Page 20 of Brews and Banishments
Tessa shrugged. “An accident that was bound to happen.”
“We talked about the business being slow, and the next thing I know, we’re crowded.”
“There was a news story.”
Daisy pressed her lips together. “I know for afactI wished for Rebecca’s clothes to be ruined in the same way my prom dress was.”
“Karma was coming for her long before she came to our table,” Tessa said.
“How about Ethan, then?”
Tessa raised a brow. “What about him?”
“What can explain his sudden change of heart in one day? Asking me out suddenly?”
“I think you hold yourself to a low standard, Daisy,” Tessa said in a serious voice. “Why’s this bothering you so much? Is it so unbelievable that good things would happen for you?”
The words sunk into Daisy more than she thought they would. Perhaps there was a part of her that just didn’t want to settle with the fact that good things were coming to her. So much heartache and troubling times surrounded her twenties and early thirties. Now that she was older and wiser, the reality of the world settled in around her, and Daisy didn’t expect good tidings to be granted so easily. It didn’t make sense, and she wasn’t one who trusted it so easily. Daisy leaned against her hand again, unable to avoid the unsettling feeling in the back of her mind.
Tessa reached to hold onto her hand. “Why don’t we test it?”
“How?”
She shrugged. “I don’t have the faintest idea. But we’ll do it together, right?” A smile filled her face. “We’ll figure it out.”
Daisy watched her best friend and allowed the relief to seep into her. Even if it was all in her head, at least she had someone like Tessa around to keep her anchored through it all. She gave her a smile.
“We’ll figure it out.”
6
Daisy
Daisy and Tessa took a seat alongside the main road that led out of downtown Willowbrook and funneled into the plethora of neighborhoods. A few more shops were on the other side of the road, one being a bustling grocery corner store. They both had a sweet tea in a takeaway cup, and a bag with Daisy’s leftovers sat on her right. A few pigeons fluttered around at their feet, expecting food but coming up empty-handed.
“How about the spell book in the attic?” Tessa asked.
Daisy shook her head. “I don’t think there are any wishing spells in it.”
They had been going back and forth about ways to test the possibility of Daisy having a spell attached to her, but weren’t entirely sure which way to go forward. Daisy was a brewing specialist with an affinity for tonics and elixirs. They were meant to help people, cure small ailments, or align with miniscule needs. Things like that, curses or hexes, were entirely out of her basic knowledge. Tessa wasn’t much better, as she hadbeen focusing primarily on strengthening her empathy detection before anything else.
Daisy’s gaze was stuck on the grocery across the street. A familiar face slipped outside the sliding doors, hurrying to gather metal carts that had been left outside.
“Isn’t that Maria Blakely?” Daisy asked.
Tessa followed her stare. “Oh, yeah,” she mused. “Blessed be. Look at that poor girl.”
“I didn’t realize she worked at the grocery store,” Daisy said. “Wasn’t she just at Ronald’s?”
“She’s working them both, I believe.”
Daisy’s eyebrows shot up. “Not at the same time, right?”
“I don’t think they’re her only two jobs, Daisy,” Tessa replied with a somber look. “Last I heard, Maria worked at Ronald’s weekends, the grocery weekday mornings, and then at The Wilted Garden till the kids got out of school.”
Even from their distance, Daisy could easily see the exhaustion in Maria’s face. For as long as she’d known her, Daisy had admired the woman’s inexplicable beauty. She had simple hazel hair that stretched down to her stomach, and she usually wore it in a complex braid down her back. It was messy and uncoordinated, but natural, and Daisy couldn’t help but fawn over her. Most of the town did, especially after the dreadful accident that took her husband away from her.
“How many kids does she have?” Daisy asked.
