13. The Bunny Hole
THIRTEEN
THE BUNNY HOLE
While certain naturalists may dismiss the notion of time travel or mystical portals as fanciful, the recent inexplicable emergence of formerly extinct species, such as the coelacanth, the takahē, and the Chacoan peccary, suggest otherwise.
Lazarus species routinely emerge from the misty fog of the past, flaunting bold evidence of the hidden dimensions of reality.
Ordinary naturalists attribute the enigmatic return of these species to their ability to thrive surreptitiously in hidden or remote places. We can’t fault them for their inability to intuit the wondrous and mystical fabric of reality like magical naturalists do.
–EXCERPT FROM THE MUDPUDDLE MANUAL OF NATURAL MAGIC
It was a short walk to The Bunny Hole from Maida’s apartment. The donut shop was located just a block from the Pacific Coast Highway. You couldn’t miss the giant, white-frosted, rotating donut mounted on top of the single-story building.
Ruby, Diamond, Agate…She strode briskly past the jewel-named streets of South Laguna. Maida was still thinking about the odd exchange with Addy and she wasn’t watching where she was going.
This was how she almost ran into a tall dark-haired man waiting for the crosswalk light to change at the corner. He was waiting to cross the highway, headed in the other direction and stepped aside to avoid her.
“Sorry!” she breathed.
“You should slow down,” he replied, pressing the button under the traffic signal twice in rapid succession, before looking down at her.
His warm eyes widened with surprise and what seemed like recognition as he took her in.
Did he know her? Or was he looking at someone else?
She glanced over her shoulder, but there wasn’t anyone behind her.
Maida felt her skin prickle as she leaned forward to press the button for the crosswalk in the direction she was heading.
When she looked up again, he was still staring at her.
He looked straight into her eyes, raising his brows and holding her gaze pointedly, as if he were waiting for her to say something, or answer a question.
But what was she supposed to say? He hadn’t asked her a question, had he?
She allowed her gaze to brush over him before looking away again.
He was all polished angles and long limbs, swathed in a well cut and tailored tan trench coat.
This man didn’t look like he was from around here.
Or even like he was from now. Who wore a trench coat to the beach? With posture like that?
She had the irritating feeling now that this man was someone she ought to recognize.
It bothered her she couldn’t recall from where?
His high cheekbones, glossy chestnut brown hair and curious russet-colored eyes were so uniquely different, and yet so familiar.
Was he someone famous? She tried not to stare as he brushed an unruly lock back from his forehead.
This happened a lot in Southern California.
Film crews seemed to pop up around every corner.
There were movie stars at the supermarket.
But that didn’t explain why he seemed to recognize her.
She didn’t have long to ponder it. A second later the light changed.
His walk signal lit up, and he took off across the street.
Watching him walk away made her feel weirdly melancholic.
She couldn’t bring herself to look away.
She just stood there watching him till he disappeared behind a row of parked trucks.
She stood there in a bit of a sleep deprived stupor, until someone else walked by with coffee, which smelled wonderful.
Then she finally snapped out of it and remembered where she was going.
From the street in front of the strip mall parking lot, Maida could see Will sitting inside The Bunny Hole.
He was sitting in a corner booth by the front window, taking advantage of the light as he snapped photos of colorful donuts stacked in a pretty pink box.
There were two paper cups of coffee on the table, one of which she hoped was hers.
Will pocketed the camera the instant he spied Maida and rushed out the door.
Then he waved his arms over his head like he was some kind of wild rogue air traffic controller, guiding Maida in.
A pair of power walkers slowed down to a slow stroll in order to get a better look at whatever was going on.
One of them scowled at Will when he continued to wave his arms like a crazy person, even as they picked their way around him.
That didn’t faze Will. He was blissfully uninhibited.
Same as always. And, she suspected, he was doing this to get a rise out of her.
Maida wondered, for the millionth time, how someone this colorful had ended up working for someone as beige as her father.
“Glad to see you’re okay!” Will gave her a quick once over like he was checking for damage.
“Why wouldn’t I be?” Maida made an exasperated face at him. First Zani, then Will. Did everyone think she was a child?
“Alien abduction, possessed dolls, bands of roving televangelists…You never know.” Will pulled Maida into the shade of the donut shop’s awning.
“What are you even talking about?” Maida shook her head. Will simply stood there and grinned back at her.
His mischievous smile had an immediate and predictable effect on her.
When Will smiled at her, two things happened—one to her and the other to him.
Her spirits lifted and his eyes got all skrinkle-y, disappearing into his face.
The effect was so comically disconcerting that she always laughed at the sight of it, regardless of whether she wanted to.
Will didn’t mind one bit. He knew how disarming this effect was and used it to his own advantage. He stepped forward and enveloped her in a big, hearty hug.
“Will? You’re squishing me,” Maida groaned.
“I’m just so happy to see you. You look good, Mayday. Radiant as always.” Will released her and looked her over.
Maida knew Will was a smooth talker. She suspected he was just being flattering. They were both getting older, after all. Time was taking a toll.
But taking a second look at her father’s right-hand man now that he’d finally released her from his bear hug, she couldn’t help but wonder if he’d been granted some sort of special daylight savings pass on aging.
At forty-three, Will should have been trotting into silver fox territory, yet he still looked as youthful as he had in his twenties.
His wavy red hair was just as thick and lustrous as ever, and his deep emerald colored eyes still sparkled with their signature green glint.
Nothing about him seemed to be fading with time.
