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“That’s great, Mom. Appreciated.”
“Trina and Brody want to come and meet … her. Let me know when we can do that. I’ll do a dinner,” she says nervously, staring at the asphalt instead of her son.
“All right,” he says, looking at her strangely.
“I’d better go.” She hooks her thumb backwards.
Riley lifts her vacuum cleaner and puts it in her trunk. “Come here a sec.” He tugs his mother’s hand. “Baby, have a look around the back if you want. Don’t go into the house without me. I’ll be right back.”
“Okay,” I say. “Really nice to meet you, Mrs. Savage.”
She gives me a shaky smile. “I…hope I got food you like.”
“I loved your breakfast casserole,” I say. “Riley said you sent that. It was very good.”
She smiles but it doesn’t reach her eyes.
“Mom’s lasagna, too,” Riley adds.
“Oh, that was yours? It was delicious. I ate three quarters of it all by myself.” I rub my stomach.
She nods but says nothing.
“I’ll just go check out the yard,” I say.
“You want your shoes first, little witch?” he asks, eyes twinkling with amusement.
“Naw, I’m good,” I say. “Sorry for my appearance, Mrs. Savage. I’m kind of a barefoot bohemian flower child.” I shrug and smile.
She looks me over and says nothing.
“Not to worry though. I’ll wash my feet before I go inside. Since it looks like you just probably did the floors. Is there a hose out here, fuzzy wuzzy?”
Riley’s eyes sharpen. Not on me. On her.
“Riley,” I say.
His eyes bounce to me. I give him a shake of my head, hoping he’s not going to give her a hard time for the way she’s being. I mean… I understand. I’m the girl who hurt him. She’s just having a natural reaction.
I only hope people give me a chance to prove myself. I want so much to fit in here. This is what I’ve wanted for a long time. A small, close-knit community.
We don’t have that in Marblehead. We keep to ourselves.
We had that in Drowsy Hollow when I was a kid and I want it again. And I know I’d have even more of it here because I don’t need to hide my true nature. I’ll get it here; I know I will. I’ll work for it; I’ll win all these people over. I’ll become more like my old self now that I’ve got Riley. I can feel it rising to the surface in me.
“Don’t worry about your feet, Erica,” Riley says angrily and then looks about to blow up with his eyes on his mom, so I speak quickly.
“Mrs. Savage? About what happened with me and Riley all those years ago…I promise you, I’m not the wicked witch of the west, I try to be more like Glinda the good witch, but things got-”
“No, babe. Let me,” Riley cuts me off, pulling his mom toward the garage.
“Okay. Bye. Thanks again,” I say.
I meander to the back yard, through a gate beside the side of the house.
Bordered by the pretty, waist-high picket fence, I’m instantly in love with this yard. The grass needs cutting, and the flowerbeds need weeding but clearly, Riley’s had other things on his mind. It doesn’t matter though; I’m in love with it and can hardly wait to play in the dirt and get acquainted with everything growing here.
I can see myself out here sketching and painting. I can see me stringing fairy lights everywhere. Parties with Cicely and Bailey. With Ivy and Amelia. Maybe I’ll throw a baby shower for them here! I calculate quickly – no, they’ll be heavily pregnant in the colder months so maybe not an outdoor baby shower. Maybe by then I will have shown Riley’s mother I’m not a wicked witch.
And Riley…
I can see sitting on that porch out front with him. Taking walks to the bar to catch up with friends or grab a meal. Eventually putting a swing set out here for children. I’m looking forward to that. All of that. There’s plenty of room for a greenhouse without losing too much yard. I squat and stick my fingers in the soil of the back flowerbed and close my eyes.
Energy zings through my fingers. Not just a little either. This place is filled with magic. I can see it and smell it and I can definitely feel it. And it wants me to play.
“Not yet,” I whisper. “I need to know more about my changing skills first.”
“What ‘cha doin’ little witch?”
I turn and face him.
“Talking to the dirt.”
He laughs.
“No really. But mostly envisioning all the ways I’m gonna enjoy this yard. Not to mention the area. It’s very magical.”
He smiles and then goes serious. “Sorry about my mother. I set her straight.”
“No, please don’t be sorry. I’d be skeptical if our son got together with someone who’d been supposedly dead for seven years, too. I hope you weren’t harsh with her.”
