Lord help us all.
When I came back out of the office, I found Kelley standing near the creamer station and staring up at the wall. As I drew closer, I discovered she was studying a framed picture that hadn’t been there when last I worked two days ago.
The photo was the same one that had been on display by the casket for Harold’s funeral. It was a close-up of his face, complete with chubby cheeks, narrow eyes, and receding hairline. Kelley should thank her lucky stars that she’d inherited her good looks from her mother.
“Do you think he’d be proud of me?” she whispered when I reached her side.
“I know he would be,” I said giving her shoulder a supportive squeeze.
Kelley turned toward me but didn’t meet my eye. “Really?” she mumbled. “You don’t think I’m overdoing it with the pumpkin spice?”
“People are going to love it. Just you wait.”
Now she looked at me. Her eyes held all her dreams and secret fears. This was so much more than a grand opening to her. It was an opportunity to bond with the father she’d only just begun to know. “What makes you so sure?” she asked.
“I just know,” I assured her, and then, “Hey, should we take a couple quick shots of pumpkin roast espresso to help get us pumped?”
“That’s a great idea,” she gushed, stepping past me and rushing toward the industrial sized espresso maker. “Everyone gather around!” she called as she worked the machine.
The three new hires had already arrived. I’d been so focused on my many magical problems this past week that I hadn’t really made any efforts to get to know them outside of Kelley’s team-building activities. Now that I knew our ghostly visitor had been Harold of all people, maybe I could start to relax even more. To let other people in.
Drake flew through the door just as Kelley was pouring the last shot into a little paper cup.“Sorry I’m late!”
“Actually you’re five minutes early,” Kelley said as she handed him a shot.
Drake jerked his head toward the door.“Should I go back out and come in a little later?”
“Oh, stop.” Kelley hit his chest playfully, and I watched as standoffish, sarcastic Drake blushed. He actually blushed! Perhaps there was hope for these two, after all.
“A toast!” I said, raising my own paper cup in the air.
“To Harold’s. Long may his legacy live!” Kelley cheered.
“To Kelley. Long may she overlook my tardiness!” Drake countered.
“To all things pumpkin spice,” I added.
The newbies shouted a combination of“Cheers!” and “Hear, hear!”
And then we all took down our shots of espresso.
“Ah, hot, hot, hot!” I cried.
“That went straight up my sinuses,” Drake whined.
The others just laughed and laughed.
Yup, we were ready to slay.
20
I dragged myself home at the end of my double shift, reeking of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. As much as my feet ached and my back twinged, I couldn’t be happier. Kelley had truly risen to the occasion, and I loved seeing the way her face lit up as she basked in the success of a job well done.
I was happy, but now very ready to unwind.
Thank goodness the power outage last night had been the result of a sudden electrical overload and not permanent wire damage. A quick trip to my house’s fuse box had restored power. The hole in the roof, on the other hand, would be much more difficult to fix.
I tried not to worry about it as I popped a TV dinner in the microwave, then settled on the couch and scrolled through Netflix. After my hard day of work, I deserved to indulge in the sleaziest, most over-the-top reality series I could find. I settled on one of their original series that asked people to get engaged before ever meeting face-to-face. This would be trashy television gold.
And, yeah, it was interesting right away. I could hardly tear my eyes from the screen when the microwave dinged, alerting me that my slimmed down version of mac and cheese was ready for consumption.
So transfixed I was by the ridiculousness playing out on screen that I accidentally stumbled over one of the cats on my way to the kitchen.
Luna mewled and ran to my bedroom for cover.
“How dare you!” Merlin boomed, marching straight up to me from wherever he’d been.
“I’m sorry, Luna! It was an accident!” I called after the retreating feline.
Then I turned toward Merlin.“Don’t lecture me when you put a hole in our roof just last night! I called a fix-it company for a rough quote while I was on break, and they want more than I make in a month! So I hope you’ve learned your lesson about summoning the elements inside our house.”
“Don’t start a family. Don’t summon lighting. You have so many rules!” the giant fluff of a cat spat.
I scoffed at him.“They’re very reasonable rules.”
“I think you’re forgetting who’s in charge here. I’m the witch.”
“And I’m the homeowner,” I exploded. I seriously didn’t have one drop of energy left to deal with his nonsense today. “I’m also the one who pays all the bills. And I’ve just had a very long, tiring day at work, so don’t push me!”
“You’re lucky you’re not a cat, or I’d challenge you to a duel right here and right now.” He stamped his little kitty foot in rage, but it didn’t scare me either.
“Merlin! Gracie!” Luna cried. “Enough!”
We both looked to her and grimaced.
“It was an accident, and I’m fine.” As she approached I noticed something different about the way she moved. Oh, I really hoped I hadn’t hurt her too badly with my careless mistake. “But you two have both been way too tense lately. Remember, we are all on the same side.”
Merlin moaned.“But she—”
“But nothing. We’re all dealing with a lot right now, and the last thing we need is to start turning on each other. You’re both stressed, and I understand. I think you need a bit of space to cool off from each other.”
“I’m sorry, Luna. You’re right. I’m just really stressed about the ghost and the warning I can’t make heads or tails of, and the hole in the roof, and—”
“I know you are, dear. I would fix the hole for you if I could, and I would have been able to, if I still had my magic. Never matter, Merlin will travel to Nocturna at the first available moment and find a garden witch who can assist with the repairs.”
“But Tom Cat!” Merlin argued. “If he sees me, he’ll challenge me again. I could die, Luna. Die!”
“Then you’ll just have to make sure he doesn’t see you,” she coaxed. “Now I want the two of you to make up this instant.”
“I’m sorry, Merlin,” I said, casting my eyes to the floor. Luna was good at the whole disappointed parent thing. She’d make a great mother one day when she and Merlin were officially ready to start their family.
Luna walked over to Merlin and nudged him with her paw.“Now you.”
“Sorry, Gracie,” he muttered while also rolling his eyes.
Luna nodded, missing that last gesture.“Now, Gracie, why don’t you get back to your show? Merlin, let’s go on a date. It may be our last chance before the children are born.”
“What?” I exploded.
“Run, my love, run!” Merlin cried as they both launched themselves at the cat door.
Well, that was one more huge thing to worry about. Perhaps I should stop assuming that life would settle down and get back to normal. Chaos was the new normal. And soon kittens!
For today, however, I let the melodramatic reality show soothe my anxieties somewhat as I chowed down on my soggy cheese noodles.
And I didn’t even make it to the end of the first episode before I drifted off on the couch.
21
I awoke sometime later, confused at first as to where I was. Then I spotted the message from Netflix on my TV screen:Are you still watching?