31. Gemini and Scorpio
THIRTY-ONE
GEMINI AND SCORPIO
Germination is a pivotal moment in a seed’s journey to becoming a plant, an alchemical process where nature’s precise ingredients come together. Water softens the seed, allowing a sprout to emerge, while light gently warms the earth, urging the sprout upward.
But beyond these elements, magic is the constant force.
It bridges environmental gaps, sustains life in impossible conditions, and sparks growth in the most unlikely places.
For those who can see, magic is omnipresent, even in the most inhospitable cracks and corners, quietly fueling life’s emergence.
–EXCERPT FROM THE MUDPUDDLE MANUAL OF NATURAL MAGIC
Maida stood behind the counter trying, and likely failing, to commit the names of today’s customers to memory. She doodled a puffer fish, making a note in her sketchbook to commemorate the most recent shopper.
Hildegarde Fish: enjoys books about landscaping and gardening.
She could still see the adorable middle-aged woman as she toddled her way back to the street.
Ms. Fish used a plump hip to bump open the gate, since she was flipping through the pages of an oversized coffee table book as she strolled.
Maida couldn’t blame her for being mesmerized by the glossy images of exotic courtyards.
She just hoped the woman wouldn’t trip and fall.
After a busy day, she welcomed the afternoon lull.
She was finally alone. Mostly, alone. Mr. Pants sat on the counter, beside the cash till, as impassive as a British Beefeater.
It was silly that a stuffed animal should bring so much comfort, but he did.
He’d always been her emotional support stag.
Mr. Pants was soothing in a familiar way.
Having him there as the shop’s mascot eased some of the awkwardness of having a man, who should feel more like a stranger, living with her.
That Arthur felt so familiar to her was one of the most disconcerting things about him.
She knew his smell, and the crease in his brow that appeared when he was worrying about Rosie.
She knew he loved honey in his tea but routinely denied himself this small pleasure.
And she knew when he was watching her. Not just watching, but affected by her.
She could sense the shift in his molecules.
The reaction was like fire, wild and alchemical.
She felt something shifting too, even though her physical form was not made to show it.
Her cheeks flamed as her thoughts traveled down this warm passage.
Glancing back at her companion on the counter, she shook her head.
She was lonely, but needed to stick to the type of friendship that existed on solid ground.
Not the type that dissolved into fantastical silken dreams. Her new world was fantastical enough.
And yet, this world was also familiar. As if she’d always been here.
The house was still shifting slightly to accommodate her.
She noticed small changes daily. Wall colors changed, and carpets appeared.
These changes were subtle, like someone brushing their hair, or sliding over a bit to make room on a bench.
They’d be easy to miss if you weren’t paying attention.
She felt as if the house had embraced her—gathering her up and providing a soft landing.
Since moving into the Mudpuddle, she had never been too hot or too cold.
Whatever she was looking for seemed to appear exactly where she expected it to be.
The house even smelled hospitable, sending her whiffs of coffee, books, and freshly baked cinnamon rolls.
Most inexplicably, when she cracked her window at night, she could still hear her beloved Pacific Ocean waves lulling her to sleep at night.
When the breeze brushed against her forehead, as gentle as a mother’s touch, she drifted off, knowing she was where she was meant to be.
Even at the finest hotels, and in her own snug apartment, Maida had never felt this welcome. With all her books and favorite things from her apartment in place, the Mudpuddle felt like home.
The past week had flown by, sped along by a seemingly endless stream of introductions.
New people, new places, new ideas. She, Arthur, and Rosie had a daily routine.
They ate breakfast together, and then Rosie went to school while Arthur worked on his cases in the reading room.
On some afternoons, like today, he had to go back to the office in Boston for a few hours, but Maida was never alone for very long.
She glanced at the clock. Rosie would be home in less than an hour.
Gemini wound around Maida’s feet, then took off running. Maida worried it was the mouse she kept spying out of the corner of her eye. As jarring as it was to see a mouse, she didn’t wish the creature any harm, so she followed Gemini down the hall.
When she saw that whatever the cat was batting about between its paws was something silvery and papery, she relaxed.
