“Hi, Starley, I’m Sandy Davidson,” Sandy said. “I’m sure you must be worried sick about Beau. The ambulance is taking him to County General Hospital. Can I offer you a ride?”
“Thanks for the offer, Miss Davidson, but Andrew and I will give her a ride,” Rue said.
Starley managed a small smile, but couldn’t find her voice to respond.
“Okay, I’ll see you there,” Sandy said.
“Maybe you should take me to my house first,” Starley whispered to Rue as she struggled into her jacket. “I should probably let Francesca and Juliette know what’s going on.”
“That’s a good idea,” Rue agreed. “Andrew, why don’t you just drop Starley and me off at her house?”
“Sure,” Andrew said.
When they pulled up in front of Starley’s house, all of the lights were off. “Thanks, you two,” Starley said as she went to open the door and climb from the back seat.
Before the door closed, Starley heard Rue say, “Andrew, there’s no point in you sticking around. I’ll stay here with Starley.”
In spite of her rotten mood and nervous discomfort, Starley smiled inwardly. She recognized a brush off if ever there was one.
“Oh, yeah, well, if you’re sure you don’t mind?” Andrews said.
“Positive,” Rue said, patting him on the arm. “Thanks for the ride.”
Starley ducked her head and peeked into the car. “Yeah, Andrew thanks for the ride.”
Andrew nodded and drove away.
“Oh, my God,” Rue said shaking her head. “I swear to you, he never used to be that annoying.”
Starley said, “I wonder if that’s another side effect of the cookies?”
“I guess being irritating is better than being dead,” Rue said.
Starley’s eyes rounded to the size of quarters. “That’s not even funny.”
“Sorry,” Rue said.
Francesca met Rue and Starley at the door with a creased forehead. “Starley, where’s Beau?”
Starley’s eyes darted to Rue. “The ambulance took him to County General Hospital.”
“What?” Francesca exclaimed. She felt her knees turn to rubber and reached out to the banister to steady herself.
Juliette had been standing on the landing. “Hell’s bells. That wasn’t a moving truck we saw. It was an ambulance!”
“What are you talking about?” Starley asked.
Francesca held up her hand. “Never mind that. What happened to Beau?”
“Everything was fine. We were dancing, when all of a sudden, he turned beet red, said he felt hot,” Starley said. “Next thing I know, he’s flat on his back on the floor trying to catch his breath.”
“Had he been drinking?” Juliette asked.
“Not that I know of,” Starley said.
“Did he eat anything that he might have had an allergic reaction to?” Francesca asked as she folded her arms in front of her chest.
Again, Rue and Starley looked at one another. After a few seconds, Starley hung her head and said, “He ate a few of the cookies that Rue and I baked the other night.”
Francesca’s mouth dropped open. “What kind of cookies did you bake, Starley?”
“Magical cookies,” Starley croaked in a tiny voice. “But I didn’t mean to kill him. I swear.”
“Kill him?” Juliette asked, her voice several octaves higher than usual.
“Magical cookies?” Francesca said shaking her head.
“Stop saying that,” Rue said to Starley. “His heart stopped, but the paramedics were able to revive him. They had him stabilized before they left with him in the ambulance.”
“We’ve got to get the hospital,” Starley said.
“Yes, we do. And while we’re on the way, you can explain to me exactly where you got the recipe for these so-called magical cookies and what ingredients were in them,” Francesca said as she put on her coat and grabbed her purse.
LIKE BYRDS, ACCUSATIONS FLY
Francesca’s hands shook like a leaf as she stuck the key in the ignition and started the station wagon. Juliette climbed into the passenger side. She twisted to look over her shoulder at Starley and Rue in the back seat.
“Okay, from the top,” Francesca said, glancing into the rearview mirror. “Tell me everything.”
Starley took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “I just wanted Beau to like me enough to ask me to the dance.”
“She was worried he was going to ask Beatrice, so we figured a little magic might help,” Rue said.
