Three Witches #1: Magnus and Magnolia

Chapter 36 (Magnolia): Look Out

Copyright © 2024 by GroveltoHEA

I wondered how Magnus would give me whatever I needed when I didn't even know what I needed. It was so easy to read the people who came into my store, to know through my powers what they required.

Suffering from anxiety? I'd pick up a throw I was led to, and I'd cast a charm with my powers to give them peace and calm when they touched the soft material. Then I'd invite them to feel it, and I could see them relax, their tension dissipate. They'd buy it, thinking only that it was beautiful and somehow comforting, and once they had it at home, it would infuse them with relief from their anxiety every time they wrapped themselves in it. Eventually, every time they even thought about the throw, their anxiety would be dispelled...no pun intended.

 Shy? Lonely? Riddled with doubts about something in your life? Low self-esteem? Negative mindset? I could sense them all and would cast charms to counteract whatever was weighing down my customers' spirits.

But what I needed wasn't as easy to understand or define. Rosemary had told me with a smile that it was easier to read others.

"We remain somewhat of a mystery to ourselves," she explained. "It's much easier to see inside others and pinpoint the issue than it is to look internally and diagnose exactly what it is that's bothering us. It's a human and a witch failing. We talk to a friend and can solve their problems in minutes; we know what they should do, and we're quick to dispense advice. We're outsiders so we see more clearly what they should do. But for our own lives? Well, witch, that's a more complicated matter."

And now Magnus was promising to give me whatever I needed. For a minute, we just stared at each other, looking at one another with new eyes, in a way, since both of us were fundamentally changed since the day I'd caught him cheating on me. He leaned slowly down to kiss me, his lips nearing mine, his eyelids starting to close. I'd always thoroughly enjoyed kissing this man but now I couldn't help but think...the last woman he'd had his mouth on was Lamia, and with my enthusiasm dampened, I eased back from him a bit.

He stopped his advance immediately, his eyes searching mine.

"I'm sorry. You're not ready for me to kiss you yet." 

It was a statement, not a question, and he was so accepting that my powers surged. My intuition was telling me there was more to this that I needed to explore, so I began with honesty on my part.

"You know I've kissed someone since you, Magnus, but that was after we'd broken up. And now I'm kind of stuck on the fact that you cheated on me with Lamia and your mouth was last on hers."

His face was so stricken with pain when I spoke that truth to him that I almost regretted my bluntness. But we needed to be truthful; there could be no hiding thoughts and feelings now.

"Noli, that doesn't need to be a concern of yours --"

"You can't tell me how to feel, Magnus," I snapped.

"No, I'm not trying to tell you how to feel, I'm trying to explain. Believe it, don't believe it, but the truth is that you're the only woman I've ever kissed or put my mouth on in any way."

That took a moment to process all of the implications of his statement. And made me realize more than ever that Rosemary was right when she said I might jump to conclusions a wee bit too fast.

"How is that even possible? You're telling me that you've never kissed anyone but me? Or...used your mouth on any other woman?"

His eyes closed briefly. "You and I had different experiences with our mothers growing up. My mother...she said things to me all the time, from the time I was little, so I believed some shit that she filled my head with that I shouldn't have."

"Like what?"

He sighed, his jaw tensing as he spoke in a higher-pitched, mimicking tone. "Shut your nasty mouth, boy. Don't you try to kiss my cheek with that dirty, nasty mouth of yours, Magnus. Your mouth is so disgusting and horrible, and you wonder why I have to shut it for you all the time? Shit like that, on constant loop."

I squeezed his hand, sensing he wouldn't want sympathy. I tried to imagine a mother like that, but it was hard because I had the mother who was all oh, honey, you're so smart; Magnolia, this is the best batch of cookies I've ever tasted; you were the most graceful dancer in the whole ensemble; you have the kindest heart of anyone...and so on.

"I don't want to talk about this because it sounds stupid since I cheated on you, but you were the first and only woman who didn't make me feel nasty, Noli. I didn't feel like my mouth was dirty with you. I remember the first time I saw you, I wanted to kiss you and I'd never felt that urge before."

"Of all the possible things you could have said, I have to admit I wasn't expecting that as an answer."

"I understand. Who would be expecting that? And because I know precisely how ridiculous it sounds, I didn't want to tell you, but I won't lie to you ever again, Noli. If you have a question, no matter how uncomfortable it makes me, I'll answer it honestly."

"I imagine the truth is easier to tell when you're not getting stabbed."

He actually flashed a grin at me, and it was so fast I wondered if I imagined it.

"Getting stabbed for telling the truth is great incentive for lying but I wouldn't lie then, and I won't lie now or ever again to you."

"So where do we go from here? Where does this conversation leave us?"

"We don't go anywhere from here, Magnolia."

Channeling Rosemary for maybe the first time in my life, I didn't snap, didn't jump to conclusions and waited him out. Like a goldfish, even a witch could learn, I guess.

"Here is fine for now. It's up to me to get you to want to go anywhere with me, so that's what I'm going to do. It's up to me, now, to catch a witch."

I couldn't help the way that made me laugh.

"Catch a witch? Really?"

"Really." I realized when he didn't even smile back at me that he was completely serious.

"Magnus, what does that mean?"

"I'm not sure exactly what all you can do, Magnolia. I know some of your powers, but I suspect there are a lot more that I don't know about, and I want to find out everything. I've also seen that using your powers can deplete your strength in a way I didn't like, so I want to figure out if that happens to you all the time or just in certain situations. And then I want to learn what I can do to help you in those situations, to give you a soft place to land whenever you need it."

He curled that big hand of his around the back of my neck.

"You're more than human, Noli, you're fucking magical, and I want to be able to support that in ways that you need it most. Are there things I can do for you as a witch? Are there things I can say? Certain things that you need to make all the good that you do easier for you? How do I protect a witch? Do witches have enemies a human can fight if needed? How can I make my strength available to you so you can do what you need to do?"

He continued to surprise me because he'd obviously been thinking about this for a while. These questions weren't just off the top of his head. I'd never even thought about them, and Magnus had been giving this some serious consideration for who knows how long.

"I don't want to just stand by, Noli. I want to be fully involved in your...witchery? Witchiness? Witching? I don't even fucking know the right word, don't even know if I'm needed, but I want to stand beside you and give you anything you require. I know your store is special because I've felt the peace in there, so I have my suspicions that you're somehow looking out for whoever walks in there, however many people that might be in a day."

"I am."

"Which leads me to wonder, while you're looking out for everyone, who's looking out for you? I want to be that person for you. I want to look out for you. So that's why I said here is fine for now, Magnolia. Before we can move from here, there's a lot I need to learn about what it means to be with a witch, there's a lot I need to rebuild between us and there's a lot I need to show you. It's going to take time. And I hope that someday, if I can prove to you everything I need to, that when I lean down to kiss you again, I'll have proven it in such a way that you won't pull back."