chided lightly, her hand already under Talula’s waistband.
Talula and Dahlia were almost late to the last Magic Box performance. Talula spotted Emilio and Anna in the crowd. Emilio was holding a blissed-out corgi in his arms.
“Thanks for watching him,” Talula said as Emilio set Simon down gently.
“We don’t mind hanging out with the little guy.” Emilio bent down to ruffle Simon’s ears.
Simon peered up at Emilio with absolute adoration.
“Lots to do, huh?” Anna teased as she plucked a stray piece of hay out of Talula’s hair. Talula and Dahlia just beamed.
The town square overflowed with attendees.
Dahlia’s marketing efforts or Kanishka’s viral social media posts (or both) had brought more people to Pine Hollow than ever before.
Talula took in all the new and familiar faces, smiling with pride.
She spotted a black baseball cap amongst the crowd.
It was the same man from the town hall meeting who had been staring at her.
He was staring at her again, still wearing sunglasses, despite the twilight.
Another man was next to him, wearing an identical hat and sunglasses.
When the first man saw that she was looking back at him, he whispered into the second man’s ear, pointing at Talula.
Talula, frowning, turned to Dahlia. “Do you know those guys? In the ball caps?”
“What guys?”
Talula glanced back at where she’d seen the strangers, but they’d disappeared.
Talula scanned the crowd, but before she could puzzle further, Dahlia was ushering her through the crowd to get a good spot for the finale.
The final Magic Box show was the grandest of grand finales.
Every performer (minus the mysterious magician) returned one by one, creating a super-packed entertainment extravaganza.
From the first night’s riotous band to Thursday’s trapeze artists and jugglers, it was a supercut of the best moments from the week’s performances.
“That stupid kid was right,” Dahlia muttered as the band tore into a sped-up take on “That Old Black Magic.” Her back was against Talula’s chest, Talula’s arms snug around her waist.
“Which stupid kid?”
“That kid at town hall. Fireworks would’ve been awesome.”
An idea sparked in Talula’s mind. Feeling emboldened by the day, by her friends, by Dahlia, she decided to add one more surprise to the night. After all, nobody would be able to trace this particular enchantment to the Blue Moon. Talula sunk into her magic with a sly grin.
As the final song of the night reached its peak, Talula worked her newfound illusion skills. Illusions of fireworks appeared in the night sky, blooming into impossible scintillating shapes and patterns.
“How did you get permits for this?” Anna asked as a giant chrysanthemum sparkled above.
Dahlia raised her eyebrows at Talula. “Did you?”
Talula, who was focusing very hard on maintaining the illusions above them, winked in answer. “Permits for what?”
As the last spiral of light whirled over them, casting the cheering awestruck audience in a rainbow glow, Dahlia whispered, “You are absolutely magical, Talula Smith.”
Talula, for the first time in her whole life, believed it.