“You did?” Soraya asked.
“Yes,” Nora continued seriously. “The devil came out and said if I gave him my soul, he’d give me something shiny.”
“Nora ...” Soraya looked both frightened and annoyed.
“It was bullshit,” she finished. “Satan wasn’t in the Ouija board, just like he isn’t in the apothecary, Soraya, because nothing but herbs are in the apothecary. She’s probably a very intuitive person who does card tricks. The end. But she has books that need keeping and bread that needs baking, and it sounds like it would be perfect for the two of you.”
“What about you?” Daisy asked.
“Ben will be home in three weeks.” Maybe. He hadn’t exactly given a definitive time frame. And she didn’t know what he’d decide when he did come back.
“There’s no harm in taking a job until he comes back,” Daisy pointed out. “Just in case.”
It wasn’t a mean thing to say. She was trying to keep Nora safe, and Nora knew that, but it felt like being stabbed, even if shallowly.
WhywouldDaisy think Ben would come back? Her own situation was so dire, she was projecting onto Nora.
But Nora also knew there was merit in protecting herself.
“It’s been a very long, sad day,” Soraya said. “I’m tired. I need to go home, and I’m never going back there.”
Nora sighed. “Fine. I was kind of thinking we really received some divine intervention there.”
“You just said it was all bullshit,” Daisy said.
“I said the Ouija board was bullshit. Noteveryspiritual thing.”
Daisy’s phone buzzed, and she looked down at it, then growled. “Oh, shoot. I have to go get Alden. He threw up.”
Alden.Alden.His name was Alden, and he was a boy, so Nora wasn’t the worst person ever.
“I have to run, but we need to make sure we all have each other’s numbers,” Daisy said. “Whatever happens ... we’re not going to be Alexandra. I just keep thinking about how she withdrew from everything and everyone, and was so exhausted and under so much stress ... And who was there for her?”
“No one,” Soraya said sadly.
It was what they’d all been feeling all day. It was clear then. If Alexandra, a woman who had so much in her life, could be so undone by her divorce, then anyone could.
“We’re not going to be Alexandra,” Nora repeated.
Soraya nodded.
Before they headed to their cars, they started a group chat.
Discarded Wives Club.
It was a little depressing. But also a little funny.
It had been that kind of day.
“We’re not going to be Alexandra,” Nora whispered as she got into her car.
It was strange, but it felt more than a little bit like a spell.
Chapter Three
Soraya
All is never lost—unless you give it away.
