Page 94 of Meet Cute Magic

“Are you going to tell me why you made me believe there was a curse on our family almost my whole life?” I ask in response. Mom floats there, shocked and confused for long moments before speaking.

“A family curse? Why would…” Her words trail off before her eyes go wide with understanding. “My goodness, Rosie.” The sound that leaves her is soft and disbelieving. “Tell me you didn’t believe that all this time?” Silence fills the room for a beat before Mom starts laughing. Laughing! Full laughs that shake her entire body, laughs that have her wiping tears from her eyes and taking in a few deep breaths to steady herself.

“Are you done?” I ask deadpan when she settles, raising an eyebrow and fighting irritation.

She nods, letting out one more breath before leaning forward and smiling softly.

“You thought there was a family curse,” she says, and it’s more statement than question, so I hold her gaze and don’t respond. “A heartbreak curse that afflicted all of us.”

“In my defense, that’s what you told me,” I say. “At a very impressionable age, might I add. And when it seemed to come true, I had no choice but to believe it.” I don’t add that she was already gone by then, so I couldn’t easily ask her about it, but she knows all the same, giving me a soft smile, humor still at the edges like even though there’s a bit of guilt, she still finds the situation funny. “And when I got tired of the years of heartbreak, I summoned a ghost who I believed cursed us, made a deal with him, and went on a quest to brew a potion for him.”

Our mother gasps in shock and horror. “You made a deal with the dead? Rosemary Mayfield, I cannot believe you!”

“Again I say, you told me our entire family line was cursed! I wanted to fall in love, and I surely didn’t want my sisters to suffer in the same way. I didn’t think I had many choices!”

“Well, let me correct myself now: there is no family curse. Not a heartbreak curse or any other one.” That would have been great to know years ago, but I don’t say that.

“Why did you tell her there was one?” Vi asks, curiously, a question I’ve wondered myself.

“I told Rosie that when she was sixteen because I knew that Daniel boy was no good and was going to break her heart. She was so hung up on him, and the last thing I needed was for her to give him her virginity and then he’d break her heart, or worse, get her pregnant.” I stare at her in shock, but she shrugs like she has no regrets. “So I told you there was a family curse to try and put the fear of magic in you.” She looks at me a bit more, assessing before adding with a bit of a grimace, “It seems I should have told you it wasn’t real at some point. In my defense, I thought you were under the impression it was just a tall tale and then, well, you know. I died.”

“I mean, I did think it was fake at first, but then I started to believe it,” I explain, still at a bit of a loss. “All of my relationships ended absolutely horribly.” Mom shrugs like it’s no big deal.

“That’s what happens to relationships that aren’t meant to be, Rosie, especially for witches. The balance of magic means that once it determines someone isn’t for you, it begins to work against you, making that increasingly obvious,” she says. “And no offense, but you are absolutely terrible at choosing men.” Jack lets out a snort, and I turn to glare at him. “Present company excluded, I’m to believe.”

“I’m on a mission to prove myself worthy, ma’am,” Jack says with a charming smile, and I turn to him, aghast as my mom falls for it hook, line, and sinker. He looks at me with a knowing smile then, and I can almost hear him saying, I told you I can win women over. I roll my eyes instead of speaking, and when I turn to our mother, there’s a wide, pleased smile on her lips like she’s thoroughly entertained by our interaction.

“We begrudgingly approve of Jack,” Vi says.

“No, we love Jack for Rosie,” Poppy says, elbowing Violet hard. Vi rubs at the tender spot and glares at our baby sister.

“I would hope so, since they’re a perfect match.” Our mom confirms what Phillip already told Jack and me.

“I knew it!” Vi says, and for some reason, she turns to Jack, giving him a wide smile that he returns.

“So, are you going to explain what is going on? There has to be a reason you summoned me against your better judgment. Or should I ask Poppy?” Poppy because my youngest sister was always the one to spill the beans to Mom. I can’t even begin to remember the dozens of times Vi and I had put spells on her to bind her to secrecy, especially when we were teenagers. It never worked; unfortunately, Mom was far too smart and talented for our early powers.

I roll my eyes, but begin to explain. Quickly, I tell her about my most recent disastrous relationship ending and my decision to try and find the warlock who cursed us. I explain how I found the spell in my grimoire and performed it on my own against my better judgement, but that it ended up just fine.

“Rosemary Luna Mayfield!” Oof, she broke out the middle name. “I cannot believe you summoned the dead! And without assistance? What if something went wrong?” Through her irritation and outrage, I don’t miss the glint of pride in her eyes at the fact that I managed to do it all my own.

“I had a salt circle,” I say, though I don’t tell her about Percy breaking it or how it was vacuumed up long ago, Phillip continuing to stay in my place.

“Was it blessed salt?” our mother asks, and I look away.

“It was… pink?”

“You used pink salt for a salt circle?” Vi asks, and I shrug.

“It was all I had!”

“Rosie—” she starts, but our mom raises her voice to refocus us.

“We’re getting off track. Who did it end up summoning if not the warlock who cursed us, since that man does not exist?”

I look to Jack, who smiles. “I didn’t choose my words carefully,” I say with a shrug. “I asked to find the person who could take the heartache away and help me find my true love.”

“And it summoned my grandfather,” Jack explains.