by Raven Snow
“Is everything all right over here?” asked Carla. All the arguing had drawn her from the back. She approached the table now, looking ready to kick someone out. It wasn’t hard to guess who that was going to be.
“No,” Debra said, frowning pointedly across the table at Margo and Rowen. “Everything is not all right.” Her voice cracked at the end of that statement, and she wiped at her eyes with the back of her hands. It was difficult to tell whether or not she was actually crying. Either way, it didn’t look good.
“I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” said Carla, to no one’s great surprise.
Margo opened her mouth to say something, but Rowen managed to cut her off this time. “We’re going,” she said. “Don’t worry. We’re going.” She took Margo by the arm and stood, leading her forcibly away from the table. “We’re very sorry about this.” She gave Margo’s arm a squeeze before she could suggest that they weren’t.
Rowen could feel all eyes on them as she dragged Margo out the front door. “Well,” she sighed, once they were on the sidewalk. “That could have gone better.”
Margo was so angry she was shaking. “I’m sorry,” she said, addressing Rowen. “I didn’t mean to fly off the handle at her, but… But you heard what she said about my dad.”
There was no point in getting angry at Margo now. Rowen gave her shoulder a much gentler squeeze than she had before. She meant to comfort her this time. “It’s all right,” she said. “I mean… It’s not all right at all, but I understand. You may have come on a little−a lot too strong, but… It worked out.”
“Did it?” Margo asked, sounding genuinely surprised to hear that.
Rowen led the way to the car. “Sure,” she said. “I don’t know about you, but I’m now one hundred percent certain that Debra was involved with Peter Jacobi.”
Margo nodded. She had clearly gathered as much herself. “Sure, but what does that mean?”
“I don’t know yet,” said Rowen. “Maybe nothing, but it’s worth mentioning to Ben.”
Chapter Eight
Rowen’s little investigation could have gone a lot better. Ben was thankful for the information they had gathered, but it was unclear whether anything would come of it. It wasn’t like they could publish it in their paper or on the blog either. Rowen might dislike Debra, but she wasn’t willing to drag her name through the mud when she didn’t have all the facts.
There was a very real chance that Debra was a woman who had just made some mistakes. Maybe she had slept with Peter, stirred up some drama, and then immediately regretted it when her sister had gone missing. There was no reason to call out the poor woman if she hadn’t actually done anything illegal. Besides, the Greensmiths weren’t exactly model citizens right now either.
Lainswich wasn’t to the point of picketing their offices, but Rowen might have preferred that. They seemed to be avoiding them instead. Words spoken in whispers when a Greensmith passed said a lot more than shouting ever could.
Norman hadn’t been taken into the station again, but you would have thought he was guilty of the murder entirely. Ben wasn’t having the best time either. He wouldn’t tell Rowen in detail, but she got the impression that the town was pressuring him to move against her family in some way.
Rose confirmed it for her. Apparently, she and Ben had been talking a bit about possible leads for stories. The town was sure that Norman had done it. They thought poorly of Ben for not bringing him to justice. A lot of them thought it was because he was still sweet on Rowen.
“A couple of them even think you put a love spell on him,” Rose told Rowen when they were staying late at the office together one night. “If you can believe that.”
Rowen was offended by the very idea. “As if I would ever.”
There wasn’t much any of them could do. Rowen decided to back off of the investigation. Looking into it wasn’t doing anyone any good. She told Ben to let her know if she could be of any help, but there just wasn’t enough to go on. Their leads had gone cold. Rowen tried to contact Jeana’s spirit, but there was never any response. That didn’t say a whole lot, unfortunately. Either she wasn’t dead, or she had moved on already. It was unclear.
Instead of worrying over Jeana’s disappearance and the town, Rowen tried to put all her extra time and energy into the wedding. It was fast approaching. With the town’s opinion of the Greensmiths vastly lowered, some of the excitement of having the wedding during the festival had waned, but Rowen was still looking forward to it.
Aunt Lydia was especially excited. She had done a lot of the planning. Since Rowen had been busy with work, Lydia had taken over almost completely. Rowen would have felt guilty had she not been so certain that Lydia loved it. She didn’t always ask for Rowen’s permission before she decided on something, but Rowen couldn’t complain. Had she been in charge of the wedding, they would be woefully behind.
Eric had made plans with his family. His family wasn’t nearly as close-knit as the Greensmiths. His parents were coming down, but that was about it since David was already staying in Lainswich.
The Richardsons had even given them their wedding gift already. It was a trip to Europe—Paris and then wherever they wanted to go after that. Rowen had never been out of the country, so she couldn’t deny she was a little excited for their honeymoon, even if the whole Paris thing was a bit cliché. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t be able to stay for long. Rowen was convinced that not only the Lainswich Inquirer, but the entire Greensmith household would burn down without her. With the way the town was acting toward them, it might not even be the Greensmiths’ fault.
