by N. I. Rojas
For this night I kept wanting, staying without avenging my family’s honor and my cousin’s prudish pride.
Just one question clung to my heart. Was Lavender a witch just like me?
Chapter 6: Midnight’s Sweet Treats
“What are you doing here?” -Breathing hard, I asked Sam as soon as I was at close range.
“I was worried for you. Your store is a mess. Your house was alone. People went to the station telling stories about an attacker who hit you and bit you. This has been a hell of a night. Reports everywhere. I needed to make sure you’re fine.” -Sam said, quickly walking the distance between both.
Standing in front of me, Sam was tall. Cute. Very cute. Strong body, proud and virile. He hadn’t look at me from head to toe, but always straight to my eyes. I could read his eyes, almost all the truth in them, but what if he knew about me too?
“Are you alright?” -He asked again.
“Yes, I think so.” -I managed to answer before being hauled into a needy hug. I hugged him back, inhaling his smell and sinking my face deep into his neck. I needed solace. I needed comfort. Never in my life had I felt loved. But this moment felt so different. Maghikal. Sweaty and pained as I was, the world between his arms seemed like made of pink cotton candy and healthy chocolate bonbons.
After breaking the embrace we walked to my house. It was very dark but something made me remember the candles and the crock pot. All the spell stuff was scattered all over my house. This has been a crappy long night.
Oh my God! What if Sam discovered it all? I couldn’t allow him into the house. Suddenly, he complained of a pain and crouched like a baby who wants to vomit. I held him and helped him to sit in my porch. I wondered if I was to blame too for his sudden illness. While he grunted of pain, I ran to the inside of my house and disposed of all the elements for Jerome’s death curse, throwing everything outside the kitchen window. Luck on my side, Sam didn’t see me. That was a good indication that I wasn’t going to die burnt on the pyre tonight.
I ran back outside where Sam was lying on his back in the porch. I gave him a glass of water and some aspirins too.
“Are you alright?” -I asked really worried.
“Yeah. It just this damned sugar thing I have.” -He said covering his face with both hands. -“Help me get up? I’ll better get going before this get worse.”
“You’re not leaving.” -I protested. -“Don’t even think on driving that way. You’re an accident minutes away from happening.”
“I can stay in the car. Just give me something sweet.” -He said, relying his weight on me. Man, he was heavy, but I was convinced to resist that weight and more just to keep him to me.
“Yeah, of course. Whatever you say.” -I answered sarcastically while helping him to walk by my threshold. I took him to the couch and ran to the kitchen. Picking up a few couple of sweet treats, fruits included, I ran back to where he was. He practically swallowed a ripe banana, a chunk of chocolate with raisins and some of the dragon fruit tartlets I had left on home for myself. -“Better?”
“Way better.” -Sam answered with a grin. -“Delicious cookies.”
“Tartlets.” -I corrected him as if he was saying profanities against my desserts by just misnaming them.
“Well, I better leave. I don’t want to ruin your reputation.” -He stood up as if nothing had happened.
“It’s late, Sam. You can stay here in the couch or in the free room.” -I protested.
“Why you worry?” -He asked.
“Why you worry?” -I returned his question.
“I care for you. I don’t want people thinking wrong about you. You’re decent and kind and very beautiful. Everybody will think I’m taking advantage of you.” -He confessed.
“Taking advantage of me? What am I? A toddler? I’m a grown woman. I’m seventeen. I take my own decisions. Reputation isn’t something I worry about. It’s not like I'm a high-demand maiden.” -He looked at me as if I was wrong. -“By the way, I was born with a ruined reputation and my birth date was cursed by all the stars.”
“How dramatic, Morgan! You surprise me! You think you have no pretenders, but that’s false. I can name you a few.” -He dared to say.
“I don’t care. There’s just one man who I care about.” -I managed to say with a mighty blush all over my body. He smiled faintly and his eyes were blinking more than normal. He was very tired. His “issues” with sugar were making him no good tonight. -“Lie down, officer. I’ll help you.”
