Page 2 of Witchful Thinking

She pulled Callie along to the ticket booth, where they stood in line for tickets. “Watch out for the satyrs. They always want to play you a song. Don’t fall for it.”

Just then, a pair of furry satyrs, bare chested and wearing crowns of grape leaves, passed by, openly assessing them with interested glances. It was as if she’d conjured them with her words. Lucy rolled her eyes. Callie winked.

“I can’t make any promises,” Callie said, giving the duo a flirty wave. “Can you imagine what you do with those horns?”

“Listen, I have no time for pan pipes and rolls in meadows.”

“There’s nothing wrong with having a friendly drink. That reminds me. Ursula’s coming over tonight.” Callie sighed. “She said she needed an emergency bridal party meeting.”

“We just had a meeting on Tuesday,” Lucy said, rubbing her forehead in frustration. Everything is an emergency with Ursula. “She called a Zoom meeting over ordering edible gold lollipops for wedding favors. I don’t think she even ordered them!”

All three sisters were members of Ursula’s bridal party, with Lucy being the maid of honor.

Callie pouted. “I can’t believe she’s getting married. Yesterday we were brewing potions and wearing black eyeliner.”

“No, I tried to keep you from burning off your eyebrows with a glamour spell,” Lucy said with a wince. Callie, with her penciled-in brows, had looked like Charlie Brown’s long-lost sister for three weeks in high school. Lucy did her best to protect her sisters and fellow witches from reckless spells, but sometimes she missed the mark.

They moved up in the ticket line. “It would’ve worked if I hadn’t mixed up the salt with sugar,” Callie said. She grimaced in good humor. “Ursula finds the most interesting spells.”

“You can’t always trust spells from YouTube or Pinterest,” Lucy warned.

“Listen, I found that feta and tomato recipe online, and you liked it,” Callie pointed out. “Besides, whatever spell she cast on Lincoln got her a ring on her finger.”

A feeling of melancholy flickered through Lucy. Ursula was the first of the Caraway cousins to get married. The unofficial fourth Caraway sister, Ursula, was the most polished of them all. She didn’t go anywhere without wearing her strand of pearls, a cardigan sweater, and a pastel dress, always looking like an aspiring country club member.

“Dress for the life you want,” Ursula had once told them over their monthly brunch. But behind that polish was a wild streak that came out whenever she got her hands on a root or a charm. Too many times, Lucy’d had to make sure Ursula didn’t end up flashing half the town during the Siren Parade. They’d been there for each other no matter what, but their personal experiences and jobs had sent them in different directions. Soon Ursula would have her own home and children, and the growing gap of life would widen between them.

Soon magic would be the only thing they’d have in common.

Lucy brushed off her melancholy and greeted the ticket seller with a kind smile. “I’ll take a hundred tickets, please.”

“I don’t think we’ll need that many,” Callie said with a laugh.

“These tickets are good for the whole week. I’m getting my money’s worth.”

Lucy paid for the tickets, then turned to Callie, who was busy scrolling on her phone. Ever since she was fourteen years old, she’d had the freaking thing in her hand, always illuminating her face like a makeup ring light.

“Sorry, I got a text. My mini mason jar shot glasses just shipped.”

Lucy sighed loudly. Callie didn’t look up from the screen. She kept typing, her thumbs flying over the phone. “This is my hustle. Don’t make that annoyed-teacher sound. I have a business to run. I’m not one of your students.”

“Then stop acting like one of my students,” Lucy retorted. “Do you want to go on the Ferris wheel?”

“I don’t like heights.”

“Do you want to play the dart game?”

“The balloons don’t pop! The game is rigged.”

“Let’s go get some kettle corn.”

Callie dropped her phone into her back pocket. “Eh, the kernels get caught in my teeth.”

Lucy groaned. Callie never made up her mind about anything, which meant they did nothing when they were together. Well, she could make up her mind. She just didn’t like any of Lucy’s suggestions. It was her gift as the baby of the family to annoy her siblings with a smile. Sirena was usually the tiebreaker, but she wasn’t here. Lucy had resigned herself to lusting over the kettle corn booth when Callie slapped her arm.

“Look.” Callie slapped Lucy’s arm again, excitedly.

Lucy pulled her arm away and rubbed the stinging skin. “Ouch. Stop hitting me!”

---