The upcoming nuptials were a nice distraction. Rowen hadn’t intended to be one of those women who got all wound up in the idea of their own wedding. A week before the date, she actually let her cousins take her for a dress fitting.
“Most people don’t put it off this long,” Margo complained when they were leaving for the place. Margo had, of course, gotten her dress a year in advance. Rowen remembered Margo being inconsolable because they had to take it out a bit just before the date.
“Well, I wasn’t sure where to go,” Rowen said in her defense. “I’m still not convinced that they’re going to welcome us.”
“It’s Tina’s mom,” Margo said with a dismissive wave of her hand.
Tina’s mother ran a cute little boutique downtown. It carried a lot of fashions she had managed to buy on closeout from various places. Rowen had never had reason to go inside, but she was thankful that they were welcome now. It was surprisingly nice on the inside.
“Rowen!” sang Tina, coming from around the front desk. “I was hoping you would show up before I had to head off to work. Are Peony and Willow with you?”
Rowen shook her head and offered Tina a smile. “Sorry, Aunt Lydia recruited them for setup.” She motioned back to Margo and Rose. “It’s just us.”
“Well, that’s fine,” said Tina, sounding a tad disappointed that her favorite Greensmiths weren’t around. “I’ll take pictures of our favorites and send them to them.”
"She already has a few options picked out for you,” said Tina’s mother. Mrs. Stenson was an older woman with a petite frame and warm smile. If she had any negative opinions about the Greensmiths, she was excellent at keeping them to herself. “I’ll go get them.”
“So, how are things?” Tina asked, leading them the several feet to the dressing rooms. “How’s work?”
“All right,” said Rowen. As big of a problem as the town hating them was, it never seemed to slow down business. If anything, their publication tended to become more popular when they were at the center of some controversy. “Most of the stories right now are Fall Festival-related. They can get a little old.” Not to mention, the public only really wanted more on Jeana. They wanted incriminating stories from the Greensmiths, and Rowen couldn’t give them that. She was reluctant to talk about Jeana’s disappearance at all anymore.
“I heard your aunts are having a booth,” said Tina, either oblivious to
current events or not putting much stock into them.
“I’m pretty sure that’s been canceled,” said Rowen. “I can’t imagine we would be very popular if we had a booth there.”
“I’m not sure that’s going to stop Aunt Lydia,” muttered Margo.
Rowen turned. “What?” This was news to her. She hadn’t really brought it up with Lydia; she had just assumed that it was off the table. Clearly, it had been a mistake to assume anything with Lydia.
“I thought you knew,” said Rose, not looking particularly thrilled herself. “At night, my mom, your mom, and Nadine have all been working on little satchels of herbs and the like.”
Rowen groaned. “Are they crazy?”
“Yes,” Margo said flatly.
Rose was more pragmatic about things. “Well, they had already paid for their booth,” she said. “And you know my mom. She has a pretty black and white sense of right and wrong. She’s not going to back down just because the locals are mad at us again. She says if we did that, we would never get anything done. I suppose she has a point.”
“There’s nothing to do about it, I guess.” Rowen knew from experience that there was no talking her aunts out of this stuff when they got their minds set on it. “I just hope Norman isn’t involved… No offense, Margo.”
“None taken,” said Margo. “Don’t worry. He’s keeping his distance.”
“I just think it’s silly that the town is making a big deal out of all of this,” said Tina. She had never been one to stay out of a conversation for too long. “Even if Norman did murder that poor girl, it has nothing to do with any of you. If you knew for a fact he had done it, I’m sure you would tell the authorities. You’re good people.”
Rowen glanced at Margo, who looked a little annoyed with Tina’s phrasing but not angry. It was difficult to be angry with her lately—even if she definitely would have been on the town’s side had this happened before she decided she liked the Greensmiths again. “Thanks, I think,” said Rowen.
“Here we are.” Mrs. Stenson came from the back with a bunch of dresses draped over her arm.
Rowen could see a bunch of full skirts and ridiculous, glittery trains. “I don’t want anything too fancy,” she said quickly. A stretch of thick, shiny fabric caught her eye. “Though, I mean… I guess it couldn’t hurt to try them all on.”
“That’s the spirit!” cheered Tina, pulling back the dressing room curtain.
“Let me have a look at the other dresses, if you don’t mind,” said Margo. “We’re going to need more options than that.”
The Stensons led Margo into the back while Rose stayed behind to help Rowen with her dress. As it turned out, the wedding dresses were more complicated than Rowen was used to. She hardly ever wore dresses, and this was a big step up.
“I can’t believe you’re getting married,” said Rose, smiling and shaking her head as she helped Rowen step into the first dress without stepping all over the skirts.
“I know, right?” Rowen could hardly believe it herself. It had been a while now since the date had been set, and it was like she was still realizing the news over and over again.
“How are the two of you doing?” asked Rose.
Rowen considered that question. Her mood had been overshadowed by recent, unrelated events. As far as she and Eric went, though? “We’re good I think.”
“You think?” asked Rose, lacing up the back of Rowen’s dress.