While Sam tried to protest between clenched teeth, I took his shoes and socks off. He hid his gun under the couch and in fact, that was the wisest thing to do. Or the silliest. One bullet and Jerome would be off forever. Game over to his meaningless existence. I’ll claim self-defense if he dares to set foot on my porch.
“I’ll get you blankets and some clothes. Girl clothes, but we’ll keep it a secret.” -I said, pinching his cheek and walking away from him while I smiled hugely. Searching for some yoga pants and neutral color t-shirt, I couldn't help but feeling super nervous.
There was a man in my house. A strange man lying right in my couch. Relying on me, trusting me more than anyone in this whole world. And the man was not any man, but a cute sexy cop and gentleman.
Outside my door anyone would imagine the unthinkable. My heart just jumped agitated and frightened by so many thoughts. Ideas came to my mind. Witchy dirty mind! But I couldn’t help it. Never in my life I had felt this way and now I was feeling it all together. How a heart as fragile as mine could withstand all this deep emotions at once?
“Hey.” -His voice whispered right behind my ear. I jumped, falling in my bed. -“I’m sorry I startled you.”
“Don’t worry. After all the events of the day I'm very sensitive.” -I apologized, but my heart was somewhere in the floor as I’m sure I spat it out because of the scare.
“Can you show me where the bathroom is? If it's not too much trouble I want to take a bath. I bet I smell like a goat.” -We both laugh at his comparison. I pointed at the door across the hallway and he disappeared from my room without stopping to look at me.
That night I didn’t sleep. Maybe I did, a little bit. I was both euphoric and nervous. Excited and scared. I tried to review the conversation with Jerome in my mind. Every time I recalled his words I felt a punch to my guts. Having Sam just a few steps away wasn’t a big help. Before sunrise I gave up, standing from my bed I walked towards the kitchen to surprise Sam with a healthy and delicious breakfast. I’ve always known that a heart is not conquered with love. Love is a thought. Love is an idea. Heart is dominated by food. At least my heart will bow to someone who’ll cook something for me.
The surprise was mine. His blankets were well fixed over the pillow. A wild flower from my garden was resting over the thin fabric. I searched the house looking for him.
He was long gone.
Chapter 7: Surprise, Surprise
What do I know about witches? Not too much. Truth is ,story and history books don’t make us any justice. If witches were to live in ginger houses, how they survived fire ants and roaches while sleeping? Long lasting magical insecticide?
If witches were to be green-skinned with crooked and elongated noses, how they go to markets to get their supplies and pass unnoticed? Fake & Cheap beauty spells?
If witches were to fly broomsticks, it wouldn’t be clever to patent the invention and make tons of money? Silly ignorance?
Thinking of all those nonsense I went to work. My store was devastated as if a hurricane category five had hit just there. It was obvious I would keep the bakery closed for the day or until I managed to fix everything and re-arrange a little.
Phone was ringing as I swept the floor, gathering the broken glass, as broken as my soul. Dirt and glass crunched under my weight while I walked to answer the call.
“Sweet Menace Bakery. How can I help you?” -I sang through the phone trying to cheer up my mood.
“I want a date with you, please.” -A cheerful man’s v
oice said.
“I think you have a wrong number, mister.” -I replied twisting my lips. -“But I can sell you a cupcake bouquet for your date. When you find one.”
“Come on, Morgan! I’ll beg if I have to. Have dinner with me, please!” -He said, and I imagined his face now, such a sweet treat. I melted inside by just recalling his words.
“Sam?” -Just to be sure I pronounced his name. -“How are you feeling?”
“Much better thanks to you.” -Sam answered with a laugh. That sound was like a teasing song. -“Though I’ll feel extra cared if you have dinner with me tonight. I had the dawn shift and I’ll be off duty before four in the afternoon. Maybe we can go to the closest real city to a nice restaurant, away from prying villagers.”
“I don’t know, Sam. I have much to do in my broken store.” -I protested lightly.
Despite I liked the sound of an escape to the city with this gorgeous cop by my side, I couldn’t help but remember myself I had greater plans for all of them, him included. Death was just a dessert away. But what about the bet I did with Connie? Win his heart and prove it to her. But with which purpose? They’ll be all dead soon.
