My face flamed.Ma had been right about Edmund all along, but I didn’t want her to know.She’d never let me live it down.
“It was for work,” I responded.
Ma harrumphed.“Didn’t seem like it.”
Christabella came to the rescue.“The sky is relit.The village is back to normal now.”
I gave her a thankful look, but Chrissy was looking at her shoes.Guilt sank over me when I recalled how we’d ended things the last time we talked.I had left her without warning all over again.
“I hear you’re apprenticing,” Ma continued, looking at Jeraldine’s shop.“It’s only natural for a witch to apprentice at some point.”
Was that approval I heard?
“I’ve been learning a lot,” I said carefully.I gestured to the door.“Want to take a look inside?The shop’s open.”
Ma nodded stiffly.
I stepped in first, the bell tinkling behind me.Jeraldine was on vacation today, so it was just us employees working.I didn’t know whether to be grateful or worried.Chrissy looked around the pastel shop, her lips parting in amazement at the displays.Ma went to the front desk immediately, where the receptionist, Kiara, was standing.
“Hello, welcome—”
“You there.Are you a witch?”Ma demanded.
“Y-yes ma’am.”
“I have some questions to ask you,” Ma said, throwing the end of her scarf over her shoulder.“How long have you been working here?”
I grimaced as Kiara threw me a bewildered look.“There goes Ma again,” I murmured under my breath as Christabella trailed behind me through the shop.
She snorted softly.My heart lightened a little at this, wondering if that meant I was close to being forgiven, but guilt crept up again, tightening my throat.I hadn’t even apologized.
Christabella was always forgiving me and being my biggest supporter.What had I been to her?
When we came to a stand of trims and ribbons tucked away in the back of the store, I turned to face her.
“Chrissy, I’m sorry,” I said before I lost courage.“I know that I hurt you when I left, but I did it anyway.That was selfish of me.”
She studied a spool of lace ribbon, not meeting my eyes.“You don’t have to apologize, Gigi,” she said quietly.“I know why you did it, and it wasn’t to hurt me.”
“That doesn’t change the fact that I did.”
Christabella shrugged a shoulder.“I’m happy you chased your dream.Envious, too.I wish I could be more like you.More...independent.”She threw a wary look over her shoulder at Ma, who was still interrogating the receptionist, then sighed.“That’s my own problem to solve.I shouldn’t have lashed out like that.”
I took her hands, wanting to say more, to express my gratitude and remorse at once, but the words caught in my throat and I could only squeeze her fingers.“I’m sorry for leaving you alone with Ma.Again.”
Christabella rolled her eyes.“It’s notsobad.I have Sonny to split Ma’s attention with.”She squeezed my fingers back, and just like that, I knew I was forgiven.Tears welled in my eyes despite myself.“You know, sometimes Ma loves us in a way we don’t understand,” she added softly.“Growing up, she only wanted to protect you from the rest of the village.If they all knew about your hypnosis magic it would’ve been hard for you.It’s the same reason why she took on the role of tour guide for Edmund.”
I frowned, not understanding.“What reason?Because she always takes over everything in my life?”
“Because she didn’t want the rest of the village to judge you for being naive and hanging around a...human man,” Christabella said the last part in a hushed voice, as if it were a curse.“If Ma were the one to show him around, they’d gossip about it less.”
Perhaps Mahadwanted to protect me from the judgment of other witches.We both knew how poisonous gossip could be, especially considering how witch girls involved with humans had rough fates, and how Lana Barclay bore the brunt of the consequences of her sister’s mistakes and grew to become reclusive.Perhaps Ma had taught me to spurn my magic for that same reason: to avoid village gossip and alienation.But at the end of the day, she hadn’t truly been there when I needed her.
“That doesn’t change how I feel when I’m around her,” I said, sniffling and wiping my nose.“That doesn’t undo what she has done to me.”
“I know, Gigi.”Chrissy came to stand next to me, taking my arm and resting her head on my shoulder.“But will you please come visit me sometime?”
“I will,” I promised.“And you should come visit me too, now that Ma is miraculously amenable to coming aboveground.And if you ever decide you want to live up here instead, let me know.I’ll make space for you at the boarding house I’m staying at.We can be roommates.”
