Cornbread & Crossroads

by Bella Falls

  Thinking about Mason reminded me how Mimsy’s psychic abilities helped him after he had his memories of me stripped away. “Have you tried to communicate with her?” I asked the florist, tapping my temple.

  Mimsy gasped and Ada shook her head. “It didn’t really occur to us. Do you think it’ll work?” she questioned Doc.

  “Couldn’t hurt. At best, you might be able to get through to her. At worst, we’re stuck right where we are,” he replied, moving out of their way.

  Lily and Lavender’s grandmother hesitated. “I don’t know if it’ll work. I’d hate to disappoint y’all.”

  Ada grabbed Mimsy’s hand and pulled her over to the bed. “You’re much stronger than you think, Mims. You’ll have to do the heavy lifting, but I’ll be right here beside you to help if I can.”

  Matt and I shifted to the bottom of the bed so we could get a better view of what was happening. Both women spoke to each other in low voices. Resigned to try, Mimsy rolled her shoulders back and closed her eyes. The atmosphere in the room shifted as they called their magic to life.

  Nana’s cat, Loki, appeared out of nowhere and leaped onto the bed. I moved to shoo him away, but Matt held me back, pointing at the animal. Loki trampled around our grandmother’s figure until he set a tentative paw on her as if trying to shake her awake. With careful steps, he lay half of his body on top of Nana’s arm while his tail settled next to Mimsy’s leg, curling around it. Nana’s friend scratched the cat between his ears once before leaving her fingers on his head.

  Placing her free hand on Nana’s forehead, Mimsy spoke out loud. “Vivi? Can you hear me? You need to wake up.” With no response, she pushed a little harder. “Vivian!”

  Loki meowed as if echoing her call, and I swore I saw Nana’s hand twitch. I pointed and started to say something, but Matt stopped me with a shake of his head, holding his finger to his lips to shush me.

  “It’s like there’s some force shrouding her to keep her hidden. An active fog that’s refusing to let me through,” admitted Mimsy, her hand trembling. “I can hear something very faint, but it’s hard to pick up.”

  Loki hissed and growled as if he sensed whatever it was, too.

  “What is it?” I asked, stepping closer. “Is Nana saying something?”

  Mimsy’s face scrunched in confusion. “It’s not words. It’s music. Like someone’s humming.”

  Ada reached out like she wanted to comfort her friend. “Come on, Mims. Push through.”

  Nana’s psychic friend doubled her efforts, and I balled my hands tight, willing them to succeed.

  Loki yowled and hissed one last time before breaking his contact with Nana. He bounded off the bed and skittered out of the room. Mimsy lifted her hand from my grandmother’s skin and flexed it. Doc touched Ada’s arm, insisting she let him attend her friend first.

  “I can’t get through,” Mimsy admitted with an apologetic gaze to Matt and me, allowing Doc to lead her to a nearby chair to let her rest.

  “You said you heard something,” Matt said. “What was it? Was it her?” He touched Nana’s foot hidden under her quilt, and I recognized our shared despair affecting him.

  Mimsy shooed Doc away. “She didn’t talk to me, but whatever’s affecting her like this, I think she’s okay somewhere in there.” She tapped the side of her head. “Do you recognize this tune?”

  After she hummed a few bars, I knew the song in an instant. “That’s our lullaby,” I said, tugging on Matt’s uniform sleeve.

  “You sure?” he asked.

  I hummed the beginning part and sang the rest about a bird way up high in an old oak tree. Once I added the lyrics, he joined and sang along.

  “That sounds right,” Mimsy said. “So, Vivi’s in there, and she doesn’t seem to be in pain or anything. We just can’t get through to her.”

  Matt and I hugged Nana’s best friends, thanking them for their efforts and care. He told them to go downstairs and grab some sweet tea to replenish their energy before insisting they both take a break.

  The excitement of recognizing the lullaby dissipated when the gravity of Mimsy’s statement hit me. “If we can’t wake her up, what’ll we do?”

