Page 55 of The Blue Moon Café & 24-Hour Occult Emporium

“Quite.”

“Any ideas?”

Simon stamped his paws nervously. “I can put a quick comatose spell on Dahlia—”

“Absolutely not!”

Simon groaned. “Then how would you like to hide the sparkly magic ponies?”

Talula looked at Simon, then looked through the window at Dahlia, who was still about a block away. Talula tightened her apron strings.

“Illusion yourself invisible and go tell Leonard to keep his unicorns in his pants.” Talula ran outside, apron flapping around her like a backward superhero cape, until she was right in front of Dahlia.

A very, very angry Dahlia. “We need to talk.”

Talula nodded, half-heartache, half-hope. It was just so good to see her. “Yes. We do.”

“I have some things to say first.” Dahlia hitched one hip and crossed her arms over her chest. “The things you said to me were awful and fucking hurtful. I didn’t deserve any of it. I was only trying to help.” Dahlia’s gaze searched Talula’s. “I feel betrayed and frustrated and like a bag of shit that you tried to throw away. But after a lot of thought, I decided our friendship was worth coming here to tell you how badly you fucked up so we can give it another try. If you want to be my friend, you’re going to have to do better. But if you ever treat me like that again, we’re done.”

Talula felt the words like knives through her heart.

Dahlia gestured at Talula. “Okay, your turn.”

Shame burned Talula’s face as she took a steadying breath. “I’m sorry, Dahlia. You’re right, I treated you badly and you were trying to do something wonderful. Your friendship means—” Talula swallowed. “It means so much to me.”

“Then why’d you do it? It wasn’t like you at all!”

“There’s no excuse.”

“Nuh-uh.” Dahlia shook her head. “If we’re going to be okay, I need open communication. I know something’s going on; tell me what’s up.”

Talula chewed her lip. She couldn’t tell Dahlia the whole truth, but she could tell her the truth around the truth. Talula anxiously rubbed her hands up and down her arms. “This petition is bringing up a lot on top of a lot. I’m worried about being good enough for this town and for our Samhain community. I’m worried about my mom—” Talula clamped her lips closed.

“Whoa, what’s going on with your mom?” Anger vanished from Dahlia’s face.

Talula’s brain scrambled, searching for something close to the truth. “She’s…helping out some friends who are in trouble. It’s complicated and not my place to share, but there’s real danger involved. That’s why she’s not here helping me with all of this. That’s part of why I didn’t tell you what’s going on.”

Dahlia’s eyes softened. “That sounds really scary, Talula.”

“It is. But that doesn’t mean I get a free pass to be a bad friend.” Talula ran a self-conscious hand through her hair.

“No, it doesn’t,” Dahlia said with a shrug. “But it does help me understand you more. And that’s really important to me.”

Talula felt such a deep rush of tenderness for Dahlia. Her words started spilling out, as true as anything she’d ever said. “You’ve been amazing and supportive. You’re the best part of my day. I’m so sorry for what I said and for hurting you. I didn’t mean any of it. I was lashing out. I’ll try to be a better friend and open up more. I get it if you’re still mad and if you need time. Just tell me if I can do anything to make it up to you.”

“Do you have any suggestions?” Dahlia’s face was grave, but there was a lightness in her voice that made Talula feel weightless.

“Dozens.” Talula glanced over Dahlia’s shoulder at Leonard, the unicorn man. Leonard was conspicuously squatting on the ground, talking to a spot of empty air about Simon’s height. Talula continued, “I was thinking of starting with an apology brunch?”

Dahlia gave her a huge smile. “Brunch sounds great.”

“How about this…” Talula thought fast. She still needed to make sure Dahlia wasn’t near the café in case the unicorn transport went sideways. “I’ll close up shop and bring the ingredients to your place.”

“Oh! Sure.” Dahlia seemed surprised at Talula’s change in venue, but not in a bad way. She laughed. “Wow, this fight went a lot better than I expected!”

Talula hung her head. “I’m still sorry.”

“I know.” Dahlia pulled Talula into a hug, sending a whoosh of soft, pomegranate-scented warmth through Talula’s whole body. After a second, Dahlia pulled away and added, “I’m glad we’re friends again.”