"The store?" I glanced at her.
"Yeah. There's a loft above but I stay in the shop mostly. It's easier."
"Oh." What else could I say to that? "Where are we going?"
"To the commons for a picnic."
"Really?"
"Yeah." Mae laughed softly. "You're super suspicious of me, you know."
"Well… you're a hippie witch, after all. You might curse me."
"You're a doctor. You might study me."
"Touché."
After a few miles of driving, we pulled into the parking area and unloaded ourselves from the car. Mae led me along a stony path toward the tree line. My boots slipped a bit but Mae's sandaled feet gripped the terrain with ease. The warm breeze of early spring tangled her hair, accosting me with the fragrance of patchouli. She glanced over her shoulder as we arrived at the trailhead.
"You okay? You're quiet," she said.
"I'm fine."
"Have you been here before?" Mae guided me up an incline. Midway up, she turned and offered me a hand. I hesitated at first but when my shoe slipped again, I took it. She tugged me up with her and we continued. Her hand fell to the small of my back when we returned to the flatter part of the trail.
"I haven't," I said, glancing at her when we fell in step again.
"I'm not kidnapping you, I promise." Mae's gentle smile soothed me slightly. Had I really believed she planned to kidnap me? Of course not. Walking in the woods wasn't my favorite thing to do. Not because I disliked the woods, rather, it was vastly unfamiliar.
"I know. Where are we going?"
"The clearing is up this way a few yards." Mae gestured toward the fork in the trail and we walked along it briefly before coming upon a clearing. Minty hues adorned the branches of the newly blossomed trees, save for the rich evergreens. Up ahead, a flat stone marked the center of the oval clearing. Mae set down the picnic basket and pulled out a deep blue blanket. She shook it out and set it on the ground before taking a seat. "Not too far from the car or anything. Come." She patted the spot beside her.
I joined her on the blanket, sitting cross-legged facing her. Words escaped me as I watched her. In a way, I envied her ability to appear comfortable in any environment. The shop, in public, in the middle of the woods, her steadfast demeanor shined.
"Ella?"
"Hmm?" Her soft, fluid movements captured my attention as she unloaded the basket. I drew my gaze away from her hands.
"What's your favorite fruit?" She opened a few containers to reveal cut melons and berries. A small mason jar full of a chocolatey-colored substance sat beside them.
"Watermelon and strawberries," I said, meeting her gaze. "But not together."
"Separated watermelon and strawberries. Got it." She laughed a throaty genuine laugh that brought light to her cheeks.
"You didn't have to fix a picnic. It's kind of you." She had me smiling as she handed me a wrapped sandwich. "Thanks."
"I pride myself on being a decent hostess. My last attempt failed. I wanted to make it up to you a little." She moved beside me and unwrapped her lunch. "It's avocado and turkey. That okay?"
"Yeah, I like almost everything." Even though I'd already eaten some, I couldn't refuse. It seemed rude. "You didn't have to make anything up to me, Mae. I upset myself, not you."
"Still." She shrugged and took a bite of her sandwich. A soft breeze blew her hair from her face and she leaned into it some.
"Your hair isn't curly today."
"I didn't curl it. Sometimes I do. It makes me look more mysterious for the tourists." She shot me a cheeky grin and I smirked.
"You're mysterious enough."
"Not really. You are though." She nudged me with her elbow and I lifted a brow at her.
"How am I mysterious?"
"You're quiet. Quiet people have heaps of stuff going on inside them."
"Is this a scientific fact?"
"Oh yeah. Years of research." She crumpled up the wrappings of her lunch then picked up the bowl of melon, offering it to me. I plucked out a plump piece of watermelon.
"Thanks."
"Welcome. So... " She paused to wrap her lips around a slice of cantaloupe. "Tell me something about you," she said after taking a bite.
"Like what?" I asked before allowing the sweet nectar of the melon to melt on my tongue.
"Anything." Mae shrugged, setting the fruit in her lap as she turned to face me, her knee lightly grazing my hip.
