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FORTUNE (also: FORTUNA)

From the Latin Fortuna: goddess of luck, fate, and chance; often depicted with a wheel that turns without warning, raising some and casting down others.

Two competing traditions attend the word. The first holds that fortune favors the bold—fortis Fortuna adiuvat—a phrase found in Terence and later Pliny, meaning that courage alone is enough to attract luck’s attention.

The second is less glamorous and less often quoted: fortune favors the prepared. It suggests that the wheel does not turn at random, but notices the person who has done the work, who has made themselves ready, and who has created the space for what might arrive.

Whether these traditions are compatible is left as an exercise for the reader to decide.

Her writing here was smaller and less precise, the lines slanting upward as if she’d been holding the book at an angle. In bed, perhaps, or nearly asleep.

Of course they’re compatible. You can’t be bold without being prepared. You can’t prepare without being brave enough to know what you want.

What are you brave enough to want, Dandelion?

Dan closed the book.

Outside, the wind chimes on the porch moved in the breeze. The Mudpuddle exhaled its slow papery breath, ruffling the pages on the shelves around him.

He did know what he wanted. He wanted The Wildernest open and full. He wanted the tiled floor finished and the tables filled and the trivia nights running the way he had imagined them for years. Warm and a little loud, the kind of place people came back to. A home.

But at the moment, more than he wanted to see that through, he wanted to know about the woman who had written in his book.

The Squeaky Wheel Fromagerie

SEPTEMBER SELECTIONS—CHEESE OF THE MONTH CLUB

Founding Member Tier

Dear Director Berman,

September is upon us and it is time to make your choices for your monthly basket. Your selections will arrive in a bespoke willow hamper, lined with a hand-dyed muslin cloth in the colors of the turning season. This month’s cloth is a warm ochre with threads of rust and sage, heirloom quality and yours to cherish. Inside you will find your selections nestled amongst dried lavender and late summer herbs, with a sprig of fresh rosemary and a hand-written tasting note from Minerva.

Please indicate your preference from each category below and return this card by [DATE REDACTED].

SELECTION ONE: THE MOONRIPENED CONNOISSEUR Cheese: Selene’s Wheel, a soft bloomy rind ripened only during the full moon, mild and faintly luminescent; Charcuterie: Duck rillettes with green peppercorn; Preserve: Fig and honey compote; Pickled: Pickled green grapes with cardamom; Bread: Walnut and rye crisp.

SELECTION TWO: THE ALPINE SNACKER Cheese: Comté, reserve grade, aged twenty-four months, smooth with a long caramel finish; Charcuterie: Smoked wild boar pâté; Preserve: Apricot and saffron chutney; Pickled: Pickled pearl onions with bay and clove; Bread: Gruyère and thyme shortbread.

SELECTION THREE: THE VERDANT NIBBLER Cheese: Mossbank Blue, a cave-aged blue-veined cheese produced by a small coven in the Cumbrian hills, assertive and earthy with a remarkably clean finish; Charcuterie: Herb crusted lamb pâté with mint; Preserve: Blackcurrant and juniper compote; Pickled: Pickled watermelon rind with chili; Bread: Dark rye and caraway crackers.

SELECTION FOUR: THE PECKISH WANDERER Cheese: A rotating selection chosen by Minerva from her most recent travels, provenance revealed upon delivery; Charcuterie: Chosen to complement, also a surprise; Preserve: Quince paste, traditionally made; Pickled: Pickled fennel with orange zest; Bread: Olive oil and rosemary flatbread.

Your membership in the Squeaky Wheel Cheese of the Month Club is, as always, deeply appreciated. Minerva selects every item personally and considers it one of the genuine pleasures of her month.

We look forward to your reply.

Minerva Lathrop

Proprietress, The Squeaky Wheel Fromagerie

SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF NATURAL MAGIC

Office of the Director

This reply has been generated automatically by a standing correspondence charm. Director Berman is currently away from her office and has not read your correspondence. She will respond personally upon her return.

Amrita Berman Director, Society for the Protection of Natural Magic