  Doc Andrews gathered his medical bag. “I’ll go back to the office and get some supplies. I can set up an IV to make sure she stays hydrated and gets nutrients. Once that’s done, I’ll do some digging to see if there have been other cases like hers.”

  “You’re saying there’s nothing we can do?” Matt held out his hand for me to hold.

  “Not that I can see,” Doc said. “Keep her comfortable and safe. Those are the only things she needs at the moment.” He excused himself with a tip of his head. When he reached the doorway, he turned. “I promise, I won’t stop trying to fix this.”

  With great care, I fussed over Nana, straightening the quilt and tucking her in much like she used to do with me when we lived in the house as children. As if unable to believe everything I’d heard and witnessed, I pressed the back of my hand against her forehead to check for a fever. Stroking her face with my fingers, I brushed a strand of silvery gray hair behind her ear and planted a kiss on her warm cheek.

  When she didn’t even react to the mark of my affection, I gave in to my fears and broke down, collapsing on top of Nana. Between my sobs, I listened to her heart, still beating a steady rhythm under my ear. Matt rubbed my back in support, but I knew I couldn’t be selfish and act as if I were the only one hurting.

  I stood and threw my arms around him. The two of us clung to each other until we ran out of tears. The dreaded silence returned, and I counted how many ticks of the clock it took until I regained my composure. I lost count after one hundred.

  “What do we do now?” I asked, my body aching from physical and emotional exhaustion.

  He grabbed a tissue and blew into it. “I don’t know. But we’ll figure it out together, okay, Birdy?”

  I sniffed. “Don’t call me that.”

  “Make me.” Matt ruffled my hair.

  I batted his hand away. “Jerk.”

  “Brat.”

  We both chuckled and then glanced at Nana, hoping she’d sit up and scold the both of us for acting like children. Her still figure looked so much frailer underneath the covers.

  “Did you at least have a good time with Mason?” Matt asked, distracting me from my worries.

  I nodded. “It was a great trip.”

  “By the look of your bare left hand, I’m guessing he didn’t propose.” Matt took hold of my hand to prove his point.

  I yanked it out of his grip. “Why would he?”

  “That’s what everybody thinks happened. It’s why we didn’t bother you,” he explained.

  Maybe that was why Flint yelled out his congratulations when I drove away from the guardhouse. And if all of Honeysuckle thought Mason was asking me to marry him, then I’d be spending the next week or so disappointing a bunch of people.

  I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Great. Just what I needed on top of this.”

  “So, if he didn’t propose, why would Nana insist that something important would happen between the two of you?” Matt pushed.

  Since there was nothing else for either one of us to do for Nana, I gave him the short version of Mason’s and my trip together. With heated cheeks, I explained the last night together.

  “Big Willie’s gonna be shorthanded without the detective and me,” Matt said.

  I hit his arm. “Is that what you took away from what I just told you?”

  “I’m your brother. I don’t want to focus on the fact that your boyfriend, my colleague, declared his love for you. It’s just…”

  “Not your business?”

  “No. It’s icky.” Matt scrunched his face up like he used to when we were younger.

  “Oh, grow up.” I bumped him with my shoulder. The small sense of sibling normality chased away my fears for a brief second.

  My brother nudged me back. “Did you say it back to him?”

  “Uh-huh,”
I admitted, allowing myself to feel the joy again even for a second.

  “Does he make you happy?” Matt asked in a quieter voice.

  I thought about the question and my night together with Mason. Touching the pendant still resting against my skin, I smiled. “He does.”

  “Then, I’m happy for you, Birdy.” My brother hugged me tight and let me go. He held Nana’s hand in his, squeezing it. “She was, too.”

  “How does she always know?” I raised my hands in the air, asking the same question my brother and I had wondered all of our lives.

  “She just does,” Matt sighed. “How about I take the first shift in watching over her and you go home and take a shower. You stink.” He held his nose.

  I rolled my eyes. “Fine. You want me to run by the cafe and bring you back some food?”

  “That’d be great. Now, go before your stench disturbs Nana.”

