Actually, it might.
Bonnie retracted that thought, just in case.
‘That’s more Bonnie’s thing,’ added Effie.
Bonnie un-retracted the thought.
‘I’ll take one,’ Bonnie told Maureen, although the thought of drinking after her week of late nights didn’t particularly appeal. But it was worth it to position herself as Effie’s opposite. ‘It’s one of the perks of being the most in-demand bar in town.’
Maureen poured her a generous glass of pinot grigio, stopping just before the glass overflowed. Effie eyed the glass. Bonnie could tell she was curious, but being Effie, simply could not abide the prospect of anything that didn’t fit the Effie Chalmers Book of Appropriate Public Comportment. It was a long book.
‘Wow. You should come work for me,’ said Bonnie, taking a sip of the wine to avoid it spilling. It was lovely and light-bodied, with soft citrus notes. ‘The punters would love you.’
She clinked her glass against Maureen’s and then Sabine’s. ‘But both of youshouldstop by, really. We have a new cocktail range launching tonight. It’s going to be magical, I promise.’
‘Ooh,’ said Sabine. ‘Sold. If not tonight, then later this week.’
Bonnie sipped her wine, feeling a sense of pride as Sabine and Maureen quizzed her about the bar operations and the new menu. Effie, meanwhile, wandered off down the looping golden pathway, pausing to read each of the embellished tiles she passed.
She walked lightly, but the judgement that emanated from her was impossible to ignore.
Maureen brought Bonnie back to the present.
‘Did you read Madame Destinée’s latest horoscopes?’ Maureen grinned, showing off the snaggle tooth that somehow suited her. ‘Watch out, Tauruses, because the world knows that you’re full of bull.’
Sabine chuckled. ‘Here, show me what it says for Aquarius.’
Maureen’s eyes twinkled as she read out the horoscope for Mom’s sign. ‘She recommends water aerobics.’
It was such a Lyra joke, and the three of them laughed, just as they would have if Mom had been there.
And if you squinted, thought Bonnie, she almost was.
Chapter 13
THAT’S JUST MY RESTING WITCH FACE
Effie
A new day meant an opportunity for Effie to restart the timer on her daily caffeine consumption. And she dearly needed a coffee. She’d snuck out of the Chalmers family home without her usual morning cuppa, as Bonnie had been holed up in the kitchen, scrolling through videos on her phone with the volume all the way up. Obnoxious phone-scrolling aside, Effie still wasn’t ready for a sit-down with her sister. She’d done her best to be the better person yesterday, but Bonnie had been so over the top in how she’d wooed Maureen and Sabine, and how she’d made the entire moment abouther. How much attention did one person need?
Between her responsibilities at the library and the endless chores that somehow fell under her remit, Effie was finding it easier just to avoid Bonnie as much as possible. It wasn’t a pride thing, not really. It was inertia.
Mindful that the skies above the house looked about to open, Effie shouldered her heavy book bag, then grabbed her favourite novelty umbrella, an old duck-handled one of Mom’s made from vintage waxed canvas. Then she picked her way down the slippery front steps with the utmost care. Even with the tacky tape she’d added over the summer, the moss-covered stone became a trip hazard when damp.
Because Effie was prone to ruminating on all the embarrassing times of her life to date, she flashed back to the timethat, around age fifteen, she’d slithered all the way down the front steps of the Toto Hotel, much to the amusement of Bonnie and her friends. It was one of those moments that stick with you for all eternity, and she was fairly certain that one of the decorative tiles she’d pored over yesterday had referred to the incident. She’d been too afraid to ask, lest the others, who were tipsy from the wine, affirmed her suspicions.
The rain rattled off Effie’s umbrella as she thought back over the awkward meeting with Sabine at the hotel. She’d wanted to extend an olive branch to Bonnie over their fight, but Bonnie was being so insufferable. No matter the occasion, everything turned into the Bonnie Show. Even a thoughtful gesture for Mom had ended up being a boozy affair culminating in a sharing of star signs.
Okay, so Effie occasionally checked to see what Madame Destinée had in store for Virgos, but mostly because whoever the writer was had a snappy, charming style. Effie had never been able to pass up a witty barb. Especially one on paper.
Don’t let your green eyes lose your green eyes, Effie’s most recent horoscope had said, rather cryptically. Effie hadn’t been able to figure it out. Was it a reference to jealousy? Or cats, perhaps?
Sidestepping to avoid puddles, she passed by Bobby’s house, noting with surprise a grey sporty SUV with vanity plates and aHonk If You Love Bloggersbumper sticker parked in the driveway. It was Kirsty’s car, of course. The 1 KB 1 plates were a dead giveaway. But Effie couldn’t for the life of her figure out why Kirsty would have parked at Bobby’s. Perhaps she was doing an interview piece about the family bakery and its new lavender-dipped croissant wheels. Maybe she’d been visiting Bonnie but had quickly pulled into the driveway to avoid the imminent arrival of the street sweeper and the resulting fine. Effie checked her phone. No, it was the wrong day for that.
Curiouser and curiouser.
In desperate need of caffeine before she started her shift at the library, Effie hurried down the street, marvelling at Freddie Noonan’s perfect lawn and stooping to give Bowow’s dogs a quick scratch on the head through the wrought-iron fence that ringed the ivy-smothered property. Bowow’s home was famously haunted, and not just by the larger-than-life personality of its owner and her many yappy dogs.
