Ophelia’s first reaction was horror at the additional thingadded to her plate, but was quickly replaced by an unannounced fervor to help her friend, who always helped everyone else. She extracted herself from the pillow-made cocoon and dragged herself to her computer. Her schedule showed that she could make it work, and perhaps it was just the distraction she needed to get out of her head. As she contemplated the request, another text came through.
Avery: Okay, fine. FINE. I’ll give you three of your favorite body oils, too.
Ophelia: If I wait another 5 minutes to respond, what else will you offer?
Avery: Girl, I don’t need you that bad.
Ophelia giggled and waited.
Avery: Fuck, fine. I’ll mow your yard.
Ophelia: God, you’re too easy. You don’t need to give me any of the extras. I’ll be there today at 4:30.
Avery: Love youuuuu. Thank you!
She was up and moving, suddenly ready to take on her to-do list. She crossed “check Botanica schedule” off her list. She wouldn’t have time to hang with Jade in person, so she decided she would call her on her way to Botanica that afternoon. Next on her list was Etienne, and she shot him a text.
Ophelia: Hey E, would you be able to meet up sometime this week after 7 pm to practice?
He didn’t immediately respond, so Ophelia put her phone away so she could concentrate on her Healing Artists’ work.
Ophelia walkedinto Prytania Botanica at 4:30 with several customers on her tail. The Uptown moms loved their afternoon energy juice shots, and one briskly walked behind Ophelia in her Lululemons to get to the front of the juice bar.
Ophelia hurried behind the counter so as not to get trampled and locked her purse away in a side closet. Avery was assisting a customer with a fixed candle selection, and when he was done ringing the customer up, he finally noticed Ophelia and greeted her.
“Can you handle the register? I’ll work the floor.”
“You got it, boss,” Ophelia said in mock seriousness.
“Oh, and I have a couplespecialclients coming in later, so I may be preoccupied.”
The following hours went by smoothly with Avery greeting customers, answering their questions, another worker pressing fresh juices, and Ophelia ringing up all the goodies. She felt better already, more at ease than earlier that morning; tasks like this helped bring her out of her head.
Around sunset, a striking woman in her thirties walked into the shop. She was clothed in sleek office wear—tailored pants, leather pumps, perfectly cut blazer. In addition to her expert style, her hair was perfectly dyed a dark mahogany and cascaded in waves past her shoulders.
Avery recognized her immediately and motioned for her to follow him. They walked together behind the counter and went into Avery’s office.
After some time, Avery’s office door opened, and the striking woman walked out of the room. She waited at the door for Avery and gave him a grateful hug.
“Thank you. I mean it. This curse has plagued women in my family for generations, and I’m hopeful it can stop here.”
“I am too, hun. Now grab yourself a gris-gris for extra luck, ’kay? They are over there by the front table.”
The woman nodded and turned to explore the tabletop filled with amulets known as gris-gris.
“How’d it go?” asked Ophelia curiously.
“Good.”
“Can I ask what kind of ritual she wanted?”
“I mean, you can…I’m not generally inclined to tell other people’s business.”
“Fair. I wouldn’t either.”
“But…If it returns, maybe you could help her.” Avery thought for a minute. “The women in her family have been cursed with multiple miscarriages before conception. She’s already had four, and she’s only thirty-two. Apparently, they can’t carry a baby to full term unless they’ve gone through six miscarriages. I’m confident it won’t happen again, but if it does, she may want a healer’s touch.”
Ophelia’s instinct was to gasp loudly at the horror, but the striking woman was approaching the counter to check out, and she was forced to keep her composure. After the woman departed with her items and hopefully a new outcome for her next pregnancy, an idea hit Ophelia so hard that she was shocked she hadn’t thought of it before. It seemed so natural. She could treat here, at Prytania Botanica. If Avery let her, of course.