“I don’t understand what went wrong,” Starley said staring down at her hands in her lap. “Andrew ate some of the cookies, and they didn’t do anything bad to him.”
“Yeah, except turn him into an even bigger dork than he already was,” Rue whispered.
“Where did you get the recipe?” Juliette asked.
“From the spell book at The Perfumery. Rue and I snuck up there one night after you two went to bed,” Starley said.
“Do you remember the name of the recipe? Or what ingredients you used?” Francesca asked.
Starley opened her clutch and pulled out a folded sheet of paper. She handed it over the seat to Juliette. “Here’s the recipe.”
Juliette opened the glove box and leaned forward in the seat so she could read the recipe using the light from the compartment since the dome light never had worked. “This is such a simple spell. There’s nothing remotely dangerous about any of the ingredients. In fact, I’m shocked that it worked at all. Usually, it’s not the cookies; it’s the incantation that’s said while baking them. Since your paper doesn’t say anything about the words you’re supposed to recite, I guess you never actually made magic cookies.”
“The cookies worked on Andrew. He thought they were the best things he’d ever eaten,” Rue said. “And he finally asked me to the dance after he ate them.”
“Did it ever occur to you, Rue, that maybe he asked you because he likes you and wanted you to go with him?” Francesca said.
“It took him long enough,” Rue mumbled.
“Beau has to be allergic to something in the recipe,” Juliette said.
“Whatever it was, it caused a pretty serious reaction,” Starley pointed out.
Rue started giggling, and Starley peered sideways at her like she’d taken leave of her senses.
“What are you laughing about?” Starley asked.
“This is so crazy it’s funny,” Rue said shaking her head.
Francesca’s eyebrows disappeared behind her bangs. “There is absolutely nothing funny about any of this. I can’t punish you, Rue, you’re not my responsibility. But, Starley, you are in so much trouble. Just as soon as I think up a proper punishment, you’re going to regret your first — and last — experiment with magic.”
“That’s okay, because apparently, I suck at magic, anyway,” Starley said quietly.
“The first spell cast is almost always a failure. If not downright disastrous,” Juliette said. “Remind me to tell you about my first attempt at casting a spell sometime.”
Francesca tried hard not to, but she couldn’t help but smile when she remembered Juliette’s colossal screw-up. That poor cat of theirs never forgave her.
“Cinnamon hated you after that,” Francesca said smiling.
“She was only bald for a little while,” Juliette said.
“A little while? Try more like a year,” Francesca said.
“Hello? My life is over, and you two are talking about a cat?” Starley said.
“Your life isn’t over, but the social part of it will be severely limited for ⦠for a very long time,” Francesca said.
Francesca parked the station wagon, and the four of them hurried inside. Sandy Davidson sat in the emergency room waiting area.
“How is he?” Starley asked.
Sandy shook her head. “We don’t much, except that he had an allergic reaction to something and apparently went into anaphylactic shock.”
“What caused it?” F
rancesca asked.
“Something he ate, I assume,” Sandy said, her eyes darted to Starley. “The doctors will probably want to talk to you.”
Starley’s breath caught in her chest. “Me? Why would they need to talk to me?”
Rue elbowed her and whispered, “Stop acting so guilty.”
“You!” a male voice boomed.
“Oh great, daddy dearest,” Rue said.
“What kind of sorcery have you witches performed on my son?” Pastor Byrd said, his face was the color of a tomato and a vein throbbed in his forehead.
Juliette stepped in front of Starley and held her hand up to keep him from pouncing. “Hold on here, I resent your accusations. Starley had nothing to do with the condition your son is in, and I would appreciate it very much if you’d back up and think about what you’re saying.”
“Or what? You’ll turn me into a ⦠a ⦠something?” His arms flew wildly with each word out of his mouth.
Juliette’s eyes narrowed to slits, and she poked her index finger into Pastor Byrd’s chest. “Don’t tempt me,” she said.
