I tipped my face up to the morning sun and on impulse went and plucked a seed pod from the nearest magnolia tree. I tucked it in a niche in the stones surrounding the front door for good fortune. It was more a folklore thing than witchcraft…it couldn’t hurt, and I could certainly use the luck.
I’d ended up relocating to a town surrounded by modern practitioners of the Craft. While I’d yet to see any signs that the Drakes were practitioners as well, I was going to have to pull my head out of the sand and start paying closer attention. There was an energy here in William’s Ford. Perhaps it was ley lines, or maybe it was something else. But my instincts told me I needed to keep watch. I did feel safe in the cottage, and deep in my heart I knew that coming here had been the best move for both me and for Willow.
As if to confirm my thoughts, several magnolia petals dropped from the tree and landed gently in my lap.
***
Shannon dropped by later in the week with a sealed envelope containing her ultrasound gender results. After she left, I sat on the couch holding the envelope, and decided to see if my intuition worked for more than knowing when a bride was about to have a meltdown, or a situation was about to pop up at a wedding reception.
I held the envelope in my hands and closed my eyes. I calmed my breathing, and focused. Boy popped into my mind suddenly. I took a deep breath, opened my eyes, and read the results. With a chuckle, I got up and added the appropriate color confetti to the uninflated gender reveal balloon.
On Saturday afternoon Willow stayed with Nina and Diego, and I swung by Charming Cakepops for the pink and blue cakepops and cupcakes. Today I was dressed business casual with my dark blazer, slacks, and an amethyst tone blouse. I’d added my Grandma Taylor’s pearls at the last second. I’d debated on wearing them, but my intuition insisted that it would be a good move today.
Even though it felt odd to have my intuition push me into a specific fashion choice, I went ahead anyway. Besides the ring, they were all I had of the woman. After she’d passed away two years ago, her pearls had been sent to me instead of her adopted daughter—my mother.
With the desserts safely stowed in my car, I drove to the party rental center to pick up the white, pastel blue and pink balloon arch, and to have the oversized gender reveal balloon filled with helium.
Getting all the balloons in my car was tricky, but I managed it. I arrived at the Jacobs house at two o’clock to set up their decorations, the balloon arch, and the dessert table. Moments before their guests were scheduled to arrive, I brought in the gender reveal balloon. I managed several photos of the party décor, intending to add the pretty photos of the party set up to my website later in the evening.
When Shannon asked me to stay for the reveal I was surprised, but touched. I felt a real need to hurry home, but I brushed it off. There were plenty of familiar faces here today. I was surprised to learn that Lexie and Shannon were first cousins. I’d already known that Candice was Kyle’s sister, and I was introduced to their father, Oliver, who I was informed made the best doughnuts in the county.
Autumn and Duncan were also in attendance, as were Holly and Ivy Bishop. I offered to make a video recording on my phone for Shannon, and I made sure to get the set-up in the background of the video. While the family and friends all gathered around for the big reveal, I chatted casually with Lexie’s husband, Bran, as he held their infant daughter Belinda.
Bran was acting as a groomsman in the upcoming wedding, and his son Morgan—the ring bearer—was there at the party too. The little boy had the same red hair as his father and a mischievous light in his eye. If it wasn’t for Lexie and her no-nonsense attitude, I’d have been worried that the ring bearer-to-be would be a real handful.
When the time for the big reveal had arrived, Shannon and Kyle stood together holding hat pins in one hand, and the ribbons on the oversized black balloon in place with the other. Their girls Sophia and Chloe stood next to them and with the countdown of three, two, one! The Jacobs popped the big balloon and a shower of blue confetti burst out and all over the four of them. The party guests’ reaction was priceless. Obviously, everyone was pretty excited that there would be a boy after two girls.
I texted the thirty second video to Shannon and Kyle’s phones, passed the ultrasound photos and results off to Lexie to give to the parents, and made a discreet exit.
I made the quick trip back to the cottage, parked the car and headed over to the kitchen of the main house to pick up Willow and Isabel. I’d promised to swap babysitting favors today, and Willow and I would be babysitting Miss Isabel this evening so her parents could enjoy a long-overdue date night.
I pushed down my impatience to leave and ended up lingering at the main house while Nina showed me her new herb garden that Autumn had designed. There were dozens of young plants already in place. I imagined it would be stunning by the end of summer.
An hour later, Willow and I had finally waved off Isabel’s parents, and I was pushing the baby in her