"I like watermelon," I said, keeping my voice purposefully even.
"Ice Queen, seriously." Mae chuckled and I couldn't help smirking. "What got you interested in Wicca?"
"It's newer than the other things I've been studying and has a vast following in the states. I thought it important to include in my paper."
"It is important. But there's something I have to tell you…" Her voice faded as she set the bowl aside.
"What?" I watched her, searching her expression, half expecting her to tease me about something like Delia does.
"Come with me for a second," she said, slipping off her sandals and stepping barefoot into the grass. She held a hand out to me as I stood. Reluctantly, I took it. Soft, delicate fingers wrapped around my palm, sending a jolt of something to my abdomen. Heat radiated from her hand as if exuding some sort of supernatural energy.
Like a happily fluttering butterfly, she tugged me as she skipped toward the trees on the opposite side of the clearing. We stopped beside a wide tree with thick, deep ridges in the bark. She gripped both of my hands, pressing my palms against the tree then did the same.
"What do you feel?" she asked me.
"The bark. It's rough."
"What else? Close your eyes for a minute."
What was I doing? Humoring her? Humoring myself? I closed my eyes the moment a gusting breeze splashed against my skin, sending tendrils of my hair tickling my ears.
"The wind. My hair."
"What do you hear?" Mae's voice sounded distant, gentle.
"I hear you. And the leaves rustling." My breath began to slow as a sparrow trilled overhead. A twig snapped somewhere in the distance and water trickled to my right. "A stream."
"What do you smell?" Mae's hushed words against my cheek sent a shiver up my spine.
"Patchouli. Grass. Decaying leaves. Cherry blossoms." Something brushed my cheek and I opened my eyes.
"This…" Mae gestured around us. "Is Wicca. The Earth, nature, humanity. All of it. The gifts of our senses, of connection." She brushed the back of her hand over my cheek and I recognized the sensation. Heat rose to my face, loosening my resolve. "Wicca isn't anything more or less than that. It's what we make it. Tools and rituals belong to each of us. Individually or in covens. There are only two things anyone who practices needs to know." She dropped her hand as I watched her. Before me, she seemed ethereal at best, angelic maybe in her fluid movements and dreamy voice. She stood close to me, close enough for her skirt to brush against my legs.
"What's that?"
"No matter how you practice, harm none. And if you do anything, good or bad, expect the return threefold. It's as simple as that."
Her words, her delicate voice, and slight smirk held me in a sort of trance as my insides twisted with something I couldn't identify.
"That's it?"
"That's the magic, Doctor Frost. It is what you make it."
"I kind of like the idea of that." I released my grip on the tree as Mae smiled.
Chapter Four
"So tell me about Billy? How long ago did you break up?" Mae asked as we walked back toward the car.
"Six years or so. We were together since high school but grew apart. Sometimes I question if I was ever actually in love with him. Maybe in the beginning I was." I shrugged and pulled my sweater tighter around me. Mae didn't seem bothered by the chill.
"Grew apart how?"
"I went to grad school, he fixed cars. It was a good living. He supported us for a long time. I never doubted him but he doubted me." I clicked the a
larm of the car and we entered together, the conversation pausing only briefly as we buckled up.
"Who left first?"
"I did. I took the job out here in Beverly, got my apartment, and stayed. We lived together in Boston previously."
"Is he still there?" Mae asked as I turned over the engine.
"Probably. I never bothered to check. How'd we get on this topic anyway?" I asked as I clicked on the headlights before driving off into dusk.
"I asked how long you lived here." Mae smirked and slouched a bit in her seat. "You can drop me at the library. Liz will come get me on her way back."
"The shop isn't far. I'll take you."
"You don't have to."
"I'm going to."
"Well fine then, be nice."
"I will." I grinned and Mae chuckled under her breath.
We broke away from the darkness toward the assault of streetlights. The thrum of the tires against the pavement lulled me along with the conversation. Mae drew figure-eights on the car door around the lock.
