Harry closed the refrigerator and tucked the canvas bags beneath his arm. “I think she’s hoping that one of these days he’ll smell them and come home.”
“Would he think of this as home? You’ve only been here a couple of years. He didn’t grow up in Mystic Water.”
Harry smiled. “Home is where your heart is, where you feel comfortable, safe, and loved. But I think Paul has forgotten that having somewhere to come home to can be a good thing. One of these days, he’ll remember.”
“He’ll smell those pancakes and come here,” Tessa said, trying to encourage Harry.
He nodded. “I sure hope so.”
Tessa followed his gaze toward the wall map. “How do you keep track of where he’s been?”
Harry walked toward the map and smashed his thumb against the red heart-shaped pushpin, securing it deeper into the corkboard. “Postcards mostly. It’s difficult to call when you’re in the jungle in Malaysia or backpacking through the Andes. I keep hoping he’ll bring me chocolate from the Alps.” He nodded toward the mint plant. “Make sure it gets plenty of water. And Cecilia packed you a bowl of home fries from today’s batch. They’re in the refrigerator. You let us know if you need anything else. Make yourself at home.”
“Thanks again, Mr. Borelli—Harry,” Tessa corrected. “I really appreciate it.”
Harry showed himself out, and Tessa stared at the wall map before poking the mint plant with her finger. “Don’t die.”
Tessa stepped out onto the front stoop, and a tornado of warm wind swirled around her, tossing her brown hair into her eyes. She tucked strands behind her ears and hoped the winds didn’t mean bad weather was returning. Once she locked the apartment, she headed down Main Street toward Sweet Stop, the candy shop. The early evening wind whipped down the sidewalk, causing Tessa to duck her head and keep her eyes to the pavement. An absurd childhood saying popped into her head—step on a crack, you break your mama’s back—and she wondered why kids came up with such macabre ideas. Still, Tessa was careful to avoid the cracks, and she glanced up now and again to locate the pink-and-white striped awning.
The closer she got to Sweet Stop, the stronger the smell of sugar became. When she pushed open the door, the shop looked filled with a fine dusting of pink, sugary sparkles floating through the air. The rows and shelves of glass jars filled to bursting with candies mesmerized Tessa. Sweet Stop was a wonderland of color and memories, taking Tessa back to her childhood. She couldn’t stop the smile that stretched across her face. She could almost hear Lily’s and Anna’s little-girl laughter echo down an aisle, and she imagined their huddled shadows ghosting around the end of a row, disappearing behind a jar of red-rope licorice.
Gummy bears pressed their sticky paws against a short, fat jar asking to be freed. Red Hots sizzled beside a jar full of Skittles that created a jumbled rainbow. Tessa strolled up an aisle, smiling at Ring Pops with sugar diamonds the size of a child’s palm. Lily and Tessa had loved pretending they wore engagement rings, while Anna pretended to hock her blue diamond for a ticket to the ocean. Pop Rocks were arranged by color, and Tessa brushed her fingers over packets of Big League Chew. She had almost choked on the sticky strands of grape gum after being dared to chew the whole pack at once. Back then, Tessa was too afraid not to fit in to say no to a stupid idea. And no one could turn away from a double-dog dare.
Two teenage girls passed her and went straight for the chocolate section. They leaned toward each other and snickered, sharing secrets and laughing in a way only young girls can. When Tessa found the aisle with caramel creams, she noticed an elderly woman scooping Bonomo strawberry taffy into a pink candy-shop bag. Tessa grabbed a bag from the nearest shelf and flipped open the lid on the caramel creams. She scooped in the candy until the bag was three-quarters full, then she folded down the top. When she finished, Tessa was startled to find the elderly woman standing beside her, staring up at Tessa with raven-black eyes.
“Eaten anything from the garden yet?” the woman asked, her high cheekbones becoming more prominent when she smiled. Her skin was the color of chai with cream, smooth and rich.
Her voice reminded Tessa of a young girl’s. It was as though her body had grown old without her knowledge. Her clothes were a rainbow of colors, causing her to look like a Bohemian traveler. Her silver-streaked dark hair was partially covered by a multicolored striped scarf. A fuchsia blouse peeked out from beneath her black vest, and a patchwork skirt swung loosely around her small frame. She smelled like lavender and pine needles. A memory surfaced in the back of Tessa’s mind.
“Crazy Kate?” Tessa asked before she could stop herself.
Kate Muir lived in a cottage at the southernmost tip of town near a curve in the Red River. A thick grove of knobby trees hid the cottage from the road, and children had been warned to stay away from Crazy Kate’s house, which meant that nearly every kid in town had been dared to creep through the forest in the hope of catching a glimpse of the town eccentric. What made Kate Muir crazy was watery knowledge; rumor was that she was older than everyone else in town and had lived in Mystic Water before time began.
When they were eight years old, Lily and Anna had dared Tessa to sneak up to the cottage and bring something back as evidence of her success. Tessa sneaked through the trees with her heart pounding so fiercely in her chest that she felt her pulse in her tongue. She imagined her mama finding out and banishing her to her room without phone privileges for all time. The thick canopy transformed sunlight into a dreamy green haze that glowed against Tessa’s skin.
As she neared the cottage, Tessa heard the river bubbling over rocks. Wind chimes made from miscellaneous homemade materials hung from branches. Cobalt-blue glass bottles sprouted from a crape myrtle like magical extensions. The wind blew, and the forest filled with ghostly voices and sounds like those made by a child’s music box. Suncatchers dangling from low branches reflected the sunlight, sending dancing, vibrant colors across the damp earth and across Tessa’s clothes.
She lost track of time staring at the changing colors and listening to the eerie music. Then the front door of the cottage opened, and Crazy Kate stepped out. Her hair was jet black, braided in a long plait that fell down her back. Crazy Kate sniffed the air, turned her head, and looked straight at Tessa. In a panic, Tessa reached out, snatched the nearest suncatcher, and ran for her life.
Crazy Kate’s voice fractured Tessa’s memories and brought her back to the present. “I said, have you eaten from the garden?”
“I’m sorry?” Tessa asked, stepping backward, feeling like her eight-year-old self in the woods.
Crazy Kate stepped toward Tessa, holding her bag of candy against her chest. “The garden. I saw you working with Cecilia Borelli tonight. I noticed she gave you a plant.”
“Oh,” Tessa said and tried to smile. “You mean at the diner? Yes, ma’am. The storm made a mess of Mrs. Borelli’s garden, and I was helping her repair what we could. She uses the herbs and vegetables from the garden in her cooking.”
“Well?” Crazy Kate asked. She nodded her head as if coaxing Tessa to say more.
Tessa frowned. “Well what?”
Crazy Kate’s exhalation sounded annoyed. “The plant, child! Have you used it in your cooking yet?” She gazed at Tessa in a way that made Tessa glance around the shop for an escape route.
“Sort of,” Tessa said. “I don’t really cook, but she gave me mint, so I made tea.”
Crazy Kate’s dark eyes widened, and she bounced on her toes. The pink candy bag crinkled in her tightening grip. She smiled, and Tessa was caught off guard by Crazy Kate’s unexpected beauty.
“And what happened?” Crazy Kate asked.
