Lu shrugged. “He knows that coven meetings are important.”
“Yes, but he could get the first aid kit for us,” thought Celeste aloud, glancing back toward my hand that was hopefully clotting.
Gag.
She made her way out of the kitchen toward the front steps. I heard her yell up for Lu’s golden-boy boyfriend. For someone Lu had been adamant about not liking, he’d sure made himself comfortable in her life enough for Lu’s heart of stone to fall in love.
The two of them were different in nearly all the ways, and yet I never saw anyone so perfect for one another as Ryan and Lu were for each other.
Gertie stared at Lu with that well-meaning head tilt. When directed at me, that sort of look made me completely rethink my life. “Everyone deserves to see your greatness.”
“No one cares about my greatness, except for you,” she argued.
“And Ryan,” murmured Essie from the stool in the corner.
“And the rest of us.”
I paused, staring at Lu to try and see how she was feeling. She shook her head, turning her attention down towards her feet that swayed back and forth through the air.
“What about your dad?”
Her chin popped back up to me. She didn’t talk about him much, but if there was anything that could probably convince Lu to go through with the ceremony, it was familial obligation.
“My dad isn’t coming to graduation.”
“What do you mean?” Faith asked, confusion coating her features. “Of course your dad will come to see you graduate. He always said he would, didn’t he? All you have to do is ask.”
Lu paused. She licked her lips. “I mentioned it. He didn’t seem interested. Honestly, it doesn’t bother me. At all. Like I said, I don’t want to walk anyway. I never planned on doing the cheesy graduation ceremony. For so many reasons.”
“Like?” Gertie asked.
“If I went to graduation like poor Ryan, I’d just be another unfortunate soul who had to listen to some random person give a commencement speech about birds or the wars overseas or some shit.” Lu threw her hands up, as if this alone were the best reason she’d come up with yet.
“From what I hear, I think it’s going to be the new dean giving the speech as an alum.” Ryan cringed, flashing his pearly-white teeth as he strode into the kitchen with Celeste, holding the small first aid kit from under the bathroom sink.
Lu waved her hand at this new information, as if this were even better than what she’d just said. Lu was one of the dean’s worst admirers ever since he had given her trouble for trying to host a Samhain event last year on campus. “Even more of a reason. I’m busy with the apothecary anyway. Opening day is how we can celebrate my greatness, if that’s what you want to call it.”
“How is that going?” Essie asked, like a bird tweeting back into the conversation.
I hadn’t even noticed she hadn’t said a single word until then.
Essie was one of the only ones who hadn’t stopped by Lu’s next big adventure, post–Barnett University. Lu was opening her own little shop, filled with everything from self-care to witchcraft. The town wasn’t going to know what hit them, but I had every faith that Lu was going to pull it off.
“Good,” Lu said, breathing a sigh of relief at the change of conversation. “Paint is coming this week, and I’m hoping to get everything completely painted before the shelves go up.”
“When will it open?” Essie asked.
Lu thought for a moment. “Solstice, hopefully.”
Ryan shook his head, but still smiled at Lu. He touched her knee as he passed toward me. He glanced down at the towel around my hand. “Are you okay?”
I didn’t follow his gaze. “The orange had it out for me.”
“She nicked herself with the peeler,” explained Celeste. “Thus, the first aid kit.”
Ryan scrunched his nose, not noticing Celeste’s jab. “Ouch.”
My thoughts exactly.