“I don’t know.” Rowen hesitated to vent her concerns. She decided she could trust Rose not to go gossiping to the rest of her family. “I have this sneaking suspicion that he’s getting cold feet.”
“Cold feet?” Rose sounded skeptical of that. “Are you sure? He seems a little nervous, but I think that’s normal. I imagine most people are nervous when they’re about to get married for the first time.”
Rowen shrugged. She thought about leaving it there, but she dropped her voice instead, insuring that no one else could hear them. “He told me he didn’t feel like he fit in with the family. He more or less said that we intimidate him.”
Rose finished lacing the dress. “I get that.”
“What do you mean?” Rowen looked at herself in the mirror. “Oh, God. Not this one. Unlace me, please.”
“Yeah, this one makes you look like a potato sack.” Rose started unlacing. “I just mean that I’m, you know, adopted. I sort of get it. I don’t have the same talents you guys do. The witchy stuff doesn’t come naturally to me.”
“You’re still a Greensmith,” said Rowen, stepping out of the reject dress and picking out another.
“Yeah,” agreed Rose. “And Eric will be too. It’s just different, you know?” She chewed at the edge of her mouth, growing a bit thoughtful. “You probably wouldn’t. It’s just… I feel different from you guys sometimes. It feels like I have to struggle to keep up. You’re all so… colorful, and I’m just… Boring old Rose.”
“You’re not boring,” Rowen said immediately, stepping into the next dress. “You’re amazing. Someday, you’re going to be in here, and I’ll be helping you try on wedding dresses. I’ll be consoling you over your fiancé getting cold feet because he’s so scared you’re out of his league.”
Rose chuckled at that. She blushed a bit too which seemed telling.
“What?” asked Rowen, glancing over her shoulder at Rose as she buttoned up the next dress. “Do you have your eye on a guy right now?”
Rose shrugged which meant yes.
“Who?” asked Rowen, turning to face her. She ran over the guys Rose knew in her head. “Is it someone I know?”
“It’s not serious,” said Rose, trying to play down the revelation like it was no big deal. “We’ve just been on a couple of dates.”
“You’ve been on dates?” How had Rowen missed this? She had been so hung up over work and her own wedding she hadn’t noticed that Rose was going on dates with some mystery man? “Who is it?”
“Keep your voice down,” Rose hissed. “If Margo or Tina overhears you, I’m never going to hear the end of this.”
“Then you better tell me who the guy is,” said Rowen.
“Later,” said Rose. “Now, turn around so I can get the last button.”
Reluctantly, Rowen did as she was told. She caught her reflection in the mirror, and that served as a bit of a distraction. She had never seen herself looking so glamorous.
“I’ll talk to Eric, all right?” said Rose, finishing with the fastenings. “I think I understand how he’s feeling. He can vent to me.”
Rowen was too caught up in how her reflection looked to call Rose out for purposefully changing the subject. “I think this is it,” said Rowen, a little breathless. “I think this is the one.”
Rose joined Rowen in the mirror. She looked her up and down and smiled. “It’s gorgeous,” she agreed. “You have others you need to try on, though. I think they’ll be mad if you don’t.”
Rowen couldn’t imagine how anything could possibly look better on her. The dress was perfection. It wasn’t anything too over the top. It was sleek and sleeveless and formfitting. It hugged her curves and pooled around her feet in a satiny puddle. It was lovelier than anything she had ever pictured herself in before.
“We’ve got a few more for you to try on,” called Tina.
“Not all of them,” said Margo. “I just… I wanted to try on this one… And this one.”
Rowen and Rose looked at each other and tried not to break out into laughter. They should have seen this coming. Margo really had a thing for weddings. She might say she didn’t want to rush into another one, but Rowen wouldn’t be surprised if they were planning a wedding for her and David within the year.
Rose swept the curtain back and Rowen came out. Tina saw her first and gave a happy shriek.
“Oh, I love it!” said Tina, coming up and spinning her around so that she could take the whole thing in. “This is it. This is perfect.”
“She has to try on the others!” Margo insisted. “But… oh, wow
. Yeah, that one is sort of perfect.”
Mrs. Stenson was smiling. “That one fits you like it was made for you,” she said.
The bell over the door rang, drawing everyone’s attention from Rowen’s dress. A couple of women had entered. One was Rowen’s age, the other was older—likely her mother.
“Clarissa, Maddy,” said Mrs. Stenson, going to greet them. “Here for your fitting?”
The mother, Clarissa, nodded. “The wedding is months off, but I couldn’t keep her waiting any longer. You know how it is. She’s just so excited.”
“It happens,” said Mrs. Stenson. “We have the dresses back here if you wanted to have a look. Alternatively, I can pick a few out for you.”
Both women were smiling. It seemed they had also come to try on wedding dresses. Rowen in her wedding gown immediately caught their eye. They looked over and it looked like they were about to say something conversational, but then Maddy’s smile fell. She glanced away and whispered something to her mother.