Three Mothers

Puzzle Pieces

"I heard you've taken on an apprentice," Zoey, Alice's mother said, casting Alice an amused smile through the computer screen. Her sharp red nails tapped rhythmically at the surface of her desk. "Isn't that a bit premature? You've hardly mastered the craft yet, you've still got a lot to learn."

"She's not my apprentice," Alice said, surprised as she always was how quickly word traveled in the Witch community. "I'm just helping her out. She didn't even know she was a Witch until recently."

"And you decided it's your responsibility to teach her? That's not like you, Alice. What happened?"

Alice sighed. She already regretted agreeing to Skype with her mother, and they weren't even two minutes into the conversation. A stack of papers nearby, listing unfinished customer orders, stared at her impatiently, reminding her how behind she was. She didn't have time to sit here and be interrogated.

"Are you saying I'm not responsible?" Alice said.

"I'm just wondering what's so special about this girl," Zoey replied.

"Does there have to be something special about her? I just thought she'd take to the craft, that's all. And I was right, she's been making lots of progress—"

"All right, I get the picture." Her mother checked her phone. "Listen, dear, I have an appointment to get to. Maybe you can tell me about your new friend later?"

"You were the one who wanted to Skype in the first place," Alice said. She knew her mother was lying about having a meeting—Zoey probably just wanted to spread this new information along to other gossipy middle-aged Witches.

"Well, I had to see for myself if the rumors were true, didn't I?"

Alice sighed. "Fine," she said. "I'll talk to you later, then, I guess."

"Love you, baby." Zoey blew her a quick kiss and then the window went black. Alice rolled her eyes and shut her computer.

"Wow," a voice said from behind her. "Now I see where you get your winning personality from."

Jade was leaning against the doorframe, arms folded. "Were you eavesdropping?" Alice said.

"Not really. Your voice just sort of carries." Jade raised her eyebrows. "You weren't kidding about your mom's whole withholding thing." She tilted her head curiously. "Do you miss her?"

"Not especially," Alice replied. "You just saw what she's like. Don't you miss your parents?"

Jade just smiled, the way she always did whenever Alice brought up her parents. Alice would always search for regret or uncertainty or disappointment in that expression, but Jade was impossible to read.

***

Alice was only seven years old when she tried to make her first potion, with her mother at her side issuing instructions and handing her ingredients. Alice was mesmerized by the way the potion changed with each step—from bubbling grey liquid the color of rain clouds, to a pearlescent white that smelled of fresh linens, and then to a simmering blue-green that made Alice think of the duck pond down the street.

Zoey showed her how to grind leaves and herbs, taught her how to differentiate between ingredients just by smell, and explained how to know whether each tiny leaf and stem was the right quality. Eager to prove herself, Alice kept rapt attention, focusing so hard that sweat beaded her upper lip.

She was two ingredients away from finishing the potion when the flames suddenly engulfed the entire pot. Alice gasped and jumped backward, watching in panic as the potion bubbled over the edge and dripped onto the floor. Zoey cursed and flicked off the heat, and the potion congealed into a thick, unsalvageable mess.