"Next Friday we're having our Beltane celebration. There'll be a crowd, but you don't have to participate in anything. Would you come?" Mae glanced at me and, in my periphery, I saw a grin curve her lips. She expected me to say no.
"What's your Beltane like?" I asked.
"May Day. We do the usual maypole thing, we'll have food and music."
"Where is it?"
"Same place where we just were, though on the other side of the stream."
"I'll think about it," I said as I turned the corner toward Mae's shop.
"Is that your way of saying 'no' politely? C'mon…"
"It means I'll think about it. I swear." I glanced at her and she nudged me with her elbow. "It does."
"Okay, okay. Call me some time to let me know," Mae said as I rolled to a stop in front of The Triple Goddess.
"Thanks for today." My voice sounded softer than I intended.
"You're welcome." Mae smiled as she stepped out of the car. She turned around to lean through the window. "Merry meet, merry part, and merry meet again, Ella."
"See you soon," I said as the nagging feeling in my stomach grew exponentially.
***
"Tell me again why fieldwork is important?" I asked the dull-faced group of early rising undergrads. From beneath a mop of curls, Eleanor stared at me, a desperate plea for something entertaining.
"It's the basis of observation. Immersing yourself in it." Jaeyon's perky voice pierced the silence.
"Yes and the downside of surveys?" I glanced around the room. Several students jotted down notes or what I could safely assume were intricate drawings of penises.
The door at the back of the classroom opened just as Eric raised his hand. "Go ahead, Eric."
"People are assholes," he began but the swish of a saffron skirt pulled my attention away from the latter part of his answer. Mae slipped in through the back door and sat in the seat closest to it. My eyes widened and I struggled to return my attention to Eric who finished with, "They'll lie about anything."
"Right… people… people are fallible," I stammered. "And often falsely report." I gripped the edge of the desk as I leaned back against it. Mae held my gaze, a sardonic grin plastered across her lips as she tapped a pencil against her cheek.
"Sometimes on purpose," Eleanor chimed in.
"This is true as well." I swallowed down the anxiety as it rose in my chest. What was she doing here? Did anyone notice? They would certainly notice if I lost my cool over fear of Mae's unpredictability. "What, um… Why do we keep using survey measures if it's not always accurate?"
"We can balance the—"
I hadn't a clue who answered my question because Mae's undying focus unnerved me further. She watched me, her smile everlasting as she traced the eraser of the pencil over her bottom lip.
"Professor?" someone said. "Professor Frost?"
"What is it?" I turned toward the voice. Simon looked up at me, eyes wide and astonished.
"What's the homework again?" he asked.
"Homework…" I glanced back at Mae who stood slowly from the desk, wagged her brows at me, and made for the door. "No homework today. You can all go."
"Woo!" Someone cheered and the commotion continued until they exited the classroom.
I rushed through the crowd, seeking any hint of the crimson or yellow that spoke of Mae. She wasn't anywhere that I could see and I began questioning her presence in the first place.
"Ella?"
Maybe she…
"Ella!" Delia's shout shattered my thoughts. "Didn't you hear me calling you?"
"Did you see a woman with reddish hair pass through here?" I took a deep breath and continued to scan the crowd.
"No one noticeable. Why? You look like you've seen a ghost, girl." Delia placed her hand on my shoulder. The gesture grounded me and I turned to her.
"I think I might have."
"Calm down a minute."
"I'm calm."
"No you're not." Delia dragged me into the classroom. "You look freaked. What's the deal?"
"Nothing. I'm fine." I shook my head. "I just thought I saw someone, that's all."
"Well, gee. It must've been Abraham Lincoln, or the founding father of anthropology, or something to warrant your spooked response." Delia snickered softly as she hopped up to sit on the desk.
"Oh stop it. I'm fine," I said and began packing up my messenger bag. "I just thought I saw someone I knew."
"The real question is, did you see them or didn't you?" Delia wiggled her fingers in front of my face and hummed the Twilight Zone theme.
"Jerk." I laughed a bit and swatted her hands away. "I'm going home."
