‘Because the source of it is here,’ said Mom, arms folded.
They both turned to me – Rosie’s expression gentle, Mom’s a little less so.
I swallowed. On my finger, my ring crackled.
‘It’s the ring,’ I explained.
Rosie shook her head. ‘It’s the ring, yes, but mostly it’s you, Molly. Like any magical object, the ring is channelling your magic, your emotions. The more you fight yourself, the more you refuse to listen to your own truth, the more it’s going to rebound and ricochet.’
‘Rosie’s speaking from experience,’ said Mom. ‘Don’t even ask about the beauty spells and love hexes she cast in her youth.’
‘Really,’ said Rosie with a smile. ‘Really don’t.’
‘But I’ve never seen magic like this before,’ said Mom.
‘Not even when you were all stressed about whether to open your ad agency with Rufus,’ agreed Rosie.
‘Or when the Bloom Family farmers were trying to decide between sunflowers and roses,’ added Mom.
‘Well, you chose well,’ I said, scooting a pan beneath a new drip. ‘Dad’s footwear aside, he’s a pretty good creative partner.’
Mom smiled. ‘That’s the thing about decisions. In your heart, you already know. You could flip a coin hoping that it’ll tell you which way to choose, but whichever way it lands, you’ll feel happy – or disappointed.’
I knew this well: it was how I’d tried to make decisions in the past. Even if it took every coin I had in my purse.
‘But in the end,’ Mom said, ‘it’s not making the decision that’s the hard part: it’s sharing it.’
I glanced towards the music room, then at the art studio.
Mom was right. I’d already made my choice. I just had to speak it into being.
Chapter 32
A HEART TO BE MENDED
The music room was a mess. Finn had piled up the boxes of records away from the leaks and the puddles that seemed to be appearing from nowhere at all. Charlie’s guitar was in a hard case, from which a piece of plastic poncho peeped out. The air crackled with magic, and I could see that Finn was doing his best to keep the moisture at bay.
‘Molly!’ Finn exclaimed, breaking into one of his huge smiles. He was delighted to see me, as always – even when surrounded by drips and leaks. ‘Just the girl I was hoping to see.’
I twisted Josephine’s ring, waiting for its familiar crackle. But Josephine was silent.
I was on my own. But I could do this. I’d been wanting,needingto say this for weeks now.
Finn perched on the leather couch, inviting me to join him.
‘Don’t say I don’t keep you safe,’ he said as I climbed up onto the arm of the couch, my feet dangling. He reached out to loop an arm around me, but I wasn’t quite close enough. And I didn’t scoot over to meet him.
His shoulders slumped in realization. Those sparkling eyes were wounded, and I hated myself for dragging this out these past few weeks, for making him think we had something real.
‘But I thought we were having a good time,’ he said, his voice small.
‘We were,’ I said, and it was true. But a good time wasallFinn wanted.
It took me a moment to bring up the courage to say it.
‘But I need something more,’ I said finally.
Finn’s expression was somewhere between relief and hope. He grabbed my hands. ‘I canbesomething more! Say it, and I’ll be it.’
