“No,” he says, shaking his head. “At least, not until smoke came out of it.”
I have to close my eyes for a second and set my teeth together to stop myself from shouting.
“It’s okay,” I say. “Let me start again.”
“Can I help?”
“Fuck, no,” I snap. “Take the bread and butter over there and stay out of my way.”
“Okay,” he mumbles, going to the other counter.
I put the pot aside, knowing that it will have to be thrown out.
How he managed to set fire to spaghetti, I’ll never know.
It doesn’t take me long to get some pasta cooked, and I serve it up with salad on the side. Dan puts his plate of rolls on the table, and I try not to notice that they are clumsily cut and there seems to be more butter on the plate than on the bread.
“Sorry I snapped,” I say. “I was just a bit flustered.”
“That’s okay,” he replies. “I’m sorry, too. I’m just clumsy, I guess.”
I want to make a light-hearted remark, but I don’t have it in me, so I just stay quiet while I finish my food.
I can’t live like this. How on earth am I going to stay married to this man when we can’t even eat a meal alone together?
A couple of times, it looks like Dan wants to say something, but he always goes back to his food without saying a word. I can feel myself shutting down, and I pray he doesn’t try to speak to me.
I can’t take it. I can’t even try to be nice to him, not right now. I’m too upset.
When I finish my food, I take my plate to the sink and stack it with the other dishes, heading straight to the door.
“I just need to clear my head,” I say. “I’m going for a walk, okay?”
“Okay,” Dan answers. “Is there anything you want me to do while you’re gone?”
“You could do the dishes,” I say. “If you can do that without setting anything on fire.”
“I’ll give it a try,” he says, smiling.
I can’t bring myself to smile back, so I just turn and quickly cross the backyard, walking into the woods.
I do desperately need a few minutes to myself, but I’ve also felt a faint tingle of magic in the air like a psychic doorbell.
There’s a witch nearby, and she needs to talk to me.
I know by feel it’s one of my sisters from the coven, and excitement begins to flood through me as I hurry out to meet her.
Maybe there’s a change in plan, and I can go with them! We might not need the connection to Dan at all.
As I get closer, I can tell it’s Kyra, and she lights a small magic glow on her fingers so I can see her.
“Merry meet, sister,” she says, hugging me.
“Blessed be,” I answer. “What are you doing here?”
“There was movement from Sakesh. Did you feel anything this morning?”
“No,” I reply, thinking about Dan in the kitchen and how it would have been hard to feel anything with that going on. “Home life has been a bit stressful, so I haven’t been paying attention to my instincts.”