"Of course you are. One day you'll accept my Friday night invitations along with the other faculty members that I like." Delia sighed heavily, her usual white flag of defeat.
"Maybe. See you Monday." I chuckled at her theatrics and headed out the side door toward the parking lot.
Could I really have imagined Mae's presence in my classroom? It seemed ridiculous to think so. Knowing her, even for this short period of time, I wouldn't put it past her to do something bizarre like that. Monkey crunched on her food while I pondered my predicament.
Not even a shower slowed my thoughts.
By midnight, I'd made a significant dent in the sofa while Monkey perched herself on my shoulder. As I dozed, my thoughts wandered to Mae and our time in the park. How could I use the information she gave me as a part of my paper? It seemed existential at best to include it.
Researching Beltane lent further light to rituals of the practice. If I went to the event that Mae invited me to, perhaps I'd have more to write about. I could also somehow slip in a question about her showing up at my job. In time, the heavy hand of sleep dragged me deeper as the faint sensation of a caress on my cheek became my last memory.
I filled my Saturday with errands and making up the questions for the take-home exams that I promised. Different exams for each class section. Can't set myself up for a cheating scandal. As evening rolled around, I took a break long enough to think about dinner. Part of me pulled for keeping it simple and ordering pizza, another part chastised the laziness.
Monkey meowed at me as I stroked her from head to tail.
"Sorry, I know I'm boring," I told her. Soft purrs met me in response. I hadn't considered my life boring before, despite all of Delia's poking fun. What changed?
I settled on cooking and broke away from the cat to retrieve the ingredients from the refrigerator. Pasta sounded good at first. Instead, I chose a stir-fry and fried rice dish. The part of me that wanted pizza reminded me that I could've ordered Chinese with much less effort.
Halfway through boiling the rice, a faint knock sounded on my apartment door. I would've ignored it had Monkey not sat by the umbrella stand awaiting the visitor. I wiped my hands on a dishtowel and joined her.
"Don't run out," I scolded before gripping the knob. "Who is it?"
"It's Mae."
"What's the password?" I smirked as I released the chain.
"Trick-or-treat," she said when I opened the door. Monkey meowed and greeted Mae by rubbing herself all over the hem of her skirt. Mae crouched down immediately to pet her. "Cute cat."
"Trick. Just like yesterday, isn't it?" I crossed my arms as I watched her with a single risen brow.
"But Professor." Mae stood up to face me. The grin she wore told me all I needed to know. "I need help with my homework."
"You're wicked. I should slam the door in your face for that scheme."
"Wickedly delish. Just like those pants on you." Her eyes wandered over me, lingering on my hips a moment too long. "Are you going to invite me in?"
"Very funny. No, I'm not. Are you stalking me?" I glanced down at my worn out yoga pants as a wave of self-consciousness hit me. I pushed it aside when she barged in on me. It's not my fault she caught me in pajamas.
"Yes, I am." She lifted Monkey up when the cat wouldn't stop meowing at her. As soon as Mae cradled her in her arms, she quieted. "And I wanted to ask you about Beltane since it's a few days away."
"You could've called." I stepped aside and gestured for her to come in.
"I figured it would be more difficult for you to say no in person." She set Monkey down by the sofa and glanced around. "Nice place. I love this." She pranced over to the bookshelves that lined an entire wall in the living room. The dark oak shelves built directly into the walls were my main motivation for choosing this apartment.
"Thanks," I said as I locked the door. "Shit." I rushed off to the kitchen and lowered the temperature on the rice before it boiled over. "Sorry."
"So are you gonna come?" Mae followed me, her eyes widening when she saw the foam on top of the rice. She calmed when it settled and took a seat on the bar stool by the island.
"Yeah. I figured it'd be good research material to observe, like you said." I drained the rice and poured the cooked grains into a medium wok, then added the chicken and vegetables to a larger one.
"Are you expecting someone?" she asked, nodding toward the stove.
"I wasn't but it's lucky you showed up, isn't it?"
"Very." She laughed. "I'm sorry. You're a planner, aren't you?"
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