  Flipping him the bird, I left the room. I made it halfway down the stairs before I heard Matt call my name.

  “I forgot to say this. You might want to tell your lover boy when you talk to him that I don’t care if he outranks me,” Matt warned. “If he hurts you, I’ll kick his behind so hard, he won’t be able to sit again.”

  “I’d like to see you try,” I challenged.

  “Hey,” he said, stopping me one more time. “I’m glad we’ve got each other to get through this.”

  It had been just me, Matt, and Nana against the world ever since both our parents passed away. We’d suffered enough loss. Life owed us.

  Holding onto hope with everything in me, I looked up at my big brother with renewed determination. “Me, too.”

  Chapter Eight

  I called in an order to the Harvest Moon so I could pick it up and go back to Nana’s house. Pulling up to the curb, I cringed at the large number of customers inside I could spot through the windows. No doubt all of them knew about my grandmother’s condition and would want to offer their support while pestering me for information. The thought of cooking in Nana’s kitchen without her turned my stomach, so I pulled up my big girl panties and resigned myself to brave the masses.

  The second the bells on the door jingled, all eyes turned in my direction. The buzz of conversation died to faint whispers. Swallowing hard and trying to maintain some dignity, I took a step forward towards the counter.

  Henry, my business assistant and loyal friend, popped out of his seat and barked an address to the whole cafe. “Y’all stop your gawkin’. Charli accepts your well wishes for her grandmother and will pass them on to Vivian on your behalf. Now, get back to your own conversations and let her get her food in peace.”

  Knowing that many of them wondered if I was engaged, I whispered the truth to Henry. He nodded once, announcing the news to everyone present, and reiterated for them to mind their business.

  Stunned silence followed his defense of me, but most of them tipped their heads in respect and obeyed his orders. Relief swept through me, and I squeezed his hand in thanks. If I actually attempted to say the words, I might start blubbering, and the last thing I needed was to make a big scene an even bigger catastrophe ripe for the gossip vine.

  Sassy wiped down the counter, waiting for me. Instead of her usual snarky banter with me, she offered a sympathetic grin after glancing at my naked ring finger to satisfy her curiosity. “Your order will be ready in about five minutes. It’s taking the new cook a little while to get used to the job. If you want to sit down, I can pour you a glass of sweet tea.”

  I blinked with shock, not used to such politeness coming out of the fairy’s mouth. Almost missing the stool entirely from shock, I caught myself and forced a response to come out of my mouth. “Thanks, Sass. That would be great.”

  She obliged with more smiles, and it took me a couple of sips to gain my bearings. “Wait, did you say the new cook? Since when does Mr. Steve give up control of his kitchen?”

  The fairy stopped filling up a pitcher with water to answer. “You’ve got me. One day, he’s kicking me out of there saying that only he knows how to do things the right way, and the next, he hires two of the newcomers and starts training them.”

  Mouth open, I gawked at Henry and asked him to explain the sudden change in his friend.

  He shrugged. “You got me. I’ve known that man for decades, and it’s like he woke up one morning with a personality transplant. He’s even talking about taking days off if he can get the newbies up to scratch.”

  Sassy beckoned me to lean forward with a crook of her finger. When I obliged, she spoke in a low voice. “If you ask me, something’s not right about it. Since when do people up and change all of a sudden like that?”

  “You got any ideas?” I asked, intrigued and yet too exhausted to attempt to come up with a reason on my own.

  Henry scoffed. “I think Patty Lou got ahold of a genie lamp, rubbed it, and got her wish granted to have her husband home more.”

  “If there was a genie lamp in town, you better believe I’d find it to use. Then maybe something in my life would go right,” Sassy complained, flitting over to the pass-through window.

  I sighed and sipped my tea, glad to see her acting normal again rather than polite out of pity. The bells on the door jingled, and I ignored whoever walked in. The sudden stop of conversation again alerted me, and I swiveled around to notice Nick standing at the front, looking a little lost.

  “You can sit down anywhere there’s a table available,” I informed him. “There’s no formalities here.”

