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“Yoo-hoo! Hello there!”
Finn and I both startled, and turned to find a woman coming up the driveway. As far as I could tell, she was ahumanwoman. There didn’t seem to be anything magical about her aura that might say otherwise.
She was blond, with her hair caught back in a pink band. Dressed in white capri pants and a white, short-sleeved shirt thrown over a pale blue tank top, she looked cool and effortlessly casual. A million-watt smile lit up her whole face and crinkled the edges of her pale eyes while she held out a plate of brownies and chocolate chip cookies towards us.
“Hi, I’m Lacey. I’m your new neighbor. I just moved into the house up the road.” She nodded vaguely up the street, past the cemetery that bordered my backyard. “I thought I’d drop by and introduce myself, and bring a few sweets.”
I blinked, taken aback. “Oh, hi Lacey. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Poppy. When did–”
“Oh, my!” Lacey made an exaggerated look of surprise as she looked down at the soggy cardboard and rapidly spreading potion puddle. “What a mess. Looks like someone has a case of the morning clumsies.”
She laughed at her own joke (which wasn’t very funny) and gave me what was probably supposed to be a good-natured nudge in the ribs with her elbow.
Finn looked at her like she was nuts. I took a breath and kept a smile plastered on my face.
“It was really nice of you to come over, but unfortunately Finn and I need to get going because we’re running late–”
“Oh, phooey.” She flapped a hand at me. “I’m sure you have a few minutes to have a cookie. Cookies make everything a little bit better, right?”
I was getting a little tired of not being able to finish a full sentence, but I was sure Lacey was just trying to get to know people in Haven Hollow, and who better to start with than the neighbors?
She made a face, waving a hand in front of her nose and somehow managed not to drop the massive platter of deserts. “Yuck, what is that smell?”
“They’re potions,” Finn said, his voice flat.
I shot him a warning look.
“Potions?” Lacey laughed, loud, throwing her head back and with the disbelieving expression on her face, it further cemented the fact in my mind that she had to be human. “Are you a witch?” She wiggled her fingers at me. “Oooooh!”
I wasn’t a witch, I was a Gypsy Traveler. But I was a member of the local coven, mostly due to my BFF, Wanda, who happened to be in charge of it. And it wasn’t like I’d wanted to join a coven, but Wanda had pretty much insisted—letting it be known that she wanted me to have the protection of a coven, so no other witches could try to push me around. I was pretty sure that was only half the reason and the other half happened to do with the fact that she also wanted a discount on her potion purchases (though I was already giving her 20% off).
Of course, if Wanda had been here, she would shut Lacey up right where she was standing—by slapping Lacey with a hex, or something equally offensive. Even if Lacey was human, and had no way of knowing that magic really was real, she was still pretty rude.
Luckily, Wanda wasn’t here.
“I’m sorry, Lacey, but Finn and I have to be going. We’re late for–”
“Oh, pish, what could be more important than meeting your new neighbor? I figure you’re already late, right?”
“Right,” I grumbled.
“So, what’s five more minutes?” she asked with a shrug. “Maybe put the kettle on so we can have some tea?” She started walking towards us slowly, like she really thought she could force us into the house to be hospitable or something.
I glanced at the time on my phone, and my anxiety spiked. “I’m sorry, no. I really need to–”
“Aftertreats. Come on, Poppy. I’m sure you’d just love one of my brownies.”
The hold I had on my emotions snapped like an old rubber band. “No, thank you. We’re leaving now.”
“Come on. You–”
“We have somewhere to be,” I snapped, taking a little enjoyment out of interrupting her for once. “And just some advice: if you want to meet your neighbors, maybe don’t ambush them on their way out the door in the morning.”
I regretted the words the second they passed my lips. The way Lacey rocked back like she’d been slapped, the way the smile fell off her face. I could tell I’d offended her, and the guilt was almost instantaneous. Yes, she was nosy and rude and demanding as all get out, but I supposed in her own weird and unaware way, she was just trying to be nice.
She straightened her spine, drawing up to her full height so that she could look down her nose at me. “I thought people in small towns were supposed to befriendly.”
Then she turned on her heel and walked away without another word.
