WORK IN PROGRESS: Three Witches #1: Magnus and Magnolia

Chapter 21 (Magnolia): Good Luck

Copyright © 2024 by GroveltoHEA

I could only stare at Magnus, wondering how he'd found me here, of all places. For a moment, we just stared at each other. Then -- dammit -- I blinked first.

"I heard you survived the first trial."

He nodded, then gestured around my soon-to-be store.

"What is this place?"

"I'm opening a store."

"What kind?"

"Really, Magnus? Did you come here to make small talk?"

"No, I came here because I needed to see that you were OK."

Then he grimaced slightly, and had I not been very familiar with his expressions, I would have missed it.

"You made a face. Are you lying to me for some reason?"

He shook his head.

"Why would you need to see me?"

He opened his mouth several times and tried to speak, but he kept closing his mouth before he said anything.

"Magnolia, would you tell me about your store? Please?"

"Why?"

He tensed and then said, "I'm interested in what you're doing."

"You should have been more interested in who you were doing."

"I deserve that."

"And more," I said viciously.

He nodded, and his eyes were oddly tortured, enough to break down a barrier I promised I'd never drop.

"Why?" I asked him, and it was one syllable, but my voice still broke on the word.

Where the hell had that come from?

"Noli," he said my name and it was full of apologies, pain and self-hatred. "The easy answer is I'm an asshole. The harder answer is that I was living up to a self-fulfilling prophecy. Instead of trying to be a better person, I just did what I always did and took the easy route, justifying why cheating on you was OK. I wanted something and I took it. I could have stopped, but I didn't. I could have stayed faithful to you, but I didn't. Why I risked you and our relationship I will never know other than pure selfishness and a mentality that was all about me. You made me happy, Magnolia --"

His face contorted, and he made a hissing sound before he clenched his jaw and kept going. 

"You made me happier than I've ever been in my life. You made everything in my world right and normal. You were perfect, Magnolia. You were fucking perfect. I could have walked away from her, but I fucking didn't. I will regret that for the rest of my life because I loved you, Magnolia, and I still do. I'd give my life to make you believe that I'll never cheat on you again. Right now, I'm doing my best to be a better man, but I haven't figured out how to prove that to you."

He exhaled, hard, then bent over, hands on his knees and breathed for a minute, almost panting for some reason -- maybe from the sheer intensity of the emotions pouring out of him. 

Standing up straight, he continued, his features taut. In an oddly sweet and surprising gesture, he placed his right palm over his heart. 

"And even though I'd never hurt you again, that doesn't change the fact that I deliberately hurt you before. I made the choice to do something that I knew would hurt you, and I still did it. I don't know what the hell happened to me, maybe it was knowing you saw something I never wanted you to see, but I know with everything in me, I will never hurt you again. I would never make the choices I did before. I'll put you first in everything. Unfortunately, that doesn't change the past. I can't take away what I did to you and I'd do anything if I could."

He reached out a hand to the counter to steady himself and drew in some ragged breaths for a minute.

"Are you OK?"

I felt stupid for asking because he clearly wasn't. His color was bad, and I hoped he wasn't about to drop dead in some delayed reaction to the first trial.

He nodded. "Just need a minute."

So I gave him a minute, thinking of what he'd just told me. For some reason, I believed him. It was in his voice, his tone, the sincerity of every word.

But he was also right that he couldn't take back what he'd done, and I wished he could because...this was Magnus. This was the only man I had ever loved in the way I'd loved him. I'd never fallen so fast for a man, but time had proven what a mistake that had been to give my heart to a man who hadn't protected it. I'd never make that mistake again and had been drawing up plans for never falling in love until I'd been dating someone for at least ten years.

"Magnolia, can you just distract me for a minute? Talk to me about anything. About your store. About whatever."

He was looking a little pale, and I figured if I distracted him, maybe I could get him out of here before he collapsed and I had to call an ambulance.

"OK. So, I'm going to name my store A Cozy Spot For You, and I'm going to carry all sorts of things to make a home warm and inviting. Handwoven throws, pillows, some small pieces of furniture, those awesome chunky mugs, table runners, cute dish towels, placemats, planters, unique decorative items, some serving dishes, watercolors and plants and herbs. I'm going to have plants all over the place to make the store green and happy, but they'll be available for sale so people can take them home to brighten their spaces. And I'm going to have a little nook in the store where people can buy tea and some lattes, maybe some cookies, and just sit for a minute with a friend and relax and be happy. I want to work with local bakers and artists to provide a lot of the items in the store and that way they can make some money when I buy their products. Tomorrow the shelves are being installed and some of the furniture is arriving, so I want to start adding inventory and setting up the various sections."

Take a breath, Magnolia!

Magnus's face had more color and he was standing up straight by the time I finished talking. This store must be what I was meant for because I had started describing my vision to him and just kept rolling. I'm sure it was more than he ever wanted to know about a place that he'd never set foot in.

"There are some great potters I use for my landscaping business. I buy their bigger pots, but I know some that specialize in small pots for littler plants like you'd be selling. I also know some really good metal workers that make some interesting pieces of all sizes. One lady has a series of fairies that you might like. And if you're interested in windchimes or glass pieces, I have some artists I've worked with before."

Oddly, after making that offer, he grumbled, "Seriously?" under his breath. But I didn't get the idea it was directed at me. Maybe he'd hit his head in the trial and was suffering some aftereffects.

Part of me was very interested in all of the types of artists he mentioned. I preferred buying from local artisans so I could fill the store with one-of-a-kind items or at least pieces you couldn't find in most other stores. But another part of me didn't want to owe anything to Magnus. Another part said to be practical and take the assist. Another part said this was a strict businesses-helping-businesses transaction. How many fucking parts did I have?

"I'd appreciate the names of all of those artists."

"I'll get them to you tomorrow," he said, his mouth tightening a bit.

I almost asked him to text them to me, but I didn't want to unblock him.

"Thank you. I'd appreciate that," I said.

"Good luck with your store, Noli," he said. "I'll get going so I don't take any more of your time, but thank you for letting me see you. I just needed to know you were OK."

The next morning when I parked in my space behind the store, there were seventy-five houseplants and herbs in the alley outside the back door to my place. Taped to the door was a note with the names of four artists.

Copyright © 2024 by GroveltoHEA