“What did she do to Beau?” he asked.
Starley stepped around Juliette. “I didn’t do anything to your son. We were dancing and all of a sudden he collapsed.”
“One does not all of a sudden collapse without good reason,” Pastor Byrd said. “Did you give him something to eat?”
“Just some homemade cookies,” Starley said without meeting Pastor Byrd’s eyes.
“What was in those cookies? What kind of trickery were you trying to pull?” he asked. “Were you trying to poison him?”
“No!” Starley cried.
“You old fool,” Sandy Davidson said. She had been biting the inside of her cheek trying to keep from butting in, but Pastor Byrd was being completely unreasonable flinging accusations around like bird seed at a wedding. “Starley likes Beau. Why in heaven’s name would she do anything to hurt him?”
“How should I know? I don’t know how these witches think,” Pastor Byrd said, glaring at each of them in turn. “As I asked before, what was in those cookies? Are there any more of them?”
Starley nodded. “Check his jacket pocket. I think there were a few left.”
Pastor Byrd spun on his heels and stalked off toward the ICU.
All of the women breathed a collective sigh of relief. Sandy leaned close to Juliette and asked, “What was in those cookies?”
“The only ingredient in them that might have possibly affected him this way was peanut butter. Do you know, is he allergic to peanuts?” Juliette asked.
Sandy covered her mouth with her hand. “Terribly.”
“Oh, God,” Starley said burying her face in her hands. “I am such a moron.”
“Starley, honey, I’m sure you didn’t do this on purpose,” Sandy said. “You didn’t know he was allergic.”
Tears streamed down Starley’s cheeks. “My first real date and I totally blew it. I might as well join a freaking convent.”
She turned and ran out of the hospital.
COME OUT OF THE BAT CAVE
Starley kept busy so she wouldn’t have to think about how her life had been ruined with her very first foray into the world of magic on her first date. Every time it crossed her mind, her eyes welled up with hot tears. She stayed hidden in her room because whenever she looked at either one of her sisters, their looks of disappointment made her feel a hundred times worse.
Juliette rapped on Starley’s bedroom door, and Larry whined. “Starley, you can’t hide in your room forever, you know.”
“I know, I didn’t figure you’d let me quit school,” Starley said. She sat on her bed and hugged her knees to her chest.
“Can I come in?” Juliette asked.
“I guess,” Starley said quietly.
Juliette twisted the knob and walked into the darkened room. “Your room is like a cave.”
“And your point?” Starley grumbled.
“Starley, I know you don’t believe me, but your life isn’t over,” Juliette said. She sat on the edge of Starley’s bed and switched on the table lamp.
“It might as well be. Frank will never let me go on another date until I’m at least thirty,” Starley said.
“That’s not true. She’ll settle for twenty, as long as she checks all of your pockets and is satisfied you’re not leaving with any contraband,” Juliette said.
“Contraband?” Starley’s eyebrows pinched together.
“You know, cookies, eye of newt, bat wings,” Juliette said with a grin.
“Sure, make jokes at my expense. I’m glad you find this so funny,” Starley said. She flung back the covers and climbed from her bed.
“I had no idea you wanted to learn magic,” Juliette said sympathetically. “You should have asked. I would have helped, you know.”
Starley stared at Juliette. “Seriously? You would have helped me make a spell to get Beau to like me more than he likes Beatrice?”
Juliette stood and put her arm around Starley’s shoulder. “Beau already likes you more than Beatrice. He didn’t ask her to homecoming, did he?”
Starley sighed loudly. “Well no, but he didn’t realize he liked her better until after he’d already committed himself to taking me. He was just too nice to back out.”
“Are you really that insecure? Because if you are, I can whip up a little something to fix that, too,” Juliette said. She turned to face Starley and tipped her chin. “Squirt, you might not be dating Beau after what happened, but that has nothing to do with you as a person and more to do with you as a Duchesne.”