“Radiant, huh?” Maida said, reaching out to touch his face. His unwrinkled skin was so smooth. It felt bouncy. How?
“Why don’t you ever seem to age?” Maida asked. “You’d tell me if you had work done, right? I don’t think it’s fair that I’m going to start getting all the character lines while you age backwards on me.”
“Stop it.” Will shook his head and swatted her hand away.
But then he caught her hand in one of his and pulled it towards his face to examine the tattoo on her wrist. She had forgotten to cover the small act of rebellion from her college years.
It had been so long since she’d gotten the word abracadabra inscribed that she often forgot it was there.
The design was simple, the word inked in simple calligraphy with the image of an artist’s pen nib inked into the final flourish—as if it were still being written.
“Why haven’t I seen this before?” Will accused.
“It’s nothing,” Maida insisted, attempting to pull her hand away. But Will hadn’t finished examining the tattoo. He even fished a pair of spectacles out from his brocade jacket pocket in order to get a better look.
Maida felt relieved by the sight of his small, thick iridescent glasses. So she wasn’t the only one aging after all.
“Who designed this?” Will looked up for a moment.
“I did,” Maida answered. “I’ve had it for ages. You don’t need to mention this to my father, do you?”
She tried to pull her arm away again, but Will held it there. “Stay still, I’m admiring your work,” he murmured as he studied it. “What were you thinking when you drew it?”
Maida gave him a wary look. The idea had just come to her in college, after auditing one of Zani’s lectures on magical words.
In it she had learned that the phrase Abracadabra came from the ancient Hebrew words for I speak as I create or, some thought, I create what I speak.
Abracadabra was one of the oldest known magical words.
Maida liked the notion of creating magic with one’s words.
Books were made of words too, and books were definitely magical for her.
Most of all, she loved the idea of using one’s imagination to create something brand new, something that had never existed before.
Despite her father and her strict upbringing, she’d wanted to believe there was something more.
The tattoo was a representation of her own desire to do that—a reminder that she had the power to create and live the life she chose.
Giving herself permission to believe in the possibility of magic and inscribing the hopeful word on her flesh had felt like breathing life into clay.
Maida didn’t tell any of this to Will, of course. She shouldn’t have to explain herself and there was a very good chance that even if he kept her “magical” tattoo a secret from her father, he’d never let her live it down.
“It’s just a silly tattoo, Will. What can I say? I was young. I was having a moment.”
Finally, after what Maida thought was a ridiculous amount of time to be fussing over an ordinary tattoo, Will let go of her arm.
“Okay.” Will nodded sagely and repeated the word, almost as if speaking to himself. “Okay. You don’t have to tell me right now. But I think we both know it’s more than that.”
Maida studied him, waiting for the teasing banter to resume. But it didn’t happen. His expression remained serious.
“Come on, Mayday, let’s go in before the coffee gets cold.” Will reached out to hold the door for her.
The donut shop smelled of sugar, coffee, and decadence. Chocolate, Maple, Almond Cream. It was going to be a tough call. Perhaps the eclair? When they sat down at the booth, she reached for the box of treats, but Will swatted her hand away and tsk’d.
“You can’t eat till everyone’s here, Maida, you know the rules.”
“Seriously?” Maida pouted. She’d almost forgotten about the solicitor.
Will nodded and pushed the paper coffee cup towards her. Maida took a sip. Of course, Will had remembered exactly how she took it. He was a stellar PA.
“So, where is the solicitor?” she asked, peering around the small space. The morning rush had subsided and most of the Formica booths were empty. There were just a couple of people lingering over a last cup of coffee, and one woman in line.
“Arthur went around the corner in search of a ‘proper macchiato.’” Will rolled his eyes as he imitated the solicitor.
“So what do you know about this inheritance, Will?” Maida took advantage of their alone time to ask the questions that had been plaguing her all morning. “What’s with the urgency? Did my father tell you anything about this property?”
She fiddled with the silver locket while she spoke. She was already used to the way it hummed in her palm. It felt so comfortable there. When she released the locket, to take another sip of coffee, Will went absolutely goggle-eyed.
“Bless the sea fairies! What kind of mischief is that?” Breathless, he pointed at the locket. “Where did you get it?”
“This thing?” Maida glanced down. “I don’t know. It just washed up on the beach yesterday, right at my feet. I have to admit, it was very…” she caught herself smiling before saying the word “magical.”
“I’ll bet it was.” Will whipped out his spectacles again. “Allow me?” He leaned forward across the booth and cradled the locket in the flat palm of his hand, lifting and lowering it as if checking his weight. Then he traced the letter L with his index finger.
“This is beyond extraordinary, Mayday! Do you know what this is?” Will’s cheeks were bright pink. He was talking fast, clearly excited.
“No?” She shook her head. “Should I?”
“I believe it’s a gearheart locket. There’s few of them left. Have you had a look inside it yet?” Will snatched at the locket, trying to push the lever on the side without even asking.
“Hey! Cut it out.” Instinctively, Maida pulled away and closed her hand protectively around the locket. As much as she normally enjoyed Will’s quirkiness, this felt like he was crossing a line. “I thought we were meeting here to discuss my inheritance.” Maida frowned.
“Yes, yes, of course we are, and Arthur will get to that as soon as he secures his bougie brew. But this,” Will pointed at the necklace, “this changes everything!”
And then, in a shocking breach of good manners, Will helped himself to a pink frosted donut with rainbow colored sprinkles.