Of course, Soraya wouldn’t feel that way. Because for her, it was all heaven or hell.
Nora would’ve said she saw things in a totally different way. But it hit her right then that she didn’t. Everything felt like high stakes to her because when she’d been a child, doing the wrong thing could get her thrown out of her mother’s house. Out of any of the houses she’d lived in. It could cost her safety and survival. She had internalized that. Doing the wrong thing could have very real consequences, and nothing about the current situation made her feel differently.
Sam was another person she could never make a mistake with, and she was very worried that last night she had.
They closed the store for the night, and Daisy had to leave quickly to get her kids, while Soraya seemed antsy to get up to her apartment. Nora said goodbye to Madison, which left only herself and Aggie, who had been in and out all day seeing to various errands.
“Can I trouble you with some help getting these herb bundles down, Nora?”
Nora looked up at all the herbs hanging above the counter, drying so they could be made into teas and tinctures and spells. “Of course.”
She hoisted herself up onto the counter.
“I do have a ladder,” Aggie said.
“Oh, I don’t need that.”
Aggie’s laughter was deep and loud. “Oh, Nora, you like to take the difficult path.”
Nora made a scoffing sound as she reached up and freed a bundle of rosemary. “Or the difficult path likes to choose me.” She tucked the bundle under her arm as she moved to the next.
“When there is a ladder and you choose to climb onto the counter, I think it can be argued you chose the difficulty, my dear.”
“Metaphorically, though.” Nora snagged a bundle of lavender.
“Yes,” Aggie said, without elaborating.
Nora frowned as she moved on to the wormwood.
“Do you know what wormwood is used for?” Aggie asked.
“I wouldn’t even know what it was if you hadn’t told me the day you put it up.”
“It’s for breaking hexes and banishing evil. There are certain challenges that come to us, and we have no control over them. There are certain painful events visited on us that we can only try to ward off. One thing I love about herbal magic is it’s active. You have to touch the herbs, choose them, smell them. You have to touch your magic. You have to claim it.”
Nora took the rest of the herbs down and refused to admit that squatting back down on the counter to try to lower herself to the floor with full hands was in fact the harder path.
She spread the bundles out in front of Aggie, who smiled at her and picked up a small satchel. “What was that love spell of yours, Nora? ‘I have the love I deserve’?” She picked some leaves from one of the bundles. “Mint. For cleansing. Cinnamon for luck and prosperity.” She added a stick of cinnamon to the bag. “Basil, which many use for wealth, but what is love but the most precious thing beyond price?” She pulled petals off a dried pink rose. “Roses for romance.” She reached into a bin beneath the counter and took out a small pink-and-gray stone. “Rhodochrosite. It’s for self-love. Because all great loves start from within.” She pushed the bag to Nora. “You have to choose each ingredient. Just like you have to choose to have anything you seek.”
There was a lump in Nora’s throat she couldn’t explain. One of the side effects of not having her mom, her grandma, in her life was she’d never been able to benefit from the wisdom of women who were older than her. Who cared about her and wanted her to succeed. Even though she was being lectured and Nora hated to be told what to do, she hadn’t realized how much she might want to be told what to do like this.
This was the kind of vulnerability she usually wanted to run from.
Instead, she took the bag and put it in her purse. “Thank you.”
“You don’t have to take the hardest road.” Aggie reached out and squeezed Nora’s hand. “Good night, my dear.”
Nora sucked in a sharp breath. “Good night.”
She turned away, the spell in her purse, and paused when her phone buzzed.
Do you want to come to my place and watch the Thursday night game, and eat chicken wings?
Sam.
The relief she felt that he wasn’t angry. That he wanted to see her.
Yes.
