Cornbread & Crossroads

by Bella Falls

  For the first time since we’d brought Nana home, I enjoyed being the caretaker instead of the patient. With a little cajoling, I got her to drink down every last gloopy drop of her drink until she finished with a shudder.

  “Take this foul thing away from me,” she commanded, holding the glass out.

  Ada checked to make sure all of the contents were gone before she whisked the cup away. Nana held the napkin over her mouth to wipe up the last dribble of her much-needed medicine.

  “I forgot how foul it was. Next time, I won’t give you so much grief over your complaining,” my grandmother admitted to me.

  “How about we work on making sure there isn’t a next time for either one of us,” I said, handing her a cookie to cleanse her palette.

  Giving the doctor space to do a more thorough checkup, I took a sweet treat for myself and headed into the kitchen to help with any cleanup.

  Mimsy stood at the sink, cleaning off the baking sheets from the cookies. I held out my hand for the sponge. “You did the baking, so I should do the cleaning.”

  “Thanks, dear. You’re such a good girl,” she complimented.

  We worked together to clean up the small mess until we got to the blender coated in the viscous drink. “What exactly do you mix together to make one of these?” I lifted it to my nose and took in a deep whiff, regretting my actions immediately. Without hesitation, I dunked it in the soapy water.

  Lily and Lavender’s grandmother snatched the glass receptacle from me. “You’ll have to ask your own grandma to share it with you someday. It’s something that’s been passed down for generations in your family.”

  “Then how did you know how to make it?” I asked.

  Mimsy winked at me. “Because long ago, Vivi chose us to be like the sisters she never had. And you know her philosophy on choices of the heart.”

  I, more than most people, understood Nana’s views on whether or not blood made a family. If she trusted her two best friends with something meant to be passed down to other members of the same family, then they knew exactly where they stood with her.

  “Someday,” my friends’ grandmother continued, “maybe she’ll let you look in the Goodwin grimoire yourself.”

  I stopped scrubbing the sides of the glass. “There’s a grimoire?”

  She dried the baking sheet with a grin. “You’ll find out when it’s time for you to find out.”

  Sometimes I hated it when Nana and her cronies spoke in riddles. I thought by now I’d be considered old enough to have learned a heck of a lot more than Nana had chosen to share. Perhaps she still viewed me as the little girl in pigtails who still didn’t know her place in the world yet. When would that view of me change?

  Ada stuck her head in the kitchen. “Charli, there’s a handsome man here come a-courtin’.”

  “Is it that dish of a guy we met at the potluck? He told me if I visited his business that he could make all my worries melt away,” Mimsy said with giddy glee. “If I were a bit younger, I would show him a trick or two to make things melt.”

  I splashed the older woman. “Ms. Mimsy!”

  “Well, there’s a lot of life left in these old bones. What’s the use in living if you’re not having any fun? We’re not dead yet,” she teased.

  As I passed Ada, I shook my head. The kind lady held onto my arm. “None of us are even close to dying. That includes your grandmother, so don’t you fret none, you hear?” She patted my behind and sent me on my way.

  I found Mason speaking with Doc in the foyer. He opened his arm for me to come to him, and when I closed the distance between us, he folded me into a half embrace.

  “And she’ll be all right?” he asked with an edge of concern.

  Doc Andrews scratched his head. “To be honest, I don’t rightly know. As our generation is all getting older, needing a nap isn’t unusual. But falling asleep like you described when you found her…now, that’s a might worrisome. She needs to take it easy for the next few days and then we’ll see.” He bid us both a good afternoon and left.

  Before we joined Nana in the living room, Mason took the quiet moment to pull me in for a full hug. At first, I protested his tight embrace, but his heartbeats under my ear lulled me into submission to his affections. I relaxed into him and set all my worries aside for that brief moment of peace.

  Letting me go, he took my hand in his and walked us into the living room. “Afternoon, Ms. Vivi. You’re looking well today.”

