Chapter 29 A Blueberry Affair
The backyard of The Crescent Inn was awash in summer's evening sunlight.
Its golden fingers of light dragged perfectly over women dressed in blue, lounging at white picnic tables with baskets overfilled with blueberries and tall, slender flutes of something blue and glinting.
Bess smiled as Crystal opened her arms, her blue chiffon kimono flowing in the light breeze.
Her hugs were always something to make you feel like you could rest for a few moments and everything else was handled.
"Do you think Aunt Tilly is disappointed with the turnout?" Bess whispered.
Crystal put a finger to her lips and then winked.
While the festival hadn't been rife with townspeople like usual, there had been some allies who came and filled the outdoor space with friendliness and laughter.
Michelle brought a platter of his croissants with blueberry jam.
Judy Lucy, came in blue striped overalls and eyes that sought out Jen, who was not joined by Isla.
The woman was built like a forties movie star and laughed like it.
Jen didn't seem to notice the attention, but when a woman goes through relationship hardship, she's rarely looking up from a twisted and confused heart.
"Things feel," Bess searched for the right words.
"Worse," Eloise finished for her as she joined them.
"Yeah. Like, maybe our magic wasn't answered this time."
Crystal frowned and looked at Bess. "Darkness has a way of becoming cloying when confronted."
"Yeah, well, would be nice if things just went smoothly and people like Astra didn't become more powerful. And it would be nice if we had powerful witches on our side instead of someone with her magic bound."
"Bess," Eloise admonished.
"It's alright," Crystal said softly. She understood Bess's frustration, because she spent a decade herself in pain and anger. So she would give this young woman hers. She leaned over and kissed Bess's red cheek before she left to sit with Carol and Kelsea.
Bess bit her lip, regretting her words.
She spoke her mind, and sometimes without finesse. She'd found herself replaying conversations in her room at night sometimes, wondering how she could have been more gentle, how she could have handled them with more grace.
Grace, unfortunately, wasn't something that came easily to her.
"How do you take this," she pointed to herself and then turned her fingers to point at Eloise, "and turn it into your more eloquent brand of honesty?"
Eloise's smile was quick and knowing. "Years of messing up and being an ass and learning that hurting people's feelings in the name of honesty is not a skill. Being honest while being kind is an art. Now come on."
She led the sullen teen to the group where she took a seat next to Carol. Carol smiled at her as she sipped from her flute, the blue liquid a near-perfect match for her blue jumpsuit which showed off the journalist's slender shoulders.
"So, there's a town hall happening in a bit," Kelsea said. She was wearing a light blue romper with scalloped edges and a high neck, but the blanket on her lap and her denim jacket were a testament to the unseasonable cold.
Ursula and Jen both audibly sighed and Eloise smiled wide.
"Shall we?"
All women looked to Jessica. Her powder blue A-line dress was simple and elegant.
Her hair was free and flowing, no longer the perfectly coiffed look she'd taken on when married to Rob.
That night at The Crescent Inn it was the first gathering she'd attended since she found out about her ex-husband coming to claim a place of power in their town and custody of their children.
Crystal had kept an eye on her and the children, reporting back to them with how she was faring. Each day got better. Until she walked onto the sun-bright Crescent property with head high and a readiness in her shoulders that Eloise and Ursula recognized with smiles.
A woman ready to fight.
Oh, what an underestimated creature, the woman who has been dragged to the harsh earth's floor in hopes of keeping her there, only to see her rise with dirt and blood and something in her eyes.
Once a woman has been told to sit down, something happens inside of her; a mixture of rage and something far more potent - the simplicity of being unimpressed.
That is where the danger lies in a woman ready to fight.
Tilly felt something crackle inside of her as she looked at their beautiful friend.
It was so strong that when Jessica's eyes connected with hers, Tilly's fingertips tingled and heated, causing her to tighten her hand into a fist at the suddenness of it.
She slid it into her pocket, unsure of what was happening, but then Jessica spoke into the charged air.
"Let's go," she said as she stood.
Everyone stood from their chairs, a blue wave of strength. Judy and Michelle both stood looking at this formidable group of women they admired.
