“Why?” she demanded. “Whyare you here to help?”
He avoided her eye as he pocketed the phone with a little shrug. “I think I owe you that much, at the very least.”
Ladybug nodded after a moment, agreeing. He was right. It was the very least he could do now, after all he had already done.
“Anyway,“ he enunciated, looking askance in her direction, “you’re going to need a website. We’ll work on that once we’ve nailed the presentation at the market.”
“Anzan can take care of that.”
Since last Mabon, in addition to home improvement, Anzan had appointed himself in charge of upgrading all of the household electronics, which was why she now had a doorbell that took video and an oven that was synced to the WiFi.
“An-zan,” Holt repeated. “I’d wondered what to call him. I suppose he’s off spinning a web somewhere?”
This time, Ladybug slapped her hand down on the counter as she sputtered. “You do not get to come waltzing in here, tail in the air, and berude,“ she huffed.
Holt threw up his hands, his black leather-clad shoulders shaking in laughter.
“I didn’t mean anything by it! But you’ve barely mentioned him and I’ve not seen hide nor bristly spider-leg hair of him a single time I’ve been here since that first day. Forgive me for having animagination.”
His face was a sneer, and Ladybug imagined that if he were in his feline skin, he’d be hissing at her.
“In any case, if he can build you a site, then that’s a relief. Let him know you’re likely going to need to upgrade your little flip phone as well.”
Ladybug resisted the urge to pull out her relatively new smartphone and brandish it at Holt childishly. He left shortly after, leaving her with stacks of cases to open, bottles and jars of various sizes, all identical in style.No time to waste.Queuing up one of her lessons, she opened the first box.
The voice of her old charms professor accompanied the task of transferring her creations into their new glass homes, using an array of scoops and spatulas to complete the job, and by the time the kitchen had grown dim, she was exhausted, realizing she’d never been interrupted from her work.
“He’s making me re-label everything,” she groused to Anzan that evening. “Everything! I had to put everything in the new jars he ordered, it took the entire day!” She was pretending the shaker of bitter nettle powder was the cat as she shook it vigorously. “And the labels he’s having me use, they don’t even tell you anything. ‘Contains a proprietary herbal blend. Please contact for more information.’ What does that even mean?! What if someone is allergic to something?”
Anzan frowned in concern, pulling the shaker of nettle seasoning from her with one hand and rescuing his soup bowl with another, before she ruined it entirely.
“Correct me if I am wrong, my little bug, but does it not seem wise to prevent others from copying your recipes exactly? Do your clients not disclose their allergies to you? I cannot say I agree with all of this cat man’s methods, butthatdoes make sense.”
She grumbled to herself, snatching the shaker back and seasoning her own bowl. They were both able to enjoy the same meal, she had discovered, as long as she ladled out her own soup before the blood was added to the broth to finish cooking for his. The sky had possessed the temerity to drop another sprinkling of snow on them, as she’d warned her neighbor it would, but she was itching to resume their nightly walks. For now though, it had been a long day of annoyingly repetitive work, and all she wanted to do was eat her soup and curl up against Anzan’s chest as he exclaimed in wonder over a paranormal reality series. She didnotneed him taking Holt’s side.
“Whatever. It seems deceptive to me. It’s not the way I’ve ever done things before.”
“But is that not the point of his interference, Ladybug? To do things his way?” He gasped, interrupting himself, spoon frozen between his lips and the bowl, gaping wide-eyed at the screen. “Did you see that?! I think that was a real apparition!”
She sighed heavily, grinning at his choice of using the wordinterferenceinstead ofhelp. “Youdounderstand there is a whole house of ghosts right next door? Next first quarter we’re going to take a walk around to the other side so you can see one of them, up in the tower, right at the window. And I suppose you’re right. Holt is the salesman, not me.”
Tucking her legs beneath her, she inhaled the steam from her soup bowl. Her back and shoulders were cross with her, but at least it was done. Anzan had not come down to fetch her as he normally did, pulling her away from her work when the kitchen grew dim, and he’d not been in the living room or dining room on the main floor. She’d found him on the staircase, neither climbing up nor descending, as if he were frozen in indecision, until receiving confirmation that Holt had long since departed.
“He’s the salesman, but I’m the one who has to mind my clients at the end of the day. I can’t let him start cutting corners on anything with my name on it.” She hummed contentedly when Anzan got comfortable on his floor cushion, nuzzling her nose to the arm that wrapped around her. “I barely saw you today,” she murmured after several quiet minutes. “You never came down for your coffee. You’ve barely come down all week. I’ve told you; you don’t need to wait until he’s gone. This isourhome.”
It was a long moment before he answered, taking a deep gulp of his dark red broth. His voice, when he finally responded, was somber.
“I do not wish to be in the way, Ladybug. The work you are doing with this cat man is too important for your future. I do not want to be an unwanted distraction.”
It was her turn, at long last, to roll her eyes at someone else. Everyone in her life seemed determined to tell her what she ought to be doing, how she ought to be feeling, the best way for her to proceed. She scowled, shaking her head.
“That’s silly. You’re never in the way and you’re my favorite distraction. And honestly, I’m done. I have more product made right now than I’ll probably ever be able to sell. Holt has taken care of everything else, all I need to do now is show up.” Her stomach bunched at the mere thought. “That’s going to be the hard part. He said he ordered a banner, hopefully it’s big enough that I’ll be able to hide behind it.”
Anzan shifted his bowl between hands, tugging her a bit closer with the arm around her and lifting her chin with a free hand, forcing her to meet his many eyes.
“You amaze me with your bravery, every single day, my little bug. You have not allowed the cold shoulders of your witchly adversaries to keep you from observing your moon worship. You have rebuilt the business their cruelty nearly destroyed. And you exist every day beyond your door, even though this world is often difficult to traverse alone, without a brave partner at your side.”
“I’m not alone,” she corrected weakly. “You’re my partner, aren’t you?”
