"I hate cold coffee," Ursula said.
"Cold coffee is the worst," Bess agreed.
Tilly smiled and turned with Jen's arm looped through hers as Eloise dished out apple crisp and Bess draped a flannel blanket over Tilly's shoulders, kissed her cheek, and whispered in her ear, "I'm lucky you're one of my creepy witch aunts."
Something loosened at those words.
She didn't turn to watch as Fae ran, the house doing its job making sure she knew she was unwelcome, as were the bushes and plants slapping her along the way.
She ate and drank warm coffee with her family.
Because this was her family.
A well of emotion filled her; deep and solid and so fierce that she knew she would lose the battle against tears, and that was okay. So, she cried happily into her apple clove crisp and laughed as they passed around the honey wine.
The evening turned blustery, a whipping wind that was sharp as rain and darkness covered Salem, ushering them all inside where they found Jenson and Taylor sitting at the island, one cake pan between them and two forks. Candles were lit and the house was playing rainy day jazz as Sulphur and Georgia sat on the island.
The women in surprise and curiosity closed the door behind them as the storm built.
"We interrupting?" Jen asked.
"You boys having that friendship date finally?" Bess asked with a grin
With the fork halfway to his mouth Jenson said, "The cake is not good. I think we forgot something. But this is nice."
"Yeah, I feel like, no stress. And I had to arrest two people today," Taylor drank from a cat mug and made a face pointing to the chocolate cake. "But that is not edible. And we used icing from a jar."
Jenson licked icing off the fork nodding.
Eloise and Ursula laughed, both hugging their men as everyone else got out mugs and made tea, the kitchen filled with warmth and chatter.
Tilly smiled as she filled strainers with tea; family could be detrimental to one's heart. But this kind of family could heal.
22. Mysterious Conversations
The next day was filled with preparations for the festival. Eloise had lent Tess to Tilly, who was now in the inn's kitchen working away on food.
"Hey, just checking in." Tilly poked her head through the swinging door to see Tess with a checkered apron on, gorgeous food covering the table and counters but most noticeable was the wave of relaxation that she felt.
"Great! I think we're looking pretty good," Tess answered looking over what her hands had accomplished. And the young woman was not wrong. Eloise had taught her well, but she clearly had a gift.
"Tess, this looks incredible. I'm," she shook her head and smiled at her, "so impressed. And grateful."
"I love this. I think this might be what I want to do."
"You're going to school for business, right?"
She nodded as she leaned down and piped a bright blue ribbon of frosting. "Mhmm. To my father's delight. Though he doesn'tknow it's because I want to do something in the food world, which has a high failure rate. He's just glad I'm not going for art," she added with a half smile. The mural she'd painted for The Black Cat had been extraordinary.
"Parents are tricky."
She snorted.
Tilly thought of her evening shout at Fae and then coming in this morning to see she had indeed left without a trace. No call, no messages. She felt guilt, a niggling voice telling her she had been unfair and cruel. Maybe Fae hadn't deserved that.
Tess stood up straight again looking at her handiwork before bending down to another confection. "I think sometimes the family we are left with are the ones we spend our lives grieving over."
Tilly tilted her head at the words, at the new feeling of pain that was slicing through the wave of relaxation she had walked into. It felt like a papercut, shocking and frustrating.
