That’s the best you got?
Her mom narrowed her eyes.
“A birthday secret,” Ria added, hoping that would squash her mother’s suspicion.
“Try again, sweetie,” her mom said, sweeping into the room and staring down at the pile of books.She raised an eyebrow at Ria and folded her arms.
“Oh, the books?Those are…part of the secret?”It came out more a question than a statement, and she mentally smacked herself.She was in marketing.She knew how to think on her feet and be creative.How come every time her mom gave her that look, she turned back into a teenager trying to hide that she’d been looking at naked ladies on her phone.
Of course when her mom had caught her doing that as a teenager all she did was praise Ria for embracing her sexuality.Ria doubted she’d be as accepting after discovering the daughter she bragged about to the coven for being powerful had actually cast a ritual love spell without even realizing it, like a full-on newbie.Ria wished she’d been caught looking at naked ladies again.
“Fine,” Ria admitted, dropping her head.“I might have been looking for a way to reverse a ritual.”
“Reverse?”her mom gasped out.“Hecate’s soaring bonnet, Ria.Why would you ever want to undo a ritual?It’s not like a simple handcasting.The Goddess would never support a ritual unless it was meant to be.”
“Well, she did this time.And I’ve been trying everything I can think of to fix it.I might have found an option, but it requires the High Matron and a full coven.”Ria hesitated, then lifted her head to meet her mom’s eyes.“I was hoping to keep you out of it.”
“Why ever would you want to do that?I’m going to be the next High Matron, Ria.You can come to me with anything magic related.I mean, you can come to me with anything, period.You’re my daughter, and I love you.”She perched on the arm of the recliner and pulled Ria in for an awkward side hug that threatened to tip the chair over altogether.
“I appreciate that,” Ria mumbled, despite her face being crushed against her mom’s chest.“But I know how you get about these things.”
Ria’s mom released her death grip and pulled Ria up out of the chair.“Sweetie, what do you mean?”she asked, rubbing Ria’s shoulders.“How do I get?”
Ria shrugged her mom off and took a step back.“You know.You get really intense about the magic stuff, and anytime I mess up, you act like it’s the end of the world.”
Anyone would think Ria turned her words into hands that slapped her mom in the face based on the shocked expression she was seeing.“I do not!”her mom protested.
Chewing on her lip, Ria summoned the will to stand up to her mom for once.If she was going to bring up the botched ritual, she might as well get everything out at once.“Yeah, you do, Mom,” she said.“It’s one of the reasons I gave up on magic.I was never going to be as good as you wanted me to be, and I was tired of feeling like a failure all the time.”
Ria’s mom stared at her wide-eyed for a moment, then sank to the ground, her swishy skirts billowing out around her.“I’m a horrible mother,” she wailed with a sniff, tears streaking down her face.
Rolling her eyes, Ria dropped down beside her mom.“You’re not a horrible mother.You just get really invested in magic.”
“Because we’re witches, baby,” her mom cried out, grabbing onto Ria’s hands.“It’s who we are.”
Ria gently extricated herself and scooched out of her mom’s reach, taking up a cross-legged position.“Yeah, but it doesn’t have to be our entire personality.Maybe I want to do other things with my life.”
“Like marketing?”her mom asked sadly, as if her daughter confessed to wanting to become something awful like a plumber or a politician.
Ria looked up and met her mom’s eyes, digging deep within herself to find the backbone that had spent too long in deep storage.“Yeah, Mom.Like marketing.Or whatever else piques my interest.I don’t want my whole life to be about memorizing spells.I like using my magic for potions.I like feeling the connection with the world around me.I even like being part of a coven and having that sense of community.But I can’t take the pressure of being Sangria Christmas Lewis, the daughter of the powerful Susan Lewis.I’m just Ria.I’m my own person, and I don’t want to be defined by who my mother is anymore.”
Her mom wiped a few tears from her eyes.“I’m so sorry, honey,” she whispered.“I never knew.”
Ria shrugged.“It might be partially my own fault.Maybe I didn’t exactly try hard enough to communicate my feelings.I just always felt like it would upset you if I brought it up.”
“No,” her mom argued, shaking her head.“This isn’t on you.It was my job as a mother to create a safe space where you would feel comfortable talking about anything, and I didn’t give you that.But I can try to be better.I never want to dim your light, Ria.I love you, sweetie.”
There was so much genuine sadness and regret in her mom’s eyes that something inside Ria cracked a little, her heart making room to give their relationship a bigger space.“I love you too, Mom.”
A new batch of tears welled up in her mom’s eyes.“I promise, no more magic pressure,” she said, running a hand down the side of Ria’s face affectionately.“I’m here to support you in whatever way you need, and if I get difficult again, please let me know.You have no idea how much I love having you back in my life.I don’t want to push you away.”
Ria fell into her mom’s arms, a few tears sneaking down her own cheeks.She knew better than to believe her mom would completely back off, that wasn’t the kind of witch Susan Lewis was.But maybe, just maybe, there was hope yet for her as a mother.
“Now,” her mom said, pulling back and smoothing Ria’s curls down.“Tell me what spell you need reversed.I’m here to support and help you.You can tell me anything.”
Ria sighed and collapsed against a bookcase.“It’s kind of a long story.”
“And I have all day, sweetie,” her mom replied, scooting over to sit beside her.
