Page 44 of Practically Magic

“Not yet,” I say, keeping my voice light. It’s only 4:20 p.m. Maybe practice went late. I reach my hand into the glass jar with candy pumpkins and eat two at once. Reese never told me where we were going, just asked me if Harry would be home—I guess he wants to say hi to his old coworker before heading out. I’m hoping we’ll go to the town green. Most of my class was meeting to hang out there and go to the Halloween carnival, so it’ll feel like a real date if we go together. My heart swells at the idea. Me and Reese, finally. I’ll have someone to hold my hand this Halloween, and maybe next year we’ll be casting the ritual wards together. “He’ll be here. He was really excited about it.”

I watch Aunt Viv and Aunt Diane exchange a look.

“What is it?” I ask, feeling my magic tingling.

“Nothing at all, darling,” says Aunt Viv. “We just want to make sure your heart is protected.”

“My heart doesn’t need protection,” I argue. “Because he’s going to take good care of it. He likes me. I’m sure, this time.”

In the living room, I hear a cough. I am not even sure why Harry is still home. She’s supposed to have plans with her boyfriend to go to another senior’s Halloween party. This year she’s dating a guy named Jack, and while I’ve seen Harry date a few guys, she’s different around him. He even got her to dress up for the first time in years; they’re wearing matching costumes and going as peanut butter and jelly. I teased her that the costumes were something a toddler would wear, but really they are super-cute. And she didn’t even get embarrassed. I’m starting to wonder if Jack is Harry’s person the way Dad is Mom’s. My parents are out right now checking the grounds and getting ready for our Samhain rituals. We all promised to be home by eleven to be here when they perform them right before midnight.

“Reese is super-reliable. Right, Harry?” I yell into the next room. “Did he ever miss a shift at the pool?”

Harry is quiet for a moment. “Nope!” she finally says.

I look at my aunts triumphantly.

Aunt Diane gives my hand a squeeze. “He’s lucky to have a chance with a Hadley as wonderful as you. And if he messes it up, Aunt Viv can turn him into a nice toaster.”

“Oh, Diane! Please. The most I can do is make him eat flies. Or crave them,” Aunt Viv says.

I’m not sure if she is joking.

“No one’s eating flies tonight,” I say calmly. “Or crow. Because he’ll be here. I know he will.”

With that, I turn back to the window. And I wait.

4:30 p.m. becomes 5:00 p.m., then 5:00 p.m. comes and goes. The sun starts to dip behind the trees, the grounds darkening. Our Halloween lights click on outside, and the aunts must come through and switch on a few of the lamps because I’m not sitting in total darkness, but I keep my eyes fixed on the lake.

Voices rumble from deeper in the house, my parents returning. As the evening drags on, I hear Jack and Harry talking louder and louder, and then the slam of a door, the sound of a car engine turning over. I wonder if they were arguing about who loves the other person more.

Again.

Finally, at 6:00 p.m., after no one could convince me to leave the darkened window, the doorbell rings and Laney bursts in, her Supergirl cape flapping behind her. Apparently, she decided to dress up to hand out candy.

“Kat!” She runs straight toward me and puts her hands on my shoulders as she tries to catch her breath. “Reese . . . house . . . Reese . . . house . . . Reese.”

“Reese house . . . what?” I ask, alarmed, and rush her to the kitchen to get her a glass of water. “Is everyone okay?”

Laney takes a sip and looks at me, her dark eyes mournful. “I was heading to the green to stop for a pumpkin PSL at Witches Brew because this year they’re making them in actual pumpkins and it’s adorable and—”

“You passed Reese’s house?” I fill in, trying to connect the dots.

Laney nods. “Yes.”

“And?”

“It was there.”

“Was he there?”

She nods again. “And . . . so was a moving truck.”

I sway slightly. “No,” I say. “That’s not possible! Reese and I have plans. He would have told me if he was suddenly moving out of nowhere. You must have seen someone else—another van—someone else’s house.”

Aunt Viv and Aunt Diana seem to manifest behind Laney, their faces glum. In the doorway to the front hall, my parents appear, arms around each other. And in the far doorway, my sister leans against the jamb. She doesn’t say anything, but her eyes are red and swollen. Normally she’d be here by my side already, pulling me into a hug, consoling me. Instead, she hangs back.

“Maybe someone is moving in with him,” I suggest, panicking. “A distant cousin? A forgotten uncle? I mean, I feel like he mentioned having a step-grandfather in Arizona. And you know, it’s, um, gotten really hot . . . in Arizona.”