“Didn’t you deserve a break? Let me pamper you. Breaking the routine can give us a better perspective of this village.” -Sam said very convincing. -“Besides, you have nothing to lose. And I owe it to you. You saved me last night.”
“Why are you doing this?” -Curiosity always takes power of me. Wanting to know his reasons didn’t make it any better. Once the strings are attached, it’s harder to make a puppet walk free again. And maybe I was the immature puppet this time.
“Maybe I want to tell you in person and not over the phone. I promise you will not regret going out with me.” -His whispered words were a soothing lotion to my aching soul, a balm to my broken spirit, a shelter to my unknown origins. -“And I’ll make you laugh.”
I stood with the phone glued to my ear. His words echoed deep between the walls of my soul. What would I say now? How to tell him no? My breathing abandoned my body but yet I managed to continue alive, a breath of life dancing through me, tickling my buried emotions.
“Let’s do something. Don’t answer me now.” -Sam took the word after maybe a minute of me being silent. Perhaps he feared an upcoming rejection. -“I’ll go by your house at around five. If you don’t come out I’ll stop insisting or bothering you, and I promise to stay away from you if that’s what you really want. Just think about it. I’m a good man, not a psycho killer or predator, I promise. Just give me the chance to know each other.”
Unsure of what to replay, a little laugh escaped my lips. I was as nervous as I had never been. But of course, I had never been invited on a date before.
“See you at five. I hope to see you. Bye.” -After those words the line went dead. It was obvious Sam had hung the phone fearing for a no as answer.
Looking at the clock I found out it was beyond nine thirty. Seven hours were my lifesaver. Seven hours to decide what to do, to clean this mess and arrange the shrews dwelling in my being. Seventeen years hadn’t been enough to know myself and I had just seven hours to collect the best of me and sort decisions.
Hands to works, I kept sweeping the floor, and it was obvious that at this pace I’ll be done the next week. Manual work was hard, and why would I bother doing it if a wave of hands would fix it all? A wave here. A wave there. Things started falling in place. Glass glued as if it had never been broken. Light bulbs fixed by Maghik. I could have sworn I was dancing in the middle of the dust, collecting scattered chairs and hugging a broom, when a knock on the front glass scared me. I stopped dancing and the music inside my head stopped as well. Standing there, frozen, my heels glued to the floor, I looked to who was calling for me.
To my dismay the front door opened, and the girl from the woods entered as a disturbing ghost.
“Hi. I’m looking for work. You know someone who needs a helping hand?” -The girl said as if we hadn’t meet in crazy fearful circumstances just two nights ago.
“Sorry. I don’t know.” -I said cautiously, though I would have said I needed help. Help to guide her to the same door from where she came in. Help to know everything from that witch she and Jerome had both talked about. Help to kill Jerome as I didn’t managed to finish him last night. Help with the mess my life turned to be lately.
The girl wandered through the still dirty lounge, the hem of her dress- apparently the same she wore that night-collected dust particles and some dust bunnies too.
“Why are you here?” -I managed to ask. I feared no one but this girl was kind of creepy. She couldn’t be more than my age and in this town she was late to get married. Besides me, of course.
“I was just passing by.” -She said with a silly smile. -“I need a job. My parents left me and if I don’t get a job or a husband soon… I don’t know what will be of me. What do you recommend me?”
Her situation made me smile. She was groping her options? To get a job or get a husband. Funny silly girl. Lies, lies, lies. The air was somehow crushing me and gravity turned weirdly weak. Call it instinct, premonition, or whatever, but this girl had a disturbing aura.
“A job is a nice idea. It gives you independence.” -I answered with security.
“And if I choose a husband, you know a good man still single and good looking?” -The girl kept asking. I was laughing inside. She was hilarious, as hilarious as any other village girl.
“That’s a personal choice. There are cute guys out there, and some others that are handsome sick perverts. You’ll have to study them.” -I offered with irritation.
While she paced around I felt like an animal in a rodeo. The way she looked at me made me feel I was the subject under scrutiny.
