Page 32 of Brews and Banishments
Tessa grumbled under her breath and rubbed her stomach. “I’mstarving, Daisy. Let’s go!”
Shaking her head, Daisy motioned towards the front door. Tessa was already halfway there. Daisy found herself hesitating for a moment, but didn’t dare to turn back. There was only the image of Marigold crashing her wedding in the back of her mind. The unfortunate reality she saw in Marigold’s mind was the consequence of her actions.
“Wait!”
Daisy froze. When she turned around, Marigold was standing, the drunken haze slowly dissipating from her eyes. The tears fell silently and effortlessly.
“I understand,” she whispered, the words barely carrying between them. “I…I wanted a life that was not mine. I thought Gary was meant for me,onlyme, but I was selfish. I was selfish and yet,” Marigold paused, taking a few small steps closer to Daisy, “you were with him in his last days, and you never once complained. You were so strong in the face of everything going wrong, andIwas so stupidly selfish. Wanting to trade places. Wanting to steal what you had, blaming you for everything I threw away.”
Marigold’s shoulders shuddered as she bent forward and desperately clutched at her chest. “Gary was more than loved in his lifetime,” she said through her tears. “And I need to carry on. I need tomoveon.”
Daisy’s heart softened. She stepped forward and rubbed her hand over Marigold’s back as she cried. Her shoulders trembled and shuddered with each breath she took, but Daisy never once moved, never once ceased in giving her as much comfort as she could muster.
“To live is a blessing,” Daisy whispered, the words her therapist once spoke drifting back to her. “And you cannot waste it. Not when there’s so much life to live. Alright?”
Marigold straightened herself, managing to pull a half smile across her lips. “Alright.”
With the case on Marigold Shadowbrook closed, Daisy and Tessa made their way out of her house, shutting the doors behind them. They marched silently across the untrimmed lawn to Tessa’s car and slid within the hot compartment, listening to the hum of the air conditioner as they waited for it to turn on.
“Well,” Tessa finally said, “we can mark her off the list.”
Daisy nodded slowly.
Suddenly with a crazed speed, Tessa turned the ignition, and the car hummed alive. Tessa whipped out from in front ofMarigold’s house, testing the speed limit as she raced through the quiet afternoon neighborhood.
“What’s the rush?” Daisy squeaked.
Tessa grinned. “It’s time forlunch.”
And they curved out of the neighborhood, rushing towards downtown Willowbrook.
10
Daisy
The fourth Madonna song clicked on the radio and Daisy tapped her foot against the floor. The bedroom had a delicate glow about it with the setting sun on one side and the amber lights Daisy bought a few years ago on the other. The warmth was meant to calm her down, but her mind was racing a million miles a minute. The music, some of her favorite songs, played on repeat to set the fun mood.
Across from her, dancing in front of the walk-in closet, Tessa yanked out another dress. This time it was long, reaching to the ankles, and had sequined beads speckled across the torso and lower skirts. Tessa held it in front of her with a suggestive brow, the corner of her lip curling up in a grin.
“How about this one?” she asked. “I think it says ‘I’m a classy girl, but with a youthful, funside.’ Right?”
Daisy eyed the dress. Butterflies swirled in her stomach. She pressed her hand over her bellybutton, desperate to soothe the lunch they’d gotten from The Wilted Gardenhours ago. Nerves began plaguing her the moment lunch was finished. Working atFields’ Herbals while it was raging busy couldn’t even stop the fretting in her mind. In fact, she managed to catch a glimpse of Ethan across the street when she was sweeping. He hadn’t seen her, but Daisy couldn’t take her eyes away till he disappeared around the corner.
Her heart stammered and the butterflies fluttered through her as if she was a bright-eyed school girl.
Daisy shook her head. “Not that one.”
“Okay,” Tessa drawled, her eyes narrowing on her. “Perhaps you’re feeling more like a top and bottom situation?” She dived deeper into the closet before pulling out a skirt and ruffled blouse. The skirt was dark and sleek, slightly flowing at the edges but tighter near the waist. The blouse had unfortunate ruffles across the breast, an old-fashioned trend she wished to forget.
“Now,this,” Tessa continued as she held the outfit up, “is a more mature look, I know, but men these days appreciate a mature woman. How about it?”
Daisy frowned. Did she really want Ethan to see her as amaturewoman?
Tessa sighed. “Judging by your look, I’ll assume you’d like to pass.”
“Blessed be,” Daisy breathed. “I’m sorry, Tess.”
Leaving the clothes behind, Tessa took a seat on the edge of the bed beside her and reached across to lower the radio’s volume as the Madonna music carried on. “What’s going on, flowers?” She reached to tuck a strand of Daisy’s long hair behind her ear. “Don’t tell me you're chickening out now! You’ve got a handsome knight in shining armor arriving in about an hour.”