"Come on, Judy. Michelle," Jen called over her shoulder. "We have a town to freak out with our gorgeous aura."
Judy smiled at Michelle, who laughed and hooked his arm through hers as the women made their way into their town.
Nine women, one man, a wave dressed in different shades of blue, entered the town hall to a hush of voices as everyone stopped to watch.
They brought with them something that couldn't be named, seen or understood by those who would not try.
They took up the back row of the room, standing as one, sitting as one, even as the one lone woman not wearing blue and not fully understanding what they were doing was a beat behind as she sat next to her sister.
Astra, Beatrice and Esther sat watching from behind the podium. Beatrice and Esther looked perturbed but Astra looked pleased with the challenge.
There was a charge in the air that everyone could feel.
Some shifted uncomfortably. Others looked for the source of what they could not name. A few were courageous enough to sneak glances at the line of blue in the back.
When Rob Sandis walked into the room, heads swiveled to watch Jessica, who sat still, her chin up, her face expressionless.
Ursula took her hand and squeezed. Jessica kept her stare forward. They all watched as Rob made sure not to look at her or them.
Jessica hadn't spoken to him in months. When she called him in a moment of rage after finding out that he wanted full custody of their children, he refused the call and texted her that they could speak through lawyers.
As the meeting got started, the unruly feeling staled. A few women slid surreptitious looks at them, which went ignored by all of them.
Then Rob Sandis rose from his seat, walked to the podium, and smiled the smile that they thought they had permanently gotten rid of.
"I know the last time I stood here before our beloved town turned out differently than I hoped, and now I know also differently than most of you hoped."
Jessica's eyes were hard on him. Ursula clenched her jaw and Eloise had her hand on Ursula's arm while Jen had her hand on Eloise's leg; whether to comfort or hold her back was anyone who didn't know them's guess.
"But, I believe we are in a new age," he continued. Always the politician with eye contact and that awkward, wide smile that held back things people blinded themselves to. "We need to get Salem back to what it used to be."
"And what was that?" a voice called from the back. Silence acted as a vacuum as all eyes shot to where they all sat, trying to pick out which woman the words came from.
Jessica rose from her seat slowly, steadily, her chin raised and her eyes fierce. "What did it used to be, Rob?"
People were having a difficult time deciding where to look. Him or her.
His eyes flashed for a moment, but then he smiled. "Jessica, I'm so glad you asked. I believe Salem can get back to a time where we valued families who want to work hard and decisions were made for the town based on the common denominator of our values."
"Like lying to the townspeople for your own gain?
" she asked, her voice was unwavering and she looked strong, powerful.
"Family values like cheating on your wife while only making it home part time and then suing for full custody of your children even though you haven't seen those children in months?
Tell me, Rob, what is Charity allergic to?
What time do they go to bed? What is Jack's favorite bedtime story? "
A moment, a crack, and no longer was Rob Sandis the charismatic politician as his ex-wife stood in a room full of people and called him out. There was that static power again.
Tilly felt something shift and her eyes were drawn to Astra's black gaze, pinched, her lips held in a tight line. Worry, frustration. She couldn't tell if they came from the woman, but something about her demeanor was on edge.
"I don't think now is the time-"
"Because you want to speak through lawyers? Yeah, I got the paperwork and I received your text," she interrupted.
"Let's keep moving forward," Rob said with a shaky laugh. "Divorce is never easy, am I right? A woman scorned," he laughed. A few joined him.
Astra and the women on either side of her watched Jessica with narrowed eyes.
"What time do you want to go back to, Rob? I just don't think you're the one to lead these people if what you preach you don't also practice."
"Can we get her out of here, please? I think that's enough disruption."
Two men came from nowhere. They were dressed in nothing distinguishing them as any kind of authority, yet with authority they moved and with authority they stood too close to Jessica where she stood at the end of the row of seats.
Without clear authority, one told her to come with him and the other waited.
Ursula stood abruptly. Michelle was next as he maneuvered between Jessica and the approaching men. Then the rest of the row stood, a tidal wave as they moved to close ranks around her but she held up a hand steadily, her eyes never leaving Rob who watched from behind the safety of a wood podium.