“Maybe we’ll have to move again, and this will all fade into the past like a bad dream,” Starley mumbled.
Juliette took a deep breath. “I’m working on damage control already. Francesca’s practically worn a path by pacing up and down the hallway. She doesn’t have the faith that I have, I guess.”
Starley’s eyes welled up for the hundredth time that day. “That’s not funny.”
“I wasn’t trying to be funny,” Juliette said. She hugged Starley and kissed her on the cheek. “This too shall pass.”
“Do you think I should start packing?” Starley asked.
Juliette shook her head. “No. I told you, I’m going to fix this.”
“What are you going to do?” Starley asked.
“If I told you, I’d have to kill you,” Juliette said with a smile. She ruffled Starley’s hair. “Now come out of the bat cave and get something to eat.”
Juliette pulled the bedroom door open, and Francesca jumped back, startled.
“Were you eavesdropping on us?” Juliette asked.
“No, of course not. I was about to knock to see if Starley wanted something to eat,” Francesca said.
Both women peered at Starley. “I am kind of hungry.”
“You didn’t have to hide in your room all day, Starley,” Francesca said. “I’m not mad anymore.”
“So, does that mean I’m not grounded for life?” Starley said as she squeezed past them to go to the kitchen.
“You were never grounded for life, Squirt,” Francesca said. “Just until you’re thirty. Twenty, if you swear on our ancestor’s spell book that you will never dabble in the dark arts unsupervised again.”
“Never?” Juliette piped up.
Francesca blew out a noisy breath. “Okay, never is an awfully long time. You can dabble, but only under the supervision of Juliette or me. When we think you’re ready, you can fly solo.”
Starley grabbed the broom from beside the fridge and straddled it. “I didn’t know you were going to teach me to navigate one of these things.”
Everyone laughed, and the mood in the Duchesne house lifted for the first time that day.
“We’ll start with something no-fail,” Juliette suggested. “No harm to others, and all that.”
“I didn’t mean to harm Beau,” Starley interjected.
Juliette waved her off. “I know, you just wanted him to like you.”
Rue called to try and talk Starley into going to the hospital and see how Beau was doing. Her argument wasn’t very tactful, but she had a valid point.
“You put him there. You really ought to visit him,” Rue pointed out.
I can’t go see him, his dad will throw me out on my ear if I show up there,” Starley said.
“Pastor Byrd will be at the church all day today,” Rue said. “It’s a perfect time.”
“I don’t have a way to the hospital,” Starley said.
“Juliette will take you. Now, I’ve got to go. My mom’s giving me the look. We’re going to be late for church,” Rue said and hung up the phone without saying goodbye.
When Starley walked into the kitchen, Francesca surprised her when she said, “Starley, I think you should visit Beau.”
“Did Rue put you up to saying that?” Starley asked as she took a bottle of water from the refrigerator.
“Of course not,” Francesca said.
“This morning would be a perfect time,” Juliette suggested.
Starley pulled out a chair and sat at the table. “What am I supposed to say to him? Oh, hi, I’m sorry I tried to kill you?”
Juliette bit her bottom lip to stifle a laugh. “Come on, get ready. We’ll leave in fifteen minutes.”
Starley started to protest but realized she did want to see Beau, even if he didn’t want to see her. She went into her bedroom and changed her clothes no less than three times. Finally, she settled on her favorite jeans and a pink Prosperity sweatshirt. She couldn’t decide if makeup would be overdoing things, so she brushed on mascara, a little blush, and some chocolate flavored lip gloss. She debated about pulling her hair into a ponytail but decided she looked ridiculous and let it down.
She patted Larry on the head. “Hold down the fort, Larry. If I’m not back in by dark, send out the search parties.”
Francesca leaned against the door frame watching Starley. “Relax.”
The three sisters piled into the station wagon and drove to County General Hospital. Francesca and Juliette discussed some different perfumes; Juliette took notes for the items she needed to order. She chewed on the end of the pen, claiming it made her think better.
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