Page 10 of Love's a Witch
“Is fairy floss…” Lyra began. There hadn’t been any happy family trips to the circus when we were children. Something I’d remedied once we were in the States, and I was the one in charge.
“Cotton candy,” I supplied, not turning from the spectacle of these three women.
“Yuck,” Nova said.
“I thought you liked cotton candy?” Lyra asked.
“I mean it’s fine. It’s not in my top five fair treats. Or maybe even ten. It’s just sticky and annoying, really.”
“I think it’s fun,” Lyra said, and Felicity zeroed in on her.
“Yes, see? It is fun. And that’s what the Charms are. Fun! Speaking of, I’m so excited because we’re here to—”
“Maybe they could invite us to stay for a cup of coffee?” Mandy’s unwavering grin was beginning to remind me of a flight attendant asking an unruly passenger to pull themselves together before she got out the restraints.
“Is it mandatory?” I asked, leveling a look at Mandy. I wasn’t my best before coffee, even less so when I felt like I wasn’t in charge in my own space.
“Sloane. That’s not the kind of hospitality we raised you with.” Broca arched an eyebrow at me and waved the women toward the dining room, crystal bracelets clinking at her wrist. “How do you feel about cheese and Ritz for breakfast?”
Mandy gave us a look like we’d just offered her cocaine, while Felicity looked positively cheered at the possibility of cheese. Tam shook her head and made a small tsking noise with her lips.
“Och, ladies. Best to start your day with a healthy breakfast and a good workout. Get the blood flowing.”
Nova nodded in agreement. She was one of those people who woke up refreshed and went for a morning run before her coffee. It was my least favorite thing about her.
“I keep telling them that.” Nova and Tam beamed at each other, kindred souls apparently, while Lyra gave a delicate shudder.
“They never let me prepare a proper breakfast for them.” Lyra pulled mugs from the cupboard, rinsing the dust, and shortly, the women all had cups of coffee and were settled at the table. My brain had finally decided to wake up a bit and check into the conversation, which was currently, from my estimation, about the price of a pack of biscuits.
“Such a shame.” Felicity shook her head, pressing her lips together, a pinched look coming over her face. “The kids are desperate for more, but I’m not made of money, am I?”
“Too much sugar in biscuits,” Tam declared, sipping her black coffee. “Hidden sugars in everything these days.”
We sat around the dining table tucked in an alcove off the main room of the house, while Broca reclined on the armchair nearby. In the morning light, I could easily see the dust that had accumulated, and I couldn’t fully blame Mandy for her disapproving looks. As it was, she barely relaxed into her chair, sitting on the edge like it was going to explode at any moment, never resting her arms on the dusty table. Instead, she clutched her coffee in front of her, her fixed smile beginning to make me wonder if this was her resting Barbie face, likely contemplating how her life choices had landed her here, in this dirty house.
“Was there something you needed to talk about?” I asked, forcing my thoughts away from all the things I needed to do to make this space homey again, starting first with a good solid clean, and realized that I’d, once again, shoved my foot in it. The conversation halted, and everyone gave me those pained looks that people get when you don’t follow the correct social niceties. Fine by me. Niceties came in the afternoon, when it was a proper time to visit, not at first blush of morning.
“Yes, of course there is.” Mandy gave me a disapproving look and clutched her coffee cup hard. I began to worry it would shatter and stain her pink pantsuit. Did she sleep in that outfit? I pictured her stepping into a closet and hanging herself up by the loop in the back of her suitcoat, powering down for the night. I chuckled. The other women looked at me with concern. At least I found myself humorous. “Now that you’re all here, we’ll have our first Charms meeting next week once you’ve settled, but in the meantime, we have a more pressing issue to address.”
“Mm-hmm, we do.” Felicity nodded. “We really do.”
“And that is?” Just what I needed, more people complaining about the snow.
“Your magick, of course.” Mandy’s hands were growing white where they gripped the cup. “Your birthday is tomorrow, and we’ll need to discuss how we deal with it.”
“Och, that’s a grand way to put it, isn’t it? If she wasn’t already nervous, you’re certainly going to make her so.” Tam rolled her eyes, slouching backward in her chair, fingers tapping on her leg.
“Why would I be nervous?” I mean, of course I’d given thought to my twenty-fifth birthday and the potential magick I’d receive. Every witch did. Had I made spreadsheets and run probability tests? Maybe. But that was neither here nor there. As Broca gleefully reminded me, the magick I ended up with was one thing that I could not manifest myself.
Much to my deep annoyance.
Maybe I needed to change my middle name to Sloane Annoyance MacGregor, because as of late, I’d been leaning far more into the tetchy side of my personality than ever before. I hated not being in control. And the more I tried not to focus on my looming birthday, the bigger the expectations grew in my head.
“As we all know,” Mandy began, placing her coffee cup on the table—thank goddess—before she actually broke it, “the MacGregor bloodline carries a very unfortunate curse. One that has ramifications for all involved, including those who could be exposed to collateral damage.”
“Collateral damage,” Felicity repeated, nodding vigorously, eyes widened.
“It’s imperative we handle this situation before it gets out of hand,” Mandy continued, tension beginning to band my jaw as I grit my teeth. She gave me a tight smile. “Of course, we wish you the happiest of birthdays and all that, but we’ll need to keep you closely monitored at all times tomorrow.”