  “Thanks,” he said, glancing around the cafe.

  It didn’t take him long to recognize that he was the cause for a lot of sudden whispers. Instead of running out the door, he reached into his back pocket and pulled out pamphlets.

  “Since I’ve got everybody’s attention, I’ll use this opportunity to thank you for welcoming me to your community. I’m Nick, the owner of Serenity Oasis, and I’d like to invite all of you to come and check out my services.” He walked around from table to table, handing out his card and ignoring the wide-eye stares at his tattoos. “Anyone who books an appointment with me before the end of the day will get their first thirty-minute session free.”

  The offer of a complimentary service fired up the customers, and within seconds, everyone held one of Nick’s pamphlets in their hand, looking it over and discussing it with great enthusiasm.

  The new guy strutted over to the counter and took a seat on my other side. With a devilish grin, he held out a pamphlet in front of me. “Finally got these in this morning. I’ve gotten a few new clients from the cards I handed out at the event in the park, but I’m hoping these will entice more people.”

  Henry snatched the leaflet from under my nose and perused it. “This looks too froufrou for me. What in the world is my chakra and why does it need aligning?” he groused.

  I gaped at him. “You’re a witch and you don’t know what a chakra is?”

  My grouchy assistant grunted in response while he kept reading through the services. “Here, I recognize this.” He tapped on the paper. “Massage.”

  “If you want to book a time, I’ll give you a thirty-minute session on the house,” Nick jumped in.

  I respected the man’s hustle but doubted it would work on Henry. “Good luck getting him to relax. I swear, he’s wound tighter than an eight-day clock.”

  “I’ll have you know that I’ve visited many massage therapists in my lifetime.” Henry waggled a finger at me. “Don’t think you know everything about me, missy. Just for that,” he turned to Nick, “if you make it a full hour, I’ll book a session right now.”

  The spa owner raised his eyebrow. “Forty-five minutes free and I charge you for fifteen. Deal?” he asked, extending his hand.

  “Deal.” Henry shook on it and stuck his tongue out at me.

  I snorted. “You’re such a child sometimes.”

  “Yes, but I’ll be a very relaxed child. Come on, Nick. Let’s see if we can get the rest of your week booked up.” Henry took the new busi
ness owner around the room to help him drum up customers.

  Sassy approached, carrying a white paper bag in hand. After setting it down in front of me, she reached under the counter and pulled out some napkins and utensils to add. With careful eyes, she watched Nick as he talked to people at each table.

  “He’s a tall drink of something,” she murmured, her wings fluttering. “But what would your detective think if he saw you flirting with him?”

  I was too tired to be annoyed with her pushy question. “If you want him, you can have him all to yourself, Sass. I’m perfectly fine with the boyfriend I have, and he trusts me.”

  I failed to add that I wouldn’t know what he would think since he wasn’t answering my calls or texts. He had told me that he might have to communicate less while he and his old colleagues hunted down the werewolf. But to not give me even a short message at all irked me. Still, no need to give Sassy anything juicy to chew on or spread around, so I plastered a smile on my face and attempted to pay.

  The fairy shook her head. “Steve said it’s on the house and to tell you and your brother that he’s real sorry about Vivi. Also, you’re to let him know what he or Ms. Patty can do if you need help.”

  I bit my lip to keep it from quivering. “Thanks, Sassy. Tell him I will.”

  Henry stopped jabbering to the others and rushed over to open the door for me. He walked me to my car and held the bag of food until I settled into the driver’s seat.

  “You know how to get in touch with me if you need anything,” he said, handing me the food through the window. “I’ll do my best to keep town gossip down to a minimum.

  I snorted. “That’ll be a losing battle, but thanks.” With a wave goodbye, I started the car and drove back to Nana’s place.

  The lights from the house lit up the evening sky, and the number of vehicles parked out front alerted me to the number of my friends waiting inside. Glancing at the bag of food, I realized it wouldn’t come close to feeding all of them. With dread settling in my stomach like a stone, I walked up the porch prepared to rustle up something in Nana’s kitchen.