  Instead of taking the compliment with all the sweetness of a good Southern lady, Nana scoffed. “You’re treating me like I’m made of glass and liable to break at any moment. I’m a Goodwin woman, and we’re made of much sterner stuff.” She nodded once in my direction.

  I sighed long and loud to get her attention. “Mason’s come by on his own time to check on you, Nana. You can at least be polite.”

  “Mm-mm.” My grandmother shook her head. “If I’m sick, then I get to be however I want to be. And right now, I’m throwing myself one heck of a pity party. Anybody who chooses to stay in this room with me better be prepared.” She narrowed her eyes at my boyfriend. “Besides, he ain’t here to see me. He’s got something he wants to ask you, and you just happen to be here in my house. Like a booger I can’t flick off the end of my finger.”

  “Ew, Nana,” I scolded. “And I can’t believe you’re being even an ounce of rude to him.”

  Mason rubbed the back of his neck. “Actually, I don’t know how she knows, but she’s right. There is something I need to ask you.”

  With everything going on, now was not the time to start popping any type of questions. I stammered and made an excuse that I needed to stay with my grandmother, but Nana put a stop to all my delay.

  “Now which one of us is being rude? For pity’s sake, give the man a chance to speak his mind and then decide whether or not to freak out. You two, grab yourselves some iced tea and some cookies and sit out back.” She lay a hand over her heart. “I swear I won’t pass away before you return.”

  I glared at her. “Not even remotely funny, Nana.”

  She waved a hand at the two of us in dismissal. “Go.” As I grabbed the tray from before, I ushered Mason toward the kitchen and the back door. Before I left the room, she yelled after me, “Birdy, whatever he asks, trust me and just say yes.”

  Ada poured Mason some iced tea in a new glass while Mimsy piled cookies onto a small plate. Once I set the tray down on the counter, she handed me the goodies and gave me a knowing nod. The detective held the door open for me to follow through, and I feared he would hear my pounding heartbeats as I passed him.

  I set the cookies down on the small wrought iron table that sat in the middle of the brick patio under a huge magnolia tree. Dinner-plate-sized flowers bloomed against the dark green foliage. Normally, there would be huge piles of dark green leaves with brown undersides scattered all over the place, but Nana claimed there had always been a bit of a spell over the entire backyard, keeping it clean from debris and giving it an ethereal quality. So many good memories swirled in my head from playing with my parents to backyard parties. No wonder it remained one of my favorite places to be in this world.

  Mason pulled a chair out for me to sit in but hesitated before settling into the one across from me. He picked up one of the cookies but didn’t take a bite. Instead, he worked on freeing all of the chocolate chips from their cookie imprisonment. He cleared his throat a couple of times but uttered not a word. Whatever he was about to say, it had to be pretty big.

  Thanks to my meddling friends, my stomach clenched at the possibility of the biggest question a man could ask his girlfriend. With haste, I tried to anticipate what my answer would be, but couldn’t land on a solid response, and I refused to say anything that might jeopardize my relationship with him.

  In a panic, I blurted out his name at the same time he began talking. We both chuckled with shared unease.

  Mason ran his hand through his hair and sighed before clasping my hand in his. “I’ve be
en trying to ask you this for a couple of days, but there’s never been a moment where it’s just us. And then we found your grandmother in that way we did, and I just don’t know if it’s the right time or not.” The words flew out of him without a break in between sentences.

  I swallowed hard and tried to hide my trepidation. “Whatever it is, just say it and get it over with. I promise I won’t bite.”

  “It’s not the simple. What I want to ask you will be a huge step for you and me. And since we haven’t been together that long, I don’t want to scare you. But I honestly believe that it could be good for both of us.”

  My stomach clenched, and I drew in my breath in anticipation.

  “I know this might be really bad timing, but here goes.” Mason squeezed my hand in his. “I was wondering if you’d like to go on a small vacation with me?”

  “Yes,” I blurted without thinking about it.

  My ears rang and the world blurred for just a second. It took me too long to register that he hadn’t asked me what I thought he was going to. Was it disappointment or relief that flooded my system and brought everything back into focus?

