Page 91 of The Neighborhood Witch

Alice nodded as she wiped away tears rolling down her face. “But I always boss you around.” They chuckled. “How much did you get?”

“Your entire front porch is covered in grapes. And some of the walkway. Most of the walkway.”

“Why didn’t you have them bring ‘em inside?”

“Gally wouldn’t listen and go upstairs. I had to… improvise.”

Alice gave Hugo a discerning look. “See, this is why I keep him upstairs.”

They left the wine cellar together and went upstairs to get their new bountiful harvest.

A week later,Alice hid in her bedroom, not wanting Hugo to hear the conversation. She sat on the edge of the bed and picked up her phone to call Esmerelda. She waited with bated breath after each dial tone. Each one more tortuous than the last.

A woman’s voice could be heard though the phone, “Go ahead.”

“Ez! It’s Alice. How was the delivery?”

“Kiddo, this is your best batch yet. I’ve had nothing but compliments… compliments from everyone.”

Alice breathed a sigh of relief over those words. “Fantastic news. You have no idea how worried I was.”

“No need to worry, kiddo. Your job is secured,” Ez replied. “I’m sorry I yelled at you before. Emotions were running high after that night. I shouldn’t have said those things. You did good. You didgreat.”

“See! I told you it would be fine,” Alice’s reflection yelled from the bathroom.

Alice covered the phone with her hands. “Thank you for that commentary.”

“You’re welcome,” her reflectionresponded.

“Who’s that?” Ez asked.

“It’s my reflection,” Alice answered. She paused while deciding to tell Ez the truth about the new batch. “We did a great job.”

“We?” Esmerelda asked. “You and your reflection?”

“No. Hugo and I. We did it as a team,” she replied.

“You made this with Hugo?”

“I couldn’t have done it without him,” Alice said. There was a pause that lingered far too long. “Ez? You still there?”

“I’m here. Maybe I underestimated him.”

Without missing a beat, Alice replied, “You have. He’s a really great guy. I love him, and he loves me. I had one of my panic attacks before I made that previous batch. He tried to help me, but I wouldn’t allow him to. I was distracted. Far too distracted. I should have stopped, but I didn’t.”

There was another pause. “Sounds like you found someone special. Good for you, kiddo.”

“We each found someone special,” Alice added.

“That you did. That you did. Don’t lose it, kiddo. Not like I did.”

“I won’t.”

“Take care of yourself. Talk to you later,” Ez said before hanging up.

“See!” Alice’s reflection said. “What did I tell you?”

“You were right.” Alice fell back and splayed across the bed. She exhaled a long breath she had been holding all day.

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