Page 72 of Big Witch Energy

Caroline searched her memory for a Derek, but the Branner family were Seventh-day Adventists and never came into the bar. She could remember a chubby-cheeked little boy who’d wiped out his bicycle in front of the Rose about twelve years ago. He’d been pretty brave about the whole thing, but Caroline didn’t know if that was enough of a recommendation to date Ben’s daughter.

“I don’t know. I like him. He’s really smart and funny and nice—and not the fake ‘nice to your face while he’s texting his buddies about how fast he thinks he can get your bra undone’ kind—but the real sort of nice. He’s kind. But he’s pretty set on staying here and helping his dad run the family business, and I’m gonna be leaving for school next year…” Mina said.

Caroline again attempted to do the mental math on the bike kid. How much older was he than Mina? Oh god, she was not capable of doing this math. Ben should be doing this math. But she was sure he would freak out completely at the idea of his daughter dating a college boy. Mina needed a mother figure right now, and Caroline was struck with a sensation eerily similar to her dream of being shoved from Vixen’s Fall. She was not qualified for it, but she was all Mina had. She wracked her brain for what she wished someone would have told her before Ben left.

Mina looked at her, her shoulders nearly to her ears. “I don’t know. Everything feels temporary. And I get that’s sort of normal, but…I don’t want to get in some weird long-distance relationship.”

“I think you might be overthinking it, a little bit,” Caroline suggested. “I mean, I’m sure this boy is nice, and kind, but he’s just a boy, you know? One of dozens of boys you’re going to know over your lifetime. I wouldn’t worry about it so much.”

“I’m a teenager. Worrying about boys is my job right now.”

“Understood. But remember that you’re going to like the next boy,” Caroline promised. “And the one after that. Look, you’re a smart girl—to the point that you scare me a little bit. You’re Mina freaking Hoult. You can go anywhere in the world and do anything. So go out and do it.”

Caroline sincerely hoped that was still true and that magic wouldn’t keep Mina bound to the island. But that wasn’t knowable yet, so Caroline decided to take her own advice and try not to worry.

She heard creaking behind her, as if through glass, but she was on a roll and continued panic-talking. “So don’t let some boy determine how and when and where you’re going to do anything. You don’t want to spend your college years tied to a long-distance relationship, afraid that you’re going to outgrow the other person, hurt them, when you’re supposed to be out living your life.”

The words almost burned as they came out of her mouth, voicing what she wanted for Mina, even when Ben doing exactly that had hurt her so badly. But Mina was a different person, her own person. She had to make her own way.

“Enjoy it. You don’t want to spend your time pining after one guy. You’re going to be a completely different person by the time you’re grown up—according to your dad, that’s literally on a cellular level. Don’t hold yourself back because you’re afraid you’re going to miss out. Go meet new people. A lot of new people. Find out what the world has to offer.”

Mina was chewing her lip thoughtfully. “You’re making good points—Dad?”

Caroline turned to see Ben standing behind them, all sleep-rumpled and grumpy. The panic subsided just a little bit. Ben would be able to help Caroline convince Mina she was right. “You want some coffee?”

“No,” he said, his tone cold enough to make Mina’s chin draw back a bit. “Mina, honey, could you go to Petra’s and get me a bear claw?”

“But I got a whole box of pastries right here,” Mina said, frowning.

“Go get me a different pastry, please,” Ben said, taking his wallet off the counter and handing her some cash.

Oh, so Ben wasn’t “just out of bed” grumpy. Ben was mad. And given the rigid set of his shoulders and the red in his cheeks, he was really mad.

Shit.

“OK…” Mina said, sharing a confused look with Caroline as she left the kitchen.

“Is everything OK?” Caroline asked, even though, obviously, it wasn’t.

“No,” Ben said, turning on her. “I’m really trying to stay calm here, but…what the hell are you doing, telling Mina that if she likes a boy, it doesn’t matter? That she should enjoy as many of them as she can?”

“OK, that’s not exactly what I said,” Caroline protested. “And I would think you would want me to tell your teenage daughter not to prioritize boys when she should be studying and enjoying college!”

“I don’t want her to treat people like they’re disposable!” Ben insisted. “She’s already seen enough of that from her mother.”

“I never told her to treat people like they’re disposable! Where is this coming from? Wait, is this about you and me? I thought we’d talked this through, Ben,” Caroline said.

“Well, it turns out, I’m still a little mad about it,” Ben cried, throwing up his hands. “And for the record, we didn’t tie ourselves to a long-distance relationship because that’s not what you wanted. You told me to go, so I went.”

“Yes, because that’s what was best for you!” she cried. “Also, you walked away from me! Do you think I wanted to be left alone? With my family? I wanted to be with you, but you needed to be somewhere else and even though it hurt, I let go.”

“Well, no one asked you to do that. I didn’t want a martyr, I wanted you!” Ben told her. “But you…how did you act like I never existed? I would come back to visit, and you would just pretend I wasn’t even there! How are you even capable of that?”

“Because I was trying to make things easier for you,” Caroline insisted. “And yeah, maybe for me a little bit, too. Do you have any idea how hard it was for me, watching you come back to the island all content and successful and being happy for you, but dying a little bit inside every time I saw it? Do you think if I thought of people as disposable, I would still be anywhere near my family? Do you know how easy it would be to walk away from people who treat me like I’m a convenience? A tool? I might as well be a fucking can opener for all the family affection I get. I stick around because I have no choice. Where else am I going to live? Work? Move? And pardon the fuck out of me if I want Mina to have more than that. I want her to have the whole world. I’m terrified she’s going to be stuck here, not just because of some boy, but because of her magic, too. It’s the same life I have to live, and I want her to do better.”

“But what if it ends up being what she wants? I thought we were doing pretty great together, this time around.” Ben scowled. “I’m sorry you’re stuck here with me now. I didn’t realize you’ve had such a miserable life and that, since you’re trapped and can’t do any better, I’m your disappointing consolation prize.”

“I’m not saying that!” Caroline cried. “Where is this even coming from?”

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