  Mason watched me with care, his head cocked to the side in confusion. “You said yes, but your face looks like you want to throw up.”

  I pulled my hand out of his and gripped the glass of iced tea, its wet surface matching the clammy moisture of my palms. Gulping down the cool sweetness, I gathered my senses and thought about his offer.

  When I drank the last drop, I set the glass down on the table and put Mason out of his misery. “Yes, I would like to go on vacation with you.”

  His shoulders relaxed a bit, and his eyes shone with relief. “For a second there, I thought I’d freaked you out. You said yes so fast, I was pretty sure you weren’t aware of what I’d asked.”

  Frosted fairy wings, I’d never be able to keep anything secret from a trained detective. “I was just following Nana’s advice to say yes to whatever you asked.”

  He took a bite from a new cookie. “Maybe I should have asked you something more significant.” He raised his eyebrow as if challenging me.

  “How about we just stick to the one you did ask and talk about this vacation. Where and when?”

  Mason stopped chewing and swallowed. “That’s a bit of why I was nervous to propose it. I actually need to make a trip up North. I figured taking you up there with me to show you around might be fun. Also, it might help give you a break from all the things stressing you out lately.”

  For once, I thanked my mouth for popping off first before my brain caught up. “That’s so sweet, and I can’t lie. It would be great to get a little space and have some time just for us. Big Willie’s gonna give you time off?”

  “It would be just for a long weekend plus a couple of extra days, so it shouldn’t be a problem. I’m overdue to use my vacation days. But I’m okay if you want to stay here and take care of your grandmother. She’s more important than anything.”

  The fact that he understood how much Nana’s welfare meant to me erased any lingering doubts about wanting to be with him. Taking a trip where we could focus on each other and he could show me things that would reveal more about himself sounded perfect.

  Based on what I’d seen this morning, I felt pretty confident in Nana’s recovery from whatever ailed her before. And if Matt was okay with it, then I wanted to take Mason up on his offer.

  “Come on.” I picked up the plate of cookies and my glass. “Let’s go check on my grandmother first and see.”

  After we dropped off the dishes in the kitchen, we walked into the house but didn’t make it past the staircase. Nana walked down the stairs dragging something clunking on each step behind her.

  I rushed over. “What are you doing? You shouldn’t be up like this.”

  “Birdy, I told you to stop treating me like an invalid. I’m perfectly fine, as you can see. Plus, I wanted to get this for you to use.” She presented an old leather suitcase from behind her. “It’s not fancy, but it served me well on many trips with your grandfather. I thought you could use it.”

  I stared at the smooth brown leather with only a few nicks in the surface. “But he only just asked.”

  “And you took my advice and said yes, right?” She gestured to Mason to come closer and gripped his shoulder. “Take my granddaughter and this with you. It’s time she stops hovering and gets to packin’. And make sure you take good care of her.”

  As if unable to refuse, the detective picked up the suitcase. “Yes, ma’am.”

  Nana pushed both of us towards the door. “Ada and Mimsy will look after me, and I’m sure your brother and his wife will be over here soon. There’s enough people to look after me, so don’t you fret none.” She kissed my cheek. “Although I do appreciate the attention. Now, git.”

  Once we stood on the front porch, Mason and I stared at each other in awe and surprise at how we got there. “How did your grandmother know?” Mason asked, still clutching the suitcase.

  His amazement sparked my giggles until I doubled over, trying to catch my breath. “If you’re going to keep hanging around me and my family, you better get used to the idea.”

  “What idea?” he asked.

  I took the suitcase from him with a knowing shake of my head. “That Nana always knows.”

  Chapter Six

  With very little planning, Mason whisked me up north where he used to work before he moved to Honeysuckle. The buzz and rush of the big city exhilarated me, and at the same time, I didn’t know if I could live there on a regular basis. Although in my year away from home I’d visited many different places trying to connect with other witches with tracking powers like mine, I’d never stayed long in the more urban areas because they felt too chaotic. Then again, our small supernatural town had its own breed of chaos mixed with magic and mayhem far too often. Maybe life was life no matter where I ended up.

