“Nothing happened with Brandon. We’d have drifted on forever if I hadn’t broken up with him. I checked the girlfriend box for him and he checked the boyfriend box for me, but it wasn’t going anywhere.” She shifted in her seat. “Maybe I’ll meet a great guy at your wedding.”
Oh, she’d meet lots of great guys, but most of them would be undead.
Chapter 7
As we drove into Oxford, Jennifer cried out with delight. “Oh my God. I’ve seen these buildings in like a million movies.” It was great fun to see her excitement, and I took a little pride in being able to tell her a bit about the colleges, point out the Radcliffe Observatory, the Bodleian, the Sheldonian. I was becoming a local.
She twisted around in her seat, taking everything in.
“This is really a walking city. I’ll take you on a proper tour tomorrow. But for now, I thought I’d take you to the shop and we’d get you settled upstairs in my flat.”
“You’re sure you don’t mind me staying with you? You must have so many friends and relatives that I can find a hotel.”
We’d had this argument online. “No. You’re staying with me. It’ll be like a two-week slumber party.”
She beamed at me. “I can’t wait.” We drove past a group of students. “I can’t believe you live in Oxford. Do you feel smarter?”
“No. Mostly I feel like I don’t know anything. Honestly, just eavesdropping on kids’ conversations on the street is intimidating. Most of the time I don’t know what they’re talking about. It’s kind of fun, though.”
I pulled onto Harrington Street and then down the narrow lane that led round to the back of the shop where I could park.
“And here we are,” I said.
“It’s so cute,” she said, looking at the small herb garden that I really needed to tend.
We hauled her suitcases out of the back and then up the path to the door that led up to my flat.
“This is so nice,” she said, when we reached the living room. She ran to look out of the window onto the street below. “The shop’s downstairs,” I told her, pointing to the set of stairs that led down to Cardinal Woolsey’s. However, we took the stairs up one more level to the bedrooms. I showed Jen the bathroom and the guest room. She looked out of the bedroom window and squealed with excitement. “I can see the dreaming spires.” She turned to me. “I can’t wait to explore.”
It was nice to have a guest who was enthusiastic. I felt proud of my adopted city.
“I should go check in at Cardinal Woolsey’s. Why don’t you unpack, make yourself at home, have a nap if you want to or a shower. Are you hungry? Because I’ve got some light snacks in the fridge.”
“I ate on the plane, but I could sure use a cup of coffee and a shower.”
“I’ll put the coffee on. You shower. Walk on down to the shop when you’re ready.”
After I’d made coffee, I left Jen unpacking in the guest room.
I got back to the shop to find my cousin Violet in a particularly grumpy mood. She bit my head off when I said hi and complained that the shop was too hot and stuffy and that we should put in air-conditioning. She was right. It did sometimes get a little hot in there, but warm weather never lasted. And besides, I wasn’t sure the old electric system could support air-conditioning. I thought it was something else making my cousin hot under the collar.
I tried to remain cheerful. I had my best friend here, after all. But I couldn’t stop thinking about that box with the substance in it. “I can’t think about that right now. I got a strange wedding gift. It looked like petrified dung in a box. I’m pretty sure it’s from the Wicked Witch of Wallingford, but there wasn’t even a proper card.”
Vi looked horrified. “She’s not invited to your wedding, is she?”
“No.”
“Good. I think you should stay away from her. She’s a troublemaker. And she tried to kill me, don’t forget.”
“I’ll never forget that,” I assured her. What an unpleasant time the hex had caused all of us.
We had a few customers, and then Alice popped in. She didn’t work full time in Frogg’s Books, but she was often to be found there. She and her husband, Charlie, were so happy, it was enough to make anybody believe in marriage.
She came in like a burst of fresh air and said, “Lucy, Violet, I’m so glad to have you together. I’ve got such news.”
I didn’t need my witch powers to divine her news before she spilled it. There was a glow about Alice that made her beautiful. I could tell Violet had picked it up too, because her negative energy dipped even lower. It was like standing beside a black hole. I stepped forward as though I could shield poor Alice from Violet’s dissatisfaction with life. I wouldn’t spoil her surprise.
“What is it?” I asked, all innocent.
She made a movement as though she were jumping up and down without lifting her feet. Kind of like a bobbing doll. It was absolutely adorable. “I’m expecting.”
My delight was sincere as I threw my arms around her and gave her a hug. “Congratulations. You’ll be a wonderful mother.”
“It’s early days yet, so please don’t tell anyone, but I had to let you know. I’m worried about my matron of honor dress. I think we might have to get something in stretchy fabric.” She blushed adorably and put her hands to her still very flat stomach. “In case I’m showing.”
I doubted very much she’d be showing in a couple of weeks, but I loved that she had shared her news with us. Violet finally managed to move forward, though she might as well have had heavy bricks instead of feet.
“That’s great, Alice. I hope you’ll be very happy,” she managed.
