I take the flowers – pink and yellow tulips. ‘Thank you, Henry. You didn’t say anything wrong.’
‘Nelly, you have an admirer,’ squeals Miranda. I groan as I see that she’s approaching the counter. Henry casts her a nervous smile.
I introduce them, and Miranda coos over the flowers. ‘They are pretty flowers.’ She turns to Henry. ‘I am going to have to keep an eye on Nelly. She’s already proving to be a big hit with a certain bestselling author, and now it seems you are also a fan, Henry.’
My cheeks redden at Miranda’s cringy comment. I notice his smile has faded. ‘Oh, I see,’ he mumbles. ‘I didn’t realise…’
Miranda giggles and interrupts him. ‘Lovely to meet you, Henry. I must dash as I have joined a dating app, and I already have a few admirers myself. Life in this bookshop is certainly hotting up for Nelly and me.’
She hurries away. Henry and I exchange awkward smiles. ‘I’d better get back to work,’ he says, gesturing towards the door.
‘Sorry about my boss,’ I mumble. ‘She’s?—’
‘Just like you described her,’ he says, interrupting me. ‘Interesting.’
‘Thanks again for the flowers.’
‘Let’s do coffee again – what about next week, Nelly?’
‘That would be nice.’
I watch him leave the shop, and thoughts about Mum race to the front of my mind. My heart aches. If she did have it – why didn’t she tell me? Why didn’t she warn me?
Eva meets me for lunch. We sit on the bench outside the bookshop. Her blonde hair is full of waves, and she has a hint of sparkly lip gloss on her lips. It feels like the old days. She holds up her hand. ‘I want to hug you, Nelly. I know we’ve been avoiding it, but I want to say something first…’
The word ‘hug’ makes me flinch. Eva and I have been here before.
‘I’ve been seeing this guy from Tinder. He’s sweet, he’s the drummer in a band and I think he’s a keeper so whatever your curse says, I will ignore.’
‘Our hot rocker manifestation board worked then?’
‘It only took a few years.’ She laughs before pulling me into a hug. ‘I’ve missed you so much, Nelly.’
There’s a flash of white light, and when it clears, I can see a tear-stained Eva and a guy with big hair, in a white vest, skintight jeans and carrying two drumsticks. She’s showing him her phone screen. ‘You have three secret dating app profiles. Let me read what this bio says.’ He shakes his head and screws up his face as if she’s going to show him something gory. She continues. ‘“Must be up for something kinky while I’m on tour.” You forgot to add, must be okay with being cheated on.’
Why does my curse have to show me this? After everything I’ve been through with Eva.
The world has gone quiet. She’s staring at me intently.
I blink several times as the sound of two women talking about their morning at work and a child laughing in a buggy greets my ears.
‘What have you seen, Nelly?’
I try to look away, but she is insistent. ‘Tell me. I’ll be okay with whatever it is. Rex and I will work it out.’
I hang my head and let out a silent groan. I’m not meant to have female friendships. Who wants me as a friend when all I do is tell them how the love of their life will break their heart?
‘Nelly, talk to me.’
I cling to her assurance that she and Rex can work through his desires to cheat while he’s on tour. ‘Secret dating app profiles.’
Eva goes quiet for what feels like an eternity. Just when I think my curse has ruined our friendship a second time, she smiles and says, ‘He’s in a rock band, and they go on tour a lot. I think I was being delusional expecting him to stay single. Friendship is more important to me.’
‘Eva, I’ve just told you?—’
She smiles and pulls out a little gift from her bag. ‘It’s okay, Nelly. Honestly. It’s your birthday tomorrow, so I bought you this.’
My birthday. With everything that’s happened recently, I’d forgotten about my birthday. ‘You remembered?’