  Mason packed in as many activities as possible to show off his favorite things plus a few extras to up the woo factor. How he ever scored tickets to the hottest musical in town, he would never reveal. But we ended up with seats that most people would envy, and he didn’t complain once when I wanted to wait the extra time after the show at the stage door to get the signatures of a few of the cast members on my playbill.

  I appreciated being spoiled, but the smaller gestures and more intimate or revealing moments with Mason touched my heart in a deeper way. He walked me all over his old neighborhood where several people still greeted him like an old friend. While we navigated the busy sidewalks, he regaled me with stories about when he first joined the force as a warden and some of his early mistakes plus the things he learned. The more he shared of himself, the more I glowed from his growing trust in me.

  Mason held the door open to Bubble & Brew, a cafe that sold bubble tea, coffee, and food. Instead of waiting in line to place an order at the front counter, he held my hand and led me to the back area marked with an Employees Only sign. Pushing the swinging door open, he scanned the kitchen and called out a first name with extreme familiarity.

  A plump, petite woman jumped off a stool she stood on to stir the contents of a pot bubbling on the burner. “Officer Clairmont, it’s been a day and an age since you’ve graced this place with your presence.” She wiped off her hands on the front of her apron and opened her arms wide. “You better get over here and give me a proper greeting.”

  “How are you, Wanda?” Mason’s large frame almost swallowed up the smaller figure, but she didn’t seem to mind.

  After she let him go, she made him bend down so she could kiss his cheek. “And who’s this pretty lady you have with you here?”

  He gestured for me to join him. “This is my girlfriend, Charli Goodwin.”

  The gracious woman offered me a hug in greeting, her arms squeezing me harder than I would have anticipated. She released me and looked between the two of us. “Is she…you know.” The short woman wiggled her fingers in front of her face.

  Mason chuckled.
“Yes, she’s a witch, too.”

  “Had to check before I broke the rules and revealed magic in front of a mortal.” With a flourish of the same fingers, the wooden spoon in the pot stood up straight and stirred all on its own. “There, now I won’t burn the sauce and we can have a proper talk. Did he tell you what he did for me?”

  A blush rose in Mason’s cheeks. “We don’t have to give away everything, Wanda.”

  She dismissed him with a wave of a kitchen towel. “Oh, you hush. How else is she going to know about your heroics if I don’t crow about it? See, this stretch of the neighborhood used to be a little rough around the edges, and a bunch of the businesses here were being extorted to pay a security fee.”

  Mason frowned and crossed his arms. “It’s an old trick,” he explained. “Some scum of a witch acted like he was all concerned about the safety of the area. But he had a gang of disreputable beings who helped him terrorize and commit the crimes that made all of them pay him in the first place.”

  “Your boyfriend used my place to set up a sting to catch the guy, acting like my nephew who I’d asked to help pay the extortion fees.” Wanda cracked her knuckles, and power crackled off of her in a wave. If such a strong witch as herself needed help, this criminal and his gang must have been pretty scary.

  “It wasn’t my operation.” Mason brushed off the story like it wasn’t a big deal. “He took our bait because he wasn’t that smart, and as soon as he accepted the money, the detective I had convinced to help me allowed me to make the arrest. That case was the one that pushed me to move up in the ranks myself.”

  Wanda couldn’t help herself. She grabbed his arm and pulled him into another crushing embrace. “I know you don’t live here anymore, but anything you ever need, all you need to do is ask.”

  “Well, that’s why we came in today, Wanda. I’ve been showing Charli all the old haunts, and I wanted to take a picnic and eat it under the tree at the park,” Mason said.

  A sudden sadness shadowed Wanda’s eyes. “I was real broken up with Marian’s passing. That woman may not have had any actual witch to her, but she was absolute magic with all the kids she worked with. I know how much she meant to you.”