I gave Graham the cookie. I’ll tell you about it later. My shift is about to start.
Can’t wait to hear everything!
I also had an unread message from Jaxon. While he and Graham were roommates this year, Jaxon and I had been friends much longer than that.
Did you see Graham today?
Yeah, thanks for your help with his schedule.
Lydia popped her head in. “Hurry, Kitty. It’s getting crazy out here.”
“Coming,” I called back. “Hey, what should I restock first, the cauldron cakes or the mystic midnight pie?”
“I dunno. Does it matter? Just grab both,” she shouted back before retreating to the front.
I put my phone away and grabbed an empty tray, piling it high with the things we needed more of. In the fall, our autumn treats always outsold the rest. They were also some of my favorites to bake, so it was a win-win.
Back in the front, Jane chatted with a few customers and bussed tables while Lydia worked the register, upselling our box of Second-Day Delights like a pro. I bent over and restocked the mystic midnight pie, which was really just a normal blackberry pie with enchanted berries that glowed different colors during the day and night.
“Kitty, how lovely to see you again,” a woman said.
I jumped but managed not to spill anything from my tray, glancing up at Ms. Bates—a Tuesday regular whowas significantly older than Mom but looked the same age since she was fae. Ms. Bates had no daughters of her own, so she always came in to talk about the emails she got from her niece, Jane Fairfax.
“It’s nice to see you too,” I said.
“And how wonderful it is to see that your mother is back as well. We missed her while she was away.” Ms. Bates glanced toward Mom, who chatted with a few customers at a table. “It’s never quite the same here when she’s gone, you know.”
I forced a smile even though Ms. Bates was talking about the whole thing like Mom had simply been away for vacation instead of in jail. Talking about Mom was the last thing I wanted to do, although it seemed to be the only thing the rest of the town cared about.
“We all knew her arrest was a misunderstanding.” Ms. Bates clapped her hands. “And look how right we were considering they released her a week later. I’m sure you’re just thrilled to have her home.”
“Right.” I shifted my focus to refilling the tray of potion-shaped cookies whose flavors changed as you ate. Mary had told me Mom admitted to using my botchedpotion instead of throwing it away, but since she’d never intended for it to turn out like it had, the judge had lightened her sentence to house arrest, although it was more like “town arrest.”
“And it’s so nice to see Jane helping in the bakery again,” Ms. Bates continued with a glance at Jane, who had her long blonde hair pulled into a messy bun. “Your mother was blessed with such lovely girls. I’m so grateful Jane and Lizzy moved into my basement apartment.”
“Yes, it’s fun to have Jane around a bit more.” At least that was true. Although she already had her photography job, she’d been helping at the bakery to make up for the fact that Mom had lost access to her magic. While Mom could help with the baking, she wasn’t allowed to touch potions or any other magical artifact again—at least not without the bracelet on her arm beeping and alerting the police department—so we were all having to pitch in more to help. The tricky part of having Jane around was that Mary, Lydia, and I had to be careful not to say anything about what really happened. Jane knew Mom was involved, but not the reason—and we planned to keep itthat way. If Jane ever found out the truth, she might never forgive Mom… or herself.
“So good to see that everything is well,” Ms. Bates said, just clueless enough that I wasn’t sure if she was probing for more information or simply making conversation.
“Yup.” I started restocking the cauldron cakes, working twice as fast to wrap up the conversation sooner. The cauldron cakes, which gave the person who ate it different magical powers for a few minutes because of the infinite whimsy potion, were a house favorite. And with it being only a few days before Halloween, they were especially popular.
“How are things going with that young man of yours? Are you two still together?”
My smile froze, and my thoughts darted to the veritas potion-laced cookie I’d given Graham. We definitely weren’t together anymore, but that wasn’t anything I felt like talking about.
Ms. Bates rambled on without giving me a chance to respond. “I’ve seen you two around town quite a bit. What a handsome couple you make. I’m sure your mother is proud to see one of her daughters almost settled.”
I put the last cauldron cake in the display and straightened, clutching the tray to my chest like a shield. “It was so good to see you, Ms. Bates, but I have to go to the back and do some baking.” And not talk about my disastrous love life.
She gave me a sunny smile and wandered back to her table with two mismatched chairs where her elderly mother sat sipping from a cup of tea. The magical teapot floated over to their table and refilled Mrs. Bates’s cup, and steam curled around her face as she took another sip.
I turned and faced the back wall, letting my customer-service smile drop temporarily.
“What’s wrong, Kitty?” Mom asked.
“I don’t know how you deal with all the gossip. It’s exhausting.”
“There’s nothing better for business than a little publicity, no matter what the publicity is.” She flourished with rumors, even if she was at the center of them.