Was it a candy wrapper, perhaps? It skittered down the hallway towards the mudroom. At least it was keeping her entertained.
Maida paused to pick up a small zodiac-inspired, catnip filled toy and stashed it in her pocket, lest someone trip on it.
She’d tidy up later, after Rosie got home.
She didn’t want to leave the cash register unmanned.
She hoped that Rosie might also come with her to deliver the basket of books she’d discovered in the mudroom.
From what the doctor had told her, the squirrels might get testy if they didn’t get their book club selection in a timely fashion.
By now, Maida had explored most of the property.
The only exceptions were the apartment that Rosie and Arthur occupied and the Arcane Archives in the cellar.
She didn’t even know how she might get into the Archives.
The only way into the vault was through a large metal door, decorated with a massive skull shaped ornament at the center.
Maida supposed the death’s head was also the doorknob, but it didn’t matter, since she didn’t have the key.
That was something else they needed to sort out.
Arthur didn’t think it was safe for Maida to go down there alone, and Zani seemed to agree. Her advice seemed hypocritical however, given that it was coming from a woman who was currently infiltrating a nest of vampires.
As it usually happened, the moment Maida thought of her friend, the telephone on the shop’s countertop rang.
The sound startled the small gray mouse who’d been hiding in the crevice behind the apparatus. With a squeak and a frantic scamper the mouse sped across the counter, skidding in place on a toppled stack of promotional bookmarks momentarily before disappearing into a tiny crack in the wall.
Maida was extremely relieved that Gemini was occupied elsewhere.
The phone trilled again, somehow managing to sound even more insistent this time.
“Hello?” Maida lifted the receiver.
“Collect call from Zanfira Marinescu, do you accept the charges?” the voice on the other end was distant and echoing. She sounded far enough away for a stiff breeze to break the connection.
“Yes! Yes of course!” Maida spoke quickly and a little too loudly, thinking of the vampires. “Zani? Are you there? Are you okay?”
“Of course I’m okay. This is hardly my first vampire nest, Maida.
Let me tell you, these Carpathian leeches are notoriously slow moving and yet they’re so cocky, they don’t even bother to ward their colonies.
I swear they all have a touch of age related dementia, along with serious iron deficiencies.
Those misogynistic soul suckers never see me coming. ”
Maida shuddered, not wanting to picture the evil entities her friend was dealing with.
She definitely preferred her magic to be cozier and more delicious.
Maida rubbed her thumb absent-mindedly against the rough burlap toy in her pocket, counting the knotted stitches along the edges with her index finger.
“So,” Zani continued, “I got the bloodstone back, plus I’ve recovered some other really cool artifacts I can’t wait to bring to the Archives.
I can’t really talk on the phone about what they are.
But let’s just say I’ve invested in a lead-lined case to keep them in.
I know that Minerva Lathrop would have loved to get her hands on these.
Any new clues as to her whereabouts, by the way? ”
“No,” Maida said. “It’s baffling. Nothing new. The director is coming here later this week to help with the investigation and to decide what to do about Zephyr and the Archives.”
“I’m jealous you’re getting to meet the legendary Director Berman.”
“Well, she is my godmother,” Maida said, the word “godmother” still sounding unnatural to her as she spoke it. “I don’t know why it’s taken so long.” Maida wasn’t sure but she strongly suspected the reasons had more to do with her father than her.
“Tell me more about Arthur,” Zani said.
“He’s good. Very helpful,” Maida said.
“Hmmmm. Good? Helpful?” Zani’s tone was as canny as a raised brow. “Care to be more specific?”
“Not really.” Maida squirmed and fiddled with the toy in her pocket, feeling the rough surface grow smoother and harder as her thumb rubbed and circled against it.
“Perhaps this is a conversation for next week, when I get there in person?” Zani laughed. “I know a good story when it’s being suppressed.” Maida heard a few clicks and some more static on the line. “Anyway, I’m coming in a week from Wed?—”
When the line went dead, Maida laid the receiver on the counter.
She was reluctant to hang up and acknowledge the call was over.
It was always great to talk to Zani, but even more so now that there were no secrets between them.
Only when the phone complained about being left off the hook did she replace the receiver to silence the beeping.