“And what about the new cop in town? Is he single? He’s very cute!”
“Who? Officer Whilhey?” -I managed to ask with my eyebrows so raised that almost touched the roof. Was he the reason she was here? To ask me about Sam? Was it obvious we were seeing each other, or after that night in the pond she kept following me, stalking me like a shadow? The girl nodded fast. -“I don’t know if he’s single.”
I tried to keep it cool, to keep my feet on the ground. Sam was nothing to me. Not yet anyway. But just ten minutes ago he had asked me on a date. Maybe I should tell this girl he’s kind of busy flirting with someone else. No. Maybe it was better to keep it a secret. It won’t be a secret for long, though. I’m sure my bet with Connie won’t be her best kept secret.
“What’s your name?” -I asked her and she looked at me wildly. Deep inside her eyes I saw a flame of fire, as when we met the first time.
“Edora.”
“Well, Edora. I’m afraid I have to ask you to leave. I was on my way out when you came. The door was supposed to be closed. I’m sorry.” -Opening the door for her, I stood there looking straight to her face, waiting for Edora to disappear as well as this bad feeling I have against her. -“But feel free to come by any other time when the shop is open.”
She walked pass by my side, looking at me with an amused grin in lips.
“I’ll invite you to coffee next time.” -I offered, trying to sound amicable.
After Edora- the mysterious girl from the woods- left, I locked the door behind me and walked away, not before making my Maghik to fix it all.
A few steps were enough to notice my minivan wasn’t where I had parked it. To be precise, it was nowhere to be seen. I was about to run to my store to call the police station to report the robbery of my van, when it drove right by my side.
What?
Yes. My van was in the road. Moving. On impulse, I touched my pocket where I had kept my keys since I parked there almost four hours ago. I stood motionless, wondering why on earth my van was moving and, of course, how it was moving keyless.
The glass on the passenger side was opened and to my terror Edora was behind the wheel.
“Nice car.” -She yelled at me turning the volume of the radio to the max. -“I bet it’s limited edit
ion.”
“How you got in my van?” -I asked her almost yelling. -“How you turned it on?”
That was the biggest of all questions. How she turned my sweet drive on without the keys.
“Get in, Morgan. Lets do some shopping.” -Edora yelled, opening the passenger door from the inside. Ignorantly, I climbed in. After turning the radio off, I looked at her sternly. -“What?”
“Get out of my car.” -I complained. -“Is an order.”
Edora looked at me like if I was a spoiled child making a tantrum and she just laugh, wildly stepping in the gas pedal.
“I have so much to do, Edora. I have no time for your childish games.” -I said between clenched teeth.
“I know, I know. You have a date. But understand you cannot go on a date with those rags you usually wear. To get a man’s heart you need to please the eyes.” -She said as if she was a love expert.
“No. To get a man’s love you need to please his stomach and his heart. Appearances are deceitful.” -And as I didn’t want her to know much about me, I dared to add a little lie. -“Everybody knows that. My mother taught me that when I was little.”
A sardonic smile was drawn in her face while she made a fast speed clucking noise with her tongue.
“What a terrible liar, Morgan.” -Unabashedly, Edora told me. -“You’re as orphan as Marilyn Monroe.”
Not knowing what to say I preferred to remain quiet. Edora noticed my soon change of mood and turned the radio back on. Singing some crazy slow song from The Eagles, Edora tapped the wheel wildly. In more than five occasions I had to grab the wheel to prevent an accident or a deadly fall on a cliff. An hour later Edora parked my LuxGen unbelievably unscratched. It was a miracle we had made it in one piece.
“Come.” -She said while abandoning the van in front of a line of stores. I had no other choice than to follow her. Dumb of me. I had a choice. Left her abandoned there and drive back to Cadence, get ready with my usual rags, as Edora had called my clothes, and wait for Sam to pick me up. I had always blamed myself for my excess of curiosity. That’s as bad as an untreated sickness. Standing in front of the gigantic showcase of the closest store I knew I was far away from home. And I also discovered I didn’t belong in a place as fancy as this.
