Kitchen Witch

17 | Suspended in Air

Charlotte was busy packing up another supply of teas for the market, still not quite believing how well they were doing. She was barely able to keep up with demand. Not that she was complaining. Not at all; in fact, she almost had to pinch herself; life felt good, really good. She loved spending her day working away in her little apothecary, Charlie slumbering in his corner with the occasional chorus of snores. The view from the window sparkled as the sun's rays hit the snow-covered dunes. She kept warm and cozy in her work room, with heat pumping out of the baseboard radiators. They provided a comforting background noise with their almost rhythmic hum and occasional ticking. Thinking about the heat, reminded Charlotte she needed to restock the wood in the living room, having gone through most of her indoor supply with the power outage the night of the storm.

The storm, she shivered with the sudden rise of goosebumps thinking of Riley. Waking to find him sleeping in the armchair. His face was serene, and all the tension and gruffness that is Riley Keane faded away. She wished she could go back to that moment and take the time to count his freckles, to appreciate the strong line of his jaw. The goosebumps were replaced with a flash of heat building in her cheeks. "No, just no!" She shook her head. There was no need to go down that road. She was finally free and doing well on her own. She didn't need nor want to get involved with anyone, let alone someone so rude most of the time! He acted like she was a nuisance more often than not, and she certainly didn't need his rescuing. A curl teased her cheek. Only she had needed his help.

Her attention was pulled away from debating the merits of Riley Keane when Charlie barked to alert her to Sarah, pulling up the drive. She pulled her apron off, placing it on its hook, replacing it with her barn jacket and headed out the door to help. Sarah was in the process of balancing two boxes of empty jars as she made her way up the snow-dusted walkway. Charlotte offered a discount on the next product if customers returned the glass jars. She had learned early on that her teas didn't seem as potent when she packaged them in anything plastic. The jar exchange helped keep everyone's costs down. Charlotte wasn't trying to gouge anyone and, from the beginning, had been wary of charging for her services. But now, out on her own, she was trying to make a modest income while also helping people. She smiled, thinking of how Sarah was so much like that, always helping, now clearly carrying more than she could handle.

Charlotte made to meet her on the walkway to help with the burden but froze when she saw her begin to slip on a patch of ice, the boxes of jars flying out from her hands. Charlotte didn't think she just acted, sending her magic out and floating the boxes in the air with a whoosh of salty air. She had meant to gently place them down, hopefully without Sarah noticing, but it was too late. Sarah stood mouth aghast, staring at the boxes suspended in mid-air, Charlotte's hands held out. Charlotte forgot to let them down gently and instead just stood frozen, suspending them. 

The two women both stared back at each other in shock.

Sarah finally broke the tension, "I knew it, I bloody well knew it!" She slapped her knee and started to talk faster than normal while flapping about like a chicken. "I mean, the signs were there. I thought I was crazy to think there was magic in that stuff. But how could a bunch of herbs work that well? I thought it was just my overactive imagination. OMG, Char! You're a goddamn witch, an honest-to-god real witch!" She was practically squealing with delight; the juiciest secret had just spilled.

Charlotte was thankful that her nearest neighbour was far, far from hearing distance, but she decided it was best to usher her friend inside anyway. Charlotte pulled the still-suspended boxes into her arms. "I think we should go inside and put a pot on." Sarah's eyes were as wide as saucers as she followed Charlotte inside the house, finally at a loss for words.

Charlotte settled Sarah on a stool at the apothecary island and put a kettle of water on to boil. She reached out to a shelf to pull out two tea cups, choosing a pink and purple flower print for her friend. She made herself busy choosing tea ingredients, all while her heart fluttered, wondering how she was going to explain all of this.

Sarah teetered on the edge of her stool, never one to fully sit down for long, her eyes surveying the room. It was her first time in the apothecary, and it was a sight to see; Riley had not exaggerated that. It truly was like walking back in time a little, like something you would find in a movie, yet it was very modern. Her eyes settled on the crockpot warming on the island. "So the crockpot, that's like your cauldron, right?" Sarah said with her eyebrow cocked and a smirk on her face.

Charlotte spun around and sputtered as they both burst into laughter. With the tension eased, they both settled in, hands wrapped around steaming cups of tea. Charlotte had one hundred percent made sure to add some special ingredients to the tea to help ease both their moods and encourage open minds, with a bit of ginkgo biloba.

"Okay, we'll have our tea, but don't think I didn't know you added a little something special in there too, Char." Sarah eyed her mischievously. "Now spill."

Charlotte placed her tea cup down gently on the worn bench top, her fingers tracing a knot in the wood. "If you can believe it, this is all rather new to me too." Charlotte shared how she remembered that day at the market when she had rushed out. Her finger continued to trace the knot, finding comfort in the worn pattern as she relieved the still raw memory. One that she had tried to keep away from her mind since. She followed with the tragic accident after, her shoulders beginning to shake as she described the sounds of the crash. Tears began to fall down her face, and she looked up at her friend to find her crying as well.

Sarah got up from her perch, joined Charlotte's side, and held her tight, whispering, "It's okay, Char. It's okay." As the two women embraced, a warm, salty breeze swirled around the room and enveloped them in a warm summer's hug. "That's you, isn't it?" Sarah asked with wonderment.

"I'm not actually sure; sometimes I think it has a mind of its own like it's both a part of me and not. I'm still figuring this all out. I think coming to the island and remembering woke something in me, I've felt different since arriving. My hair has even changed colour!"

"I thought you had dyed it. Red suits you." Sarah smiled.

"I'm also learning my limits, too. For example, when I draw on my power too much, make teas and compounds, or control the wind, it leaves me weak. It's like the worst flu you could imagine. But at the same time, natural wind charges me up," Charlotte explained while twisting a stray red curl. "It's a balance that I am learning."

"Is that what you were doing that night, the night of the storm? Riley mentioned finding you; that you looked kind of strange out there and then once, he got you home, how sick you got."

Charlotte groaned, and her cheeks flushed. "That man, I was fine out there on my own. Yes, I was experimenting with using the wind of the storm to charge my batteries. I would have been just fine. But he decided he needed to rescue me." Charlotte's voice softened. "I felt guilty; the weather really was awful, and the drive home was treacherous. He was out there in it because of me. So, I used my power to keep the snow at bay and to move the snowdrifts. But when we got back, I was depleted. I'm not used to using it in such a prolonged focused way or any way, really." Charlotte blew the stray curl with a huff of breath back to feeling righteous again. "Everything would have been just fine if he hadn't stopped to meddle."

"He couldn't have known Char, and he was really worried." Sarah looked at Charlotte with a knowing look. "I've never seen him act like this before. He came in to check on you, to ask about you. Riley tends to keep to himself. Yes, he's always out helping others, but he doesn't get invested; he isn't a talker. He was genuinely concerned. That's why I popped by today, besides bringing back the jars."

Charlotte could feel her face flushing again. She hated how it gave her away so easily, and she could see Sarah's smile growing. "Well, you can inform Mr. Keane that I am just fine." Then she added, with a bit of panic, "but not about all the magic stuff." Charlotte looked at Sarah with a desperate look. " This is just between us, okay?"

"Of course, it's our little secret, Char, and on that note, you better get to work before a riot breaks out at my store." Sarah settled back onto her perch, finishing her cup of tea. She filled Charlotte in on the Quinn sisters fighting over the last jar of arthritic salve and old man Murray securing one of the last jars.